Joel 2:32, commentary and pictures

Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered and saved, and that deliverance shall be in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem among the remnant whom the Lord shall call. The promise comes after God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters and servants and handmaids prophesy and old men dream dreams and young men see visions as a light amid moral darkness. It comes after wonders in heaven and earth of blood and fire and pillars of smoke with the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood, and before the great and terrible day of the Lord. It was partly fulfilled when the disciples received the Spirit at Pentecost, but it reaches beyond that day to the closing scenes of this dispensation and remains future even where the signs in sun and moon have appeared. That remnant is God's people of the last generation living amid those signs, keeping the commandments and having the testimony of Jesus with the gifts of the Spirit, and because the call is to whosoever and to as many afar off as the Lord shall call, they are to carry salvation to all nations and not labor for their own church alone.

Promise and Prophetic Setting

Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, and everyone who calls on Him shall be saved. Deliverance from the coming day of the Lord is promised to all who call, and salvation is offered broadly to all who respond to the proclaimed message. The promise is to be kept in mind by those who love God, calling them to trust God and not lean on human power, to seek God and claim His promises, and to seek the Holy Spirit and rely on His converting power in the heart. It is connected with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the work of conversion, showing that the Spirit's work and salvation belong together.

Deliverance shall be in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord has said, and among the remnant whom the Lord shall call. This deliverance belongs to the time of the great and terrible day of the Lord, with the heavenly and earthly signs coming before that day which remains future. It belongs to the closing scenes and closing events of the church's history in this mortal age and Christian dispensation, when God's oppressed people unite in a persistent cry to heaven and God answers by delivering the faithful remnant. That remnant is God's people living amid those signs, the commandment-keeping remnant with the testimony of Jesus, the last generation of the church on earth.

The promise comes after God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh, upon sons and daughters, old men, young men, servants and handmaids. Then sons and daughters shall prophesy, old men shall dream dreams, young men shall see visions, and servants and handmaidens shall receive the Spirit and prophesy. The revival of the spirit of prophecy in the last days is one of the special and most noted signs of the approaching end. God gives His Spirit to His people to make them a light amid moral darkness and to carry that light throughout the world. The prophecy was applied by Peter to Pentecost, when the disciples received wind, fire, and tongues and the gospel was proclaimed, and it was partly fulfilled in the apostles' time, yet it is not limited to Pentecost alone but reaches to the very last day and close of the dispensation, to be more fully evident later with special bearing on God's people now.

The promise comes after wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars and vapor of smoke, with the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood, and before the great and terrible and notable day of the Lord comes. Those wonders above and signs beneath stand together with the outpoured Spirit as signs of the approaching end. The promise follows warnings of judgment, a call to turn to God, and restoration, followed by the outpouring of the Spirit with signs before that day. Because deliverance is open to all who call and the promise is to children and to all afar off, even as many as the Lord shall call, labor is not to be limited to enlarging one's own church but is to teach all nations.

End-Time Deliverance of Remnant

The deliverance promised to all who call on the name of the Lord belongs to the last days and to the closing scenes and closing events of the church's history in this mortal age and Christian dispensation. It stands before the great and terrible and notable day of the Lord, following warnings of judgment, the call to turn to God, restoration, the outpouring of the Spirit, and wonders in heaven and earth. Even when the preceding heavenly and earthly signs have appeared, that great day still remains future, and the reach of the prophecy extends to that day and to the deliverance then given. In the last days whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, in connection with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His converting work.

Peter applied the prophecy to Pentecost, and it was partly fulfilled in the apostles' time when the disciples were together in one place and received the sound as of rushing mighty wind, cloven tongues as of fire upon each of them, and power to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. That fulfillment brought the proclamation of the gospel and salvation to those who responded to the message. Yet the promise is not limited to the day of Pentecost alone but reaches to the very last day and close of this dispensation, to be more fully evident later. It therefore has special bearing on God's people now, upon whom the ends of the world are come, including the promised manifestation of the gift of prophecy and solemn responsibility because salvation was purchased at infinite cost.

The remnant whom the Lord calls is God's people living amid those signs, the last generation of the church on earth. It is the commandment-keeping remnant with the testimony of Jesus, which will have the gifts of the Spirit. Deliverance in Mount Zion and Jerusalem is for this remnant called by the Lord at the time of the great day.

The revival of the spirit of prophecy in the last days, with sons and daughters prophesying, young men seeing visions, old men dreaming dreams, and servants and handmaidens prophesying, is one of the special and most noted signs of the approaching end. It is ranked together with the sun turned into darkness, the moon turned into blood in appearance, and wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath of blood and fire and vapor of smoke before the great and notable day comes. God's oppressed people will unite in a persistent cry to heaven for deliverance, and God will answer and deliver the faithful remnant.

Proclaiming Salvation to All

Because deliverance is open to everyone who calls, the promise reaches to children and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord shall call, and therefore work is not to be narrowed to enlarging one's own church but is to teach all nations. The same openness gives authority for lay young men, when the Spirit comes upon them with irresistible power, to go forth and preach that the hour of God's judgment has come. Sent in that power, they rouse people from careless security to confess sins and to seek mercy and forgiveness in the name of Jesus.

In the last days the promise is to be kept in mind by those who love God, calling them to trust God and not to lean on human power. It calls them to seek God and to claim His promises, and to seek the Holy Spirit and rely on His converting power in the heart, so that those who receive Him can lead sinners to conversion. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered and saved, with deliverance in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem as the Lord has said, and among the remnant whom the Lord calls, after God pours out His Spirit on all flesh so that sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, and servants and handmaids receive the Spirit, and after wonders in the heavens and in the earth with blood and fire and pillars and vapor of smoke, with the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Peter applied this promise at Pentecost as part of Joel's prophecy of the Spirit poured out in the last days, showing that the Spirit's work of prophesying and of salvation is offered broadly and remains to be sought now by calling on the Lord and relying on God's promises.

The prophecy was partly fulfilled in the apostles' time and is to be more fully evident later, when God gives His Spirit to His people to make them a light amid moral darkness and to carry that light throughout the world. With that special bearing on God's people at this time, it lays solemn responsibility upon them, because salvation was purchased at infinite cost. The fulfillment at Pentecost came when the disciples were with one accord in one place and received the sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, cloven tongues like fire sitting upon each of them, and power to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, which Peter declared to be that spoken by Joel. That same working of the Spirit can appear among those upon whom the ends of the world are come, while those who do not come under the influence of the Holy Spirit will not recognize His working and will mock it as drunkenness, just as the mockers at Pentecost said the disciples were full of new wine.