For it hath
pleased them of
A look at the theme of Paul's return in
Romans as an allegory of the Lord's return, and its implications for the Church
Introduction
In Romans, Paul spends a lot of time talking
about his return. Right in chapter 1 he speaks of wanting to come, and then
goes into reasons he has not yet done so. In chapter 15 he returns to the
topic, speaking of his journey into
[It is commonly taught that Paul was
speaking of finances here, that he was bringing a sum of money collected in
I believe that there is an end time lesson
here. Paul's proposed journey is an allegory for the Second Coming Of Christ. The reasons for his delay have to do with things
that must happen before he returns. His first stop on the trip is
The people of
Revelation speaks of a certain number of
martyrs that must be killed, during the end times, before God will avenge their
blood. Once this remaining number comes in, things start to happen very
rapidly. This remaining number of martyrs is what is spoken of in Romans 11 as
the fullness of the Gentiles. And when they come in means they are harvested
into heaven, by martyrdom. After this the blindness over
How does this happen? We know that when the
Lord returns, he first carries out judgment on the heavenly powers, before he
actually returns to earth. This is important because it is these heavenly
powers that form the veil of spiritual blindness over
A clue is found in Isaiah [34:4], where he
speaks of stars falling from heaven as a leaf falling off the vine, or a fig
off a fig tree. The stars falling from heaven are ruling demonic powers coming
down. The leaves falling off the vine are saints which are martyred. If there
is a correlation between the two, then the number of saints has to equal or
better the number of 'stars' for the judgement to be
complete. Which means that there is a set number that must be
reached. This only happens by a great end time harvest with multitudes
getting saved and then martyred so the fullness of the gentiles comes in.
Once the wicked rulers in high places are
disposed of, the veil is removed from
That sums up what I believe the Lord has
shown me about this topic. Before we get into the details of how scripture
supports this viewpoint, a word about method.
Understanding Scripture
Approach the scripture with two things in
mind. First, that every word is divinely inspired and has a purpose. Second,
that the bible is primarily non literal.
I recall a time when I was explaining how
the Lord had shown me the handwriting on the floor in John 8. I made a claim
that the woman taken in adultery is a type of the church. "Well how do you
know that she is a type of the church, how can you find these types all over
the place?" someone asked. I didn't have a ready answer at the moment, but
I learned to explain it this way. You have to expect it. You have to
expect to find types, symbols and allegories in the bible. Once you see that
this is how the Lord puts things into the scripture, it's much easier for him
to reveal them to you. Then when you come across a type in the bible, you are
prepared to see the correspondence between the type and the thing it points to.
You cannot force a comparison or depend strictly on your own logic. It must not
come by 'flesh and blood' but from the Spirit revealing it to you. But if you
do not expect to find types, or your theological background has taught you to
treat these topics as strictly literal, then you'll be stuck. You won't be able
to go past the literal face value of the word, ever learning, but never coming
into deeper knowledge.
Let's start with an illustration of how this
works.
For we would
not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that
we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even
of life
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in
ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead
Who delivered us from so great a death ….2 Corinthians 1:8-10
This is written by Paul, describing his
experiences on one of the trips he took through
The bible was produced by men writing down
what the Spirit directed them to write. So all of it is God
speaking to man. Parts of it have the appearance of historical record,
or personal memoirs. But that is just the surface meaning. The real meat is
below the surface. Here it seems as though Jesus is speaking through Paul,
because he really is speaking through Paul. Many of the other things that
happened to Jesus also happened to Paul. Paul is used as a type of Jesus in
many cases; and he is also used as a type of the church in many places.
Romans
We're going to look at parts of the book of
Romans. And we're going to filter out some of the details that pertain only to
Paul, to look beneath the surface and see the parts where Jesus is speaking
directly to us. And we'll cross reference other passages to bring out the
fuller meaning.
The Trip
In Romans 1 we find the first mention of
Paul's desire to make a journey and return to them.
First, I thank
my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of
throughout the whole world
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,
that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous
journey by the will of God to come unto you
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to
the end ye may be established;
That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of
you and me.
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come
unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles. Romans 1:8-13
One especially significant phrase is where
he says without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;. This is a case where God uses hyperbole, that is exaggeration, to give us a clue that
there is a deeper meaning. It's exaggeration for Paul to say that he prays
without ceasing, but if we see that this is Jesus speaking through him, it
makes sense. This is because we know from Hebrews 7 that Jesus is always
interceding for us at the Father's throne.
Wherefore he [Jesus] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
Now one of the things Jesus is praying for
is His return. His request is that "I might have a
prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you For I
long to see you …."
