“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so, all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).

The ‘coming in’ of the fullness of the Gentiles mentioned in Romans 11:25 should not be confused with the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles spoken of in Luke 21:24. “They (Israel) will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” The former is in reference to the coming of Jesus in the clouds at the Rapture, while the latter refers to the 2nd Coming of Jesus to the earth.

Most of the Jewish people in Jesus’ time, under the guidance of their religious leaders, did not accept Jesus as their Christ. They believed the lies of the religious elites instead of Jesus’ healings and miracles. In other words, they hardened their hearts and became blind to his true identity, their long-awaited Messiah. During Jesus’ trial, Pilate shouted out to the Jewish people, “What will you then that I shall do unto him (Jesus) whom you call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil has he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him” (Mark 15:12-14). Jesus was then scourged and crucified according to the wishes of the people.

This partial blindness (or hardening of the heart in some translations) of Romans 11:25 continues to this day, as many Jews in Israel and throughout the world have turned away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. This blindness will continue until God’s purpose in His church is fulfilled.

Many Bible scholars believe the ‘fullness of the Gentiles’ mentioned in verse 25 refers to the Rapture. They conclude that when a certain number of believers in Jesus Christ has been reached, then the Rapture will occur. Nobody knows what that number is except God.

Here’s how the late Bible teacher Jack Kelley interprets this verse: “The phase fullness (full number) of the Gentiles doesn’t mean each and every Gentile, but only those who are part of a group that will arrive at its scheduled destination before the blindness is lifted. It’s a nautical term meaning when a ship has a full crew, then, and only then, it will set sail. This is a reference to the rapture of the Church, which will contain a specific number of members. When that full number has been reached, we’ll be taken from earth to our place in ‘my father’s house’ to be with the Lord.” {1}

Likewise, John F. Walvoord, who served as faculty member, president, and chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary for more than half a century, wrote this regarding these verses in Romans: “The outworking of God’s present calling out both Jew and Gentile on an equal basis to form the body of Christ was not anticipated in the Old Testament. Its major features were mysteries, that is, truths that were not revealed in the Old Testament but are revealed in the New Testament.

“The background of this is the New Testament doctrine of the rapture of the church. When the church is taken out of the world in fulfillment of God’s purpose for the church, Israel’s present experience of hardening (blindness) will also be removed, and revival will come to Israel. Their early conversion to the gospel will help spread the gospel throughout the world after the rapture of the church as there are Israelites in every major nation who already know the languages and the people. The fulfillment predicted in Romans 11:25-27 is in keeping with the Abrahamic covenant, which promises that Israel will endure as a nation forever and that the Israelites ultimately will be restored spiritually and to their land politically.” {2}

Regarding ‘all Israel will be saved’ in verse 26, I believe this is not referring to every individual Israelite but to members of all twelve tribes of Israel who come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ before the end of the Great Tribulation; thus, all Israel will be represented in the Millennium. Hosea depicted this in the Old Testament. “I will go and return to My place until they acknowledge their offense, and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek me early” (Hosea 5:15). The Deliverer is Jesus who will come out of Zion (Jerusalem), and He will turn ungodliness from Jacob (Israel) during His Millennium reign. This will be the Lord’s new covenant with the children of Israel.

There is another ‘fullness,’ however, that is referred to in both the Old and New Testaments. It is the fullness of sin. It appears that when sin reaches its zenith (fullness) in different civilizations, God’s judgment soon follows. Before judgment descends, God will send his word as a warning to the ungodly citizens. This word/warning usually comes in the form of a prophet of God, but sometimes it comes in the way of a rapture (translation) or resurrection. The word ‘rapture’ comes from the Greek word ‘harpazo,’ which means to ‘carry off’ or ‘snatch up quickly.’ There have been many examples of this ‘fullness of sin’ and ensuing judgment in mankind’s history, as recorded in the Bible.

The Antediluvian people were all descended from one man – Adam. They were neither Jew nor Gentile, as there were no organized nations at this time, only cities and families. The Antediluvians were so sinful and wicked, God had to destroy all but eight people of the earth with a great flood.

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5-7). God also said the earth was filled with violence and all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God said Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, and he walked with God.

God had warned the Antediluvians of His upcoming judgment in two ways. The first warning was when Noah’s great grandfather Enoch was raptured 669 years before the flood. Enoch walked with God three hundred years (Genesis 5:22). “And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). The great flood of Noah’s time started in the year 1656 AM (anno mundi -year after creation). Enoch’s rapture would have occurred in the year 987 AM. {3}

This is what the author of the book of Hebrews has to say about Enoch and his remarkable rapture. “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

The second warning God gave the Antediluvians came through Noah himself. God had warned Noah 120 years before the flood began, according to Genesis 6:3. It is presumed Noah preached this message of impending judgment to the people as he was building the ark (2 Peter 2:5). The flood destroyed all flesh on the earth except the inhabitants of the ark; thus, the fullness of sin of the Antediluvians (neither Jew nor Gentile) was completed.

