Romans 11:25-27
(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.
(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:
(27) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Israel’s corporate stumbling, which is temporary, not permanent, is called a mystery. In Scripture a mystery is not a truth difficult to understand, but a truth previously unrevealed (and therefore unknown) which is now revealed and publicly proclaimed (cf. Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26; at Matt. 13:10-16, see the chart that lists NT mysteries). Paul wanted to make sure his Gentile readers knew about the mystery concerning Israel in God’s sovereign choice. God’s purpose was so that you may not be conceited (lit., “wise in yourselves”). God’s sovereign plan to put Israel aside temporarily in order to show grace to Gentiles is no basis for conceit on the part of the Gentiles; it is designed to display further the glory of God.
God purposed that some from all nations should by faith receive the righteousness provided by grace. In order to achieve this goal Israel’s relationship as God’s Chosen People was rescinded for a time and Israel is now experiencing a hardening in part until the full number (pleroma, “fullness”) of the Gentiles has come in. There is a fullness for Israel (Rom. 11:12) and a fullness for the Gentiles. God is now “taking from the Gentiles a people for Himself” (Acts 15:14).
In Romans 11:25 are two specific facts about Israel’s hardening (cf. vv. 7-8):
(a) it is partial, “in part” (because throughout this time “there is a remnant chosen by grace,” v. 5), and
(b) it is temporary (because it will end when God’s sovereignly chosen number of Gentiles has been saved).
“Hardening” is porosis (“hardening, dulling”); it differs from the verb sklerynei (“hardens”) used of Pharaoh (9:18) and the noun skleroteta (“stubbornness,” lit., “hardening,” 2:5). The first noun (porosis) refers to dullness, the second suggests stubbornness.
After “the fullness of the Gentiles” (11:25, kjv) the partial hardening of Israel will be removed and all Israel will be saved, that is, “delivered” (in the OT “saved” often means “delivered”) from the terrible Tribulation by the Messiah, the Deliverer. To confirm this, Paul quoted from Isaiah 59:20-21 and 27:9. The statement, “All Israel will be saved” does not mean that every Jew living at Christ’s return will be regenerated. Many of them will not be saved, as seen by the fact that the judgment of Israel, to follow soon after the Lord’s return, will include the removal of Jewish rebels (Ezek. 20:34-38). Following this judgment God will then remove godlessness and sins from the nation as He establishes His New Covenant with regenerate Israel (cf. Jer. 31:33-34).
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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