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  • From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT sogang.ac.kr>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: The Mystery of Romans: the theme of- restoration of Israel
  • Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 20:29:06 -0500


Mark,
thanks for the grand message that fits with the new year.
You said:

> Israel will be restored, e.g., freed from the social (such as
> religious and political) constraints of the present age (Roman govt. and
> Hellenistic culture), as well as the power of sin (communal and personal)
> that often restrains humans from expressing fully the image of God in what
> they do and think.

Very good. But I wonder. Was Paul misled? The fact of history tells us
that Israel was destroyed by the Roman armies and was scattered all
over the world since then, rather than being restored. Some people
solve this problem by spiritualizing the restoration of Israel, that
is, via the equation of Church = New Israel = True Israel. Some people
think that the current Israel in Palestine is the beginning of the
restoration of Israel, which was long interrupted. You would reject both
postions.

I would like to hear how you answer to the question "was Paul
misled" particularly because you interpret Paul so that
he believed "all Israel will be saved" through his two-step
preaching of the gospel perhaps in his lifetime. Your interpretation
of "and thus, in this way, all Israel will be saved" is
quite convincing to me. Your interpretation suggests that we better
understand "all Israel" to mean "ALL Israel, that is, the hardened
part of Israel AS WELL AS the remnant of Israel who responded to
Paul's gospel positively. Paul's missison, which you named it
"two-step pattern", in every city, proceeds in the folloing pattern:

(1) Paul preaches to the synagogues of each city, and some people,
the remnant accepts Paul's message, and the other people (the part
hardened) deny it. But it means the remnant, the representative of Israel,
has been restored.
(2) On the basis that Israel, as represented by the remnant, is in the
process of being restored, Paul turns to the Gentiles, restoring some
of them.
(3) The hardened part of Israel (in each city) sees the Nations turning
to their God, the very thing that the Prophet foretold would happen
when Israel is restored, and reconsiders their response to Paul's message.
As a result, some of them accepts Paul's message. Thus, in this way,
the hardened part of Israel will be saved, and thereby ALL Israel,
the hardened AS WELL AS the remnant, will be saved through
Paul's ministry, perhaps during his lifetime.

I have to confess that the reading outlined above is the only reading
that makes sense to me.

SO, I should assme that all Israel was saved or restored at least in the
first century, as Paul thought. But it appears that in contrast,
Israel was destroyed by the Roman armies, and went to a long and tragic
exile that was never heard of. Do you think mu question is misguided?

Moon
Moon R. Jung
Sogang Univ,
Seoul, Korea







> > From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT sogang.ac.kr>
>
> > One of the themes of the book "The Mystery of Romans"
> > written by Mark Nanos seems to be the restoration of Israel.
> > But I wonder what he means by the "restoration of Israel".
> > Let me quote some lines from the book.
> >
> > "He (Paul) set about the task of restoring Israel represented
> > in the Diaspora city of Rom", p. 242.
> > "This salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will
> > ALSO listen.", p. 242.
> > "The gospel for Paul could not be separated from his personal
> > apostolic mission from "Zion" to restore the dispersed of Israel
> > and bring light to the nations", p. 246.
> >
> > What would he mean by "the restoration of Israel" and "this
> > salvation of God"? If my memory is correct, he does not believe
> > that it means "salvation from sin" as it is
> > understood in Protestant and Catholic traditions.
> >
> > Moon Ryul Jung
> > Sogang Univ, Seoul, Korea
>
> Happy New Year Moon and List participants,
>
> Shall I take a shot at this? Why not. Thanks for the question! Shall I
> expect that my answer will lead to another question?
>
> I think Nanos takes this restoration of Israel to represent the awaited age
> to come. Like James is represented imagining to be taking place in Acts 15
> (as witnessed in the coming in of the Gentiles to this Jewish coalition,
> hence the house of David must be being rebuilt as prophesized, for it is
> only after this [or as now interpreted by James, while this is taking place]
> that such as thing as Gentiles turning to Israel's God would be expected to
> take place).
>
> For Paul, Israel's place is central in the restoration of all of creation to
> its Creator. Israel will be restored, e.g., freed from the social (such as
> religious and political) constraints of the present age (Roman govt. and
> Hellenistic culture), as well as the power of sin (communal and personal)
> that often restrains humans from expressing fully the image of God in what
> they do and think. In Jewish tradition, and oversimplified, "the evil
> inclination" (yetzer ha-ra) will no longer struggle on equal terms with "the
> good inclination" (yetzer ha-tov), nor the evil nations with God's. Hence
> the One God of Israel and the Nations, of all humankind, will rule in the
> ways expressed in Israel's prophetic tradition, indeed throughout the whole
> of the Tanak and NT. Now that will be a New Year. It is the one that Jewish
> and Christian people still pray for, albeit imagined and approached in
> slightly different ways. There will be war no more!
>
> With hope for a new year like that for all humankind,
> Mark
> --
> Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D.
> 313 NE Landings Dr.
> Lee's Summit, MO 64064
> USA
> nanosmd AT home.com




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