The next example of the” fullness of sin” occurred in the time of Abraham and his nephew Lot. Abraham was the original patriarch of the Jewish people. “Abram (Abraham) dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord” (Genesis 13:12-13). The Lord told Abraham that because the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were so great, He would destroy the people that resided there (Genesis 18:20-21). “Abraham came near the Lord and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?'” (Genesis 18:23).

Abraham then proceeded to bargain with the Lord (theophany of Jesus Christ), asking Him if there were fifty righteous people found in the city would He still destroy it, thus killing the righteous with the wicked. The Lord told Abraham He would spare the place for the sake of the righteous living there. Abraham bargained with the Lord several more times until he came to ten righteous people. The Lord responded with the same answer every time. He would not destroy the righteous with the wicked.

Unfortunately, there were not found ten righteous people in these wicked cities. The only one found that was considered righteous was Lot. The Lord sent two angels (in the appearance of men) to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family before the city was totally annihilated. “Then the Lord [pre-incarnate Jesus] rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord [God the Father] out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Genesis 19:24-25). This occurred when Abraham was 99 years old (Genesis 17-21) in the year 2108 AM (year from creation). {4}

Lot was considered righteous before the Lord, as he was miraculously rescued from Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate. “God delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)” (2 Peter 2:7-8). This was the first example of the fullness of sin of the Gentiles. God, at this time in history, had divided the peoples of the earth into two distinct groups: Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob (kingdom of Israel) who came from the lineage of Noah’s son Shem, and the rest of the world (Gentile kingdoms) who were descendants of Noah’s two other sons, Japheth and Ham.

In part 2 of The Fullness of Sin, we will look at the events surrounding God’s judgment of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, as well as the future time of the Tribulation.

Randy Nettles

nettlesr@suddenlink.net

Endnotes:

{1} https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-fullness-of-the-gentiles-2. /

{2} Every Prophecy of the Bible by John F. Walvoord – published by David C. Cook pgs. 440-443

{3} https://www.raptureready.com/2019/07/01/three-raptures/.

{4} https://www.rev310.com/2018/12/epochs-in-bible-chronology-6000-years-of-mankind#:~:text=%20Epochs%20in%20Bible%20Chronology%20%E2%80%93%206000%20Years,Abraham%3A%201951%20BC%20to%201876%20BC%3B%20More%20.

CHAPTERS 38 AND 39

We have been examining the invasion of Gog and Magog in the land of Israel. In PART 1 we looked at who this Gog is, the timing of the invasion, the loss of life in Revelation, and the weakened state of the world before this war that will happen in Israel. The timing was crucial, and it has to be immediately before the Second Coming of Christ, who will destroy Gog at His coming. The account continues.

GOG AND MAGOG SUMMONED

As I said, there are three groups in Israel to exterminate it. This is where they will come from – Revelation 16:12 [“The sixth angel poured out his bowl… Rev 16:13 I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs, Rev 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.”]

Every army is represented, but we know in three groups; however, the TIMING is what we have been thinking of. They come from all over the world for the great day of God. That day is the Second Coming when ALL the armies in Israel will be expunged by the coming Judge of all the earth. It is just a thought that these three unclean spirits may each gather the three army groups that will be going to Israel.

Therefore, the Gog/Magog confederacy of Ezekiel 38 enters Israel near the end of the Tribulation and will be destroyed along with all the nations’ armies at the Second Coming by the One with a sword, on a white horse. The armies of Antichrist and the False Prophet are in the Jezreel Valley. The armies of the Gog confederacy are on the mountains of Israel and in the Kidron Valley and attacking Jerusalem. The kings of the east have entered Israel from the east.

Before we look at some of the passages from Ezekiel 38 and 39, Zechariah speaks of this Gog army but does not name it. Here is Zechariah:

Zech 12:2 [“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around, and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. Zech 12:3 And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will be severely injured, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. Zech 12:4 In that day,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will strike every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness, but I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.”]

(That is the confirmation that all the world’s nations sent armies to conquer Israel after being drawn by the evil frog spirits. God will deliver His people, but they will go through harrowing times.)

Zechariah 12:9 [“And it will come about in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zech 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.”] (God destroys all those armies, though it does say “nations” when He comes in the great battle of Revelation 19 when His feet stand on the Mount of Olives that will split in two. DO NOT MISS the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the redeemed of Israel. This is an insult to God for those who say the Gog armies come to attack Israel after they are regathered and redeemed and settled securely.)

Zechariah 14:2 [“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Zech 14:3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. Zech 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”] (Jerusalem will be rescued at the 11th hour, just in the nick of time like Esther and Mordecai. How reassuring it is to know the Lord always defends His own, now and in the future.)

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SOME EXTRA COMMENTS ON CHAPTERS 38 AND 39

[1]. The Composition of the Armies with Gog/Magog: There is a great tendency to transliterate words into something we understand. It is said by a huge number of commentators that Rosh is Russia; Meshech is Moscow; Tubal is Turkey, Gomer is Germany, or eastern Germany (38 v 2-3; 6).

Some of the material I have read traces the origins of these places from Genesis after the flood account and even before the flood. I do not discount that, but caution must be exercised with names and locations.

