Are you ready for the second coming? Are you ready for the latter rain? Since the latter rain comes before the second coming, don’t we need to be ready for that first? Why does the latter rain come? What do we need to do to be ready for it? Most importantly, what exactly does it do? Is it the power of the Holy Spirit working in the world to do a marvelous work of spreading the message of salvation in Christ? It’s all of that.
The Latter Rain
“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.” Hosea 6: 3.
The enemy of souls would like to confuse and conceal the purposes of the latter rain. He doesn’t want us to be aware of and in preparation for the great blessing God has for us.
To understand properly the message of the latter rain, we have to take those quotations that refer to the latter rain and then carefully harmonize them. There are times when statements seem to contradict each other on the same subject. We must remember that a statement that deals with the subject directly as its theme, is more reliable. A statement that happens to mention a subject incidentally, while dealing with another subject as the main point, should be given less weight, especially if it appears to be contradictory.
If we take this rule to heart in the investigation of the latter rain, shouldn’t we give the chapter in Testimonies to Ministers most weight because it was written to deal with the subject of the latter rain and that alone? Testimonies to Ministers, pages 506-509 is God’s effort through His prophet Ellen White to show us clearly, what the latter rain does in the lives of God’s people. The chapter is called, “Pray for the Latter Rain.” The study of this chapter should leave the reader with a clear understanding of the work of the showers to come.
The Symbolism Defined
Testimonies to Ministers devotes one entire chapter to the latter rain. The name is, “Pray for the Latter Rain.” Much of this latter rain exposition will be covered in this presentation. Here is the beginning of what Ellen White says:
“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.” Testimonies to Ministers, 506 Capitalization supplied.
The symbolism of the former and latter rain is simple. The former rain is given at the beginning of the planting season to start the growing process. The latter rain is needed before the harvest to bring the crops to total maturity (perfection) for the reaper’s sickle. God has used this illustration to show us how He changes our characters and gives us power to overcome sin, all made possible by the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
When a sinner first accepts Christ, he receives the Holy Spirit in the form of the former rain. As he progresses in Christian growth over the period of his lifetime, he continues to be refreshed by the spirit as symbolized by the early or former rain.
However, there is a time in earth’s history that God will pour out a special blessing on His people in the form of the latter rain. For this blessing, the people of God should be eagerly awaiting. To be perfected, being “wholly transformed into the image of Christ” should be our constant goal. God has made this possible in these last days in the gift of the latter rain, the outpouring of his Spirit upon all his faithful people. It’s the final atonement.
That Important Question
Does the latter rain bring about any change in our characters? That is, are we changed spiritually by the latter rain? Is there spiritual growth under the latter rain?
Some people teach that the latter rain will fall only on those who have already become perfect, totally without sin. They say the latter rain brings no change in the spiritual condition of the believer. In other words, they teach there is no spiritual growth, no character change, under the latter rain. All such change must come before the latter rain can fall, they say.
Let us review what the messenger of the Lord said in the above: quotation in the chapter, “Pray for the Latter Rain.”
1. “The latter rain, falls near the close of the season, ripens the grain and prepares it for the sickle.” This perfecting of the image of God in man will be by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s illustrated as the ripening of the harvest.
2. Under the latter rain, we will be “transformed into the likeness of Christ. . . The moral image of God is to be perfected in the character.”
3. The latter rain is a “completion of the work of God’s grace in the soul.”
In no way does this indicate that we must be without sin before the latter rain falls. It doesn’t say the latter rain will fall only on those people who have been made sinless with no remaining sins to be revealed or in any way still have sins to be dealt with. It doesn’t say all unknown sins will have all been made known and overcome before the showers of the latter rain can fall. Instead, it is very clear that the latter rain does bring about a change in the spiritual condition of God’s people.
Again, in the following quotation we find that “spiritual grace” will be given to “God’s church,” both in the former and in the latter rains.
“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. To the end of time the presence of the Spirit is to abide with the true church.” Acts of the Apostles, 54, 55. Underline supplied.
