All Israel Shall Be Saved: What Does This Mean? Romans 11:26

ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

All Israel shall be saved was mentioned by the Apostle Sha’ul in Romans 11. What does this mean?

Unfortunately for most of us, the meaning is not straightforward and it can, and has, lead to confusion.

As a result, this statement has spurred several schools of thought, depending on who is interpreting it.

Of course, we know that no scripture is of private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20), so we have to find the intended meaning from scripture, not from speculation or what “I believe.”

Therefore, to solve this, we must use the golden rule of scriptural interpretation: precept must be upon precept, line upon line, here a little there a little (Isaiah 28:9-13).

Otherwise, we might be broken, taken and snared (Isaiah 28:13).

In other words, if we don’t use precept upon precept, we will be deceived.

DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED

Here are some of the several interpretations of

“all Israel shall be saved.” People claim the following to be “all Israel.”

• All Israelite that ever lived.
• The (Christian) church
• Israelites (in the flesh) plus Gentiles
• The chosen remnant of Israel
• All of ethnic Israel living at the end of the time of the Gentiles

HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH IS RIGHT

Right away we see several totally different interpretations. Which one is right? How do we know which one is right?

As usual, there is one rule of thumb that tells us exactly how to deal with cases like these. YAHUAH does nothing before first speaking it through the prophets:

Amo 3:7  Surely YAHUAH Elohiym will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

So an important thing such as who “all Israel” is in the end times, must first have been spoken of by his servants the prophets.

Indeed, we must note that what Sha’ul was doing in Romans 11:26, was telling us how prophecies will finally be played out at the end of the time of the Gentiles.

So we look to the law and the prophets to tell us exactly what all Israel shall be saved actually means. Let’s go!

END TIME PROMISE FROM THE LAW

Now it all begins with the law. We have to see a mention of the kingdom of Israel from Torah that is manifested in the renewed covenant laid out in the New Testament of the Bible.

Note, the kingdom will be a righteous kingdom, so we have to look for promises of a righteous end-time kingdom from the Torah.

Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

That will show us what Israel will be in the end, as spoken in the beginning. It will be righteous. Well, here it is:

Exo 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

This is a promise to the children of Israel that they will be rewarded for keeping his covenant. For that, they will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Where is that confirmed in the New Testament?

1 Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Now Peter was speaking there in the present tense at that time. Note its connection with Exodus 19:5-6 to show us that Peter was addressing the children of Israel. Why?

The promise from Exodus 19:5-6 was addressed to the children of Israel, and we know, the promises pertain only to the children of Israel as Sha’ul confirmed here:

Rom 9:3-4  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of YAHUAH, and the promises;

So now that we have that clear, we have to look at the prophets to see how this will be played out in the end. How will that royal priesthood of the children of Israel play out in the end to show the all Israel that shall be saved? This is bearing in mind that in the end, not all who are Israel in the flesh are the Israel of YAHUAH (Romans 9:6).

Isa 61:6  But ye shall be named the Priests of YAHUAH (a royal priesthood): men shall call you the Ministers of our Elohiym: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

At the same time, the verse that proceeds tells us what will happen to the Gentiles:

Isa 61:5  And strangers (Gentiles) shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

So the strangers and sons of aliens shall serve the Israelites, who will be the priests of YAHUAH.

So from Torah to the prophets to the New Testament prophesied of a coming time (not yet fulfilled), when the children of Israel will be a kingdom of priests.

Again let me emphasize, that this has not yet been fulfilled. However, the law gives us a shadow of things to come, but not the very things (Heb 10:11). This means it gives us the physical manifestation of what will be played out in the end.

The rest of this post will, therefore, show how this kingdom of priests will be fulfilled and hence explain what all Israel shall be saved actually means.

ISRAEL UNITED UNDER ONE KINGDOM

The end-time prophecy is for Israel to be united under one kingdom. For that reason, the prophecy below is very significant.

Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

1. ONE SHEPHERD

This is very important for two reasons. The first is that it tells us that in the end time, the children of Israel (all Israel) will have one shepherd. Who will that shepherd be?

John 10:16  And other sheep I (Yahusha HaMashiach) have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

That prophecy of David is for the Messiah Yahusha to fulfill.

Incidentally, other sheep also refers to the lost 10 tribes plus Gentiles. Go to The Meaning Of Neither Jew Nor Greek for more detail.

