Thursday
Evening Bible Study
January
22, 2009
Introduction
Paul has been talking about how:
Salvation comes
to those who believe (Rom.10:9-11).
Not all of
Israel has chosen to believe in the gospel (Rom.10:16).
God had
predicted that the Jews would be rebellious (Rom. 10:21).
God is NOT
finished with the Jewish people. They are still very much in His plans.
:11-35 God isn’t done with Israel
:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part
has happened to Israel
mystery – musterion – hidden thing, secret; not
obvious to the understanding.
What’s the mystery?
That God is using the blindness of the Jews to
bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
blindness – porosis – the covering with a callus;
blocking of mental discernment, dulled perception.
It’s just “in part”. It’s just a
temporary blindness.
Not all Jews are blind to the truth about the Messiah, Jesus.
:25 until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
fullness – pleroma – that which is (has been)
filled; used of a ship that is filled (manned) with sailors, rowers, and
soldiers
has come
in –
aorist active subjunctive. There is a point of time in which the “fullness of
the Gentiles” comes to pass.
Let’s look at how this concept of
“fullness” is used in Scripture:
The fullness of the Amorite
iniquity.
God has used this concept talking to
Abraham about his descendants, how they will go into slavery for four hundred
years and then come back to the Promised Land.
(Gen
15:16 NKJV) "But in the fourth
generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
complete (KJV – “not yet full”)."
The picture is of some
kind of measuring vessel like a pot, being filled with the sins of the
Amorites. When the pot is filled, then the time will come for Israel to come
into the Promised Land.
Israel’s taking of the
Promised Land wasn’t just for the sake of giving them a place to live, but also
was done as a way of bringing judgment on the wickedness of the Amorites.
(Deu 9:5 NKJV) "It is not because of
your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess
their land, but because of
the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out
from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your
fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Fullness as an expression of salvation.
Paul has already used this term (in
this chapter) to describe the Jews coming to trust in Jesus:
(Rom 11:12 NKJV) Now if their fall is riches for the world, and
their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
(Rom 11:12 NLT) Now if the Gentiles were enriched
because the Jews turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a
blessing the world will share when the
Jews finally accept it.
When a person comes to
trust in Jesus, they achieve a form of “fullness”.
The filled wedding supper.
(Luke
14:16-24 NKJV) Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper
and invited many, {17} "and sent his servant at supper time to say to
those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' {18} "But
they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have
bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me
excused.' {19} "And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I
am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' {20} "Still another
said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' {21} "So that
servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the
house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and
lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and
the blind.' {22} "And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you
commanded, and still there is room.' {23} "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go
out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may
be filled. {24} 'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall
taste my supper.'"
Jesus is giving us a hint that God likes a “full house”. The original
guests who were invited to the wedding feast for the Son refers to the Jews.
When the invited guests wouldn’t come, the invitation went out to everyone, to
“fill” the house.
When Jesus says that those bidden wouldn’t taste of the supper, He doesn’t
mean that all Jews for all time won’t be in heaven, but that those who were
invited and declined wouldn’t be at the supper.
Summary:
Fullness can refer to:
A special
number being reached
Salvation
A packed house
God has a special
number of Gentiles in mind that He wants to be saved. When His “pot” of Gentiles is full, then
God will once again turn His attention to the nation of Israel and remove the blindness that
is temporarily upon their eyes.
:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer
will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
will be
saved
– future indicative. It’s not a “possible” sort of thing (“might be saved” or
“should be saved”). It’s definitely going to happen.
Paul is quoting directly from the
Septuagint from Isaiah 59:20.
Isaiah foretold of a day when
ungodliness in Israel would be dealt with.
:27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."
take away – aphaireo – to take from, take away, remove, carry off
Paul is quoting from Jer. 31:31-34,
known as God’s “New Covenant” with Israel, where God will forgive the sins of
His people.
God’s
timetable
There are a couple of passages that
give us a clue as to God’s timetable for the nation of Israel:
Daniel
9
Daniel talks about a period of time on God’s calendar where God is working
with His chosen Jewish people. Daniel wrote during the time of the Babylonian
captivity, when the Jews had been away from their land, living in Babylon. The
prophecy speaks of a time of total restoration for Israel.
