Only the one-third remnant of Israel — not every individual Jew — will be saved during the tribulation, according to Zechariah 13.
Zechariah 13:8 says two parts of Israel will be cut off and die, and only a third will be left. Verse 9 shows that surviving third being refined through the fire, calling on God's name, and being recognized as His people. Les Feldick concludes from this that 'all Israel shall be saved' refers to the believing remnant, not the entire nation.
Zechariah 13:8 — Directly shows that two parts of Israel will die in the tribulation and only a third will remain, defining who is left to be saved.
Zechariah 13:9 — Shows the surviving third refined through the fire, calling on God's name, receiving His 'my people' and confessing 'the LORD is my God.'
In Zechariah 13:8, the Lord declares that in all the land of Israel, two parts will be cut off and die, and only a third part shall be left. Verse 9 then describes that surviving third: God will bring them through the fire, refine them like silver, and try them like gold. They call on His name, He hears them, says 'It is my people,' and they answer, 'The LORD is my God.'
Les Feldick uses Zechariah 13:8-9 to qualify Romans 11:26. He points out that Paul's phrase 'all Israel shall be saved' cannot mean every individual Jew, because Zechariah says two-thirds will be cut off and die and only one-third will be left. He explains that God has always worked with a remnant — He never got 100% in Israel's history. The one-third is the believing remnant refined through the fires of tribulation, and at Christ's second coming they recognize their Messiah and enter the Kingdom as the seed stock of the nation of Israel.
Les Feldick explains that the phrase does not promise the salvation of every individual Jew. Zechariah 13 narrows it to a remnant — one third of the nation. As Les puts it, God has never had 100% of Israel; He always preserved a remnant. So 'all Israel' in Romans 11:26 refers to all of believing Israel, not every living Jew.
Zechariah 13:9 pictures the remnant being brought through the fire, refined as silver and tried as gold. Les Feldick teaches this depicts the testing of the tribulation, through which God purifies His people. The remnant calls on the Lord's name, and He claims them as His people.
At Christ's second coming, the nation of Israel as a whole — the remnant — finally recognizes Him as the One they pierced and is saved in a day. This believing remnant then becomes the seed stock of the nation during the Kingdom.
The Tribulation Centers on Israel
Les sets Romans 11:26 in context: after the fullness of the Gentiles, God begins dealing with Israel again, which frames why Zechariah 13 refers to the land of Israel.
Two Thirds of Israel Die
Les quotes Zechariah 13:8 to show that two parts of Israel will be cut off and die, with only a third left — so 'all Israel shall be saved' cannot mean every individual Jew.
God's Remnant Principle
Les explains that God has never worked with 100% of Israel; He always preserved a remnant. Therefore 'all Israel shall be saved' refers to the saved remnant described in Zechariah.
The Remnant Becomes the Nation
Les teaches that the remnant of Israel is protected through the tribulation and becomes believers at the second coming, forming the seed stock of Israel in the Kingdom.
Only a Remnant Saved
Les says only a small percentage — one third — of Jews will be saved at the end of the tribulation; two-thirds will lose their lives, contrary to the idea that most Jews will be saved.
Who Are the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11?
Now you see, that's a vast number of people from every tribe and tongue and nation. And they're going to be martyred almost as soon as they believe. But a few will survive. And we'll pick them up in a later program. There will be some survivors, as we saw in Isaiah 23, a couple of programs ago. They're going to somehow find themselves at the end of all this alive. But they're believers.
Fire as Refining and Testing
Les teaches that the fire in Zechariah 13:9 depicts the testing of the tribulation, refining the third part like silver and testing them like gold.
The Remnant Recognizes Their Messiah
At Christ's return, the remnant of Israel suddenly realizes He is the One they pierced and the nation is saved in a day.
Zechariah 13:8: And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
This is the key verse showing that only one-third of Israel remains alive during the tribulation.
Zechariah 13:9: And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
This describes how the surviving third is purified and becomes God's people.
Romans 11:26: And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
This is the verse Les qualifies by showing that 'all Israel' means the believing remnant, not every individual Jew.
Zechariah 12:10: And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Les references this to show that the remnant recognizes the Messiah whom their ancestors pierced.
No. It says two parts will be cut off and die and only a third will be left. That third is brought through the fire, refined, calls on God's name, and is called His people.
The remnant is the one-third of Israel that survives the tribulation. Les Feldick teaches this remnant is the believing Israel — the ones who call on God's name and are purified through testing.
He interprets it as all of believing Israel — the remnant — not every individual Jewish person. He bases this on Zechariah 13, where only a third is left, and on God's consistent pattern of preserving a remnant.
Watch the Teaching: All Israel Shall Be Saved — What Romans 11:26 Really Means