While preaching to the Jews who came to his house arrest living quarters during the 2 years in his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul spoke of the “hope of Israel” in Acts 28:²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

What was the “hope of Israel” that Paul kept mentioning? “The “hope of Israel” refers to the expectation and belief in a future restoration and salvation, often associated with the Messiah, the Anointed One, who would bring peace and righteousness to the world. This hope encompasses various aspects, including the return of Israel to the Promised Land, the establishment of God’s kingdom, and the resurrection of the dead.” (AI) This expectation was based on promises made in the Old Testament. In Paul’s trial before Festus and King Agrippa, Paul said: Acts 26:⁶ And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; ⁷ the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews.” It did include the resurrection of the dead. Acts 24:¹⁴ “But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets; ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there is ‘about to be’ (mello which always means about to be in the NT) be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Daniel predicted that this resurrection of the dead would occur at the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. Daniel 12:² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” That chapter 12 in Daniel is definitely referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD b/c 12:11 refers to the “abomination of desolation” of the temple which Jesus said would occur within the generation of those he was talking to in Matthew 24:15,34 just as Daniel predicted.

So the expectation of the Jews, based on OT promises, was a literal restoration of the Jewish kingdom brought about by the Messiah (the Anointed One), a return to the holy land, and victory over their Roman rulers. That is still the way non Christian Jews and many evangelical Christians interpret the “hope of Israel” today. They see the statehood given to Israel by the UN in 1948 as partial fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and they expect the rest of the fulfillment in the near future.

I do not agree with this literal interpretation of the hope of Israel. I believe all the Messianic kingdom promises were made only to the Jewish remnant in the first century who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah and become Jewish Christians. I believe the promises were fulfilled in a spiritual, not literal, way. Some OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally, such as the prediction in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It is clear that was a literal fulfillment and a one time only fulfillment in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But there are many OT prophecies that were fulfilled in a spiritual way. For example, Malachi 4:5 predicts that Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord (70 AD judgement on the Jews). Jesus said that was fulfilled in John the Baptist, not Elijah literally coming just before Jesus came. Malachi’s prediction was fulfilled in a spiritual way, using figurative language, not literally fulfilled.

So how can we tell if OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally or spiritually. It can get tricky but here are my guidelines. It should be obvious that predictions about Jesus’ birth place, suffering and death (Isaiah 53), etc. were to be fulfilled literal, just as they sound. They were given to confirm that Jesus was the Messiah so they had to be fulfilled literally and not with figurative language.

But what about the Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? My guideline is this. If a literal fulfillment contradicts New Testament passages, then it must have been meant to be fulfilled spiritually using figurative language. For example, Daniel predicted that the kingdom of God, with Christ reigning as king forever, would be established in the days of the Roman Empire. Jesus came proclaiming that kingdom of God was “at hand” and would be established within the lifetime of some of those he was talking to. So, unless Jesus is a false prophet, then the kingdom of God that was established in the first century as Jesus predicted could not be fulfilled literally in a physical kingdom like that of David in the OT. Instead, it was fulfilled spiritually in the establishment of the church, a spiritual kingdom. Many say that Jesus meant to establish a physical kingdom on earth but delayed that until his 2nd coming which they say is still in our future, but that would contradict what Jesus predicted.

The Messianic promises to Israel were just like that example. We go to Romans 9-11 to show that to be the case. Romans 9:⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; ⁷ nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” ⁸ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” (NASB) Paul answers a possible objection that I hear made today: did God not fulfill His Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? In other words, “did the word of God in the OT promises fail to come to pass”? Paul argues that those promises did come to pass but that they were only intended for the Jewish remnant who would accept Jesus as the Messiah and become Christians in the church. He clearly says that the promies were not given to the whole nation of Israel, fleshly Israel, even if they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. As a matter of fact, he clearly taught that the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah would be judged by God when He sent the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.

So, if God did fulfill all the Messianic prophecies made to Israel by saving the remnant of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then, as Paul argue, the word of God did not fail. But those remant Jewish Christians did not get the holy land and the kingdom of Israel was not restored to the power of the days of David. So it is apparent that the predictions of being restored to the land were fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way, just as the kingdom was.

Paul goes on to say, Romans 9:²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” It was only the Jewish remnant that accepted Jesus that would be saved and not the rest of the unbelieving nation of Israel. The restoration of Israel and receiving of the land promises was not fulfilled in 1948. That was fulfilled in the first century as Paul argued, but it was fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way. The restored land was probably fufilled spiritually in the NT church kingdom being safely in the hands of God Himself.

Paul deals with another possible objection: so did God reject His people? Romans 11:I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” ⁴ But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” (NASB) It is obvious that God did reject the Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He sent the Romans in 70 AD to kill one million of them and carry off another 200,000 into captivity. So He did rejected the unbelieving Jews. But He had not rejected true Israel, which would be the remnant of the Jewish nation who would accept Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew 21:43 Jesus said that the kingdom was going to be taken away from the Jews and given to a spiritual nation and kingdom, the church.

Then Paul says, Romans 11:²⁵ For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶ and so all Israel will be saved.” If in Romans 9:27 the “remnant who would be saved” was the Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then the “all Israel” in Romans 11:26 must also mean the remnan Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Most all the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah initially. But Paul is pedicting that some of those who rejected Jesus will see the Gentiles being saved, become envious, and later decide to accept Jesus. Paul said this partial hardening would happen until the fullness of the Gentiles had come in. That would all come to pass at Jesus’ 2nd coming in 70 AD. By then, the entire Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus would be gathered from across the whole Roman Empire and the. process of grafting in the Gentile believers would be complete (i.e. the “fulness of the Gentiles”).

So, I don’t believe there are any OT or NT prophetic predictions to be fulfilled after 70 AD. The plan is finished by 70 AD and salvation is available from then on for anyone who wants to be saved. I believe that Romans 9-11 should carry a lot of weight in. deciding what the “hope of Israel” was/is. The hope of Israel was that any Jew who would accept Jesus as the Messiah would be saved and blessed with spiritual, not physical, blessings. Many Messianic Jews did exactly that and formed the first church. Many Messianic Jews are doing that today also. Any ethnic Jew can realize the hope of Israel if they will accept Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Savior.