• NOTE.—In Palestine the early rains prepare the soil for the seed sowing, and the latter rains ripen the grain for the harvest. So the early outpouring of the Spirit prepared the world for the extensive sowing of the gospel seed, and the final outpouring will come to ripen the golden grain for the harvest of the earth, which Christ says is "the end of the world." Matt. 13:37-39; Rev. 14:14,15.

Elder: Robert Sessler

E-mail address:  lightmin@terragon.com

WHEN IS THE LATTER RAIN TO FALL?

     There are quite a few different ideas, theories, and beliefs being heard today throughout the world in regards to the timing of the Latter Rain.  As we know that every wind of doctrine is blowing today, we all are forced to ask ourselves this vital question: Is what I have heard, or may believe, on this subject really the truth?  Or is it just the faulty opinions and theories of men?  This is a vital question which you must ask yourself, because what you may or may not believe on this particular subject will indeed involve your salvation!

     "Do you ask, What shall I do to be saved?  You must lay your preconceived opinions, your hereditary and cultivated ideas, at the door of investigation.  If you search the Scriptures to vindicate your own opinions, you will NEVER reach the truth.  Search in order to learn what the Lord says.  If conviction comes as you search, if you see that your cherished opinions are not in harmony with the truth, do not misinterpret the truth in order to suit your own belief, but accept the light given.  Open mind and heart that you may behold wondrous things out of God’s Word." Christ's Object Lessons, p 112.

     Is it time yet for the Holy Spirit to be poured out?  Has the Latter Rain already begun to fall?  Multitudes answer this question with a resounding NO!  Connected with this belief is the positive declaration that since no latter rain has yet fallen, then there can be no loud cry message of Revelation 18 yet going forth to fill this earth with the glory of God!  If these above individuals were to be asked when they believed the latter rain would begin to be poured out, the majority would proudly declare that there can be no falling of the latter rain until after the Sunday law!

     What we must remember is that these above beliefs are only the teachings of supposedly "studied" and "learned" men.  But what does God declare?  Are we to wait until some future time for the Latter Rain to come upon us?

     "We must not wait for the latter rain.  It is coming upon all who will recognize and appropriate the dew and showers of grace that fall upon us." SDA Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 984 (Letter 151, 1897).

     What has God told all of us?  He has plainly declared that His people are no longer to wait for the latter rain to fall.  Why?

     "Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light.  Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain.  It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it." Testimonies to Ministers, p 507 (R&H March 2, 1897).

     So God tells all of His people that the Holy Spirit in latter rain power could now be falling on hearts all around, but many would not recognize, discern or receive it.  Why?  Why does it take recognization and discernment before you can receive the latter rain?

       "I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place--when the mighty angel will come down from heaven..." Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 984 (Review and Herald, March 29, 1892).

     Who is this mighty angel coming down from heaven listed in Revelation 18:1?  The Holy Spirit!  Now the Holy Spirit is NOT a created angel.  The word "angel" translates, "messenger" (Strong's, word #32).  Just as Christ is Michael the archangel, yet He is not created but is the messenger of the Lord.  The same with the Holy Spirit.

     So this mighty angel in Revelation 18 represents the Holy Spirit.  And He comes down from where?  From heaven.  Hence the Holy Spirit comes down, or is poured out, from heaven.  And what is another name for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from heaven?  The latter rain (see Acts of the Apostles, p 55).

     Now is this mighty angel quiet when he is poured out from heaven?  No, because He cries mightily with a strong voice, or a loud cry (see Testimonies, vol 8, p 118), declaring the fall of Babylon.  So when the Holy Spirit is poured out, or the latter rain has come, He brings the beginning of the loud cry.  It is very important to realize this.  When the Holy Spirit is poured out in the latter rain, He brings the beginning of the loud cry of Revelation 18, and the whole earth is lightened with God's glory.  But can the outpouring of the latter rain be in connection with truth?  If so, what truth is it connected with?

     "The whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of God's truth.  The Lord will not close up the period of probation until the warning shall be more distinctly proclaimed.  The trumpet must give a certain sound.  The law of God is to be magnified, its claims must be presented in their true, sacred character, that the people may be brought to decide for or against the truth.  Yet the work will be cut short in righteousness.  The message of Christ's righteousness is to sound from one end of the world to the other.  This is the glory of God which closes the work of the third angel." Last Day Events from the Letters and Manuscripts of E.G. White, p 179 (Letter 2c, 1892).