We Must Not Wait
To some, the above teaching of the latter rain might seem like a license to freely sin and wait until the time of the latter rain, when all sins will be completely, perfectly blotted out. Satan would love us to take this stand of leaving off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. This attitude is a selfish solution that cares not for trying to overcome nor to give glory to God by obedience. It’s not only selfish to neglect the present work as symbolized by the former rain, but very dangerous as well. Ellen White writes:
“Many have in a great measure failed to receive the former rain. They have not obtained all the benefits that God has thus provided for them. They expect that the lack will be supplied by the latter rain. When the richest abundance of grace shall be bestowed, they intend to open their hearts to receive it. They are making a terrible mistake. The work that God has begun in the human heart in giving His light and knowledge must be continually going forward. Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement [known defilement] and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now. Then the human agent had only to ask for the blessing, and wait for the Lord to perfect the work concerning him. It is God who began the work, and He will finish His work, making man complete in Jesus Christ. But there must be no neglect of the grace represented by the former rain. Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light.” Testimonies to Ministers, 507. Emphasis supplied. Bracketed material supplied.
The Richest Abundance of Grace
The latter rain is called the “richest abundance of grace” and “spiritual grace.” Acts of the Apostles, 54, 55. It is the “richest” that will ever be bestowed, but the former rain must first be received. God’s people must be “living up to the light they have” and “daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues.” If not, they will not receive the perfecting latter rain or even know when it is falling around us:
“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, 507.
Former Rain Insufficient
As important as the former rain is, it’s not enough. We need the latter rain. Both are needed for Christian growth:
“At no point in our experience can we dispense with the assistance of that which enables us to make the first start. The blessings received under the former rain are needful to us to the end. Yet these alone will not suffice. While we cherish the blessing of the early rain, we must not, on the other hand, lose sight of the fact that without the latter rain, to fill out the ears and ripen the grain, the harvest will not be ready for the sickle, and the labor of the sower will have been in vain.” Testimonies to Ministers, 507, 508. Emphasis supplied.
The Other Extreme
Satan first tries to get some Christians to be lazy and unconcerned and thereby cause them to ignore the work of the former rain, the Holy Spirit’s work upon the soul. He tries to get them to wait for the latter rain to cleanse them from sins that should have been dealt with under the former rain.
On the other hand, what has been taught by many conservative Seventh-day Adventist organizations is Satan’s attempt to conceal from our eyes the blessing that God is waiting to bestow on us today, that is, the “perfecting, latter rain.”
Many times Mrs. White has been quoted to say that absolutely every and all sins must be revealed, dealt with and overcome, before the Holy Spirit in the latter rain can be bestowed upon the awaiting sinner. With the quotations from Testimonies to Ministers cited above, it should be easy to see that this is not the case. Ellen White tells us we need to be ever “daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues;” we must be “living up to the light” that we have.
We are to be clean from every known sin in our lives before we receive the refreshing of the latter rain, then the power of the Holy Spirit will be given to bring the seed to perfection, to bring the soul to “The completion of the work of God’s grace in the soul?” At the time of the latter rain “. . . The moral image of God is to be perfected in the character.” Testimonies to Ministers, 506. *
The position to which each sinner must reach at the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain, is the point to where he has been forgiven every sin he is aware of (every known sin). At this point, he has received the Holy Spirit into his life under the power of the former rain. He is then prepared for the latter rain, if he is living up to the light he has and has no known sins to be forgiven and is neither cherishing nor participating in any known sins. He is holding nothing back from God. He is a totally dedicated Christian, but still on the road to perfection, not actually having achieved it. He is a truly converted man, aiming toward the mark of perfection, yet not totally sanctified. In this state, he is ready for the latter rain.
What Satan Fears
“There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out his Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation. If Satan had his way, there would never be another awakening, great or small, to the end of time. . .
“We are in the great day of atonement, when our sins are, by confession and repentance, to go beforehand to Judgment. God does not now accept a tame, spiritless testimony from his ministers. Such a testimony would not be present truth. The message for this time must be meat in due season to feed the church of God. But Satan has been seeking gradually to rob this message of its power, that the people may not be prepared to stand in the day of the Lord.
“. . . The cases of the righteous dead have been passing in review before God. When that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living. How precious, how important are these solemn moments! Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven . . . What is our condition in this fearful and solemn time? Alas, what pride is prevailing in the church, what hypocrisy, what deception, what love of dress, frivolity, and amusement, what desire for the supremacy! . . . We must no longer remain upon the enchanted ground. We are fast approaching the close of our probation. Let every soul inquire, How do I stand before God? We know not how soon our names may be taken into the lips of Christ, and our cases be finally decided. What, oh, what will these decisions be! Shall we be counted with the righteous, or shall we be numbered with the wicked?
“Let the church arise, and repent of her back-slidings before God. Let the watchmen awake, and give the trumpet a certain sound. It is a definite warning that we have to proclaim. God commands his servants, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” The attention of the people must be gained; unless this can be done, all effort is useless; though an angel from heaven should come down and speak to them, his words would do no more good than if he were speaking into the cold ear of death. . .” Review and Herald, March 22, 1887.
