Why Is Israel Blind? The Mystery of Romans 11 Explained

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Good evening, and it's good to have everybody back with us again. And you can be turning to Acts chapter 15. Now, for those of you who have been watching on television, you'll realize that we left Genesis chapter 24 when we were studying the calling out of a bride for Isaac by virtue of Abraham the father, you remember, sending his servant into a far country to get a bride for his son. And then we took off and left Genesis for the last few weeks to show how that God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to call out a bride for the son. And naturally, we have to go through the New Testament to pick that up. So that's what we're in the process of doing now, the last several weeks, and probably for a couple or three more programs, and then we'll be going back again to Genesis chapter 25. Now again, I'd like to address the television audience and how we do. Thank you for your letters, your kind comments, and the producing people here think I should share a couple of these. And so if you'll bear with me, I'll read a couple of these, just excerpts at least. Dear Les, I was fortunate to accidentally turn on Channel 47 to hear you about two months ago. This has been the most enlightening explanation of the Bible I've ever had. I'm 82 years old and had lost my interest, but now it's beginning to... I always say I listen and listen to the repeat lessons, and I also ask many people to listen to your program. It was from an elderly gentleman, and here's another one from a couple who write, we enjoy your Bible study sessions on television. Seeing the Spirit working in your life imparts a blessing in our lives. Now, we thank you for all these letters, and through the media of letter writing, we found that there are some questions out there, and I'm going to try to answer them quickly before we go into Acts. And number one, yes, we do pay for our TV time. Now, we never mention money on this program. That was one stipulation I made when we started, that I would never ask for money. And consequently, some are wondering whether we even have to pay for our TV time. Indeed, we do. Second question, and the answer is no. No one is sponsoring us. No one is underwriting us. We strictly depend on the gifts of God's people. And number three, yes, your gifts are deductible. We are duly registered with the internal revenue, and any time that you would like to have a financial statement of our ministry, you write for it, and we'll be more than glad to send you one. And over the year that we've been on the air, we have never been in the red, but on the other hand, we have never been more than $500 in the black. So to me, that's just the sign that God has been with us. We're not here to build up a big business, and if ever we do end up with a surplus, we have other stations that are waiting for our program, and when the funds are available, we'll branch out. Then more than anything, how we covet the prayers of everyone, because as I've found out over the years, when you step out on the front line in the Lord's service, Satan's artillery gets awesome, and so we do. We just covet your prayers as well as your support, and we thank you for your letters. We've got a lot of them, but they're precious to us. We read them all two, three times, believe me. All right, now then let's get right back into our study, Acts chapter 15. Now, you remember the last couple of weeks, we showed how that the Old Testament program, as it was laid out in Psalms chapter 2, never gave the slightest hint of this 1900 and some years of what we call the Church Age. It's just not in there. The Old Testament program foretold the coming of the nation of Israel on the scene, of course, by virtue of the Abrahamic covenant, and how that the Messiah came, and they rejected him, they crucified him, and then after that was to come the tribulation, that awful period of seven years spoken of in Daniel, and then Christ would return and set up his kingdom. Not a mention of the church in there whatsoever. But as we've been pointing out, that just when it seemed like the rebellion was reaching its pinnacle under Saul of Tarsus, God saved the chief rebel by grace on the road to Damascus, and so we've been recapping all that. And then you remember when we were together in the last program in Acts chapter 15, I pointed out how that the Jewish believers of Jerusalem had gotten all shook up over the fact that Paul and Barnabas were bringing Gentiles into the church up there at Antioch, and consequently they sent men from Jerusalem to check it out, and indeed it was true. And it just caused so much consternation that they requested that Paul and Barnabas come down to Jerusalem, and I call it calling them on the carpet, because they were bringing Gentiles in and offering them God's salvation. I mean, that was just anathema to the Jew of that time. And then you remember in our closing moments, I showed how that Peter had been silent during all the first part of this great controversy in Acts chapter 15 until finally, sovereignly, God reminded him of what he had experienced 12 years before when he had gone up to the house, you remember, of Cornelius. And I always stress the fact that Peter, the good law-keeping Jew, didn't really want to go to Cornelius. I always put it as, from Jaffa to Caesarea. But God forced it for this situation right here, because had Peter not had that