“GOD’S SECOND CALL SEALS THE VISION.” April 2012.
During my early Christian walk of faith in our local Assembly back home, there were always discussions on end-time events, much like it is today. In bible studies the question of the Rapture, the emergence of the anti-Christ, and the great tribulation, usually took center stage as hot topics for study and reflection. At that time our pastor was a seminarian with great intelligence and was very articulate.
He spoke with such assurance and assertiveness, that his words were accepted as “gospel truths.” Without skipping a beat or hinting that there could be another view, he explained that immediately after the Rapture of the Church, at which time the Holy Spirit will be taken from the earth, the dreaded man of sin, the anti-Christ will emerge on to the world stage, and in short order will settle the Middle East Conflict and grant Israel seven years of peace. (By the way, the word rapture in the dictionary means, the state of being carried away with joy; filled with ecstasy, and it does not appear in the bible even once.)
In the middle of the seven year period, (3 ½ years to be exact) he will renege on his peace deal with Israel, and trigger the horrible event called the great tribulation. Of course the obvious question was; “Will the Gentiles be granted a second chance for obtaining salvation?” Our pastor explained that the Rapture marked the end of the Gentile Age, and thus, God’s second dealing with the Jews will have begun. Yes, he said, Gentiles will be saved during this period, but they will have to come through the horrible onslaught of the tribulation. No other path to salvation will be afforded the Gentiles during this time frame. Back then, as young Christians, we were not allowed to question the teachings of our peers, and certainly not the pastor who held the final word in all religious matters. We were to accept all teachings with child-like faith; simply believing, and never questioning. But as I learned the scriptures my question became one centered on the teachings of Christ. He said that no man can come to him except the Father who sent him, draw him; and we know that it is the Spirit that draws us to Christ.
So the question became, “If the Holy Spirit is taken from the earth at the Rapture, what will draw Gentiles to Christ during the tribulation?” To me, there seemed to be some sort of contradiction in that theory.
Over the many years of walking with God and learning both his word and his ways, we now know that man’s salvation is never “by chance” first, second, or third. The narrative of scripture is replete with incidents when God called and worked with man a second time. But how do we define the word “call”? Is it a blast of the ram’s horn in Jewish ceremonies? Is it like yelling from one house to another across the street, like we used to do back in our country village? Let us offer a scriptural definition of the word means.
“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; (not the pastor filling all these ministerial offices) as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, (that is the Holy Ghost speaking through lips of clay, totally bypassing the human factor) Separate unto me (here the Spirit is speaking as a person) Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Acts 13: 1, 2. So to make it plain in so much that a child can understand it, a “call or calling” upon one’s life means a vocation or a specific work assigned to that person. That is why we like to suggest that a second call from God would not necessarily mean another work assignment, especially if the first “call” or task has not been completed. I do not believe that God will give you a task meaning a certain call being placed upon your life, and in a few years he changes his mind and gives you something else to do. Let me offer a simple example of what I mean. Some years ago in Southern California, a certain minister bought a large hotel in the center of town. He advertized it to be the new home for training ministers. He said many ministers would come from foreign countries to be trained for the ministry and return home to evangelize their own people.
One Sunday at the local church where I worshipped we met three ministers from Africa who had come as students at the school. They were in dire straits with no money, food, and hardly any shelter. We offered help to them the best way we could. In about two or three years, after doing a lot of renovation to the building, the minister sold it for large profit well over a million dollars. The money did not bother me; but I wondered how God could ordain that school of ministry to be established with such fanfare and in a matter of two or three years changed his mind and had the building sold. I am not about to sit in judgment, but common sense will suggest that God does not change his mind as it were “in mid stream” with no tangible result to show. Paul began his work and did all he could so as to “finish my course with joy.”
