What did Paul say about the pagan Gentiles who lived around Israel?
Paul says in Ephesians 2 that pagan Gentiles around Israel were without hope, aliens to Israel's commonwealth, strangers, and lost. Yet God still held them responsible because they could have known the Creator. At Athens, Paul declared the unknown God to idolatrous philosophers, saying they were without excuse.
Les teaches that from Abraham's call until well into the Book of Acts, God dealt primarily with the nation of Israel. The pagan Gentiles all around them were without hope, Paul says in Ephesians 2—aliens to the commonwealth of Israel and strangers, so they were lost. But God still held them responsible because they could have known. Every human being has within his breast the knowledge that there is a Creator God, though circumstances may hold it dormant. If they really put forth the effort, even a starry midnight sky can lead them to conclude there is a Creator behind it all. Scripture teaches they are without excuse and have all the evidence. At Athens, Paul confronted idolatry, philosophy, and intellectualism on Mars Hill. He found an altar inscribed 'to the unknown God' and declared, 'whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him I declare unto you.'