By Apostle Alex Adusei Agyemang Romans 11:25KJV 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 fullness of the Gentiles be come in. The introductory Scripture is what the traditional dispensationalists use to defend their pre-tribulation rapture doctrine. To them the church age comes to a close when the fullness of the Gentiles are come in, that is when the total number of gentiles that ought to be saved are saved then the formation of the church comes to a close. Following which the Church will be raptured as God turns His attention to the nation of Israel in the great tribulation. They decouple the future destiny of Israel from the Church. If you are a gentile Christian, this may sound so nice to your ears but it is a fallacy. Paul the Apostle admonished gentile Christians to be mindful of such boastings so as not to think themselves better than Israel. You are not to boast against the natural branches. “For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?…..Romans 11:24KJV” These natural branches (Israel) will be grafted back into their own olive tree and they are not grafted back in to be second fiddle to the gentile Christians. Contrary to how such wrong messages have over the years been popularized in the denominational circles, the Israelites will be grafted back in to have the same rights as any other Christian. Yes! They rejected Jesus. Yes! They have been punished throughout history for that but God will fulfill His promises to them and that fulfillment finds its place in the Church. So the gentile church won’t be a different entity from Israel in the Kingdom. God does this to show how merciful He is. For the same way you gentiles were once upon a time enemies and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel but God showed His mercy to you in Christ, He will do the same(not less) to the natural branches even though they became disobedient. So Paul says, “For as in times past ye have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy……Romans 11:30-31KJV” They also will obtain mercy in the same way the gentiles obtained mercy. It is not about man but the goodness of God. So when Paul said, “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 fullness of the Gentiles be come in”, When he said, “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in”, he didn’t mean that “the fullness of the gentiles be come in” is what completes the church. He wanted the roman gentile Christians to understand that after the total number of gentiles to be saved enters into the church (become in), God then turns His attention to the Jews so that the fullness of the Jews too will come in (church). This is why he said, “that blindness in part is happened to Israel”. He never said that blindness in full has happened to Israel but blindness in part. Why? Because the Apostle Paul himself was a Jew and was saved. What remaineth is for the fullness of the Jews to come in. Therefore it is the fullness of the Jews coming in which will complete the formation of the church and this happens in the great tribulation. This is why there wouldn’t be any rapture of the church before the tribulation. The rapture happens only after the tribulation. God bless you! Confession I believe with my heart that Jesus is the very Son of God that He came to die for me and was raised up by God the Father. I confess Him as the Lord of my life from this day forward. Hallelujah! I am born again Weekly Prayer Pray and intercede for unsaved souls in your family, immediate and far Scriptural reference: 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, Acts 16:31