2. MY SERVANT DAVID

However, the second reason is also very important to understand what all Israel means. Notice Yechezqel mentioned “my servant David.” So to understand what all Israel means, we have to go to the shadow of things to come, which is the kingdom of Israel under David.

The kingdom of Israel under David is the time in which all 12 tribes of Israel were united.

YAHUAH chose David, a man of his own heart, to lead his people in the true united kingdom (of Israel). Worthy of note at this time, that in the end time, he has chosen a man of the lineage of David (a man of YAHUAH’S own Spirit) to lead his united kingdom once again.

So David ruled his kingdom well and handed it to Solomon. However, Solomon went whoring after other Gods and YAHUAH promise to divide the kingdom (1 Kings 11:11).

Therefore, David’s united kingdom of Israel was no more after Solomon died.

THE DIVISION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL

Through Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, as prophesied, the united kingdom of Israel was divided. Rehoboam continued David’s line by ruling the kingdom of Judah in the south (1 Kings 12:17). The northern kingdom of Israel/Ephraim was ruled by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:20).

The southern kingdom of Judah had 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin) plus the Levites who ran the temple in Jerusalem.

The northern kingdom of Israel/Ephraim had 10 tribes.

HOW JEROBOAM CAUSED ISRAEL TO SIN

Because the temple was in Jerusalem in Judah, king Jeroboam feared that when his people go down there for the feasts as required by Torah, they would switch allegiance to Judah and he would lose his kingdom (1 Kings 12:27).

As a result, he made two golden calves (1 Kings 12:28), one in Bethel and one in Gilgal for his people to worship, so they do not go down to Jerusalem.

Consequently, Israel became exceedingly sinful and idolatrous.

NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL DIVORCED AND SENT INTO EXILE

Isreal continued in idolatry in spite of the Most High sending prophets to warn them. Eventually, he had enough and sent them into exile.

Jer 3:6-8  YAHUAH said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

That was in 722 BC and the northern kingdom of Israel went into bondage under the Assyrians and were never gathered since. Hence, they became one with the Gentiles and there is only speculation today as to where most of them are.

JUDAH REMAINED

Although they too went into rebellion, Judah still had those who remained faithful to YAHUAH. However, they too transgressed.

Mal_2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of YAHUAH which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange elohiym.

JUDAH DISPERSED

Then it became Judah’s time to be dispersed. In 70 AD, the Romans had enough of rebellion from the Jews and burnt down Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, as the Messiah prophesied. Many heeded the warnings of the Messiah when he said flee to the mountains.

They fled into Africa.

WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL DISPERSED FROM YAHUAH

So the once united kingdom (whole house) of Israel was totally scattered throughout the world as prophesied (Isa 11:12). However, the Most High promised that both houses will be regathered (Jer 16:14-15). This gathering forms the core message in the prophets. It is the reason the Messiah was sent (Mat 15:24) and the reason he will return (to gather the whole house of Israel).

The joining together of the whole house of Israel (once again) in the end, forms the core of the prophecies that are left to be fulfilled in the Bible. Yet, because of religion, these prophecies are largely ignored. So since they are ignored, let us not ignore them, but examine them today.

END TIME PROPHECIES FOR JOINING BACK BOTH HOUSES

Now we come to “the meat of the matter.” These prophecies below, for the joining together of both houses, have not yet been fulfilled and are prophesied to happen in the end times. However, they are largely swept under the carpet, as different religious groups take the focus away from the promises given to Israel and make the good news their own.

THE DRY BONES AWAKENING

In Ezekiel 37, we have the very famous “valley of the dry bones.” In this popular discourse, the Most High showed Yechezqel a valley full of dry bones and asked him, “can these dry bones live?”

Eze 37:1-3  The hand of YAHUAH was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of YAHUAH, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O YAHUAH ALUAHYM, thou knowest.

Then the Most High told him to prophesy unto the dry bones.

Eze 37:4-6  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of YAHUAH. Thus saith YAHUAH ALUAHYM unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am YAHUAH.

So Yechezqel obeyed, and the dry bones lived again.

Eze 37:7-10  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith YAHUAH ALUAHYM; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Now very importantly, who were these dry bones that who now live?

Eze 37:11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

They were the WHOLE house of Israel! Now, what is the significance of that word “WHOLE?”

