The Purpose Of The Latter Rain
Sabbath Afternoon
08/20/2016
The latter rain, which is referred to in the book of Joel, is the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the inhabitants of earth, to bring each living person to the point of decision, either for or against Christ. This is what the church has long waited for, and it will soon become a worldwide phenomenon, as the history of our planet draws to a close. Some people may not have previously known of God’s purpose in giving the latter rain, and because of this many have erroneously looked forward with eager anticipation to the conversion of the whole world.
However, because our relationship with Christ is based upon freedom of choice, the conversion of the entire world will never occur. The decisions we make from day to day will culminate in one final, irrevocable decision, after our minds have been illuminated on the truths which pertain especially to our time. Thus, the purpose of the latter rain is to enable us to make informed choices, and to bring to full maturity, the characters of those who will have chosen Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. This work of fine-tuning our characters for the heavenly courts is referred to in the book of Malachi. Let’s read:
Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
As it stands currently, the hearts and minds of most folks are not focused on the final events which are taking place daily, and because of this, we will be visited with some unnatural events that cannot be either explained, or denied by science, and which will turn the attention of earth’s inhabitants to the momentous issues which are just upon us. And as we examine the Biblical precedents we will observe that this pattern of operation has been used by God repeatedly in times past, to gain our attention, and will again be employed in the very near future. Let’s read:
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Strange weather events are deemed to be the result of global warming, and the phenomena of global terrorism is purported to be the result of fanaticism, according to the “Experts”. And thus, the signs that are given in scripture, pointing unmistakably to the close of human probation, are being reasoned away on one pretext or another. Therefore, The Lord will do something unnatural, something that cannot be reasoned away on any scientific, or philosophical grounds, to arrest our attention from the mundane issues to the eternal, and this, in conjunction with the outpouring of the latter rain, will climax this earth’s history.
We will examine four precedents given in sacred history, which present to our minds, both the final urgent appeals of The Holy Spirit, working through human agencies, coupled together with unnatural events, as probation was about to close for certain nations, and peoples. Let’s read:
[1] The close of probation for the antediluvian world:
Genesis 6: 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man”…
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them”…
Genesis 7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark”…
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp. 97>98] The ark was finished in every part as the Lord had directed, and was stored with food for man and beast. And now the servant of God made his last solemn appeal to the people. With an agony of desire that words cannot express, he entreated them to seek a refuge while it might be found. Again they rejected his words, and raised their voices in jest and scoffing. Suddenly a silence fell upon the mocking throng. Beasts of every description, the fiercest as well as the most gentle, were seen coming from mountain and forest and quietly making their way toward the ark.
A noise as of a rushing wind was heard, and lo, birds were flocking from all directions, their numbers darkening the heavens, and in perfect order they passed to the ark. Animals obeyed the command of God, while men were disobedient. Guided by holy angels, they “went in two and two unto Noah into the ark,” and the clean beasts by sevens. The world looked on in wonder, some in fear. Philosophers were called upon to account for the singular occurrence, but in vain. It was a mystery which they could not fathom. But men had become so hardened by their persistent rejection of light that even this scene produced but a momentary impression.
[2] Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp. 159] It was an immense company, youth and aged men alike inflamed by the vilest passions. The strangers had been making inquiry in regard to the character of the city, and Lot had warned them not to venture out of his door that night, when the hooting and jeers of the mob were heard, demanding that the men be brought out to them. They mocked Lot as making himself a judge over them, and threatened to deal worse with him than they had purposed toward his guests. They rushed upon him, and would have torn him in pieces had he not been rescued by the angels of God.
The heavenly messengers “put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.” The events that followed, revealed the character of the guests he had entertained. “They smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.” The inhabitants of Sodom had passed the limits of divine forbearance—“the hidden boundary between God's patience and His wrath.” The fires of His vengeance were about to be kindled in the vale of Siddim.
[3] The Philistines.
1st Samuel 5:1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp. 586] The Philistines removed the ark in triumph to Ashdod, one of their five principal cities, and placed it in the house of their god Dagon. But upon entering the temple on the following day, they beheld a sight which filled them with consternation. Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. The priests reverently lifted the idol and restored it to its place. But the next morning they found it, strangely mutilated, again lying upon the earth before the ark. The upper part of this idol was like that of a man, and the lower part was in the likeness of a fish.
Now every part that resembled the human form had been cut off, and only the body of the fish remained. Priests and people were horror-struck; they looked upon this mysterious event as an evil omen, foreboding destruction to themselves and their idols before the God of the Hebrews. They now removed the ark from their temple and placed it in a building by itself.
[4] The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and
Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
[The Great controversy pp. 30] Signs and wonders appeared, foreboding disaster and doom. In the midst of the night an unnatural light shone over the temple and the altar. Upon the clouds at sunset were pictured chariots and men of war gathering for battle. The priests ministering by night in the sanctuary were terrified by mysterious sounds; the earth trembled, and a multitude of voices were heard crying, “Let us depart hence.” The great eastern gate, which was so heavy that it could hardly be shut by a score of men, and which was secured by immense bars of iron fastened deep in the pavement of solid stone, opened at midnight, without visible agency.