The Holy Spirit is waiting to impart Himself into the lives of the believer fully and completely, yet Satan wants to keep this truth from the minds of the elect, to cause them to miss the showers of blessing.
We should all be eagerly participating in the work of divesting our lives of every sin. We should be on the road to sinlessness, awaiting the latter rain to bring us to total perfection, and numbering us among the 144,000.
However, What Are We Hearing?
Within the last month, I heard a sermon stating that we will not reflect the image of Jesus until He comes in the clouds. Our characters will not be like His until our bodies are changed, as if sin is a function of the flesh. No, it’s a function of the mind. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ” Philippians 2:5. There was no sin in Jesus’ mind, and we are asked to have the same mind. **
To believe that the image of Jesus in His people will be effected only when Jesus comes is to disregard the simple, clear states above. I will repeat what happened with the latter rain.
“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.” Testimonies to Ministers, 506 Capitalization supplied.
To deny the work of the latter rain as Ellen white calls it, the “perfecting latter rain” is to deny the last day message of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For the message of our church is to prepare a people to stand in the sight of a holy God, without a mediator.
“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. ” “Review and Herald”, January 17, 1907.
The quotation in Testimonies to Ministers is strangely missing in most, if not all, of the books and presentations I have read or heard on the latter rain. More precisely, the following part in not quoted in the “Pray for the Latter Rain” article, although most of the rest is. Here is that part:
“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.” Testimonies to Ministers, 506.
The next time you read or hear a presentation on the latter rain, please look for this part of the quotation. I believe it will not be there. Why, because it’s the teaching of most Historic Adventists to believe that we have to be perfect before the latter rain will fall. They believe it will fall only on those already perfected under the former rain.
On the other hand, most of those who believe God’s people won’t be perfectly without sin until Jesus comes are part of what is often referred to as the New Theology. Both ideas are closing of the door to the most holy and opening the door to the holy place. This is as Satan would have it. Such ideas will keep us here many more years, for they have kept us here since and before 1888.
The message of 1888 was the message of the third angel, the message of justification by faith, the message that was to bring on the latter rain. But here we are, still in the holy place, even though we are intellectually in the most holy. That is to say, we know that Jesus is in the most holy, but since we don’t know that He is there to prefect us with the latter rain, we are through experience ready to receive only the blessing of the holy place. Being in one or the other is not a knowledge alone, but an experience, a blessing. Both apartments have an experience for the believer. Yes, we know that Jesus is in the most holy, however, we are prepared only to receive the experience, the blessing, of the holy place. The blessing of the first apartment is the former rain. The blessing of the second is the latter rain.***
I recently watched a set of sermons on DVD with a speaker of the Historic Adventist persuasion. I will quote him as best I can, he said: “The latter rain does not change the character.” After saying that, he immediately said the same with different words, “The latter rain does not give victory over sin.” Believing we won’t reflect the image of Jesus fully until the second coming is the teaching of the liberal, New Theology. Believing we must be sinless before the judgment, before the latter rain can fall is the teaching of Historic Adventism. Neither will bring on the latter rain. Both are keeping the latter rain from us.
The latter rain will come to those who are living in the Light, in Christ, living the Christian life and progressing daily in the walk with God. They are doing the best they can, not to use their works as merit to find acceptance with God, but know of their acceptance with God by faith in the justifying power of God. This is the message of 1888, the third angel’s message, “justification by faith.”***
The Original Question Above
The two questions posed at the beginning of this article were, “are you ready for Jesus to come?” and “Are you ready for the latter rain?” If you are, “. . . living up to the light they have,” and if you are, “. . . daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, ” (Testimonies to Ministers, 507) you are ready for the latter rain. After you receive the latter rain, you will join the 144,000 who will give the loud cry of the angel of Revelation 18:1. Then, the time of trouble will come followed by the second coming. . .” The answer to the question, “Are you ready for the second coming?” should be answered, No, not yet. To the question, “Are you ready for the latter rain?” the answer should boldly be, yes.
* “As we seek God for the Holy Spirit, it will work in us meekness, humbleness of mind, a conscious dependence upon God for the perfecting latter rain.” Review and Herald, March 2, 1897. Emphasis supplied. “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. . .” Acts of the Apostles, 54, 55.
**To read more about the nature of Christ and man, read Restoring Ta Hagia.
*** You can read more about the holy and most holy and justification by faith in Omega Now and Restoring Ta Hagia.