Conditions
But something is preventing Jesus return.
Now if we look at what reasons Paul gives for his return being delayed we can see that they parallel Jesus reasons for delay.
Now I would not
have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but
was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among
other Gentiles. Romans 1:13
The phrase 'was let hitherto' is sometimes
translated 'hindered until now'; and 'Gentiles' can also be translated as
'nations'. So this is saying that the journey has been delayed so he can have
fruit among the nations or Gentiles. Lets look at what
is meant by fruit.
Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:4-5
Here we find that there are two ideas
involved. One is being attached to the vine and the second is to then bring
forth fruit. These correspond to the meanings of bringing forth fruit.
What is meant by Fruit?
Bringing forth fruit has two main
meanings. The individual believer having the fruit of the
spirit in their lives, and the fruit of the earth. Recall in
Genesis where this is first mentioned. Here God commands the fruit of the earth
to come forth on the Third Day. Prophetically, The Third Day is a Day of
Harvest.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and
the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the
earth: and it was so. Genesis
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding
seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself,
after his kind: and God saw that it was good
And the evening and the morning were the third day. Genesis 1:11-13
The fruit of the spirit is the evidence of
Christ being formed in the believer. The fruit of the earth speaks of the
harvest of souls into the
First comes the harvest of souls that will come with
preaching the gospel. This is touched on in both Matthew and Mark.
And this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
And the gospel
must first be published among all nations. Mark 13:10
So looking back at Romans 1:8-13 what Jesus,
speaking through Paul, is saying it this. He desires to return to us, but
cannot until the gospel is preached to all the nations [Gentiles] and there is
a harvest of souls from all nations. And these are not just political nations
but ethnic nations as seen in Revelation 5:9.
And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Revelation 5:9
Second comes the fruit of the Spirit, here itemized
in Galatians 5.
But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: ….. Galatians 5:22-23
Now how does this fruit of the Spirit come forth. In Colossians 1 we find this discussed along
with other topics. Here are the key verses pertaining to our essay.
We give thanks
to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to
all the saints,
For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel;
Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth
forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the
grace of God in truth: Colossians 1:3-6
If ye continue
in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is
under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Colossians 1:23
To whom God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:27
Now this is quite a mouthful. Let's simplify
it by bringing out the basic sentence structure of verses 3-6. When we do this
is what we get:
We give thanks
for the hope.
Next, the hope is described several ways one
of them is that it brings forth fruit in you.
Which brings forth fruit in you.
Since the fruit is in us, we know this
speaks of fruit of the spirit. Now there is a condition given; that is if we
continue in the faith and do not move away from it.
If you continue in the faith.
Then we see this hope described as a mystery
and identified as the hope of glory.
This mystery is
Christ in you, the hope of Glory.
We'll describe continuing in the faith as
obedience, and we'll see that obedience to the gospel is an idea that is
brought out in later verses. To summarize this discussion so far, Jesus is
delayed in returning because he is waiting for fruit among the nations. Fruit
of the Earth which is the harvest and Fruit of the Spirit which is Christ
indwelling his body. This is often described in terms of an equivalent idea,
death to self. He must increase, we must decrease. So as He is formed in us, we
must die to self.
And once we are dead to self, there is no
fear of death. Then we can overcome the enemy who once held us in bondage by
that same fear of death. So that facing martyrdom without fear is proof that we
have overcome the wicked one.
We say that the fruit of the earth comes
with preaching of the gospel; and the fruit of the spirit comes with obedience
to the gospel.
[What exactly will obedience to the gospel
require? Except martyrdom, for me to live is Christ
and to die is gain!]
Notice also in this passage from Colossians,
that it mentions continual prayer, verse 3. And it speaks of the gospel coming
to all the world, verse 5 and 6, and being preached to every creature, verse
23. And verse 27 mentions the gentiles.
Now lets look back
at Romans 1:8-13. We said the phrase 'was let hitherto' is sometimes translated
'hindered until now'. What or when is the 'now' he is talking about?
Making request,
if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by
the will of God to come unto you
He has been hindered till now, but now at
length [after all this time] he says, I might come to you. Paul is talking
about a present situation when he is writing this. But we find that Jesus,
speaking through him, is speaking of a future time when he can say that the
hindrances have been removed and the conditions met for his return. So this
discussion is prophetic of a time yet to come when this will take place.
Here are some verses where we see this
spoken of.
But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all
the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Romans 10:18
Through mighty
signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from
There are many issues and themes in Romans,
but [to avoid getting bogged down in side issues] we are going to concentrate
on the discussion of the return found in chapter 15, with references to
Chapters 11 and 12.
