Author Topic: Latter Rain (Read 42970 times)

Richard Myers · « **on:** February 10, 2000, 08:35:00 AM »

"Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain." "He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain." In the East the former rain falls at the sowing time. It is necessary in order that the seed may germinate. Under the influence of the fertilizing showers, the tender shoot springs up. The latter rain, falling near the close of the season, ripens the grain and prepares it for the sickle. The Lord employs these operations of nature to represent the work of the Holy Spirit. As the dew and the rain are given first to cause the seed to germinate, and then to ripen the harvest, so the Holy Spirit is given to carry forward, from one stage to another, the process of spiritual growth. The ripening of the grain represents the completion of the work of God's grace in the soul. By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Avalee Lohman · « **Reply #1 on:** February 10, 2000, 01:44:00 PM »

Last Day Events
Chapter Title: The Latter Rain
The Latter Rain Will Produce the Loud Cry

At that time the "latter rain," or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.--EW 86 (1854).
I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. . . . I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, "It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel."--EW 271 (1858).

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the refreshing from the presence of the Lord

I especially liked that phrase....what a beautiful thing

Avalee

Richard Myers · « **Reply #2 on:** February 12, 2000, 06:58:00 AM »

Such a blessing to understand that it is the Holy Spirit that will give power to the work we do. We value Him too little. If we would ask more of Him, He would indeed give us more. As much as we are open to receiving He will fill. Thank you for sharing, Sister Avalee.

In His love and grace, Richard

loryn · « **Reply #3 on:** July 31, 2000, 04:07:00 AM »

Could someone show me from the Bible where the latter rain is promised / prophesied? Thanks.

charlene · « **Reply #4 on:** July 31, 2000, 11:49:00 AM »

Dear Loryn,

I see the Latter rain refereed to in Acts 3: 19,20.

"Repent Ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached."

This also tell us the 'Times of refreshing' comes just before Jesus comes and foretells the closing of probation.

James 5:7
"Be patient therefore, brethern, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

God is Good,

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charlene

loryn · « **Reply #5 on:** August 02, 2000, 04:45:00 AM »

Charlene,

Thanks for explaining that to me. I have a problem with both of these texts supporting such an understanding.

(Both these texts are much more understandable in a modern translation, NIV, NASB, etc. KJV tends to obscure the meaning simply because we are not familiar with the antiquated grammar.)

When I look at a modern translation, I found that neither of these passages seem to actually refer to the time of the end.

Acts 3:19,20 seems to refer to being refreshed NOW. We repent, and God (1) wipes out our sins, (2) refreshes us AND (3) will send the Christ.

Without further information, there is nothing to suggest "times of refreshing" will be at the end of time. If it was, surely it would read "time of refreshing." Nay. God has been giving times of refreshing to people who repent throughout history. See Jeremiah 31:23-25.

In James 5:7, James isn't even talking about anything remotely connected with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He is simply saying, "Be patient." "Be patient like a farmer is patient." The comment about a farmer waiting for the spring and autumn rains is merely an example of patience. I can't see how this statement could be used to support a prophetic outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I would appreciate it if anyone can show me other texts to support this notion. James 5:7 certainly doesn't. Acts 3:19,20 may in fact be one such text; but without further context from other verses, it seems unlikely.

Richard Myers · « **Reply #6 on:** August 02, 2000, 07:21:00 AM »

Good morning, Brother Loryn!

Let's appraoch this from another angle. Is there a need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What is the purpose of such an act? What would it accomplish?

Life becomes much more enjoyable when you know what is coming (for His children). I can see quite a few texts that promise such a blessing, but first share your thoughts.

In His love and grace, Richard

loryn · « **Reply #7 on:** August 02, 2000, 07:38:00 AM »

My thoughts are: I have heard of the latter rain being talked about. I have just never had it shown to me where it is promised or prophecied in the Bible ... as opposed to the promise of the Spirit being with believers generally.

I'm quite happy if someone can show me from the Bible where the latter rain is promised or prophesied. Just that I didn't perceive it in the two texts Charlene provided. (Or, I need more texts, expansion, clarification, etc. in order to perceive it in those two texts.)

charlene · « **Reply #8 on:** August 02, 2000, 08:31:00 AM »

Dear Loryn,

The 'early rain and latter rain' terms used in the Bible are Symbols of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There was a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost [Acts 2]. This was the early rain.

The 'Husbandman' is referring to God the Father, [John 15:1

the 'vine' is the Son Jesus Christ.

The early and latter rain is also a teaching [symbol] of the growth of the Christian experience. We need the Holly Spirit to water the seeds of truth, that have been sown in our hearts [early rain experience] then as the [plant/branches] grow and attatch themselves firmly to the vine, the fruit grows. Maturity means harvest time and the latter rain comes to ripen the mature fruit.
there is a time of harvest, but the latter rain needs to mature the fruit, ready for the picking....gather the 'bushels of wheat' for the kingdom. I know you are familiar with these parables.

Also, in addition to all the various translations of the Bible, we have the Spirit of Prophecy and I would like to give a few quotes from the SOP.

