Post #70: Revelation – Israel's Tribulation Book | KJV Right Division (Week 3)

Post 70 · Paul's Olive Tree Illustration (Rom 11:16-24)

"And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." — Romans 11:17-18 (KJV)

Who? Gentile believers in Rome tempted to be arrogant about Israel's setting aside — Paul warns them with the olive tree illustration.
Dispensation: Grace Age — Gentiles are grafted in; Israel is set aside but not cut off permanently. Both groups exist by faith, not by nature.
Key: The olive tree = God's redemptive program. Natural branches (Israel) broken off by unbelief; wild branches (Gentiles) grafted in by faith. Natural branches can be re-grafted.

Romans 11's olive tree illustration is one of Paul's most vivid dispensational pictures. The olive tree represents God's redemptive program, rooted in the Abrahamic promises. Some natural branches (unbelieving Israel) were broken off. Wild olive branches (believing Gentiles) were grafted in by faith. But Paul's warning is sharp: 'Boast not against the branches... thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear' (vv.18-20). Gentile arrogance about Israel's setting aside is unjustified — we were grafted in because of God's goodness, not our merit. And the natural branches 'shall be grafted in again' (v.23) — Israel's restoration is certain. This illustration prevents both Jewish pride ('we are natural') and Gentile arrogance ('they are rejected').

Application: Read Romans 11:16-24 and identify: (1) What broke off the natural branches? (v.20 — unbelief), (2) What grafted in the wild branches? (v.23 — faith), (3) What will re-graft the natural branches? (v.23 — if they abide not in unbelief). Everything depends on faith, not nationality. How does this eliminate every form of ethnic pride or prejudice in the Body of Christ? Why should Gentile believers feel gratitude, not superiority, toward the Jewish people?

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Prayer: Lord, we were wild branches — no claim to the root, no natural standing. By grace alone we were grafted in. Keep us from arrogance, fill us with gratitude, and help us to pray earnestly for the re-grafting of the natural branches. Amen.