Originally Posted by BobVigneault

Pastor Ken,

I don't see the 'fullness' used in verse 25 to be the same meaning as we find in a phrase such as 'the fullness of time'. This is not speaking of a much later date but of a state of being that looks back at verse 12.

12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

The fullness is the state of being fully included in the covenant. A transitional period between Christ's great commission and the destruction of Jerusalem (and the sacrificial system). So by 70AD the gentiles are now fully included in the covenant. A partial hardening had been sent on the Jews but for all time the Jews would be saved in the same manner as the gentiles.



25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.