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.
Romans 11:25
What an amazing verse! There is so much to unpack within this one verse, but our focus within this post is upon this term, “the fulness of the Gentiles“. That said, a little background is in order…
Within this verse, Paul addresses the Church in particular (his use of the word “brethren”). If you do a word search within your favorite Bible app for the word “mystery,” and you focus just upon Paul’s 13 epistles, you will identify that this is the first mystery (a divine secret not previously revealed, Rom 16:25) that one comes to in the order of Paul’s epistles (1 Cor 4:1). Paul’s discussion of this particular mystery concerns how this present age began.
Within this verse, we also take note that this is the second of six times that Paul says he would not have us to be ignorant of certain things (Rom 1:13; 1 Cor 10:1; 12:1; 2 Cor 1:8; 1 Thes 4:13). Ironically, most Christians today appear to be ignorant of the very things Paul mentions within those passages. The majority of professing Christians are taught that the Church has replaced Israel, that they are spiritual Israel, and that the covenants God made with Israel are being spiritually fulfilled in the Church. Therefore, they are wise in their own conceits because they are ignorant of this mystery and many others that the apostle Paul discussed. They are conceited because they think that the whole Bible is written TO (all about) them, not recognizing that all of the Bible is written FOR them, but only Paul’s epistles are written TO them.
That the Gentiles would be given the opportunity to receive the word of God while Israel as a nation is set aside in blindness was a mystery revealed through Paul and not found in the Old Testament scriptures. Israel being blinded was not a mystery (Rom 11:7-10), and neither was Gentiles being blessed. Gentiles being saved through the fall and blindness of Israel was a mystery because according to prophecy, the Gentiles were to be saved through the rise of Israel.
The blindness of Israel is not complete and eternal, but rather partial (some believed) and temporary (the “until” of Romans 11:25). To believe the Church replaced Israel is to be ignorant of the mystery, to be wise in your own conceits (Prov 26:12), and to attack the character of God. Romans 11 makes it crystal clear that God is not finished with Israel, and that He will yet save His chosen nation. Replacement Theology is the conceited wisdom of men, but Dispensational Truth is the deep wisdom of God (Rom 11:33).
The Old Testament prophets spoke of the blindness of Israel, but it was a mystery that through their fall salvation would come unto the Gentiles (Rom 11:25). According to prophecy, Gentiles were to be blessed through Israel’s RISE (Isa 60:1-3). In this age of grace, Gentiles are being saved through Israel’s FALL – there is now no difference between Jew and Gentile, and all believers are in one spiritual Body (1 Cor 12:13).
There are many verses within the Bible that speak to Israel being blinded and that demonstrate how easy it is for God to do such a thing:
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
John 12:40
And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
Luke 24:15-16
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2 Cor 3:14-16
Jesus repeatedly called the religious leaders of Israel “blind”. This carried much more condemnation than it seems on its face. One of the covenant promises to Israel, and one of their most anticipated blessings was that they would be a kingdom of priests, which will be fulfilled within the millennium (Ex 19:6; Is 61:6; 1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:6). One thing that disqualifies a man from the priesthood is blindness (Lev 21:18). When Jesus tells the religious leaders of Israel that they are blind, He was telling them that they were disqualified from ever being a priest in the kingdom. And indeed, since Israel has been stricken with temporary blindness they are disqualified from being a kingdom of priests until Christ returns and heals their blindness.
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded … 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?
Romans 11:7, 12
Notice that this word “fulness” is used earlier within Romans 11. Here, the “fulness” deals with God completing how He has dealt with Israel during this age. The word “fulness” refers to that which is complete or fulfilled. Israel’s fullness concerns God fulfilling all that He promised Israel within the Old Testament. The fulness of the Gentiles will come in when God is finished with His temporary arrangement in this age of giving the Gentiles an opportunity to come directly to Him without Israel.
The fulness of God’s dealing with the Gentiles during this particular age is unique to this age. It will not continue on and on, however. It will be fulfilled, it will be completed, and then God will turn His attention back to the prophetic plan of Israel (the believing remnant, the Little Flock of Lk 12:32).
Israel will once again be God’s chosen nation. God has not altered His plan for the earth, it is simply postponed while the mystery kept secret since the world began (Romans 16:25) plays out. God’s plan for the heavens is the Body of Christ. All are currently concluded equally in unbelief, therefore all have equal opportunity to take part in the “new creature” which God has reconciled to Himself via the blood of Jesus Christ.
