The Road to Holocaust by Hal Lindsey

Author:Hal Lindsey
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780553348996
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 1989-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

Thus far, Paul has treated the problem of Israel from two standpoints. In chapter 9 he has emphasized the sovereignty of God in choosing this people for himself in a special sense. In chapter 10 he has dealt with Israel's failure to respond to God's righteousness, ending with the verdict that she is "a disobedient and obstinate people" (10:21). These two presentations involve a serious tension. (1) Will Israel's sin and stubbornness defeat the purpose of God, or (2) will God find a way to deal effectively with the situation so as to safeguard his purpose? To this question Paul now turns. His answer will dip into Israel's past, encompass her present, and reveal her future.1

ISRAEL'S PRESENT REJECTION IS NOT TOTAL (ROMANS 11:1-10)

In the light of this great national failure, the Holy Spirit raises a critical question: "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?" (11:1 NASB)

"Then" refers back to all that was said about the nation of Israel's failure in the tenth chapter of Romans. In view of national Israel's unbelief in spite of clear Old Testament revelation, has the LORD finally rejected them as "His people"?

A critical question is, "To whom exactly does 'His people' refer?" It cannot refer only to the present elect remnant that are part of the Church. If that were the case, Romans nine, ten, and eleven would be meaningless. The whole focus of these three chapters is concerned with the plight of that mass of Israelites who are in this present age unbelievers. It was well known and elaborately taught in other Epistles that an Israelite could believe and become part of the Church. In these chapters, it is God's honor and veracity that is defended. For the Church recognized the dilemma posed by Israel's present rejection and God's unconditional promises concerning Israel's national future. Romans chapter eleven spells out how the LORD will solve this dilemma.

This is the main issue raised in Romans chapter eleven. Even the way the question is worded reveals that God still, in a very special sense, considers unbelieving Israel to be "His people." If the LORD had intended to convey that He had rejected national Israel forever, He would have made that clear by saying, "God has not rejected the Israelites, has He?" But instead He emphasizes their continuing special relationship by calling the unbelieving nation "His people." Dr. F. Godet, in his classic commentary on Romans, writes concerning this issue, "The expression His people does not refer, as some have thought, to the elect part of the people only, but, as the expression itself shows, to the nation as a whole. It is evident, indeed, that the rest of the chapter treats not of the lot of the Israelites who have believed in Jesus, but of the lot of the nation in its entirety."2

The answer the Holy Spirit gives to this hypothetical question is begun with the strongest negative expression in the Greek language, me genoito which literally means, "May such a thing

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