Join me on a brief biblical safari as we count the number of times and circumstances when God intervened a second time; and we will see if they were new calls or reminders of the first, and an actual continuation of the first. Here is a quick snap-shot of what I mean; and I encourage you ministers on foreign soil to print these lessons and use them in your own bible class as you nurture your own people with the meat of the word. The young lad David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel in his father’s house, to replace Saul as king over Israel. The scripture said that after David was anointed to be king by Samuel, he went back to tending his sheep as if nothing had changed. 1st Samuel chapter 16. From the sheepfold David became a servant in the house of the man he is to replace upon the throne. He satisfied himself with playing music to soothe the spirit of a rejected king, having to be ever mindful of the javelin capable of nailing him against the wall. He was content to progress from the sheepfold to the throne in small steps and stages. On his path to the throne of Israel, he was anointed king over Judah in Hebron, and he reigned seven years and six months. The men of Israel came and anointed him king, and he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. He was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned over all, forty years.
The point we are making is that although David was anointed king over the entire nation of Israel, he got there by making small steps progressively. The odd jobs that he was called upon to do, did not diminish any aspect of God’s call upon his life. Consider this in a meaningful way. While David was busy playing the harp for Saul when he was bothered by an evil spirit, David was already anointed to replace Saul. But he did not seek to “grab” the throne from Saul.
He did nothing to hasten Saul’s demise, because God’s call upon his life was God’s prerogative to be worked out in God’s own time. Do you see God’s call upon your life as the predominant factor? Or do you equate his call with unfavorable circumstances? Do we measure our growth in the knowledge of Christ by vanishing shadows and optical illusions? I remain completely mystified and inspired when I read of God’s visits with Abraham. There were about seven such visits in what is called “theophanes” or bodily appearances. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations (not Jews only) And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. (There is no king in present day Israel—but God spoke of kings, not one, maybe not two or three or four—so where are these kings today?) Now let us drop down to verse 22.
“And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.” Genesis 17: 1-22. Let us understand that this encounter was not Abram having a vision as he slept under a large oak or fig tree. This was not a dream! God came down in bodily form and talked with Abram. As we fast-forward a bit, we notice a second visit. “And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time.” Genesis 22: 15. But as we indicated before, the second call is not meant to bring a new mandate or calling, and this is borne out in the following verses in Genesis 22. The angel simply repeated the covenant that God had made in chapter 17. And there is a classic reason why God seems to double his messages and his visions to man. First of all, out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.
We should pay keen interest in the term “second time” as we just read. Great promises were made to Abraham the second time. In the case of Jonah, the word of the Lord came to him the second time, and this prompted him into action, to carry out the mandate of the first message.
Peter speaks of us being “begotten again” meaning the same as the second time. 1st Peter 1: 3. But there is yet another “second time” mentioned in scripture that we’d like to examine. “And unto them that look for him shall he appear “the second time” without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9: 28b.
J. B. Phillips translation said: “To those who look for him, he will appear a second time, not this time to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who eagerly await him.” Starting with Abraham, this is the grand finale when God’s plan for us will come to fruition for his glory.
We are told that Pharaoh had two dreams. One was of seven well favored kin and fat fleshed that fed in the meadow. Seven others that were meager came up and stood by them. The ill favored ones ate up the well fed ones. Now listen to this! “And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. Again, the fat ears of corn were eaten up by the lean ears, and the king was left disturbed in his mind. Joseph was brought in to face the king and to render the correct interpretation of the king’s dreams. After rendering the interpretation, Joseph added: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” Genesis 41: 1-32. In the book of Revelation we read of seven vials and seven trumpets; but in essence, the same double principle applies. The vials and the trumpets are the same, and the vision is doubled to John on the same basis as the dreams were doubled to Pharaoh. It is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass! Refer to Revelation 1: 1. Let us look at the classic case of Jonah who was called to go and preach to Nineveh. He disobeyed and was cast over board from a ship, and swallowed by a whale, in whose belly he remained for three days and three nights, signifying the length of time Christ would remain in the heart of the earth. Let us repeat the fact that none of the events in the Old Testament were written simply to fill in space in the bible. God does not pull “pranks” and he is not a “practical joker.” All that he does is with reality and true substance. Listen to this account! “And the word of the Lord came Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” Jonah 3: 1, 2. Do you see what I have been saying all along? God did not give to Jonah a new mission or a new message to preach. The first mandate, the first message still was not delivered, so there was no need for God to bring a new one. Why would God visit Jonah with a new task, a new message, when in fact the original was still on the books waiting to be delivered? God’s second call not only reminds us of what we are supposed to be doing to begin with; but it also adds authenticity and clarity to the first. On a Sunday night many years ago in Rochester, New York, I delivered the evening’s sermon.