     What did inspiration declare represented the glory of the angel of Revelation 18 which attends and closes the work of the third angel?  It represents the message of Christ's righteousness!  So when the latter rain is poured out, it is in connection with the message of the righteousness of Christ.

     Some may want to doubt this reality, but was it any different when the Holy Spirit was poured out in the early rain at Pentecost?

     "When the truth in its simplicity is lived in every place, then God will work through His angels as He worked on the day of Pentecost, and hearts will be changed so decidedly that there will be a manifestation of the influence of genuine truth, as is represented in the descent of the Holy Spirit." Special Testimonies, Series B#7, p 63.

     What was "represented" at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out?  A "manifestation of the influence of genuine truth."

     "'He [the Holy Spirit] shall glorify Me [Jesus].'  'This is eternal life, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.'  The Holy Spirit glorifies God by so revealing His character to His people that He becomes the object of their supreme affections and by making manifest His character in them.  They see clearly that there was never any righteousness in the world but His, no excellence in the world but that derived from Him.  When the Spirit was poured out from on High [at Pentecost] the church was flooded with light, but Christ was the source of that light; His name was on every tongue, His love filled every heart.  So it will be when that angel that comes down from heaven having great power, shall lighten the earth with his glory.  May the Lord help His people to see and understand what is truth." 1888 Materials, volume 3, p 1017 (Letter 25b, August 30, 1892).

     When the Holy Spirit was poured out in early rain power at Pentecost, the church was flooded with light that centered in Jesus.  And what is going to happen when the latter rain falls today?  Again His people will be flooded with light, and Christ will be the source and center of that light.

     "I stated [at the 1888 General Conference Session] that...there was to be special light for God's people as they neared the closing scenes of this earth's history.  Another angel was to come down from heaven with a message, and the whole earth was to be lighted with his glory." Last Day Events from the Letters and Manuscripts of E.G. White, p 64 (Letter 22, January 18, 1889).

     So the latter rain was to fall "with a message."  What message?  The righteousness of Christ– the beginning of the loud cry!

     "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: For it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 10:12.

     Why is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit connected with the message of truth centering in Jesus?

     "The only channel through which the Spirit operates is that of the truth." Selected Messages, book 2, p 49.

     Now since the message of the righteousness of Christ began about the year 1888, then that means that the Holy Spirit could fall with that precious message at any time!  That is why God stated that it could now be falling on hearts all around.  This means that it was already time for the latter rain to fall!  Do you really understand this point?  It was already time for the latter rain to fall, and it is still time now!  We do not have to wait for it to fall in the future, such as at the Sunday Law, because it is time now!

     "The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as being in the future, but it is the privilege of the church to have it now." Last Day Events, from the Letters and Manuscripts of E.G. White, p 61 (Letter 15, June 25, 1892).

     In fact, there were some who were already enjoying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the refreshing!

     "...the very time when that church was receiving the outpouring of the Spirit of God...[and] is enjoying a season of refreshing..." Testimonies to Ministers, p 23 (Review and Herald, October 17, 1893).

     The same is available for today!  God's followers can have the Holy Spirit in latter rain power NOW!  Not later, but now!  Therefore no one needs to look into the future for the time for the latter rain to begin, because you can have it now!

     "Let us, with contrite hearts, pray most earnestly that now, in the time of the latter rain, the showers of spiritual grace may fall upon us....It is the time of the latter rain, when the Lord will give largely of His Holy Spirit." Testimonies to Ministers, p 509, 512 (R&H March 2, 1897).

     If this is really true, and the latter rain was already falling over 100 years ago, why are we still here?  The only reason why we are still here today is because the SDA church turned her back on this realization, mocked at the idea that the latter rain could be falling then, and instead ridiculed, criticized, slighted, and rejected the message of Christ’s righteousness (see Selected Messages, book 1, p 234-235; Testimonies to Ministers, p 467-468).  And in doing so, they rejected the latter rain, rejected the Holy Spirit, and thereby crucified Christ afresh!

     "The Lord God, who dwelleth in the holy place, sees every soul that shows contempt for the manifestations of his Holy Spirit.  God has revealed himself again and again in a most marked manner in Battle Creek.  He has given a large measure of his Holy Spirit to the believers there.  It has come unexpectedly at times, and there have been deep movings upon hearts and minds...This blessing extended to large numbers...Some felt annoyed at this outpouring, and their own natural dispositions were manifested.  They said, 'This is only excitement; it is not the Holy Spirit, not showers of the latter rain from heaven.'  There were hearts full of unbelief, who did not drink in of the Spirit, but who had bitterness in their souls.

