LATTER RAIN & THE HARVEST

• WHAT IS IT?• HOW DOES IT COME?

THE GOLDEN OIL

• Zechariah 4: 1-3. ‘And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right [side] of the bowl, and the other upon the left [side] thereof.’

THE GOLDEN OIL.

• The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied, that they shall not flicker and go out. Review and Herald, July 20, 1897.

HOW IS THE OIL POURED? • The golden oil represents the grace with which God

keeps the lamps of believers supplied, that they shall not flicker and go out. Were it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God’s Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men.

• “God is dishonored when we do not receive the communications which he sends us. Thus we refuse the golden oil which he would pour into our souls to be communicated to those in darkness.” Review and Herald, July 20, 1897.

The Rain as God’s Word...

• For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:6–11.

The Latter rain as messages.

• Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Deuteronomy 32: 1-2.

REFRESHING THROUGH KNOWLEDGE AND DOCTRINE.

• Isaiah 28: 9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breasts.

• 28:10 For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:

• 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

• 28:12 To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

LATTER RAIN AS NEW WINE.

• ACTS 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

• 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

• 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

OBJECT

• ‘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.’- The Great Controversy, 611.

MESSAGES THAT RIPEN THE HARVEST

• “To John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing messages which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction.’-The Great Controversy, 341.

DANIEL AND REVELATION THE SAME

• The books of Daniel and the Revelation are one. One is a prophecy, the other a revelation; one a book sealed, the other a book opened.’- Bible Commentary Vol 7, 971.

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles

• Mathew 9: 17. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.-

charmed with the new truth• the old bottles could not contain the precious new wine. The bigoted

Pharisees, scribes, and rulers had no preference for the new wine; they were filled with the old, and, until emptied of the old traditions, old customs, old practices, they had no place in mind or heart for the truth of Christ.

• But the common people, who were not filled with the wine of superstition and tradition, heard him gladly. They recognized the heavenly power of his teaching, and were charmed with the new truth concerning his kingdom.

• Let it not be said of us, as it was of them, that new wine cannot be put into old bottles. Let not those who have been long in the truth, who have been made the depositaries of the law of God, exalt the ideas and opinions of men above the advancing truth of heaven, lest they be left as old, withered bottles, whose place will be filled by new bottles which the Lord shall select for the new wine. We must be in a position where we shall ever have an appetite for the fresh manna, for the new wine of heaven. Signs of the Times, September 19, 1892.

CALLED A FALSE LIGHT.

• Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.-Acts 2: 13

• The third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory.--RH May 27, 1890. {LDE 210.1}

•WILL WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN THE LATTER RAIN TIME PERIOD?

THE APOSTLES KNEW

Acts 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is [but] the third hour of the day.

• 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

• 2:17 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:

ASKING IN THE TIME OF THE LATTER RAIN

• 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, to every one grass in the field.-Zech 10: 1.

•FEW DROPS BEFORE THE PLENTIFUL SHOWER

Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

• John 20:19Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.

• John 20: 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

few drops before the plentiful shower

• “The act of Christ in breathing upon his disciples the Holy Ghost, and in imparting his peace to them, was as a few drops before the plentiful shower to be given on the day of Pentecost.” Spirit of Prophecy, volume 3, 243.

• It is at the Sunday law that the latter rain is poured out without measure, but this fact does not preclude that before the Sunday law the latter rain is poured out with measure.

FRAGMENTS OF LIGHT

• “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. When we gather up the fragments of light, when we appreciate the sure mercies of God, who loves to have us trust Him, then every promise will be fulfilled. [Isaiah 61:11 quoted.] The whole earth is to be filled with the glory of God.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, volume 7, 984.

What constituted the Light.

• now Heaven rejoiced in being able to pour out upon the church the riches of the Spirit's grace. And under the influence of the Spirit, words of penitence and confession mingled with songs of praise for sins forgiven. Words of thanksgiving and of prophecy were heard. All heaven bent low to behold and to adore the wisdom of matchless, incomprehensible love. - AA, 38.

Finally....

• I saw that none could share the "refreshing," unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord, and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy, and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence. {CET 113.1}