And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:32
This is another prophecy, one that is both already fulfilled and one that is yet to be fulfilled. It was fulfilled in that Jesus went from Jerusalem to be crucified and resurrected, and it will be fulfilled when Jesus returns, to Mount Zion in Jerusalem, to begin the new history of the universe.
When Jesus fulfilled this prophecy (the first time), the number of His followers was small. It began with the twelve men He called, and it expanded as He and they spread His Gospel through Judea and Samaria (and then far beyond after Jesus’ resurrection). Yet, compared to the overall population (of Jews, Romans, and other non-believers/Gentiles), the ‘remnant’ of people whom God called through His Son, was small. To them first came the message of how Jesus delivers us from our sins, how He and only He frees us from slavery to sin. They who called Him Christ and God were the first to be saved. Over the centuries since, that number has grown into billions.
When Jesus fulfills this prophecy (at His return), He will call on those who called on Him to come to Him. Those alive at the Second Coming will have recently endured the tribulation, tortures, and hardships that occur because of the tyrannical reign of AntiChrist. The devil won’t go away easily, and there will be nothing that helpless humans can do to stop him as he wreaks havoc ahead of Christ’s return.
Yet, when Christ returns, Satan will be finally, eternally doomed. He will be defeated in war and in all realms, and he will be cast into eternal damnation from which there will be no exit. Those following him will meet the same fate. Those believers who are alive when this happen will be called by Jesus, who will return first to Zion in Jerusalem. From there, He will beckon people to come to Him, and we will follow.
Who will follow? Those who have called on Him by name. Lord, Savior, Jesus, God: when we go to Jesus as He is (God), we call on Him by His name, by who He is. We do it now; we will do so then. We go to Him in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, and as confessors. As we do this, we’re reiterating that Jesus is who He says He is, that He is the only Savior because He, as God, came as a man, then lived, died, and lives again. Nobody else can do that. Nobody else can do what He will do when He returns.
For more reading: Genesis 4:26, Psalm 105:1, Psalm 106:8, Isaiah 1:9, Isaiah 11:11, Isaiah 46:13, Obadiah 17, Micah 4:7, Acts 2:17-21 & 39, Romans 9:27, Romans 10:13, Joel 3:1
All praise and worship to You, Lord Jesus.
Practical Proverbs 