This refers to both the houses of Israel:

1. House of Israel/Ephraim/Joseph – 10 northern tribes
2. House of Judah (Judah and Benjamin) – 2 southern tribes

What’s the importance of this? The whole house will be taken into the land of Israel in the end-time gathering:

Eze 37:12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith YAHUAH ALUAHYM; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

THE COMING TOGETHER OF THE TWO STICKS

This joining together of the whole house of Israel is so important, Yechezqel continued to prophesy about it in the same chapter.

Eze 37:16  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

Those 2 sticks refer to both houses of Israel. Now, what is the importance of the two sticks?

Eze 37:17  And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

The 2 sticks shall once again be made one. This is the coming together of the 12 tribes into one kingdom once again, just as it was under David!

Eze 37:18-20  And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith YAHUAH ALUAHYM; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

Now a further explanation of what this means?

Eze 37:21  And say unto them, Thus saith YAHUAH ALUAHYM; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

This is the end-time gathering of the whole house of Israel under the Messiah. This is when all Israel shall be saved. All refers to the whole house of Israel, the entire 12 tribes united as in the time of David, under one king!

Eze 37:22  And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

That one king is the Messiah Yahusha of the seed of David. That is when all Israel shall be saved, and we shall soon see it is not referring to all Israelites who are alive will be saved. This is the fallacious “once an Israelite always saved” teaching that goes against the entire old testament scriptures as well as the new testament.

THE END TIME REMNANT

Now the following verse could be construed to mean every Israelite alive at the time he joins the two houses together.

Eze 37:23  Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their Aluahym.

However, the Most High always leaves only a remnant in righteousness.

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Ezek 37:23 above, therefore, was referring to his righteous remnant, his elect that the Messiah will be coming to gather.

Mat_24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

See our previous post: The End Time Remnant of Israel for more clarity on this end-time remnant.

ONE SHEPHERD

Eze 37:24-25  And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.

David shall be their prince in a righteous kingdom. We know that the prince is the Messiah Yahusha. Now we also see that term: “one shepherd.” Where else have we seen that?

OTHER SHEEP I HAVE

Joh_10:16  And other sheep I have (house of Ephraim/Gentiles, which are not of this fold (house of Judah): them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (whole house of Israel/Israel of YAHUAH – Gal 6:15-16), and one shepherd (Yahusha HaMashiach).

Again it is hidden telling us what all Israel shall be saved means. Gathering the whole house of Judah under one king/prince/shepherd!

It shows us that this is the aim of sending the Messiah! Oh, but how this has been trivialized by the Christian religion, claiming the Messiah was sent for the whole world.

We even ignore this expressed declaration by the Messiah himself:

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Peter confirmed this:

Act 5:30-31  The Aluahym of our fathers raised up Yahusha, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath YAHUAH exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

THE TIME OF THE GENTILES

Now here is where the problem lies. One verse, Romans 11:26 has caused so many problems, so many false interpretations. I would daresay that it is not only one verse only, but even down to one word: the word ALL!

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

This is the problem verse that as said before, has led to the following several interpretations:

People claim the following to be “all Israel.”

• All Israelite that ever lived.
• The (Christian) church
• Israelites (in the flesh) plus Gentiles
• The chosen remnant of Israel
• All of ethnic Israel living at the end of the time of the Gentiles

But continue with us and you shall see clearly that this is speaking of the chosen remnant, which comprises Israelites from the WHOLE house of Israel (all 12 tribes).

ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: THE MEANING OF THE WORD  “ALL”

So first, let us begin by looking at the meaning of the word “all.”

G3956
πᾶς
pas
pas
Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole: – all (manner of, means) alway (-s), any (one), X daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no (-thing), X throughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.

We see it means whole, as in the whole house of Israel. It also means every (house of Israel), and as many as (12 tribes). We will see this meaning playing out when we see that the word “all” in scripture does not always mean every (single) one.

ALL DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN ALL IN SCRIPTURE

We see one of the meanings is of all is “whole.” This is very important because we must also acknowledge that “all” in scripture does not always mean “all” as in every single bit.

I keep saying that we cannot understand the Bible without accepting that the Hebrew linguistic expressions are different from ours. See Worship in the Mind of the Hebrew.

What most of us do, is try to accommodate those biblical expressions into our English way of speaking and understanding.

Big mistake!