     "On many occasions the Holy Spirit did work; but those who resisted the Spirit of God at Minneapolis were waiting for a chance to travel over the same ground again, because their spirit was the same....But all the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit.  Had Christ been before them, they would have treated him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ....

     "The Lord is coming; but those who venture to resist the light that God gave in rich measure at Minneapolis, who have not humbled their hearts before God, will follow on in the path of resistance, saying, 'Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?'  The banner all will bear who voice the message of the third angel, is being covered with another color that virtually kills it.  This is being done.  Will our people now hold fast to the truth?" Series A, #6, p 19-20, 26.

     Not only did the SDA church leadership disgracefully treat Christ through His Holy Spirit, but they went even farther than this wickedness.  The SDA church leaders told the Holy Spirit to go away, bolted the doors of the SDA church so that He could not get back in, and then told Him not to come back until they called for Him!

     "Had thorough work been done during the last General Conference at Battle Creek; had there been as God designed there should be, a breaking up of the fallow ground of the heart, by the men who had been bearing responsibilities; had they, in humility of soul, led out in the work of confession and consecration; had they given evidence that they received the counsels and warnings sent by the Lord to correct their mistakes, there would have been one of the greatest revivals that they has been since the day of Pentecost.

     "What a wonderful work could have been done for the vast company gathered in Battle Creek at the General Conference of 1901, if the leaders of our work had taken themselves in hand.  But the  work that all heaven was waiting to do as soon as men prepared the way, was not done; for the leaders closed and bolted the door against the Spirit’s entrance.  There was a stopping short of entire surrender to God.  And hearts that might have been purified from all error were strengthened in wrong doing.  The doors were barred against the heavenly current that would have swept away all evil.  Men left their sins unconfessed.  They built themselves up in wrong doing, and said to the Spirit of God, 'Go thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will call for thee.'...

     "It is only when we serve God in the strictest integrity and in humility of mind, trusting in Jesus, that we are safe.  Everything is to be shaken that can be shaken." Battle Creek Letters, p 55-56, 58 (Letter 123, August 5, 1902).

     As the latter rain has already begun to fall, then it is time to give the loud cry message found in Revelation 18!  But some will deny that it is now the time to give this glorious message, because they say that the Sunday law has not yet been passed.  But are we to believe these sayings of men?  Are we to allow ourselves to be restricted by the arm of flesh?  God distinctly declares in unmistakably plain language to all of His people today regarding when the message of Revelation 18 is to be given:

     "All are to hear the last message of warning. The prophecies in the book of Revelation, chapters 12 to 18, are being fulfilled. In the eighteenth chapter is recorded the very last call to the churches. This call is now to be given." Last Day Events, p 83 (Manuscript 75, September 20, 1906) see also Upward Look, p 277.

     Oh brothers and sisters, what blessed possibilities are lovingly held out for each one of us TODAY!  Shall we not grasp them?  Please do not allow the Devil to hold you into a position of inaction believing a futuristic doctrine that it is not yet time for the latter rain to fall, or that it is not time to give this last message of mercy; or that it is not yet time for the probation of all the churches to be closed; or that it is not yet time to separate; or that the beginning of the loud cry is not yet here, or has not yet begun to swell – because all of the above is not true!

     "The work to be done now is that of sounding this last message of mercy to a fallen world....The work will grow deeper and become more earnest to the very close of time.  And all who are laborers together with God will contend most earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.  They will not be turned from the present message, which is already lightening the earth with its glory.  Nothing is worth contending for but the glory of God. The only rock that will stand is the Rock of Ages.  The truth as it is in Jesus is the refuge in these days of error." Selected Messages, book 2, p 114.

     Brethren, let us go to work, for our light has already come, and the glory of the Lord has already risen upon us.  Let us completely follow this glorious light of the 3rd and 4th angels’ ourselves, and then take this light and fill this earth with its glory!

     Some are doing this right now!  Will you unite and join your voices with us?  Or will you be led away from giving the loud cry message by the perversion of men who twist the truth, and thus allow the devil to keep you out of the field of labor by following a false pretext and erroneous futuristic message?