What Is the Mystery of Israel’s Blindness and the Gentiles’ Fullness?
A biblical mystery is a truth the meaning of which God has kept secret since eternity past until He chooses to reveal it. The apostle Paul wrote of the mystery of national Israel’s spiritual hardening: “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 until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25).
God revealed this mystery so the Gentiles would not be “ignorant” about Israel’s temporary blindness while He poured out His saving grace on a remnant of Gentiles. Thus, Jewish people and Gentiles today are brought together in one body—the church—through Jesus the Messiah (cf. Eph. 3:1–12).
The word blindness (Greek, porosis) indicates that the Jewish people’s hearts and minds became and remain spiritually hardened, insensitive, and dull to God’s salvation plan for the nation of Israel. Their blindness to the gospel is only “in part,” or temporary, not permanent or arbitrary.
Not every Jewish person rejects God’s plan of salvation through Messiah Jesus. A remnant of Jewish people have received Jesus Christ as their Savior by hearing the gospel and trusting in God’s saving grace.
Israel’s rejection serves two divine purposes: (1) to offer salvation to the Gentiles and (2) to provoke Israel to jealousy (cf. Dt. 32:21). When Israel turned from God, salvation through Jesus Christ came to the Gentiles. Therefore, Israel’s rejection allowed people from all nations to hear the gospel and accept salvation (cf. Rom. 11:1–11).
Israel’s partial blindness will last “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (v. 25). The word fullness (Greek, pleroma) denotes a time when all the elect Gentiles have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and been added to the church. Then, Israel’s divine hardening will be removed; and “all Israel will be saved” (vv. 26–27). The word saved means that Israel will survive the horrors of the future seven-year Tribulation when Satan tries to annihilate the nation (Rev. 12:13).
A redeemed Israel will emerge, free of sin. With its suffering over, Israel will enjoy all of the blessings God promised the nation in the New Covenant (Ezek. 36:25–38). He will acknowledge the redeemed remnant when He says, “‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God’” (Zech. 13:9). What a wonderful day awaits Israel when the Messiah brings a redeemed and cleansed remnant to complete salvation!