experience of seeing Gentiles saved in Acts chapter 10, I doubt very much that he would have come to Paul's defense here in Acts 15. And had not Peter come to Paul's defense here in chapter 15, I'm afraid Christianity would have stopped in its tracks. But God and His sovereignty, of course, wasn't going to allow that to happen. So then Peter, verse 7 now, chapter 15, when there'd been much disputing, see, so I'm sure that this was later on after the meeting had begun, finally Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago, and remember I've always said that was 12 years ago, a good while ago God made choice among us that the Gentiles, remember the house of Cornelius, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, or the good news, and believe. And then he comes on down to verse 10 then, Why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, that is, those Gentile believers at Antioch, which neither our fathers or we were able to bear? Now that was the law. And Peter, of all people, stresses the fact that it was a burden, it was a yoke. And then verse 12, Then all the multitude, that is, that crowd of Jews, meeting there in Jerusalem to consider this question of whether Gentiles can have access to Israel's God, they kept silence. Because after all, when Peter spoke, they respected him. And so they kept silence and gave audience, or they listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. Now verse 13, After they had held their peace, James... Now you've always got to be a good student of Scripture. Most people read that and they automatically think that it was the James of Peter, James, and John. But it wasn't. That James, who was one of the twelve, had been beheaded sometime before. And this James was not even a believer during Christ's earthly ministry. He was one of the other children of Joseph and Mary. We call him a half-brother of Christ. And the amazing thing is that at this point in time, Peter is no longer the chief spokesman. Now, when we study the book of Acts, I always bring that out, that beginning in Acts chapter 1 and 2, Peter, of course, is the spokesman. He's the moderator. He's the head man. But by the time we get to this situation, Peter has been sitting off in the corner, not really having a part in the whole discussion because he's not even part of the wheels anymore. And now, sovereignly, God shakes him up, brings him to the forefront, and he makes his statement then that yes, indeed, God had showed him Gentiles could be saved even as Jews. So this James now then, who is a moderator, just shows how far that kingdom program has slipped already, that Peter is no longer the chief spokesman. And James says, verse 13, Listen to me. Simeon, that is Peter, hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them, in other words, here and there one, no great multitudes, but here and there God would be taking out of the Gentiles a people for his name. Now, who are the a people? The body of Christ, see? The Gentile believers. Now, granted there can be Jews, but for the most part this age of grace has reached into the Gentile people to bring out of them a people or the bride. Now, if you don't mind writing in your Bible, just write right in there that the two words a people are the calling out of the bride of Christ, that Gentile bride. The Holy Spirit has been working amongst predominantly again the Gentiles. Like I said, we're not going to leave the Jew out of this completely. There are some, but it's predominantly a Gentile bride. And then verse 15, now we watch this carefully. And to this, this calling out a people, and to this James says, agrees the words of the prophets as it is written. Now look at verse 16. And I always try to tell my classes, underline those first two words. After this. Now, what do you got? Well, you got a time setting. Now, you haven't got a month and a day and a year, but you've got something that is denoting a time factor. So, after this, well, after what? The calling out of a people for his name. See that? Now, it's so easy to just read and not see what you read. But all of this just falls into place if you look at it carefully. James says, yes, prophecy indicated that God would call out a people for his name. And when that is finished, when that has been concluded, after this, then what's God going to do? Rebuild again, or he will return, verse 16, and rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down. In other words, who is he going to go back and work with? His covenant people, Israel. But in the meantime, he's calling out a Gentile bride. Now, do you see that? Now, to enlighten us a little more on that, let's turn to Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. Drop down to verse 25. Now, for those of you who know anything at all about Romans 11, this is the chapter where Paul has been drawing the analogy, remember, of grafting a tree. Now, I don't know a lot about grafting, but I've got a horticulturist in one of my classes who loves to do grafting, and he showed me a perfect example of it here just a few weeks ago where he had grafted pecans. And he took just an ordinary native pecan, cut it off, and then grafted in two or three other new varieties, and now he could show me the results. It was unbelievable. Ah, he had clusters of pecans as big as my fist. That's what grafting can do. But now he explained also, if someday he wanted to cut off those grafts and take another native pecan branch, he could graft it right back in, no