During Old Testament
times, before this present dispensation of grace began, Gentiles were always
blessed through the exaltation of Israel. As we shall see, Old Testament
passages such as Gen.26:4; Gen.28:14; Is.2:1-4; Is.27:13; Micah 4:1-3;
Zech.8:20-23; Zech.14:16; etc., made it clear that Gentiles would never be able
to approach God without first blessing the nation of Israel.
Such is not
the case today, though, because the apostle Paul states that Gentiles are now saved through the fall of Israel, rather than through her
exaltation, in Ro. 11:11-13 -
11: I say then, Have they
stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall
salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12: Now
if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the
riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13: For I speak to you
Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine
office:
The context of the above excerpt from Romans 11 is
established in verse 7, where Paul states that "...Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were
blinded". So, when Paul states just four verses later that through "their fall"
salvation is come unto the Gentiles, he is obviously referring to the "fall" of
Israel.
As a result, the gospel by which Gentiles are saved today is no
longer dependent upon blessing Israel. Rather, our salvation is based upon the
fact that "Christ died for our sins", as Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15:1-4
-
1: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2: By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain. 3: For I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; 4: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures:
However, not once did the Old Testament
scriptures ever foresee that Uncircumcised Gentiles would some day be saved
through Israel's fall. Nor did they prophesy that Christ would die for the sins
of Uncircumcised Gentiles, as Paul explains in the above passage. One may search
the scriptures from Genesis through the book of John, and never find any mention
of these doctrines, because they are identified with the "mystery"
that was revealed to Paul alone.