NT Wright warns of ‘modern-day fantasy’ interpretation of ‘All Israel will be saved'

DALLAS — Theologian N.T. Wright says Paul’s promise that “all Israel will be saved” refers to the whole Church of Jewish and Gentile believers, not ethnic Israel alone.

Wright, 77, made the case to attendees at “The Fresh Challenge of Romans,” a four-day conference held Nov. 1-4 at Park Cities Baptist Church.

Expounding on Romans 11, Wright offered his insight into Romans 11:26, one of the New Testament’s most debated verses, arguing that Paul’s famous promise does not refer to ethnic Israel alone, despite what Wright described as some of the more problematic renderings of the verse.

“Some translations render the opening words here ‘and so’ ... but that seems to imply there will be first a hardening, and then ‘and so,’ or ‘and then,’ all Israel will be saved,” said Wright, who pointed to the updated edition of the NRSV, which renders the phrase “in this way,” as handling it correctly.

“The point is, this is how God is saving all Israel,” he added.

Wright took exception to a familiar argument that Romans 11 points to a future, all-inclusive salvation event for the entirety of the biblical people of Israel. He said there’s “no sign” in this passage of such an event.

“There is no sign at any point in Romans 9 to 11 that Paul envisages a large-scale, last-minute salvation of all ethnic Judeans,” he explained. “Nor is there a sign that Paul imagines God gathering great numbers of Judeans back into the Middle East, so that some great event may happen that would sweep them all into favor.”

Such teaching, added Wright, is “just a modern-day fantasy.”

He added that Judeans “are still there” — an apparent reference to the modern-day state of Israel — but that “doesn’t mean they’re all about to be saved.” Rather, he said, “God loves” them and remains committed to the original calling.

Wright’s interpretation challenges long-standing views among some Christians that Romans 11 guarantees the eventual salvation of every Jewish person or a future national turning of ethnic Israel. Wright said God’s purposes now run through a mixed community of believing Judeans and Gentiles, though he insisted the original people and promises remain central.

At the same time, Wright repeatedly rejected any attempt to sever Christianity from its Jewish roots. He warned against a "proto-Marcionite" tendency that would claim “the God of the Old Testament had nothing to do with the God of the New” and that “the Christian faith could cut its ties to the people of Israel and their scriptures.” Instead, he insisted “the God of Israel is the one God over the world.”

So when Paul says “all Israel,” does he actually mean the whole Church of Judean and Gentile alike? 

“Yep, that’s what he means,” Wright stated.

He pointed to previous chapters in the book of Romans in which Paul appears to invite believers into the family of God, even those who are “non-Judeans,” as Wright put it.

“At every point, Paul has opened up the category of ethnic Israel to non-Judeans,” he explained, linking the apostle’s earlier statements about the uncircumcised in chapter 2, the seed of Abraham in chapter 4, and other passages to a deliberate effort to enlarge the identity of Israel.

“When he repeats the word ‘all’ in the sense of Judean and Gentile together, that makes a certain point,” Wright added. “It’s hard to suppose that in such a carefully crafted letter, Paul would allow himself to say that over and over and over again only to undermine it with one line [in this passage].”

Wright described Israel’s partial rejection of the Gospel over the past 2,000 years as purposeful rather than final. “When Israel rejects what God is doing for them, then the nations will come in. That is an extraordinary reversal,” he said. The present situation, he added, reflects “the present hardening of unbelieving Judeans” that has functioned as “a divine strategy.”

Central to Wright’s reading is the claim that any event of Judeans returning to the Messiah would be nothing less than a true homecoming. “So if they were to come back after all, and find their acceptance in the Gospel, this will be not just a creation out of nothing, but like life from the dead,” he said. “This is like the real return from exile. This is life from the dead.”

Wright closed with a direct warning from Paul in Romans 11 to believers against arrogance and any claim of ethnic or status superiority. “Your status as the Messiah’s people is simply on the basis of the grace and kindness of the one God, as shown in the loving self-giving of Messiah Jesus,” he said. 

“Anyone who thinks they can go back to some kind of ethnic or social status … is cutting off the very branch on which they claim to be sitting,” he added.