The Gentiles
Chapter 15 opens with an exhortation to
serve one another, to receive one another and to have one mind and mouth to
glorify God. This speaks of unity in the body, the kind of unity we see
prophesied in Psalm 133. It's an end time unity that comes when the body of
Christ is assembled together, a fruit of the spirit.
Then we read as follows.
Now I say that
Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made unto the fathers
And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy;
as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and
sing unto thy name. Romans 15:8-9
Let's break that down by rephrasing it
somewhat.
Saying that Jesus was a minister of the circumcision is saying that he
was a minister of the covenant to the people of the covenant, the Jews.
Circumcision was a sign of the covenant.
To add for the truth of God is to say he preached to them the gospel of
the kingdom.
To continue and say to confirm the promises made unto the fathers speaks
of confirming the covenant and fulfilling the scriptures. All of which he
clearly did, at least those pertaining to the first coming.
Then he starts in discussing the Gentiles
[nations].
We read And that the Gentiles might glorify
God for his mercy and so on.
[How exactly might the Gentiles Glorify God?
Jesus told Peter how in this passage from John
Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst
whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch
forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not
This spake he, signifying by what death he should
glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow
me. (John 21:18-19 KJV)}
The use of 'and' at the beginning of this
sentence "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his
mercy" breaks Jesus' ministry into two objectives. One is to
minister to the Jews and the other is to bring salvation to the Gentiles.
The Jews
Look now to Romans 11 starting with verse 8..
8. (According
as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they
should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
9. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare,
and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompense
unto them
10. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back
always
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
14. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and
might save some of them
15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling
of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Romans 11:8-15
Here in verse 11 it says through their
fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles. Because the Jews fell in
unbelief, the Gentiles could be saved.
Lets go over that again. Jesus came to the Jews, the lost
sheep of
Therefore will
he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth
hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the
children of
Therefore the gospel could be preached to
the Gentiles, i.e. all the world. Now verse 12 is very interesting in that it
describes the fall of the Jews as the 'riches of the world' and the diminishing
of them as the 'riches of the Gentiles'. But then this is contrasted with their
fullness, which he implies will be much greater when he says how much more
their fullness? First their falling then comes
their fullness. Verse 15 speaks of their casting away as the reconciling of the
world and their restoration as something much greater, life from the dead.
First comes their casting away, then their receiving back.
Then in verses 16-24 there is a long
discussion comparing the Jews to natural branches of a good olive tree and the
Gentiles to branches of a wild olive tree, grafted into the good. This is
because the natural branches are broken off. Then it is followed by mention of
grafting the natural branches back into the tree.
16. For if the firstfruit be holy, the
lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches
17. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive
tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest
of the root and fatness of the olive tree
18. Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest
not the root, but the root thee
19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off,
that I might be grafted in
20. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear
21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed
lest he also spare not thee
22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which
fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off
23. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in:
for God is able to graft them in again
24. 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 be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
Romans 11:16-24
Micah, above, speaks of this process as the
giving up of the Jews followed by their return. Paul here has three ways he
describes it.
A. Their fall followed by their fullness.
B. Their casting away followed by their being received back again.
C. And their being broken off followed by their being grafted back in again.
Now these terms, fullness, receiving back
and grafted back all refer to one and the same thing, their salvation.
Here is Romans 11:25-32.
25. 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 fulness of the
Gentiles be come in
26. And so all
27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away
their sins
28. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as
touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes
29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance
30. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
31. Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy
they also may obtain mercy
32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon
all. Romans 11:25-32
And now we find it spelled out plainly in
verse 26 thusly: And so all
Also here God is laying out his ultimate aim
in verse 32, that he might have mercy upon all. In order to do so, he
must first bring blindness upon
Let's look at verses 26 -27. Rearranging the
word order so it makes a little more sense we get this.
For this is my
covenant unto them, all Israel shall be saved when I shall take away their
sins; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion
the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
All
Now a look at 28-29:
28. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes:
but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes
29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance
They are enemies of the Gospel. [Don't be
surprised at this.] It's for your sake means that this had to happen for
salvation to be available to the Gentiles [the readers of Romans]. They will continue
to be enemies of the Gospel till the blindness is removed. But they are beloved
as touching the election. The election is the choice i.e. they are chosen. This
is because of the covenant made with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
That the gifts and calling of God are without repentance means that they cannot
be changed, this applies to that covenant.
Now let's look very carefully at verses
30-31
30. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now
obtained mercy through their unbelief
31. Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also
may obtain mercy
You, Gentiles, were in unbelief. Now you
have mercy because of their unbelief.
