Isaiah 45:22
Isaiah 45:22 (see also Acts 17:30)
“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.”
Question: What does “all the ends of the earth” imply?
Answer: Everyone, and notice that the subject is salvation. That is not Universalism, though, because in order to become “saved,” a person needs to actually “turn” to Him.
This is reminiscent of the sermon at Acts 17:30-31: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” This makes the Arminian reading of 1st Timothy 2:4 and 2nd Peter 3:9 flow very naturally.
To a Calvinist, however, this is just a general call, which no one can answer, because all men are totally depraved. Therefore, God has another call, an effectual [secret] call, which overcomes the depraved nature of man, but is not given to “all the ends of the earth,” nor is it given to “all people everywhere,” but only to an elect group. That’s Calvinism, and thus Isaiah 45:22 is nothing more than a dead call.
Arminian, Robert Shank: “The call is authentic and sincere, and it is addressed to all men in good faith.” (Elect in the Son, p.196)
