Romans 11:12 : "Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? The fall of the Jews and the abrogation of the law of Moses opened up the way for the blessings of the gospel to be carried to the whole world. The first meaning Liddell and Scott gives to the word here translated "loss" is defeat, and we are told by an eminent scholar that there is no justification for translating it by "loss." Anyway, it is a fact that the Jews were defeated in their effort to destroy Christ and his teaching by .crucifying him, and in their efforts to destroy the church; and they were defeated in their efforts to please God by the course they pur-sued. Because of their defeat in all these efforts the riches of the blessings of salvation were offered to the Gentiles--in fact, to all the people of the earth. "How much more their fulness?" "Fulness" in what way? Commentators seem to take it for granted that Paul was speaking of the full--complete--return of the Jews to the favor of God, but Paul's reasoning in this chapter does not contemplate such a thing as the conversion of the Jewish nation. Besides, he was speaking of the fall, or defeat, of the Jews and not their conversion. Might he not, therefore, have meant their full and complete degradation which resulted in their full and complete destruction as a nation? Their complete over-throw as a nation did contribute to the spread of the gospel. The majority of the Jews, both in Palestine and in foreign countries, had been the bitterest enemies Christianity had. In foreign countries where they had a synagogue, they did all they could to stir up the people and Roman authorities against Christians; but their active persecution of Christians ceased when their nation was destroyed. And they lost all influence with the Roman authorities everywhere. And those Judaizing meddlers, who sought to stir up trouble in all churches where there were Gentile members, lost their influence for harm. Perhaps nothing outside the church helped the spread of the gospel among all peoples so much as the full destruction of the Jewish nation.