(Dan 9:24-27 NKJV) "Seventy weeks
are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the
transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To
bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to
anoint the Most Holy.
The term “weeks”
simply means “sevens”. This is talking about a period of seventy times seven
time periods, which we believe
to be years (490 years). The purpose of these “seventy weeks” is for Daniel’s
people, Israel and their holy city, Jerusalem. It will bring an end to their
transgression, end sin, pay for their iniquities, etc. Some of these have
happened (such as Jesus paying for our sins), but some have not (sins haven’t
stopped yet).
{25} "Know
therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore
and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in
troublesome times.
The seventy weeks are broken into sections, the first two sections totally 69 weeks, or 483
years. They would begin at the command to rebuild Jerusalem, which was given by
King Artaxerxes on
March 14, 445 BC (Neh. 2:5).
You need to keep in mind that Daniel is writing and living in Babylon, and
so it’s important to view these as Babylonian years, which contained 360 day years. Translate those years
into days (483 x 360) and you get 173,880 days. Starting from Artaxerxes decree, you will end up
at April 6, 32 AD, the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
(Luke
19:41-42 NKJV) Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, {42}
saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this
your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden
from your eyes.
{26}
"And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the
people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations
are determined.
Daniel says the Messiah would be cut off, but not for Himself. Jesus died on a cross,
but not because He was a criminal, He died for the sins of the world.
It’s at this point, where the Messiah is cut off, that I believe God’s time clock on Israel came
to a halt. There will be a 2000 year pause. I believe this “pause” is for the
sake of us Gentiles, that we might be given a chance to receive God’s
salvation. It’s when this “fullness of
the Gentiles” if finished, that the clock starts again, and God finishes the
process of saving Israel.
Of the seventy weeks, the first 69 are completed. There is yet one week to go. One seven
year period. We call this period the “Great Tribulation”.
The “prince
that shall come” is a reference to the antichrist (vs.27), and his “people”
were the Romans, who came and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70.
{27}
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of
the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation,
which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
It would seem that at this point, God’s time clock will
start again. God will once again be dealing with the nation of Israel. I believe
this is to coincide with the “fullness of the Gentiles”
being over, and God once again dealing with Israel.
Note: Who is God’s focus for the “Great
Tribulation”?
It’s Israel (Dan. 9:24). The tribulation starts when God has finished
with His dealings with the Gentile church. This is one of the many reasons why
I believe that the church will be “raptured” before the Tribulation. The focus
of the Tribulation is NOT the church, it’s Israel. The “fullness” of the
Gentiles will be complete.
The “he” mentioned here is the “prince
that shall come”, the antichrist. The antichrist will make some kind of a
covenant, perhaps a peace
treaty, with Israel for “one week”, or, seven years. In the middle of the week
(after 3 ½ years), he will reveal his true intentions and cause what we call
the “abomination of desolation”. This means that he will do something in the
temple that is so horrible, that God will call His holy Temple “unholy”,
declaring it “desolate”.
We believe this action will be the
declaration that he, the antichrist, is God, and worthy to be worshipped (2Th.
2:4)
(2
Th 2:4 NKJV) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or
that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God.
It’s at this time, that Jesus has
advised the Jews to flee to the wilderness, which perhaps will be Petra or
Bozrah (Mat. 24:15; Is. 16, 63).
(Mat 24:15 NKJV) "Therefore
when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
Ezekiel 38-39
These chapters describe an invasion of
Israel from a group of nations, led by a nation in the north known as “Gog”. We
believe this may be a reference either to Russia, or the southern Islamic republics which
will join with other nations to invade Israel. God will do a miraculous work,
and Israel will be delivered. After this event occurs, God says:
(Ezek 39:28-29 NKJV) 'then they shall know that I am the LORD
their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought
them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. {29} 'And I
will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on
the house of Israel,' says the Lord GOD."
I believe that this pouring out of
God’s Spirit upon Israel ties in with both the ending of the times of the
Gentiles, as well as God starting His timeclock once again with Israel.
