Question 24: How Come the Bible Says All Israel Will Be Saved When They Don’t Believe in Jesus?

The Question

Question 24: How come the Bible says that ALL Israel is saved although they don’t believe in Jesus? Doesn’t that contradict the claim in the Bible that the only way to heaven is through Jesus?

The Short Answer

Your main question is: How can all Israel be saved if they don’t believe in Jesus? The short answer is: All Israel will be saved by seeing, recognizing, and accepting Jesus Christ at His second coming. The Bible does not teach that Jewish people are currently saved without faith in Jesus. Rather, it reveals that at His return, a preserved remnant—referred to as “all Israel”—will behold their Messiah, repent, and put their trust in Him. When we look back at biblical history and the typologies of Jesus, particularly Joseph and Moses, this divine plan becomes crystal clear.

Nothing is New

The Bible does not declare that every Israelite today is automatically saved regardless of their belief. Rather, it speaks of a future corporate salvation. To understand how God will accomplish this future salvation of Israel, we must apply a foundational scriptural principle, especially when it has to do with eschatological or futuristic topics.

The principle is this: history reveals the future. There’s nothing new under the sun. Absolutely nothing.

“That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

All Israel or a Remnant?

Another thing I want to point out is that the text says “all Israel,” and also says “a remnant.” This detail is important as I proceed to bring understanding to the question.

 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. (Romans 9:27. See also Romans 11:5, Isaiah 10:20-22, Isaiah 11:11, 16)

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'” (Romans 11:26–27)

“REMNANT” gives the idea of a few out of many, while “ALL” gives the idea of everyone. To understand how both “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26) and “only a remnant will be saved” (Romans 9:27) are true at the same time, we must look at the Old Testament typologies of Jesus—specifically Joseph and Moses. This is because God operates by fixed patterns and principles.

Typology 1: The Second Visit with Joseph

Joseph is one of the clearest prophetic types of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture:

• He Brought Life and Bread: Joseph saved the known world from dying of starvation during a severe famine (Genesis 41:56–57). Likewise, Jesus came as the Bread of Life to save humanity from spiritual famine and death caused by sin (John 6:35).
• He was Hated and Betrayed by His Brothers: Joseph was hated, rejected, and sold into slavery by his own brothers. Similarly, Jesus came to His own brothers—the Jewish nation—and was rejected and handed over to be killed (John 1:11, Matthew 27:21–25).

The crucial key regarding Israel’s salvation lies in how Joseph’s brothers recognized him.

When Joseph’s brothers first traveled down to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him (Genesis 42:8). They stood before the ruler of Egypt unaware that he was their own brother. It was only on their second visit that Joseph revealed his true identity to them (all Israel):

“And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph; does my father still live?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence… Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.” (Genesis 45:3, 14–15)

In the exact same way, during Jesus’s first coming, His Jewish brothers did not recognize Him as their Messiah. But at His second coming, He will reveal Himself to them. When they see Him in power and glory, the veil will be removed, and they will recognize Him as their long-awaited Brother and Savior:

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

It is at His second appearing that He will save the ALL or REMNANT of Israel.

Typology 2: The Delivering of Israel with Moses

The second major type of Christ is Moses, the great deliverer of Israel.

When God sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Scripture records a monumental event:

“And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:41)

In one sense, you can say that “all Israel” was saved from Egyptian bondage through Moses on that day. Every living Israelite in Egypt walked out under Moses’s leadership.

However, in another sense, when you consider that this visitation came after more than four centuries of harsh slavery—during which generations of Israelites lived, suffered, and died in Egypt without seeing deliverance—those who walked out under Moses were actually a remnant.

Furthermore, when that delivered generation rebelled against God in the wilderness through unbelief, they perished in the desert, and only a faithful remnant (their children along with Joshua and Caleb) actually entered into the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22–24).

How “All Israel” and “A Remnant” Are Both True

This historical pattern explains how Scripture uses both terms for the end times:

Over the centuries and millennia, millions of Jewish individuals have died in unbelief, rejecting Jesus as Messiah, and are lost. Therefore, when Jesus returns and delivers the living generation of Jewish people who survive the end-time trials, that entire living generation will behold Him, repent, and be saved. In that moment, “all Israel” alive on earth will be saved.

Yet, when viewed against the vast backdrop of all the generations of Israel across human history, that saved group is ultimately a remnant preserved by God’s grace out of millions who perished through unbelief.

“Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.'” (Romans 9:27)

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'” (Romans 11:26–27)

Why Israel Holds a Unique Covenant Position

Some may wonder why God maintains this specific prophetic promise for Israel. Jesus Himself answered this when speaking to the Samaritan woman:

“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22)

Salvation came through the Jewish lineage by divine election and covenant. God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promising that through their Seed (Christ), all nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3, Galatians 3:16). God never breaks His covenants.

“Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 10:28–29)

Even though many Israelites presently stand opposed to the gospel, they remain beloved according to God’s covenant election. God will remain faithful to His word, ensuring that when Christ returns, the remnant of Israel will look upon their Messiah, believe in His name, and be saved. When it comes to salvation, they have a covenant privilege others don’t have (Acts 13:46, Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9–10).

When the nation of Israel corporately rejected Jesus during His first coming, God opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles. This corporate rejection allowed the gospel to spread across the globe, leaving Israel to experience a temporary judicial blindness while watching Gentiles enjoy the spiritual blessings of God’s Kingdom (Romans 11:11–12).

Just as Israel’s corporate rejection of Messiah brought spiritual riches to the Gentile world, their future corporate acceptance will bring unimaginable global restoration of even creation itself—what Paul calls “life from the dead” (Romans 11:15).

Just as Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers on their second meeting in Egypt and welcomed them into Goshen, Jesus will reveal Himself to the remnant of Israel at His second coming and welcome them into His Kingdom. They will see Him, recognize the scars of the cross, repent, and put their trust in Him. In that moment, all Israel—the surviving remnant—will be saved through faith in Jesus Christ (Zechariah 12:10).

Conclusion

There is no contradiction in the Bible regarding salvation. No one—Jew or Gentile—can go to heaven or be reconciled to God without faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). “All Israel” will be saved not apart from Jesus, but precisely because they will see, recognize, and put their faith in Jesus Christ at His second coming, fulfilling the prophetic typologies of Joseph and Moses.

This matter is a future event; it’s a prophecy. Meanwhile, right now, salvation is ready and freely available to anyone—Jew or Gentile—who believes in Him today.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'” (John 14:6)

Next, I’ll be answering the question: According to Christians, those who have not been baptized will go to Hell. So even infants and babies go to Hell if not baptized, since they are born with an inherited original sin. Doesn’t this contradict the definition of justice? Why would God punish people for sins they never committed?

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