Romans 11:1-5
“1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ‘3 Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life?’ 4 But what does the divine response say to him? ‘I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal? 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.’”
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In Part 12, we saw with heavy hearts how the Jewish rejection of their Messiah was complete. The Jews of homeland rejected Him and now the Jews of the diaspora, through their leadership, also have completely rejected Jesus. Paul’s preaching to the diaspora was their last chance. But you can see in the opening scripture, even though their leaders rejected Him, there is a remnant. HALLELUJAH!!!…..and you and I, Church, are both the beneficiaries. We are the result of that rejection.
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Blessings Postponed.
Also in part 12 of this study, we saw that Jesus postponed setting up His visiblekingdom, which will now occur when He returns after the 7 years of tribulation. In the meantime He established the most amazing, most powerful, and most successful organization of all time: The Church!
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Visible vs. Invisible.
The Church, though “part” of THE KINGDOM, is actually not THE KINGDOM VISIBLE. We are the KINGDOM INVISIBLE. It will become the VISIBLE Kingdom when Jesus returns to sit on David’s throne during His millennial reign.
This is really important to understand. You see, the visible Kingdom was what Jesus called, “The Kingdom of heaven,” in Matthew’s gospel. The Church is not that kingdom. We are the kingdom of God.
Maybe this illustration will help: Though Washington D.C. is IN the United States, Washington D.C. is NOT the entire United States. In the same way, thought the Church of Jesus Christ is IN the Kingdom, it does not comprise the whole KINGDOM; not by a long shot.
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The VISIBLE KINGDOM has been temporarily suspended; postponed, until all the Jewish people, but especially her leaders, recognize that Jesus is their Messiah and cry out, “Baruch haBa BaShem Adonai–Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD!”
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End Of The Church Age.
One day very soon, the Church age will end in the rapture of His saints. We will be in heaven when the worst of times hits planet earth. After those seven years, Jesus, with the Church in tow, will return to earth, rescue Israel, establish His VISIBLE KINGDOM, and sit at last on the throne of His father, David!
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Let me stop right here and reiterate: Even though the Jewish people have rejected their King, GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN THEM. They remain under a partial, though temporary, blindness. Thanks be to God, in our day many, many are coming to faith in Christ. That is GREAT NEWS! The Bible says, even though they are enemies for the gospel’s sake, they are beloved for the Father’s sake.
In Romans 11:12, Paul says, “I say then, have they (the Jews) stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, HOW MUCH MORE THEIR FULLNESS!”
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God Will Restore His People, Israel!
You see? GOD CAN AND WILL BRING THEM BACK! We would all be so much better off if all the Jewish people were born again! Look what riches we have now as a result of their failure? So don’t be haughty and boast against the natural olive tree. They are the root that supports us, not the other way around.
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He goes on to say in Verses 13-18,
“For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, WHAT WILL THEIR ACCEPTANCE BE BUT LIFE FROM THE DEAD? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches (Natural Israel). But if you do boast, REMEMBER THAT YOU DO NOT SUPPORT THE ROOT, BUT THE ROOT SUPPORTS YOU.”
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A Jewish Tree.
It’s a Jewish tree of which Paul speaks, and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the root of it. If that first fruit is holy, so are the branches: US. Who are the branches broken off? Unbelieving Jews. We, being the wild olive tree and grafted into the natural tree, are together with them partakers of the “ROOT AND FATNESS,” (all the blessings given to the fathers) of the natural olive tree.
Everything that God promised Abraham is now yours and mine as well! We are the “WILD OLIVE BRANCHES” that have been grafted into the Vine. We must be very careful not to boast against “the branches.”
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Not A Replacement.
THE CHURCH HAS NOT REPLACED ISRAEL. You and I owe our salvation to the Jewish people, especially because Jesus was born as a Jew. They are His natural family. He is 100% God; but as 100% man, He has not and never will forget nor will He stop loving His people. He will NEVER forget them or stop reaching out to them.
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If not for them, we wouldn’t have the Bible. The entire book, with the exception of those written by Dr. Luke, was written by Jewish people. This is is why the devil hates them, because it was from their race that the Champion was born; the Dragon Slayer, the one Who destroyed and crushed him…UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY: JESUS!
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Remember what He said to the woman at the well of Sychar? “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, FOR SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS. (John 4:22)
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In part 14, we will be moving on to the rest of the New Testament and discover that there is, predictably, an Divine order to the books! You may follow the link below to continue this series:
Emmaus Road Ministries 
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