What is meant by Roman's 11:8?

Question

"...God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day"

Answer 1

Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

It's a reference to these passages and is further explained later on in this chapter.

Isaiah 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

"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. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Romans 11:25-33

Answer 2

Mathew 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them].
13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Luke 8:9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

That is why there are prophecies in the bible which are not 100% clear, but a strong will of faith can get you the answers.

Answer 3

That people would not be able to understand the depth of what is happening because God has placed the spirit of slumber upon them. For some it is for their own protection, the deep things that are happening are too overwhelming for a lot of people and ignorance is a safe place for them. They will wake up when the 2 witnesses arrive. For others, He allows this because they blindly follow church leaders without bothering to read the letter our Father wrote us.

There will be so many who will carry this spirit of slumber with them right up to the time when Satan seats himself on the throne of God, pretending to be God (Jesus, Allah, etc.) and they will fall down and worship him thinking that he is God.

God told us of this when He said:


2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:


2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

If they want to follow traditions of man and not study to show themselves approved, YHVH will allow them to believe the lie. They deserve nothing more from Him.

Answer 4

Well you need to look at Deut. 29:4 and also Isaiah 20:10. My commentary says for verses 8-10 that these verses desribe the punishment for unresponsive hearts predicted by the phrophrt Isaiah(Isaiah 6:9-13). If people refuse to hear God's Good News, they eventually will be unable to understand it. Paul saw this happening to the Jewish Congregations he visited on his missionary journeys. (Verse 8 is based on Deut29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. Verses 9 and10 are from Psalm 69:22,23).

Answer 5

In this letter Paul is speaking about Gods chosen people during the time of Christ and after His resurrection. The message of Jesus was given to them first, then to the gentiles. Many could not accept Jesus as The Son of the Living God, and so it fulfilled a prophecy of Isaiah. I believe it means they are filled with knowledge but yet cannot see Jesus as the Messiah. They heard the message directly from THEE ONE and still did not understand the truth of this monumental sacrifice. It is Spirit based. Only by the grace of God are we saved

Answer 6

Romans 7-10 Paul is discussing what "a remnant chosen by grace" is,and what it meant for the people of ISRAEL .They ,the Jews wanted to be accepted by God for thier works and Law,but they where not ,the elect were because of Gods grace.The others where hardened,and Paul is explaining what it is to be hardend,it involves a spiriual drowsiness,stupor,{like a numbness resulting form a sting},blindness and deafness

Answer 7

Paul was quoting the prophets that the Jews would witness but not believe the Gospel.

Isa. 29: 10.
10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

Matt. 13: 14.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Answer 8

slumber means to sleep. god also made them blind and death. so the people did not hear or see what god did not want them to see or hear. It's the same way a parent protects their children.

Answer 9

A number of responders have given you some very very
good answers.
I Corinthians 13;8a, Love never fails!!!!!
8/27/6

Answer 10

11:8. As it is written: God hath given them the spirit of insensibility; eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, until this present day


Not by his working or acting in them; but by his permission, and by withdrawing his grace in punishment of their obstinacy.