A Future Conversion?

Some, however, anticipate a dramatic change of heart on the part of all natural Jews. “The great tribulation, which will follow the rapture of the Church,” claims one fundamentalist writer, “will be the means of Israel’s conversion [to Christianity].” Interestingly, Paul does say at Romans 11:25, 26: “A dulling of sensibilities has happened in part to Israel until the full number of people of the nations has come in, and in this manner all Israel will be saved.”

Was Paul predicting a future mass conversion of the Jews? How could that be so, since he himself indicated that only a remnant of Jews would accept Christ? (Romans 11:5) True, Paul did say that the Jews would experience a spiritual “dulling of sensibilities” until “the full number” of Gentiles came into the Christian congregation.a However, Greek scholar Richard Lenski shows that here the word “until” does not necessarily imply some later conversion. (Compare the use of “until” at Acts 7:17, 18 and Revelation 2:25.) Paul is actually saying that the natural Jews’ sensibilities would remain ‘dull’ right down to the end. God, however, wisely completes “the full number” of spiritual Israel (144,000) by bringing believing Gentiles into the Christian congregation. “And in this manner [not by the Jewish nation’s change of heart] all [spiritual] Israel will be saved.”