2 Sa 19:41  And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?

Now if “all” always means all, how could the entire nation come to the king and speak such a long sentence in unison as we see here?

“Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?”

Now if we think that is an impossibility, consider how impossible it is for this reply from all the men of Judah to be also in unison:

2 Sa 19:42  And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?

Of course we see that it is totally impossible!

What that “all” means, is that a representative of the men of Israel spoke, and a representative of the men of Judah responded! The representative is the sample of the whole. This is the same with “all Israel shall be saved,” paired with, it is not all Israel that are Israel!

All Israel is a remnant from both the house of Ephraim/Joseph and the house of Judah will be saved and brought into the land of Israel. A remnant will represent the entire whole, but they will be drawn from all the houses of Israel. It is not all Israel that are Israel.

Another example for good measure?

2 Sa_17:14  And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

What a great and long chorus that would be! It would have taken them a while for the entire nation to study those words so they could be spoken in unison.

Again, that is just a simple way of showing that “all” in the Bible is not always “all.”

THE MYSTERY OF ISRAEL’S SALVATION

So let’s get back to that problematic Romans 11.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

So blindness has happened in part. Why in part? The eyes of the unbelieving will be closed while those of the elect will be opened. The elect are the remnant who will not be deceived by false religions such as Christianity in the end:

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

THE FULLNESS OF THE GENTILES

Now after that the fullness of the gentiles, which is the time the gentiles have their way while Israel is being punished. This is what Israel would eventually be going through in the time of the Gentiles:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for YAHUAH hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Then, Israel will be stripped of their herItage:

Jer 17:4  And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

Most importantly for the time of the Gentiles, it is the time when Gentiles are being drawn to the Messiah as well, to serve the children of Israel in the kingdom.

Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

See also Isa 14:1-2, Amos 9:11-12.

For more details, see our post entitled: And The Strangers Shall Be Joined With Them: What Does This Mean?

THE MEANING OF ” SO”

Now to really, really get the full understanding of this troublesome verse (Rom 11:26), let us look at the meaning of “SO.”

G3779
οὕτω
houtō
hoo’-to
Or, before a vowel, οὕτως houtōs hoo’-toce.
From G3778; in this way (referring to what precedes or follows): – after that, after (in) this manner, as, even (so), for all that, like (-wise), no more, on this fashion (-wise), so (in like manner), thus, what.
Total KJV occurrences: 212.

It means in this way, in this manner. Most importantly, it refers to what precedes or what follows. What precedes it? Verse 25 tells us of the mystery of the blindness of Israel.

What follows?

It is what follows that is going to drive the nail in the coffin of those who believe that “all Israel” means all Israelites who are alive at the time of the gathering or all Israelites who ever existed.

Let’s go there.

AS IT IS WRITTEN

The term as it is written is what we will look at now:

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Now what is written?

“There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”

Of course, we can get significant insight into what a verse means by going back to the source of the verse. In this case, the original verse says it all!

WHERE IS IT WRITTEN?

Isa 59:20  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith YAHUAH.

There we have it. The redeemer shall come unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob!

That tells us clearly that it is not to every Israelite, but a righteous remnant! You must see this video below about the end time remnant of Israel.

So the term “so” refers to what proceeds after.

This is what explains the “and so, all Israel shall be saved.” A righteous remnant of Jacob will be saved.

ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED

So now is a good time to summarize.

The term “all Israel shall be saved” is a problematic one that has spawned at least 5 different beliefs (maybe more).

1. All Israelite that ever lived.
2. The (Christian) church
3. Israelites (in the flesh) plus Gentiles
4. The chosen remnant of Israel
5. All of ethnic Israel living at the end of the time of the Gentiles

As we have seen, it refers to the chosen remnant of Israel, the end-time elect, who are comprised of representatives from the whole house of Israel. It is the joining together of the 2 sticks of Ezekiel 37, after the dry bones have put on flesh.

It is not all Israelites as in every single person descended from Jacob. Indeed, Sha’ul told us clearly:

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of YAHUAH hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

He also told us the nature of the remnant Israel who will be the all Israel that shall be saved. For that, see our previous post: What is The Israel of Elohiym. They will be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

Indeed, the book of Revelations gave us a hint when it told us of the 144,000:

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

This number tells us that it is about a righteous remnant at all times. Most importantly, of ALL THE TRIBES of the children of Israel.

Hope this helps. Shalom.