They, the Jews, are in unbelief. They will
obtain mercy through your mercy! Or in other words, they will obtain salvation
through your salvation. And your salvation is what us meant by the fullness of
the Gentiles coming in.
We note that the wording here is fullness
of the Gentiles be come in. [One might expect this to mean "the full
number of the Gentiles".] If fullness speaks of salvation, what does it
mean to say it has come in? And where is it come into? And why is the word
fullness used to mean salvation?
Without writing another essay on salvation,
let's argue this. We who are alive and remain on this earth, who
know and follow the Lord, are being saved. Those who have passed on to
be with Him in eternity are the saved or have been saved.
They have come in to the heavenly city and are those who stand
worshipping before the throne and/or cry from beneath the altar. They have been
harvested.
Now there are people continually being saved
and continually passing on to be with Him, so how can we speak of a time, a
fixed point of time, when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in?
Well look at how the Lord speaks of the
fullness of
Does this mean that a full number of the
Gentiles will come in and no more after that? Here we must realize that the
Lord can use generalities, just as we do. It does not mean that no Gentiles
were saved before Jesus came. It does not mean that no Jews were saved after
Jesus ascended to heaven. It does not mean that no Jews are being saved today.
Nor can it mean that no Gentiles can be saved after 'all
It's referring to a significant event in
which a large significant number of Gentiles come in all at once. That event is
spoken of in Revelations.
And it was
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was
given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations. (Revelations 13:7 KJV)
And then, after that, a large significant
number of Jews come in all at once. That event is spoken of in Zechariah.
And it shall
come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in
bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:9-10 KJV)
The fullness of the Gentiles must come in
before the blindness is removed from
We said earlier that God is laying out his
ultimate aim in verse 32, that he might have mercy upon all. After the
Gospel is preached to all the world, the fullness of
the Gentiles can come in. His instruction to the Gentiles then is found just
after completing chapter 11 and rolling on to chapter 12 where we read this.
I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans
12:1
Here the word 'therefore' points back to the
goal stated in chapter 11. That All Israel be saved.
The phrase present your bodies a living sacrifice
speaks of laying down our lives for the Lord. This is the martyrdom of the
Church, the Saints spoken of in Revelation 6.
9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held
10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth
11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be
killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Revelation 6:9-11
Here the martyrs in heaven are told that
after a 'little season' the rest of those, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled. This speaks of a certain number whose martyrdom
is required and a certain condition that must be fulfilled.
The Gentiles
Now lets go back to
Romans 15 where we left off.
8. Now I say
that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made unto the fathers
Continuing on from there we read.
9. And that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I
will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name
10. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people
11. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people
12. And again, Esaias saith, There
shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in
him shall the Gentiles trust
Now here we find 4 out of context quotes
where the Lord reminds us that the Gentiles were always part of His Plan. [The
word for Gentiles can also be translated heathen or nations.] The first, in
verse 9, is from 2 Samuel 22:50, and s repeated in Psalm 18:49. The Second in
verse 10 is found in Deuteronomy 32:43. The third found in verse 11 comes from
Psalm 117:1. And the last in verse 12 is taken from Isaiah 11:10.
13. Now the God
of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in
hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost
14. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full
of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another
Look at how He describes the believers in
verses 13-14. Is this a description of today's church? Not exactly, rather it
is a portrait of the
15.
Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort,
as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God
16. That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering
the gospel of God, that the offering up of the
Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost
These last 4 verses are very important. What
he is saying here is something like this.
I am praying that
you be of a certain mind. [Ready, willing and obedient.]
I already know that you are of this certain mind.
Nevertheless, I write boldly to remind you to be of this certain mind.
SO THAT the offering up
[not just the offering] of the Gentiles might be acceptable. Here he is looking back to Romans 12:1, where he
speaks of a sacrifice acceptable unto God.
I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
Now here the phrase which is your
reasonable service speaks of obedience. Service in this verse is sometimes
translated 'worship'. It means that we can worship God by being obedient and
offering up [or laying down] our lives as a holy
sacrifice.
17. I have
therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which
pertain to God
18. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not
wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed
Notice here once again the emphasis on the
Gentiles obedience to the gospel. This is described as obedience in word and
deed showing that there is fruit of the spirit present.
