How Many Calls did God Made to Finish the Work in His Vineyard (the Church-World)?
When God Calls: He Qualifies
God’s Servants in His Vineyard
Prayer Thought:
In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began "at Moses and all the prophets" and "expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:27. But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form. {COL 127.4}
PURPOSE - To reveal the different Calls with its messages, and messengers for every generation until the Last Called Servants in His Vineyard.
INTRODUCTION:
Why speaking in parables? Matt. 13:10,11/DA 495/COL 17-20 – Christ spoke in parables to use natural and social things of the earth to teach the spiritual, also to avoid unnecessary opposition and to encourage inquiry in those who are serious.
Now, read Matt.20:1-16 in your Bible:
Who are the recorded Servants of God in His vineyard?
Math 20:1-8
“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that is] an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise…….
Who are the recorded Servants of God in His vineyard?
“…..And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, [that] shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them [their] hire, beginning from the last unto the first…….”
compare with Matt. 19:30
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Mt. 20:16
NOTE: There are 5 calls of workers during the day time who work 3 hours each, apart from the last which work only for 1 hour, which is cut from the 3 hours of the 9th hour group. For us to understand these calls, we should first understand the meaning of the symbols used:
DAY TIME OF 12 HRS
WHAT’S THE DAY IN THIS PARABLE?
THE DAY
Gen. 1:5 “…And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Psalm 119:105 “Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
John 11:9 “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.”
GC Intro. P. (v) “During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through successive generations. The preparation of the written word began in the time of Moses. Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book. This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years--from Moses, the historian of creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel.”
THE DAY = THE TIME WITH THE WRITTEN BIBLE
The Two Nights:
1st Night leading to the “early morning”… From Adam to Moses, the time before the written Bible.
The 2nd Night – Time from the world’s close of probation to 2nd Coming of Jesus -when the Bible can no longer save anyone who is not saved by that time of close of probation (Amos 8:11-13/Rev. 22:11).
Labourers:
Luke 10:1-3/1Cor. 3:9 – Believers and doers of Present Truth.
What’s the vineyard in this parable?
Vineyard:
COL 396 – 397 “The householder's dealing with the workers in his vineyard represents God's dealing with the human family.”
6T. 23-24 “God's people are not to cease their labors until they shall encircle the world. The vineyard includes the whole world, and every part of it is to be worked.”
Isa. 5:7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts [is] the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant…”
COL 214 “The generation to whom the Saviour had come were represented by the fig tree in the Lord's vineyard--within the circle of His special care and blessing…. So God had planted Israel as a goodly vine by the wells of life. He had made His vineyard ‘in a very fruitful hill." He had "fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine.’ Isaiah 5:1, 2.”
Also: COL 70, 282. Vineyard/Field = His Church in the world
What’s the Market place?
Market Place: - AA 110-111/5T 203 – refers to the Church only.
Standing Idle: - AA 111/DA 232/GC 312, 609/COL 399 – means they are laymen and women in the church, therefore 3rd and 11th workers are mostly laymen/women.
Penny:- Counsels on stewardship 339 – Eternal Life.
Therefore, it is interesting to see that the 11th hour workers shall get their “penny” – eternal life, first before the other dead or living workers still on earth.
Let’s now examine the Calls – one by one
Who are the First Laborers?
First call – Early Morning
COL 398 or 400: - “The Jews had been first called into the vineyard…” Covenant (agreement) – Psalm 105:8-11/ Haggai 2:5. The kingdom in the land of Canaan.
New Message- Ceremonial/Sacrificial System.
Failure – 2Kings 17/18 – Apostasy and idolatry, the 10 tribes carried away into captivity by Assyria in 721 BC. And the 2 tribes, by Babylon in 587BC.
The two tribes returned from Babylon, after 70 years, but they later rejected and crucified Jesus. Then it was time for the next call.
Who are the Second Laborers?
Second Call –Third (3rd)Hour
Mark 15:25/Act2:15 – Jesus crucified at 3rd hour, and the Pentecostal power fell on the disciples at the 3rd hour.
The messengers …Jesus and the Early Christian Church.
Message: Acts 2:22-36/Acts 4:10-14.. The good news, the crucified and risen Saviour, whom the sacrifices pointed to.
Failure – GC 384-385 – The decline of the Early Christian Church by lowering the standards and a flood of unconverted, took over the church until the Papacy took over in 538 AD. The reformers tried hard to revive the Early Christian Church doctrines, but not bringing any new messages. But finally a new message came:
Who are the Third Laborers?
Third Call-Sixth (6th) Hour
GC 335-358 – “A great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ’s soon coming is foretold in the prophecy of the first angels’ message of Rev 14… it announces the opening of the judgment…this message is part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days.”
Messengers – the Millerites – They preached the 1st and 2nd Angels’ Messages (Counsels to Writers and Editors p. 26-27).
Failure – They thought the judgment was at the 2nd coming of Jesus to the sanctuary –the church; but when He didn’t come, there was a great Disappointment and disintegration. Many abandoned the message, Matt 20:5 combines two calls in one sentence meaning the calls and their messages were closely related-in the same year 1844, where one failed, the next call took over the same message.
Who are the Fourth Laborers?
Fourth Call-Ninth (9th) Hour
Rev. 10:10 – symbol of the 1844 Disappointment. Their sweet message became bitter-the small book is the book of Daniel. Rev 10:11 – the following night of the Disappointment, a small group met at Elder Edson’s home for prayers to know the reason why Jesus did not come.
Message:
Following morning Hiram Edson was shown a vision of the Heavenly Sanctuary and saw Jesus as a High Priest in the Holy of Holies.
Ellen G. Hormone (White) had already been shown the same vision which included the Sabbath. So the heavenly Sanctuary Truth revealed the Sabbath and Judgment of the Dead.
This group became the Seventh-day Adventist Church - with the restoration of the Law and Testimony (Spirit of Prophecy) in their midst - which are the writings of E.G. White.
What’s the problem why there’s another call?
Problem/Failure
5T 217. “The Church has turned back from following Christ her leader and is steadily retreating towards Egypt…Doubt, and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus, Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated…”
COL. 315-316 – “daily, the Church is being converted to the world.”
6T. 408 – “To those who are indifferent at this time Christ’s warning is : Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.’ Rev. 3:16. The figure of spewing out of His mouth means that He cannot offer up your prayers or your expression of love to God. He cannot endorse your teaching of His word…”
To God be the Glory!