Romans 11:25

For. would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that. hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; "For. would not...have you ignorant" -Paul wanted his hearers to be informed. (1 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13)

"of this mystery" -'Not in the pagan sense of an esoteric doctrine for the initiated, but the revealed will of God now made known to all (1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 4:1; which includes Gentiles- Romans 16:25; Colossians 1:26; Ephesians 3:3 ff)' (Robertson p. 397)

'This mystery' is mentioned in this verse, i.e. 'that. hardening in part hath befallen Israel....'

"lest ye be wise in your own conceits" -'in your own estimation' (NASV), 'to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves' (Gspd).

'He wishes to avoid arrogance. He doesn't want them to feel superior so he wants them to understand what God has been doing with Israel.' (McGuiggan p. 331)

Paul had been spending quite of bit of time on this point, hoping that the Gentile Christians can avoid the mistake that the Jewish people had made, i.e. thinking that their standing with God was based on moral performance or some inherent superiority, like race.

"that. hardening in part hath befallen Israel" -this agrees with Romans 11:7-10. Every Jew wasn't hardened ('in part'), only the unbelieving, stubborn and self-reliant section of physical Israel rejected God's offer of salvation in the gospel. Remember: This wasn't an 'against their will or choice' hardening. They had cut themselves off. (Romans 11:20)

"until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" -'until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.' (NASV)

Points to Note:

A. The meaning of the word 'until'. Sometimes it has the idea of duration and terminus in it. There are times however, when the word has no such meaning. There are times when the word until is used and no change of circumstances is suggested when the event under consideration arrives. (Romans 5:13; Revelation 2:25; John 5:17; Romans 8:22)

B. The meaning of the word 'fulness'. Many commentators believe that it means 'full number'. 'Wuest is very plain on this matter. He feels that when the last Gentile in this predetermined number (that is the specific number of Gentiles known to God) has been converted then the hardened state of Israel will vanish.' (McGuiggan p. 332) And yet the exact same word is used in Romans 11:12, without any suggestion of number.

C. in Romans 11:12, 'fulness' is contrasted with 'failure/loss/defeat'. It appears that 'fulness' speaks more of. state of blessedness, than. full number of people.

D. Many view Romans 1:25 as. prophecy for future events.. disagree. Paul had already in this chapter stated the same truth in different language. He had already stated that. 'partial hardening' has taken place. (Romans 11:7-10) He had already said that such. 'hardening' opened the door for preaching to the Gentiles, which resulted in Gentiles being saved, and obtaining God's blessings (Romans 11:11-12).

Therefore 'the fulness of the Gentiles has come in', simply is restating the truth found in Romans 11:11-12. Jewish stubbornness and unbelief opened the door for salvation (the fulness of God's blessings) to the Gentiles.

E. And the meaning of the word 'Until'? Does it suggest. God imposed, mysterious or miraculous 'stop' to this hardening?. don't think so. For the 'hardening' was 'self-imposed' (Matthew 13:15; Acts 7:51). The only way that such could be stopped was for these Jewish unbelievers to give up their unbelief. But that's. matter of free will.

The real problem with making Romans 1:25 into. predictive prophecy is: For 2000 years the vast majority of Jews have rejected the gospel. But people tell us, yes, but God is going to convert. whole generation of Jews one day. Yea, but what about all those millions of lost Jews during the last 2000 years??? How does that help them?