When and How the Rain Falls 1? The Early Rain
When the RAIN FALLS!
God’s Power for His True Church
Prayer Thought:
The latter rain, ripening earth's harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of Man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection. {RH, March 2, 1897 par. 2}
PURPOSE - To reveal what the Latter Rain is, When and How it will come, And what we should do to prepare for it.
INTRODUCTION:
Joel 2:23, 28 “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has 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…And it shall come to pass afterwards, 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”
ZECH.10:1,2
“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….For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain; therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.”
WHAT IS THE LATTER RAIN ?
(Lev 23:9-15): There are TWO important rains in Palestine – the Former Rain in November (8th month) to geminate the seeds, and the Latter Rain in March (1st month) to mature the grains in the cobs or ears for the harvest of the 1st fruits in April – May.
COL 17 “ Natural things were the medium for the spiritual… leading thus from the natural to the spiritual kingdom.”
Therefore, the Former and Latter rain, the Harvest must have some spiritual application.
SPIRITUAL RAIN
Deut. 32:2 “My doctrine shall drop like rain … as the small rain upon the tender herb, as the showers upon the grass.”
Isa. 40:6-7 “… surely the people is grass.”
Matt. 13:38 “… the field is the world.
COL 70
“ ‘The field’ Christ said ‘is the world.’ But we must understand this as signifying the church of Christ in the world”
Latter Rain = Another message to SDA …...
A MESSAGE TO REVIVE THE SDA CHURCH
* Is there any more message to the SDA Church, apart from the 3Angels’ Messages?
CWE 34-35 - “let no one come to the conclusion that there is no more truth to be revealed…many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered to become the property of the remnant people of God… There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth…”
THE BIBLE AND SOP SPEAK :
Mal. 4:5
“Behold I will sent you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”
TM 475
“Prophecy must be fulfilled (Mal. 4:5 quoted). Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say, ‘You are too earnest, you do not interpret the scriptures in a proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message.”
Rev. 18:1
“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.”
6T. 60
“In the Revelation John says of the heavenly messenger who unites with the Third Angel (Rev. 18:1 quoted).”
GC 611:1
“The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel's message is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here foretold. The advent movement of 1840-44 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel's message was carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but these are to be exceeded by the mighty movement under the last warning of the third angel…..”
GC 612
“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.”
EW 277
“I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory….The work of this angel, comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel’s message as it swells to a loud cry….This message seems to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel’s message in 1844.”
1888 Material 239
“What did that resolution comprehend? It virtually said that nothing should be taught in the college but that which had been taught during the past year…. I stated that I was a stock holder and I could not let the resolution pass, 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 from heaven with a message and the whole earth was to be lightened with his glory. It would be impossible for us to state just how this additional light would come. It might come in a very unexpected manner, in a way that would not agree with the ideas that many have conceived. It is not at all unlikely, or contrary to the ways and works of God to send light to His people in unexpected ways. Would it be right that every avenue should be closed in our school so that the students could not have the benefit of this light? the resolution was not called for.”
BUT NOT ALL SDAs SHALL ACCEPT IT !! ??
Zech. 10:2 “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore, they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.”
NOTE: The latter rain or 4th Angel’s message finds the SDA Church listening to idolized teachers who teach falsehood trying to comfort the Church in vain, that there is no need for any more message, that things are fine with the Church – that “The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment.” 5T 211.
2SM 114
“A new life is coming from heaven and taking possession of all God’s people, but divisions will come in the Church. Two parties will be developed. The wheat and the tares grow up together for the harvest.”
EW 270
“I asked the meaning of the shaking… and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people...”
RH May 27, 1890/ June 25, 1901:
“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….The message God sends through His servants will be scorned and derided by unfaithful shepherds.”
TM 233 – “Many who hear the message by far the greatest number will not credit the solemn warning…The Lord’s servants will be called enthusiasts. Ministers will warn the people not to listen to them.”