My text was taken from Galatians 4: 19. “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” At the end of the service a young lady, well dressed and showed signs of great intelligence, came to me her face a washed with tears. She was almost shaking as she said to me; “Evangelist, thank you for the sermon tonight; because now I know that there is hope for me.” You know, as a minister of the gospel, you never really forget such instances. My greatest joy, and the greatest feeling of accomplishment in my life as a whole, is when I see and hear people speak of their lives being touched and even turned around by something I said in a sermon, or as a result of a prayer I offered on their behalf. When we take a second look at the ministry of the prophet Jonah, we notice something rather remarkable. We are told that Nineveh was a three-day journey from where Jonah was regurgitated from the belly of the whale. But because of the haste he placed on his mission at this late juncture, he began to arrive in town in the evening of the first day. As we indicated before, God did not change the message or the messenger. Jonah was locked into this task whether he liked it or not. In fact, it was very clear that he did not think well about going to preach to the Ninevites. When he told the men on the ship to cast him overboard, in essence he was saying, “I would rather die than go to Nineveh.” I calculated that moments after he hit the stormy waters I would be dead; but death was better than going to preach destruction to the people of Nineveh. Paul called himself a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ; and I can assure you that there are those upon whom the hand of the Lord has been laid, and if he has to call you as reminders over and over again, the bottom line is that you will do his will! His call upon your life will come to fruition in spite of you, me, or the other person.
The gifts and calling of God are without repentance, and his word will not return unto him void; but they will accomplish that for which they were sent. Even with God’s call upon our lives, we often hit rock bottom and hard times; but that changes nothing in God’s predestinated will in your life. Just remember that you are not alone! As we shared in a previous letter, Elijah ran from a mere woman, found a neat little spot under a juniper tree, and there he laid himself down and literally asked God to end his life, saying “it is enough.” In other words, “I have had enough and I just can’t take it anymore. I am the only one left, so what is the purpose in my feeble effort?
He thought he was the only one left while God had reserved unto himself, thousands that remained faithful to his cause. But here is the beauty about God’s second call to Jonah. The Lord did not call him on the carpet, as we say here in America. The Lord did not give him a good tongue lashing for his rebellion and calculated disobedience. What would we have done? We would no doubt have a conference with Jonah in which he would have to defend his actions by presenting clear and acceptable reasons. And even after that, we would no doubt strip him of his assignment, give it to another, and banish Jonah to the “dog house.” This is an American term for being pushed aside as a form of punishment. In essence, God was saying to Jonah; “Okay, arise, dust off the seat of your pants. Wash your face, get something to eat, and be on your way, because my call upon your life is not up for retraction or to be revoked. My counsel will stand, and I will do all my good pleasure. According to Paul’s letter to Timothy, God’s call upon our lives is not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2nd Timothy 1: 9. It brings to mind the song we love to sing in our fellowship: “What a mighty God we serve, What a mighty God we serve; angels bow before him, heaven and earth adore him; what a mighty God we serve.” I do not always enjoy what he does, and some of what he does are downright painful; “but he doeth all things well.” This prompts my heart to sing; “When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all he has done for me; my soul cries out hallelujah, thank God for saving me.” I hear his call, and once in my life I fell on my knees and asked him to give the task to another and let me die. I was almost 5,000 miles from home, living in a strange country, and extremely lonely. To my surprise God said; “None other shall do it but you; for before your mother knew what she would have, I placed my mark upon you and ordained you to this ministry; and thou shalt surely go unto those to whom I have sent thee.” I shook and wept like a baby, but I thank him for his call—be it first, second, or third. To my friends, especially overseas, remain true to God’s call upon your life! Let me encourage you as pastors to copy these lessons and translate them into your native language so that your congregations can read along with you in your bible studies.
Please be reminded that all love gifts are to be made payable to Royce Kennedy; and not the ministry. Thank you and be blessed in all that you do! I could not have come this far without you and remember that God keeps the books!
Royce O. Kennedy
