Westminster Assemblyman John Lightfoot Against
the Doctrine of a Future Conversion of the Jews

Excerpts from the writings of John Lightfoot (1602-1675) against the belief that the Bible teaches a great conversion of the Jews in the latter days of this age. Lightfoot was one of the Westminster Assemblymen. I have updated some of the punctuation and a few words to make it more readable.

“…the Jews had now forfeited their privilege. “Beauty and bonds” were broke. They were set under a peculiar favour at first (Christ owns that), till they forfeited it, by despising their highest privilege of all, i.e., Christ himself born of them, and his gospel. This is plain, by those words of Barnabas and Paul: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” And Christ had said to them before, “The kingdom of heaven shall be taken from you.” They had sinned worse than the heathen; the prophets blame them so. For besides the contempt of means, which the heathen had not, they outdid them in the very sin that cast the heathen off. The Gentiles had refused the “invisible creator” but they had only small light. These had rejected God visible, and that for a murderer, when the light shone as clear as possible; as plainly as God could converse with men and show himself, i.e., in infinite goodness and holiness. They looked for power and glory; he showed that in his miracles, but that is not the highest way of God’s showing himself; the devils can show power, but he went about doing good and showing holiness — the greatest evidence and footsteps of God; and yet they rejected him.

This makes me not believe the call of the Jews; because they sinned beyond the Gentiles; because they sinned against such light as shall never appear to eyes again. Some have dreamed of some glorious appearance of Christ that shall convert them. If more shall be seen than they have seen already, I believe it. But more, certainly they cannot see.”

— John Lightfoot, Sermon, October 7, 1655
https://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/lightfoot/vol06.pdf (pages 393-394)


“Since the New Testament doth ordinarily style that first generation [i.e., Jews of the 1st century] ‘antichrist,’ and since, as is apparent, the very same spirit is in the nation to this day, I see not how we can look upon the conversion of the Jews, under a lower notion than the conversion of a brood of antichrists. Therefore, can I no more look for the general calling of them, than I look for the general call of the antichristian brood of Rome. We see, indeed, by happy experience, that several nations have fallen off from the Roman antichrist, as the Protestant countries that are at this day: But antichrist is yet in being and is strong; and his end will be, not by conversion, but perdition. So can I not but conceive of the Jewish nation; that although numerous multitudes of them may, at the last, be brought to the gospel, as the Protestant party hath been, yet that, to the end, numerous multitudes also shall continue in the antichristian spirit of unbelief, and opposition, and blaspheming; and both parts of antichrist, the Roman and this, so to perish together. Nor doth this opinion any whit cross any place of Scripture, that is produced about the calling of the Jews, but rather settles its sense, and explains it. That eminent place of the apostle, Romans 11, carrieth such a limitation throughout: and the very intent of his discourse speaketh to such a tenor all along. For his drift, in that chapter, is not to determine, whether all the Jews should be once called; but whether all the Jews were wholly cast off; and this he states, that “there is a remnant” that “the election hath obtained, but the rest are blinded” and “that blindness in part is happened to Israel,” etc. And this is the mystery, that he there speaketh of; and not, as some would wrest it, their universal conversion.”

— John Lightfoot, The Fall of Jerusalem, Section XII, Concerning the Calling of the Jews

https://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/lightfoot/vol03.pdf (pages 410-411; see the entire section, pages 408-412)