Continuing on in Romans 15:
19. Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit
of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,
I have fully preached the gospel of Christ
20. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named,
lest I should build upon another man's foundation
21. But as it is written, To
whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall
understand
22. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you
These verses once again speak of the gospel
being preached unto all the world. Firstly as
something that is finally accomplished, and secondly reminding us that it had
to be done before He could come to us. It's the fruit among the Gentiles. It's
the fruit of the earth that gives us the number of saints in the end time
harvest. It's the fruit of the spirit that gives the obedience that makes the
sacrifice acceptable.
And the gospel
must first be published among all nations. Mark 13:10
Continuing on we read.
23. But now having no more place in these parts, and having a
great desire these many years to come unto you
24. Whensoever I take my journey into
But now, he says, I take my journey!
This meaning, now that the gospel has been preached to all the world, the
fullness of the gentiles is come in. The Fruit is harvested. And so now I can
come again.
25. But now I
go unto
And now I go unto
Then shall the
LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of
battle.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before
Continuing on we read.
26. For it hath pleased them of
Because, the Gentiles,
How exactly is this a
contribution?
Because these martyrs
contribute to the required number that must be killed. Once the remaining number of
martyrs have come in, the Lord will arise and take vengeance for their
spilled blood.
God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. Psalm 47:5
When the Lord returns, he first carries out
judgment on the heavenly powers, before he actually returns to earth.
For, behold,
the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the
high places of the earth. Micah 1:3
Why does there have to be a certain number?
Simply because there is a
certain number of His enemies that must be judged. In Isaiah 34 we read of this judgment.
And all the
host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as
a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the
leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig
from the fig tree
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven …. (Isaiah 34:4-5 KJV)
Here the context is the Second Coming. The
reference to the vine and fig tree is a reference to the Church. So to speak of
a leaf falling from the vine or a fig from the fig tree is to speak of one of
the saints falling in martyrdom. To speak of the host of heaven falling down is
to speak of the fall of one of the heavenly powers, wicked rulers in high
places. Psalm 82 mentions this when it depicts the Lord pronouncing judgment on
the gods.
But ye shall
die like men, and fall like one of the princes
Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit
all nations. (Psalms 82:7-8 KJV)
So Isaiah is talking about the coming
judgment of demonic powers of the air, [stars or hosts of heaven] comparing it
to the martyrdom of the saints. There is a correlation between the two, then the number of saints has to equal or better the number
of 'stars' for the judgement to be complete. Which means that there is a set number that must be reached.
The Missing Ingredient
But wait, there is
a missing ingredient here. We know from reading Matthew 23 that there is
another condition for Jesus to come to
O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I
have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth,
till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew
23:37-39 KJV)
That condition is met, I believe in the
passage we quoted from Zecharaiah above, describing
how the Jews will be grafted back in.
And it shall
come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in
bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:9-10 KJV)
The fullness of the Jews implies that they
will indeed call upon him saying Blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The Second Coming
Once the powers of heaven are fallen, the
blindness is lifted. The heavens are open and then the Lord pours out the
spirit of grace and of supplications upon his brethren, kinsmen according
to the flesh. This initiates the Second Coming.
If the blindness is lifted earlier or by
some other means, the fullness of the Jews would come before the fullness of
the gentiles, leaving many unsaved. This is why the Second Coming awaits the
fullness of the Gentiles.
26. For it hath pleased them of
27. It hath
pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the
Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also
to minister unto them in carnal things
28. When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this
fruit, I will come by you into
29. And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Romans
15:8-29
Summary:
Paul's proposed journey in the Book of
Romans is an allegory for the Second Coming Of
Christ. The reasons for his [Jesus} delay have to do with things that must
happen before he returns. Paul's first stop on the trip is
The people of
Revelation speaks of a certain number of
martyrs that must be killed, during the end times, before God will avenge their
blood. Once this remaining number comes in, things start to happen very
rapidly. This remaining number of martyrs is what is spoken of in Romans 11 as
the fullness of the Gentiles. And when they come in means they are harvested
into heaven, by martyrdom. After this the blindness over
How does this happen? We know that when the
Lord returns, he first carries out judgment on the heavenly powers, before he
actually returns to earth. This is important because it is these heavenly
powers that form the veil of spiritual blindness over
A clue is found in Isaiah [34:4], where he
speaks of stars falling from heaven as a leaf falling off the vine, or a fig
off a fig tree. The stars falling from heaven are ruling demonic powers coming
down. The leaves falling off the vine are saints which are martyred. If there
is a correlation between the two, then the number of saints has to equal or
better the number of 'stars' for the judgement to be
complete. Which means that there is a set number that must be
reached. This only happens by a great end time harvest with multitudes
getting saved and then martyred so the fullness of the gentiles comes in.
Once the wicked rulers in high places are
disposed of, the veil is removed from