It
also seems to fit well with the
removal of the church on earth, the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, as a
force that hinders the revealing
of the antichrist:
(2 Th 2:7-8 NKJV) For the
mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so
until He is taken out of the way. {8} And then the lawless one will be
revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy
with the brightness of His coming.
Lesson
Hurry it up.
(2 Pet 3:9-12 NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance. {10} But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great
noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up. {11} Therefore, since all these things will be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, {12} looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because
of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat?
Some wonder why Jesus hasn’t come back
yet.
One way of looking at it – God’s
waiting for that last person to come to Christ before He sets these events in
motion.
He’s waiting for His “full” number.
How do we “hasten” the coming of the
Lord? Perhaps it’s
by continuing to walk with the Lord and reaching out to unbelievers.
Wouldn’t it be cool to be sharing with
your friend about Christ, they say “yes” to Jesus, and we all find ourselves in
heaven?
:28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning
the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
gospel … enemies – The non-believing Jew can be quite
hostile to the believing Gentile.
election … beloved – though they can be hostile, that
doesn’t change the fact that God still loves them for the sake of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
Lesson
Love the Jews.
Even though non-believing Jews can be
an enemy to Christians, in God’s eyes they are still beloved.
I can’t imagine why in the world people
would hate God’s chosen people. Jesus was Jewish. All the apostles were Jewish.
The reason there is anti-Semitism is
because there is a person fuelling it.
Revelation 12 tells us the real force behind anti-semitism – Satan.
(Rev 12:13 NLT) And when the dragon realized that he had
been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the
child.
We don’t love the Jews because they are nice or because they are good.
There are some non-believing Jews who can be quite obnoxious, just like some
Gentiles.
We love them because God loves them.
:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
gifts – charisma – a favor with which one
receives without any merit of his own
calling – klesis – a calling, invitation; of the
divine invitation to salvation
irrevocable
– ametameletos – not repentant of,
unregretted
There are two Greek words that are
translated “repentance”. One word means “a change of choice” (metanoia), the other means “an emotional
change” (metamelomai), the word used
here. We could perhaps say, “God
isn’t sorry about these gifts and callings”.
The word is
only used one other place in the New Testament:
(2 Cor 7:10 NKJV)
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces
death.
The good kind
of sorrow, the godly kind, makes you turn from your sin. You don’t regret
having that kind of sorrow because it brought you to salvation. You’re not
sorry for that kind of pain.
God had called Israel as a nation. Even
in their unbelief, God’s call hasn’t changed.
He’s not sorry that He called them.
Lesson
God’s not sorry for calling you.
God’s not
sorry for calling us, even if we’ve been reluctant or disobedient.
(Mat 21:28-32 NKJV)
"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and
said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' {29} "He answered and said, 'I
will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. {30} "Then he came to
the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did
not go. {31} "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said
to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to
you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. {32}
"For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe
him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did
not afterward relent and believe him.
Did the father’s call on the first son change when he said “no” to his
dad? The call stayed the same, but the reward came from turning from his
disobedience and doing what his father told him.
Sometimes we
hear stories of how God can use a person in a wonderful way, but that they can
fall away from the Lord, even while still doing their ministry. Like Jim
Bakker. How could he have been operating in his spiritual gifts during the time
of his scandals, when he was living such a carnal life?
Gifts and
callings are done by grace, not by what we’ve earned.
Perhaps God
has had a special call on your life, but rather than follow after it, you’ve
run from it. God hasn’t changed His mind. He’s not sorry He’s given you gifts
or callings. He’d love if you got back to it.
:30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy
through their disobedience,
:31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy
shown you they also may obtain mercy.
disobedient
– apeitheo (“apathy”) – not to allow
one’s self to be persuaded; to refuse belief and obedience
We Gentiles were once unbelievers and disobedient to God.
We obtained mercy because when the Jews became unbelieving and disobedient,
God extended mercy toward us.
God’s desire is that as we receive God’s mercy, the Jew might become
jealous and want to receive God’s mercy as well.