problem. All right, now that's what Paul is describing here in Romans chapter 11 concerning the nation of Israel. They were the native tree. But after dealing with the nation of Israel for, well, almost 2,000 years from the call of Abraham, 1,500 years under the law, they rejected and they rejected until finally what did God do? He broke off those native branches and he grafted in the Gentile. And then Paul used that analogy. If God could take a wild branch and graft it in, then how much easier won't it be someday for him to break off these grafted branches and bring back the natural? And of course that's speaking of his coming back to deal once again with his covenant people. All right, now as you come down through that chapter with all this description of the grafting and so forth, you come down to verse 25. And now Paul writes, For I would not, brethren, that you should be what's the word? Ignorant. Now, you know, we have to be careful in our use of language. We can be ignorant and still have a pretty high intelligence level. Can't we? Any one of us can be totally ignorant of a particular discipline without necessarily being low in an IQ because ignorance is brought about by a lack of teaching, a lack of learning. And that's the only reason I teach. All I try to do is just get people to come into the book and come out of their ignorance and see what this old book really says. I've said over and over on this program and to my classes, I'm not interested in making a Methodist something other than a Methodist or take a Presbyterian and make him something or a Baptist and make him something. That's not my ploy at all. All we want to do is get everybody to the place where they can study the Word of God on their own. And as many of the people in my classes who are Sunday school teachers and deacons and what have you have found, they can go right back into their local situation and teach the book to others. So anyway, Paul is granted here that he would not have us to be ignorant of this mystery or this secret, this very fact that has been hidden even in the Scriptures. Another one of the letters I received a few weeks ago, a lady had written from someplace here in Oklahoma that the first thing she got from my teaching was that indeed the church was hidden until it was revealed. Well, you know, I read something like that and I just about hit the ceiling because this is what I want people to understand is what does the book say about these things? All right, let's read on. He said, I wouldn't have you to be ignorant of this secret or this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceit that, here's the mystery, that blindness in part, now the word in part here means not forever, but for a period of time. Now there's a good illustration there. I think we got time. Keep your hand here in Romans and come back with me to Book of Acts. And, well, that'll have to be, I guess, in about Acts 13 or 14. I hope I can find it. I sure didn't intend to use that this afternoon. But Paul and Barnabas have just begun, be Chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas have just begun their missionary journey and as they have taken off from Antioch, the first place they stop, of course, is the island of Cyprus. Now, believe it or not, this is a prophetic picture of the nation of Israel. Here in Acts 13, when you come to verse 6, and when they had gone through the isle, that is, of Cyprus, they came to Pappas, one of the cities, and they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a what? A Jew, whose surname was, bar Jesus, who was with the deputy or the governor of the country, Sergius Paulus. Now, he's a Roman. A prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God. Now, you get the setting? This Gentile officer or political leader wants to learn more of the word of God, but his right-hand man is a Jew, a sorcerer, a false teacher. And so now, verse 8, this Jew, who is also called Elimus, the sorcerer, withstood them. In other words, tried to keep Saul and Barnabas from this Roman deputy, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Got the picture? He's doing everything he can to keep this Gentile from his salvation. Verse 9, Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him and said to this Jew, Now, Paul continues, Now, watch it carefully. For how long? For a season, see? Not for the rest of his days, but for a time. Now, what's the picture of? The nation of Israel. Everywhere Paul and Barnabas and later Paul and Silas went in their missionary journey, who was their chief opposition? The Jews, see? And he came down to Thessalonica, and Paul even says that the dishonorable women withstood him. Jewish women, see? And so, what did God do? Well, you pick it up now. Let's come back to Romans. Romans chapter 11. Now, come back to verse 10 to follow our line of thought on Israel being blinded, even as Elimas was. Now, in Romans 11, verse 11, no, verse 10, I'm sorry. Let their eyes be darkened. Now, this is out of Isaiah. God knew all this was coming, and yet it would never been revealed until now Paul lays it out so clearly. