ALEXANDER CAMPBELL & “DISPENSATIONS

[Norton]

Jimmy

Good comments.
Yes, I mostly use the NIV.  The New Layman's Bible Commentary which was written nearly a decade before the NIV appeared used (I think) the RSV translation. It says "full number" and the writer makes no comments that the Greek should be translated otherwise. I have a Greek Interlinear Translation copyrighted in 1969, before the NIV, which translates "fullness" as "full number" So, if there is an error in translating and interpreting "fulness" it is not all due to the influence of the NIV. 

"Full number" does make for a somewhat strange statement from Paul. That no more than a certain number of Gentiles will enter the Kingdom, and then the Jews will began to come in. Johnson's Notes interprets "fullness" as "the greater part of", which makes better sense to me than "full number". Johnson seems to interpret the passages in question, as you interpret them. That Paul's prediction came to pass shortly after he wrote Romans.

[DaveW]

"Fullness" could just as easily mean fullness of time as fullness of number.

Luke (companion of Paul) recorded Our Lord's words like this:

Luke 21:24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Since Jerusalem was firmly in Jewish control until 70 ad (after Paul died) and they did not completely lose control of it until 135 ad (Bar Kochba revolt) the period of the "Times of the gentiles" had not really even started yet.

There was a brief glimmer of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount being restored to Jewish control following the 1967  "Six Day War," but they gave control of East Jerusalem back to Jordan the next year.

So the times of the gentiles goes on. We have not reached that "fullness" yet.