Lesson
Be merciful to the unbeliever.
We can fall into a church-lady
mindset where the only people we talk to nicely are other Christians. We can
become isolated from unbelievers to the point where we never have any contact
with them.
We forget that we too at one time were a pagan heathen, just like them.
Don’t forget how grateful you were to find Jesus.
God’s desire is that we would show mercy to the unbeliever. He is merciful
towards them.
:32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have
mercy on all.
committed – sugkleio – to shut up together; of a shoal
of fishes in a net
disobedience – apeitheia (“apathy”) – same basic word translated “disobedience” in
verses 30-31; obstinacy, obstinate opposition to the divine will
(Rom 11:32 NLT) For God
has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on
everyone.
God has trapped people in their
rebellion toward Him so that when they get saved, they might realize that they
weren’t saved because they were good enough but because He has shown them
mercy.
:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Four things about God:
wisdom –
sophia – knowledge put into action
knowledge
– gnosis – general intelligence
judgments
– krima – a decree, judgments
ways – hodos – a way; a course of conduct; a
way of thinking
How to describe these things about God:
unsearchable
– anexereunetos – that cannot be
searched out;
from exereunao – search anxiously and diligently;
thoroughly investigate (first used to tell of a dog sniffing out something with his nose).
A search dog might catch a scent of God, but he’s not going to catch up to
God.
past finding
out – anexichniastos – that
cannot be searched out, that cannot be comprehended;
from ichnos – a footprint, track, footstep
A hunter might
follow the footsteps to find his prey. We can track God’s footprints, but never
get to the end of His wisdom or His ways.
God is amazing. He is big. He is way bigger than our ability to understand
Him.
Lesson
It’s okay if you don’t understand
everything.
I think that sometimes we make the
mistake of thinking that we have to
understand how all this stuff works. How can God choose me before the
foundation of the world, and then I still have the free will to be able to
choose Him in this life? How about eternal security? Can I lose my salvation or
can’t I? How does this all work?
Illustration
A fable – not a true story …
When Albert
Einstein was making the rounds of the speaker’s circuit, he usually found
himself eagerly longing to get back to his laboratory work. One night as they
were driving to yet another rubber-chicken dinner, Einstein mentioned to his chauffeur (a man who
somewhat resembled Einstein in looks and manner) that he was tired of
speechmaking. “I have an idea, boss,” his chauffeur said. “I’ve heard you give
this speech so many times. I’ll bet I could give it for you.” Einstein laughed
loudly and said, “Why not? Let’s do it!” When they arrived at the dinner,
Einstein donned the chauffeur’s cap and jacket and sat in the back of the room.
The chauffeur gave a beautiful rendition of Einstein’s speech and even answered
a few questions expertly. Then a supremely pompous professor asked an extremely esoteric
question about anti-matter formation, digressing here and there to let everyone
in the audience know that he was nobody’s fool. Without missing a beat, the
chauffeur fixed the professor with a steely stare and said, “Sir, the answer to
that question is so simple that I will let my chauffeur, who is sitting in the
back, answer it for me.”
Sometimes we think that we are starting
to figure it all out and feel we can fill in for God from time to time. Maybe it’s even okay once in a while to speak
for God. But then you hit a really
difficult situation. You don’t have to
know everything.
If you were able to understand
everything about God perfectly, I would have to conclude that your God is
pretty small.
If He really is the One who created the
universe, don’t you
think His mind is just a little bigger
than ours?
Chuck Smith:
“For years I
sought to reconcile divine sovereignty and human responsibility, eternal
security and free moral agency. I pondered them, but I found it futile to
search the judgments of God. One day in exasperation I slammed down my fist and
said, "God, I cannot reconcile Your sovereignty with my
responsibility!" God spoke to my heart clearly and said, "I never
asked you to reconcile it. I only asked you to believe it." I've had peace
ever since. I still cannot reconcile the difficulties, but I don't have to. I
just accept and believe in these truths which remain to me irreconcilable.”
Some of you are going through
tremendously difficult times.
I think we have a responsibility to
find out of we need to change or respond in a certain way to our circumstances.