These four precedents we have just observed are to have a repeat in our day, as the final outpouring of The Holy Spirit, under the symbolism of the latter rain, is about to take place. And just as before, it is going to be accompanied by various supernatural phenomena, which cannot be explained using our current scientific methodologies. Thus, the purpose of the latter rain is to bring to the forefront of our minds, the serious decisions which must be made by every person, before human probation is finally, and permanently closed. This latter rain is what is being referred to in the following verses. Let’s read:
Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened”…
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down, for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people”…
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
[The Acts Of The Apostles pp. 54>55] It is true that in the time of the end, when God's work in the earth is closing, the earnest efforts put forth by consecrated believers under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are to be accompanied by special tokens of divine favor. Under the figure of the early and the latter rain, that falls in Eastern lands at seedtime and harvest, the Hebrew prophets foretold the bestowal of spiritual grace in extraordinary measure upon God's church.
The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles was the beginning of the early, or former, rain, and glorious was the result. But near the close of earth's harvest, a special bestowal of spiritual grace is promised to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man. This outpouring of the Spirit is likened to the falling of the latter rain; and it is for this added power that Christians are to send their petitions to the Lord of the harvest “in the time of the latter rain.” In response, “the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain.” “He will cause to come down ... the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain.
But as was stated before, not everyone who has experienced the latter rain will be saved. In fact, after the latter rain has passed, the majority of earth’s inhabitants will be found in irreconcilable rebellion against Christ, because the last showers of rain will ripen both good and bad fruit. This is why we should pay close attention to the following, for there will be a repeat of these experiences in the not too distant future. Let’s read:
Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Jesus Christ is now being crucified afresh with the doctrine which teaches that His commandments have been nailed to the cross. If the law of God, is abolished, then we have no sin, and if we have no sin, we do not need a Savior, and if we need no Savior, then Christ is crucified in vain. Even though most Christians today now keep Sunday as the day of rest, the Bible nowhere enjoins or states that the
Sabbath was changed to Sunday, and thus, Sunday keeping is a commandment of men, not of God. Let’s read:
Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee”…
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
The outpouring of the latter rain is not given us to teach the satanic message of all love is equal. It is given with the sole specific purpose of focusing the attention of earth’s peoples on the downtrodden law of God, including the 4th, which states explicitly “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”. This is the reason why in Revelation chapters 13&14, where John treats extensively on the mark of the beast, together with the closing scenes of earth’s history, the word “Love” is never mentioned even once, whilst the word “Worship” is repeated no
less than seven times, the number of perfection.
It is of critical importance for us to understand this very solemn truth, because the next thing to occur on planet earth, after the latter rain has fallen, and after everyone has made their final decision, is the permanent close of human probation which will open the floodgates of utter destruction upon the face of the earth. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
But as stated before, The Holy Ghost is given to ripen both the good and the evil, or, in other words, to bring both groups to full maturity, hence we see in the following incident, two Christians who were filled with the Holy Ghost, but who will be eternally lost, because the cultivated sin of covetousness was never let go. And thus, as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all the believers, they also partook of the Holy Spirit, and were brought to maturity in their sins. Just so shall it also be when the latter rain is poured out upon all flesh, for all who continue to cling to sin will mature in sin, and those who cling to righteousness will mature in righteousness. Let’s read:
Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them
that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
[Acts Of The Apostles pp. 71>72] In sharp contrast to the example of benevolence shown by the believers, was the conduct of Ananias and Sapphira, whose experience, traced by the pen of Inspiration, has left a dark stain upon the history of the early church. With others, these professed disciples had shared the privilege of hearing the gospel preached by the apostles. They had been present with other believers when, after the apostles had prayed, “the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
Deep conviction had rested upon all present, and under the direct influence of the Spirit of God, Ananias and Sapphira had made a pledge to give to the Lord the proceeds from the sale of certain property. Afterward, Ananias and Sapphira grieved the Holy Spirit by yielding to feelings of covetousness. They began to regret their promise and soon lost the sweet influence of the blessing that had warmed their hearts with a desire to do large things in behalf of the cause of Christ. They thought they had been too hasty, that they ought to reconsider their decision.
They talked the matter over, and decided not to fulfill their pledge. They saw, however, that those who parted with their possessions to supply the needs of their poorer brethren, were held in high esteem among the believers; and ashamed to have their brethren know that their selfish souls grudged that which they had solemnly dedicated to God, they deliberately decided to sell their property and pretend to give all the proceeds into the general fund, but really to keep a large share for themselves. Thus they would secure their living from the common store and at the same time gain the high esteem of their brethren.
The choices and decisions that we make, pertaining to right and wrong, do etch their signatures into the fabric of our characters. Habits are formed by the deliberate, repetitive decisions and actions we may make, and then those habits form our character, which is essentially who we are at the core, and then our characters are sealed for eternity. Hence the reason why it is so important for us to use the enlightenment that God gives us through His Holy Spirit to make those choices and decisions that are in harmony with the principles and laws of His word.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to appropriate to ourselves, both the former and the latter rain, whilst the opportunity still lingers. Let’s read:
2nd Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.
God bless!