I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. All Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.” And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. (Romans 11:25-27)
Some of us have read the amazing Christian book (or have seen the movie), Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, telling the experience Colton Burpo (Todd’s son) had when he was in a coma and went to heaven. Colton had a great uncle that never expressed he believed that Christ was his Savior, yet Colton saw him in heaven. The family concluded that he must have become a Christian while he was still on earth but didn’t tell anyone in the family. Of course, four-year-old Colton didn’t ask his uncle the questions that I would like the answers to, “How and when were you saved?” It remains a mystery.
God doesn’t want us to be conceited, but even we Christians are. We want everyone to go to church like we do, volunteer at the church like we do, dress and act like we do, and most of all to accept Jesus Christ as Savior while we are alive on Earth. It is great to go to church and volunteer, and the ultimate is to believe that Jesus is our Savior so that we know absolutely that we are going to heaven and can do His work here on earth. However, there are two things we need to remember: 1) we are saved by God’s grace, not by our own works. (See Romans 11:5-6). And 2) there is a mystery involved because Israel has experienced a hardening, yet all of Israel will be saved.
God in his mercy will save all of Israel, even those who have lied, stolen, and murdered. God tells us how they will be saved. Jesus {the deliverer from Zion (Jerusalem)} will turn godlessness away from Israel (the line of Jacob) by taking away their sins. It is God’s covenant with them.
The big mystery is when Israel be saved? Many Israelites have already passed on from Earth not believing that Jesus was their Messiah, so the mystery, I think, is when were they saved or when will they be saved? When we die, all we lose is our earthly bodies, our spirits remain. So, can’t Jesus save us after we die? Our conceited selves say, “No! I accepted Christ as my Savior while I was alive, and I volunteered at church and told a lot of people about Jesus, so everyone needs to do the same thing.”
But, God is letting us know this mystery because He doesn’t want us to be conceited. He wants us to know that He can and will give his mercy and grace to any Israelite (including the full number of Gentiles that are grafted in).
Will Jewish people go to heaven? Yes, all of Israel (from the line of Jacob and the full number of Gentiles who are adopted or grafted into Abraham’s family) will be saved!