Other places are mentioned, and these are definite – “Persia, Ethiopia, and Put”; that is Iran, Ethiopia and Libya (v 5). Ezekiel 38:6 “Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops — many peoples with you.” The remote parts of the north do extend right up into Russia and much of the former USSR. There is high Islamic makeup of most of these nations to the north of Israel. The term “remote parts of the north” was used by Jeremiah several times to describe Babylon, 6:22. [“Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a people is coming from the north land, and a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.'”] However, Ezekiel seems to mean the really remote north. Russia is working to extend its influence into the Middle East, especially with Assad of Syria where a base is being established.

[2]. The Sphere of Activity. The Gog army and allies are clearly said by Ezekiel to be on the mountains of Israel. They are widespread, described this way – Ezekiel 38:9 [“You will go up, you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.” Ezek. 38:16 “and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land.”] It is this Gog army that moves through the Kidron Valley and besieges Jerusalem as declared by Zechariah.

[3]. Who Brings Them into The Land? The answer is twofold. The first one is that it will be the satanic delusion that gathered them as we have in Rev 16:13. [“I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs, Rev 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.”] The frog demons summoned them – Ezek 38:8 [“After many days you will be summoned. In the latter years you will come into the land….” Ezekiel 38:10 “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.'”] (demonically inspired).

The second answer is that God brought them into Israel. Ezekiel 39:2 [“and I shall turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel,”] and Ezek 38:16 [“and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days (end of the age which ends with the Second Coming) that I shall bring you against My land, in order that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.”] Now, I know there seems almost a contradiction there that Gog is drawn from two opposing sides into the land, but that is not a problem with God.

[4]. The Start of The Retribution. The Gog armies are in Israel, on the mountains, and invading Jerusalem, but just before the great judgment of God falls on them with the appearing of the Lord of glory, this happens – Ezekiel 38:18-20 [“It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘that My fury will mount up in My anger, and in My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence. The mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.”]

When Jesus comes in Revelation 19, He will deal with all these armies (those from all over the world who have gathered in Israel, not just Gog), but this earthquake corresponds with the one in Revelation 16, the last of all the judgments poured out in the 7 years of Tribulation – Rev 16:17 [“The seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, ‘It is done,’ Rev 16:18 and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty, Rev 16:19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.”]

[5]. The Full Judgment Against Gog And His Allies. Any who dare lift up the hand against God and Israel will endure the full wrath of God. Gog will know it to the fullest extent. Here are the passages that will apply to how God deals with this horrible amalgamation of evil people who thinks it can overthrow the eternal purposes of God:

Ezekiel 38:21-22 [“and I shall call for a sword against him on all My mountains,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him, and I shall rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain with hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”]

Ezekiel 39:3-4 [“and I shall strike your bow from your left hand, and dash down your arrows from your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you. I shall give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field.”]

Ezekiel 39:17-20 [“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field. Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. You will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you, and you will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,’ declares the Lord GOD.”]

Revelation 19:17-18 [“I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.'”]

Zechariah 14:12-13 [“Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. And it will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.”]

[6]. The End of This Section: This whole account is part of the study on “The Restoration of Israel.” In chapter 39, after the defeat of Gog’s combined forces, the Lord then sets about with the restoration of His people in the land of Israel that we have been considering through all the Major Prophets. At the Second Coming in Revelation 19, the Lord returns and then gathers His Jewish saints, settles them in the land, and nevermore will they know war or harm or fear; this is consistent with all the passages we have studied.

Ezekiel 39:25 [“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Now I shall restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I shall be jealous for My holy name, Ezek 39:26 They shall forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. Ezek 39:27 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. Ezek 39:28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. Ezek 39:29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord GOD.”]

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GOG AND MAGOG OF THE DISTANT FUTURE

There is one passage we need to mention: this one – Revelation 20:7 [“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, Rev 20:8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. Rev 20:9 They came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”]

Here we read of Satan’s final assault on God and His people. After the 1,000 years of Millennial rule by the King over the whole earth has ceased, we are on the edge of the eternal state, but one more thing has to happen. Satan is released from his confinement for one last endeavor. His hatred and malevolent attitude have grown worse while contained in the abyss, and he comes out determined to overthrow God. It says in verse 8 that he comes out to deceive the nations over the entire earth, to gather them together for war against the saints and Jerusalem, and it is said their number is as the sand on the seashore. This account of Gog and Magog has nothing to do with the ones 1,000 years earlier in Ezekiel. This here means a great horde of them.

Well, the question is asked, from where do these people come, seeing as they lived under the rule of the King of Kings for centuries in millennial bliss? (Remember, this Isaiah verse relates to the Millennium – Isaiah 65:20 [“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred, and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred shall be thought accursed.”)].

The point is that at the start of the 1,000-year reign, the righteous enter the Kingdom, but sin and the old nature are still present. People are born throughout, and the deceitfulness of sin and the old nature will ensure many will not follow the King reigning in Jerusalem as time progresses. They pay lip service, but their hearts are far away. It will be easy for Satan to round them up, these malcontents who are not as one with their God. We have to say these are from the Gentile nations, not Israel.

In verse 9, God disposes of them very quickly, and in verse 10, Satan becomes the third being to enter the lake of fire.

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ronaldf@aapt.net.au