Testimonies for the Church Volume Nine
Timely Counsels----PG- 287
"It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as
nothingness. "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye
might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Verses 35-37. Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path [288] that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that
is for the redeemed. "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long
patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7, 8.

Rev.14:12 The saved are referred to as having patience,waiting for the latter rain and the soon coming deliverer, the above texts refer to God as having patience, waiting for the fruit to mature and the harvest.

Christ's Object Lessons
First the Blade, Then the Ear-----PG- 67
"The wheat develops "first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." The object of the husbandman in the sowing of the seed and the culture of the
growing plant is the production of grain. He desires bread for the hungry, and seed for future harvests. So the divine Husbandman looks for a harvest as the reward of His labor and sacrifice. Christ is seeking to reproduce Himself in the hearts of men; and He does this through those who believe in Him. The object of the Christian life is fruit bearing--the reproduction of Christ's character in the believer, that it may be reproduced in others."

The illustration of the early rain and latter rain and the 'farmer', was was understood by those that Jesus taught, because it was experienced in the area, so it is with us, it is explained in the parables.

God makes things simple, Man makes it compicated. I am learning too, and I am not a scholar, but maybe this will help.

In His Love,

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charlene

charlene · « **Reply #9 on:** August 02, 2000, 08:56:00 AM »

Acts 3: 19,20 This is truly a prophecy...

The Great Controversy--The Final Warning
-PG- 611
The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the
612
former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are "the times of
refreshing" to which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus."
Acts 3:19, 20.

The Great Controversy [1888 edition]
The Final Warning===-PG- 611
The work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the "former rain" was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the
upspringing of the precious seed, so the "latter rain" will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest. "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
[1 HOSEA 6:3.] "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."[2 JOEL 2:23.] "In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."[3 ACTS 2:17, 21.] The great
work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are "the times of refreshing" to
which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said,"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative Judgment], when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus."[4 ACTS 3:19, 20.]

In His Love,

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charlene

charlene · « **Reply #10 on:** August 02, 2000, 10:52:00 AM »

some bible texts:

Hosea-- 6:3 "Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come
unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth."

Proverbs-- 16:15 "In the light of the king's countenance [is] life; and his favour [is] as a cloud of the latter rain."

Joel-- 2:23 "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]."

The Acts of the Apostles- The Gift of the Spirit----PG- 55
"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," Zechariah 10:1; Joel 2:23."

God Bless,

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charlene

Richard Myers · « **Reply #11 on:** August 02, 2000, 08:48:00 PM »

Brother Loryn, Sister Charlene has done a good job at sharing and she even gave more than human opinion in sharing the inspired revelations given through Ellen White.

I want to comment on your last post regarding the Spirit in "latter rain" power "as opposed to the promise of the Spirit being with believers generally."

He who has life has the Spirit. That is a given. He who has not the Spirit has not life (see Romans . Is there something more than having the Spirit as given at conversion? Yes, the Spirit as poured put at Pentecost is an example of what God can and will do. Notice the promise that Jesus made that signs would follow His disciples. Now, at conversion we do not necessarily see these wonders being poured out, but we shall. We know at the end of time, just before the coming of Jesus that there will be more power given to His people.

I have moved back to the wide approach at looking at this. There is a need for the Holy Spirit to come with greater power than is first given at conversion. And, I might add that hands are not to be laid upon new converts quickly. For the same reason, God withholds the power of His Spirit in its fullness, not because He is not willing to impart it, but because we are not ready to receive it.

It took 3 1/2 years of being taught by the Master Himself before the disciples were ready for Pentecost. Are we ready?

There is a great need for the Spirit to move with more power upon those that are grounded. First see Eze 37 and can we agreee the valley of dry bones represents God's church today? If so then what makes these bones come to life? Is it not the Spirit? "Clean water will I sprinkle upon you, from all of your filthiness and all of your idols will I cleanse you." The Spirit will do a work in the church that will lead to the purification of the church. She will shine in a dark world.

Let us look at Revelation 18. What is happening here? "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory." How is this accomplished? Is it not though the Holy Spirit being poured out upon God's church?

The great controversy will come to an end soon. Before it does, God will have a people that will reflect His character in way that has never before been seen. How can this be? It can only be as they receive His character through the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Character is given and so is the power that is safe to give to those who love Jesus and walk with Him. His glory shall cover this earth! His righteousness shall be seen in His people in a much greater measure than was seen at Pentecost. It is the culmination of the battle between good and evil. The stone that was carved without human hands is this kingdom that belongs to Christ Jesus. They are His witnesses and will demonstrate His character and His power. Righteousness by faith will be a living truth that all may behold!

Hope this helps some.

In His love and grace, Richard

loryn · « **Reply #12 on:** August 03, 2000, 03:23:00 AM »

Thank you so much Charlene and Richard.

Charlene, providing me the additional background to the "rain" (Hosea, Joel, Proverbs, etc.) was most helpful. Thank you.

