You said before:
I realize that the majority of Christendom embraces the idea that the ethnic Jews are the chosen people.
It is not correct to say the MAJORITY of DENOMINATIONS believe this, the Catholics do not, The Orthodox do not, Lutherans certainly do not. The founder of the Lutheran Church, Martin Luther, was himself an anti-Semite, certainly did not. This is why these groups were not afraid to persecute the Jews but to execute them by
fire and
sword They did the same to the (non-Catholic) "anabaptists" who, resisted the genocidal wish of the Pope and Martin Luther to exterminate both the Jews and the Anabaptists.
Why would an ethnic Jew be singled out by God as somehow different, when Galatians clearly says there is no difference in people?!
Because, the apostle says that, Despite their rebellion and unbelief,
Paul said, God has not completely cast them off in that he still has a particular love for them as Abraham's descendants and still longs for them to reunite with Him in the New Covenant:
1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation. 2For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.… (Romans 10:1)
According to prophecy, a great many Jews WILL be saved in the "latter days" and play an role in the last act of God's redemptive plan:
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob (Romans 11:25-26)
Thank you for having a go.
There is a reference to Isaiah 59:20 in Romans 11:26.
In Isaiah 59:20 it reads:
"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord."
The commentaries in Bible Hub predict this as an event that is way into the future.
After reading Isaiah 59 15-20, I think you will agree with me that Isaiah is talking about Jesus coming the first time.
Without good reason, why should we assume that Isaiah is going to leap so far over the most important event of the Old Testament?
I think the reason we find these futuristic interpretations is that Bible Hub favors commentaries that are favorable to the traditions of Rabbinic Judaism.
Judaism does not like references to the first coming of Christ, because the Talmud teaches that Jesus is currently boiling in excrement.
All old Testament references to Jesus in Rabbinic tradition are automatically attributed to their future messiah, but for us they can be Christianized as the second coming of Christ.
References to "the latter days" are not in the book of Isaiah, but other prophets use them.
They are not reasonable excuses to push prophesies way into the future, because the Old Testament also has "latter days".
Many of the prophets in the OT also lived shortly before and during the Babylonian captivity, so they had good reason to speak to the captives about the restoration of Jerusalem.
All this is fulfilled in the second temple age.