But we may not always figure out the
“why”.
:34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His
counselor?"
counselor – sumboulos
– an adviser, counselor
Paul quotes from Is. 40:13
A.T. Robertson: “Some men seem to feel competent for the job. “
We try sometimes, don’t we? Telling God what’s best?
Lesson
God knows what He’s doing.
I think if we’re honest, sometimes we kind of question that, don’t we?
Don’t we wonder sometimes if God really
knows what He’s doing?
I think that sometimes we can slip into this when we’re praying. Sometimes
we can sound like we’re trying to let God know just how things are, and we’re
letting Him in on a little free advice, from us, of course.
Illustration
One afternoon
this guy drives down a highway to visit a nearby lake and relax. On his way to
the lake, a guy dressed from head to toe in red standing on the side of the highway gestures
for him to stop. The guy rolls down the window and says, "How can I help
you?" "I am the red jerk of the highway. You got something to
eat?" With a smile in his face, the guy hands a sandwich to the guy in red
and drives away. Not even five minutes later, he comes across another guy. This
guy is dressed fully in yellow,
standing on the side and waving for him to stop. A bit irritated, our guy
stops, cranks down the window, and says, "What can I do for you?"
"I am the yellow jerk of the highway. You got something to drink?"
Hardly managing to smile this time, he hands the guy a can of Coke and stomps
on the pedal and takes off again. In order to make it to the lakeside before
sunset, he decides to go faster and not stop no matter what. To his
frustration, he sees another guy on the side of the road, this one dressed in
blue and signaling for him to stop. Reluctantly, our guy decides to stop one
last time, rolls down his window, and yells, "Let me guess. You're the
blue jerk of the highway, and just what do YOU want?" "Driver's license and
registration, please."
God is not the “blue jerk” of anything. He knows what He’s doing.
:35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to
him?"
(Rom 11:35 NLT) And who
could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back?
Paul quotes from Job 41:11
Lesson
God doesn’t owe us anything.
It’s we who owe God.
(1
John 4:19 NKJV) We love Him because He first loved us.
We can slip into thinking that because
I’ve done this and that for the Lord, that the Lord now owes me a BIG favor!
There are
those in the “Word Faith” circles that teach something along the lines of
saying that God is somehow obligated to respond to certain things. They say
that if you give to God, that God has
to give back to you. There is a truth that we will reap what we sow (Gal.
6:7,8) and that if we give, it will be given back to us (Luke 6:38), but God
isn’t obligated to us, He is not our
debtor. He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything.
Illustration
During the final days at Denver’s old Stapleton airport, a crowded United flight was
cancelled. A single agent was rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an
angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the
counter and said, “I HAVE
to be on this flight and it has to be first class.” The agent replied, “I’m
sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these folks
first, and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.” The passenger was
unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, “Do
you have any idea who I am?” Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and grabbed her public
address microphone. “May I have your attention please?” she began, her voice
bellowing throughout the terminal. “We have a passenger here at the gate WHO
DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come
to the gate.” With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man
glared at the United agent, gritted his teeth and retreated as the people in the terminal applauded
loudly. Although the flight was cancelled and people were late, they were no
longer angry at United Airlines.
If we’re not careful we can slip into thinking that God owes us something.
He doesn’t. Instead, we owe Him EVERYTHING.
:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory
forever. Amen.
Paul breaks out in praise to God.
of – ex – out of, from
He is the
Source.
All things come from Him. He is the source of all things, the source of all
life. There is nothing that doesn’t come from Him.
through
– dia –
through; by means of; the ground or reason by which something is done
He is the Agent.
Everything happens through Him. He’s
the reason things are done or not done.
to – eis – into, unto, to, towards, for, among
He is the Goal.
All things are done for Him.
Why is Paul saying these things?
Because he’s blown away at seeing how God’s mercy is woven through the
story of man’s disobedience.
The Jews are disobedient and the Gentiles come to faith.
God then takes the mercy shown and uses it to let the world know that He is
a merciful God.
Others see His mercy and respond to His mercy.
God is good.