Richard Myers · « **Reply #13 on:** August 03, 2000, 07:38:00 AM »

Thank you, Brother Loryn. It is a blessing to have someone ask a question regarding doctrine rather than rise up against the truth. IF we would all do so, we would grow into unity much quicker. It is the character of the true Christian to want to know the truth, even if it varies with what I believe.

Thank you again for your participation here online. May we be recipients of more of the Holy Spirit that when the "latter rain" falls, it will fall upon us.

In His love and grace, Richard

Laurie Mosher · « **Reply #14 on:** August 04, 2000, 03:51:00 AM »

Richard, Avalee, and Charlene, have all done an admirable job in explaining the role of the "latter rain". I, too, would like to include some texts of Scripture. One of my favorites is found in Deut11:13-14 . This one pertains to "those who " harken diligently unto God's commandments (love to God)."
Notice v.14 "That I will give YOU the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain AND THE LATTER RAIN, that you may gather up the harvest" (my paraphrasing).
Brothers and sisters! The harvest is READY, and those who honor God and Keep (obey) His commandments will be the recipients of receiving "the latter rain".

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Keep "the" faith!
Bro. Laurie

loryn · « **Reply #15 on:** August 04, 2000, 05:41:00 PM »

What I want to know is: Why did Peter apply the Joel 2 prophecy to his time, when it seems really appropriately applied to the events of the early 19th century, or perhaps still yet to come?

Edward F. Sutton · « **Reply #16 on:** August 05, 2000, 01:33:00 AM »

It appears to be something that happens when the church is ready to receive it, as well as the time it will be poured out with no reserves held back; when the blotting out of sins occurs for the living SDA's.

If you have an EGW cd-rom disk look up "early rain" "latter rain" or log on to the White Estate EGW search engine for now & look about getting your own cd in the future.

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Ed Sutton

Richard Myers · « **Reply #17 on:** August 05, 2000, 06:54:00 AM »

Happy Sabbath all!

Brother Loryn, many times Jesus desires to tell us much, but we are unable to bear it, so He does not. Matthew 24 is an example of Jesus sparing His disciples knowledge they could not bear. He mingled the destruction of Jerusalem with the end of the world. All things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Jesus is all wise and does what is best for us.

Peter knew the "times of refreshing" was tied in with the investigative judgment and the second coming of Christ. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus." Acts 3:19, 20.

It seems they believed Jesus was coming soon. We, still waiting can make a better application of the prophecies since we can see some are still future, but not for long!

Hope this helps some. Brother Ed's suggestion to read on the subject in the Spirit of Prophecy is a good one. Jesus knew of your question and sent light through a prophet to answer it.

In His love and grace, Richard

M.A. Crawford · « **Reply #18 on:** November 10, 2000, 06:18:00 AM »

Throughout Scripture, God uses the operations of nature to point out some spiritual truth. In both the Old and New Testaments, water symbolizes the Holy Spirit (Isa. 44:3; John 7:38, 39). The terms "early (or first) rain" and "latter rain" are used to illustrate two great spiritual occurrences that are to take place before the Second Coming of Christ (Deut. 11:13, 14; Jer. 5:23, 24).

Israel's agricultural year was tied to seed-sowing and harvest rains. The early rain fell at seed-sowing time (during the fall as the growing season extended through the winter month), and the latter rain fell just prior to the harvest (in the spring). To neglect the soil preparation for the seed meant no harvest, no matter how plentiful the rain.

The spiritual early rain took place at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon God's disciples empowering them to proclaim the Gospel with Holy Ghost power, and upon those whose hearts were willing to receive it (Acts 2). The latter rain will be the outpouring once again of God's Spirit upon ministers and laity---ESPECIALLY LAITY---here in these last days of earth's history, to produce a spiritual harvest of people prepared to meet the Lord in the air when He returns.

Revelation 14 mentions six angels, all in some way having to do with this last day harvest. The first three join in proclaiming God's final warning (Rev. 14:6-12). The last three deal with the gathering of the two harvests: the saved and the lost (vs. 15-20).

As with the spiritual early rain, the latter rain will fall ONLY upon those who have made the necessary spiritual preparation, and have placed themselves in the PROPER SPIRITUAL POSTURE (unreserved obedience to God's Word) to receive it.

(See the book entitled Preparing For The Latter Rain.)

M.A.

DavidTBattler · « **Reply #19 on:** November 11, 2000, 08:52:00 PM »

One of my favourite verses in regards to the "Latter Rain" is found in James 5:7. "Be patient therefore, brethren: Behold! The Husbandman doth wait for the PRECIOUS FRUIT of the earth; and He doth have long patience for it until he receives the early and the latter rain."

Notice how we are called "precious," before we have completely ripened.

What could it mean when it says: "long patience?" What is meant by "long?"

Study Question:

Do we have to put away all of our sins before we receive the Holy Spirit; or does the Holy Spirit help us to put away our sins? Why would God call us "precious" in James 5:7, if we have not put away our sins?

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Author Topic: Latter Rain (Read 42970 times)

DavidTBattler