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back always. And then he goes on, like I said, into that description of grafting. But all right, now back to verse 25. Our time is going so quickly. He said, I would not have you be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wide in your own conceit, that blindness in part... Now, I'm back in Romans chapter 11, verse 25, that blindness in part, or for a time, has happened to Israel. What's the next word? Now, what is that? Time word. See? Now, again, it's not a month, day, and a year, but it's a specific time in God's program that blindness is going to cover the nation of Israel spiritually until, until what? The fullness of the Gentiles become in. Now, the fullness of the Gentiles is what? That calling out a people for His name back there in Acts chapter 15. The body of Christ. Now, when the body of Christ is full, then that period of time will come to an end, God will remove the body, and He'll pick up where He left off with His covenant people, Israel. Now, there's an interesting sidelight to all this. Now, if you'll come back with me to Luke's Gospel, chapter 21. Running concurrently, running side by side, are two great fillings, I like to call it. Not only the filling up of the body of Christ, but there is also a filling up of the cup of the iniquity of the Gentiles, or the world in general. Luke 21. Now, I haven't got time, but in your leisure, read those verses 20, 21, 22, 23. But we'll have to, for sake of time, jump into verse 24, where Jesus is speaking, and He says to the twelve, and they, that is the Jews, they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations. Now see, that is the clue in this verse, that we're not talking about the return of Christ, we're not talking about Armageddon, we're talking rather about Titus in 70 A.D. Now remember, that was about 40 years beyond Christ's birth, crucifixion, and so He is foretelling what's going to happen. And we know it did from history in 70 A.D. They fell by the edge of the sword, they were besieged by the Romans. It was one of the most awful sieges in all of human history. I won't take time to go into some of the details, but it was awful. In fact, one of the things that made the Romans so vicious when they finally got over the walls and knocked down the gates, was that as those Roman soldiers would be climbing their ladders to get over the wall, the Jews would pour hot boiling oil on them. And it just infuriated the Romans. And so when they finally made it in, they were ruthless, they had no mercy. And that's what Jesus is referring to. That they shall fall by the edge of the sword, they shall be led away captive in all nations. And now here's the crucial part. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of or by the Gentiles. What's the next word? Until. There's that word again. There's coming a time when the Gentiles will no longer have Jerusalem under their feet. So Jerusalem, Jesus said, shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Now if I've got time, I'd like to put this on the board, if I may, as two concurrent vessels, if I may call it that. And beginning back in 606 B.C. Now that's back before the cross. Nebuchadnezzar, you remember, came from Babylon and also besieged the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took the Jews captive. From that point on, after the Babylonian Empire, then came the Medes and the Persians, and then came the Greeks, and then came the Romans. And up until the time that Jesus is speaking, Jerusalem and Palestine had been overrun by all the succeeding Gentile empires. Now even all the way up to our present time of 1991, thereabouts, all this time, for the most part, Palestine and the Jew have been under the heel of the Gentiles, haven't they? Now granted in 1948, they seemingly became a sovereign state, but for all practical purposes, are they all that sovereign? Not really. They wouldn't survive a day without Uncle Sam and the wealth that comes from this nation, albeit a lot of it comes from the Jewish people, but still they are not what you would call a sovereign state totally independent of the Gentiles. Now then, from 606 B.C. until Christ comes, and we don't know exactly when that'll be, in His second coming. Now I'm not talking about the rapture of the church, but at His second coming to the city of Jerusalem, that is when Jerusalem will finally have her peace. Not until. They can talk peace till they're blue in the face over there in Madrid or Washington or anyplace else, but there will be no peace for Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace returns. All right, now then, quickly. All this period of time, called the times of the Gentiles, is like filling a container with the iniquity of the Gentiles. Running concurrently with that now from sometime just beyond the cross until the Lord takes the church out, running concurrently with this filling up of the iniquity in the times of the Gentiles is the what? The fullness of the Gentiles coming in, a people for His name, which we refer to then as the body of Christ. Now do you see how beautifully those two work together? While God is calling out the body, at the same time the Gentiles are filling their cup of iniquity until finally at the second coming. Let's go all the way back to Revelation. Let's go back to Revelation, and then you'll get the full picture of how this iniquity is going to fill up. Revelation chapter 9. While the body is being called out, and it will be full, so also the cup of iniquity. And here it is in Revelation 9, verse 21. Neither did they repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their immorality, nor of their fits. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the Scriptures, and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember, all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.