Today, the keystone of our mission is the preaching of the cross, and not the soon coming kingdom which has been postponed until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Rom 11:25-26). Prophecy is not yet finished, however, and Israel has not yet received its promised salvation (Rom 11:26-27). God set Israel aside, hid His face from them, and is focused upon the dispensation of the grace of God currently (aka “the Church Age”).
So with that as background, we must ask the question, “what is the fulness of the Gentiles?” This question brings back many memories for myself. I can distinctly remember listening to the teachings of Dr. Chuck Missler and his commentary on this topic. For Missler, the fulness of the Gentiles meant that God had a counter in heaven and He was adding a number each time someone got saved, each time someone became a member of the Body of Christ. In Missler’s view, God had a predetermined number that once that counter reached that “fulness,” God the Father would send His Son to retrieve His Body, the Rapture of the Church.
The “fulness of the Gentiles” does indeed occur at the Rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ, but through rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15 KJV), and through deeper studies within His word, I’ve come to learn that Missler’s view, though popular and sensical, was incorrect. As side commentary, allow me to add that Dr. Chuck Missler did not rightly divide the word of truth, great teacher that he was, and the mind swirls while asking oneself what his impact would have been if he had understood Mid Acts Pauline Dispensationalism.
The fulness of the Gentles is the end of the opportunity of great privilege that the Gentiles have within the But Now period of God’s timeline (the dispensation of the grace of God; Eph 3:2), an opportunity that did not exist in Times Past and will not exist in the Ages to Come. The opportunity is for Gentile and Jew alike to approach God through Christ and not through the nation of Israel and its covenantal promises. This free grace opportunity comes to an end at the Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The dispensation of the grace of God comes to an end when the fulness of the Gentiles occurs. The fulness of the Gentiles is not some counter that God is keeping and the number ticks by, up and up as each Gentile or Jew gets saved. Rather, Paul tells us that apostasy and a falling away (following doctrines of devils) is what will be characteristic of the period of time at the end of the dispensation of grace (2 Thes 2:3; 2 Tim 3:1-5; 1 Tim 4:1-3).
One of the last inspired statements that the apostle Paul made is preserved for us in 2 Timothy 1:15: “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.” While awaiting his execution in Rome, Paul had heard the terrible news that his converts in Asia (Asia Minor, or modern Western Turkey) had forsaken him 35 years after he had first reached them with the gospel of grace. They had not left the Lord, but they had abandoned Paul and his doctrine. This was exactly as he had foretold in Acts 20:28-32 many years prior. We see other examples of this in:
Acts 15:1-5
Romans 16:17-18
Galatians 1:6-11
Galatians 3:1-3
Galatians 4:9-21
Galatians 5:1-12
Philippians 3:2
Philippians 3:16-19
1 Timothy 6:3-6
2 Timothy 2:16-18
2 Timothy 4:1-5
Departure from Paul’s doctrine happened roughly 2,000 years ago… The Church, the Body of Christ, was apostate and fallen from the truth 20 centuries back. We can survey the ghastly results now, in our day. The message of God’s grace has been pushed aside in favor of Law-based acceptance systems and legalism, Paul’s ministry has been conflated with Peter’s ministry, prophecy is mixed with mystery, the Body of Christ has been mixed with the nation Israel and her covenants, and on and on it goes. This also applies to confusion concerning “church teachings” (aka tradition) such as the Body of Christ beginning at Pentecost (a Jewish feast day) in Acts 2.
Where we stand today, August of 2025, is that Gentiles as a whole are rejecting Jesus, His saving gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Thes 4:14), and the doctrine that was specifically sent to them via revelation provided to the apostle Paul (Romans through Philemon). It is quite evident that most who call themselves “Christian” today can’t even articulate what the gospel that saves is. The conclusion of the matter is that there will not be a flow of Gentiles and Jews getting saved at the end of the dispensation of the grace of God. Instead of revival, apostasy will be the dominant theme during the end of the “But Now” period of God’s timeline.
Those who understand Mid Acts Pauline Dispensationalism and those who recognize the doctrine revealed through the apostle Paul can rejoice in the knowledge that things are not going to continue the way they are today, however. God is going to go back to how He operated in Times Past and He will resume His dealings with the nation Israel. He will fulfill everything that He has promised them. That day is rapidly approaching. The fulness of the Gentiles, a steady dwindling in the number of those who get saved via the gospel of the grace of God, is quickly reaching the point where God will say, “that’s it, we’re done, My Son, go get your Body…!”
Maranatha!