Bible Training School, 1907. (Reprinted in The Review and Herald, Nov. 7 1918).
"In the manifestation of the power that lightens the earth with its glory, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their expectations and ideal, they will oppose the work. Why, they say, should we not know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?"
IF THE MESSAGE WILL THUS BE REJECTED, WHAT ARE WE ADVISED TO DO?
Isa 2:22 “Cease ye from man….”
Micah 7:5,6 “Trust ye not in a friend….a guide…her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.”
5T. 254
“Messages from heaven are of a character to arouse opposition.” --- WHY?
3T.255
“Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends….Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room…God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.”
TM 103-104
“Beware of rejecting that which is truth. The great danger with our people has been that of depending on men… those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men, and accept the decisions they make; and thus, many will the very messages God sends to His people if these if these leading brethren do not accept ….Even if all our leading men should refuse light and truth, that door will still remain open. The Lord will raise up men who will give the people the message for this time.”
THE 1888 MATERIAL :
“I have been shown that Jesus will reveal to us precious truth in a new light, if we are ready to receive them; but they must be received in the very way in which the Lord shall choose to send them…with humble, softened hearts, with respect and love for one another, search your Bibles. The light may not come in accordance with plans that men may devise.”
3T 253.1-2
“It is difficult for those who feel secure in their attainments, and who believe themselves to be rich in spiritual knowledge, to receive the message which declares that they are deceived and in need of every spiritual grace. The unsanctified heart is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
RH, October 21, 1890 par. 3
“It is not God that puts the blinder before the eyes of men or makes their hearts hard; it is the light which God sends to his people, to correct their errors, to lead them in safe paths, but which they refuse to accept,--it is this that blinds their minds and hardens their hearts. They choose to turn from the light, to stubbornly walk in sparks of their own kindling, and the Lord positively declares that they shall lie down in sorrow. When one ray of light which the Lord sends is not acknowledged, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned, and so the darkness will constantly increase until it is night to the soul. Christ said, ‘How great is that darkness!’ ”
Review & Herald Dec. 18, 1888 :
“ If you wait for light to come in a way that will please everyone, you will wait in vain. If you wait for louder calls or better opportunities, the light will be withdrawn, and you will be left in darkness. Grasp every ray of light that God sends. Men who neglect to heed the calls of the Spirit and the Word of God, because obedience involves a cross, will lose their souls.”
1SM 121 – 122
“Are we hoping to see the whole Church revived? That time will never come. There are persons in the Church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually…”
5T. 729
“To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory.”
HAS THIS MESSAGE ARRIVED ?
1SM 192 (1890) - “I have no specific time of which to speak….when the mighty angel will come down from heaven and unite with the third angel…”
But later in 1896 E.G. White wrote :
TM 91-92 “The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones….it presented justification through faith in the surety, it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ…”
TM 91-92
“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones….it presented justification through faith in the surety, it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ…”
E.G. WHITE, LETTER 106
“The whole of Revelation 18 will be fulfilled in the glorious closing of this work. It hasn’t yet been fulfilled; and yet the light of the fourth angel’s message began to shine in that strange and impressive way at Minneapolis. The only reasonable conclusion is that the light was put out by human instrumentalities…”
** Watch it : The message first came in 1888 with Elders Jones and Waggoner at the 1888 Conference, but was rejected by the bulk of the leadership of the SDA Church, through the attacks and influence of Elder Uriah Smith. After the 1888 Conference, E. G. White reacted at a resolution passed by the General Conference – that nothing new should be taught to the students at the College:
E.G.W - TAKING UP A REPROACH (written from Australia):
“In 1888 at the General Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the angel of Rev. 18:1 came down to do his work and was ridiculed, criticized and rejected. And when the message he brings again, swells into a loud cry, it will again be ridiculed, spoken against and rejected by the majority.”
1SM 234 – “Unwillingness to yield up pre-conceived opinions and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share….by exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting away from the people, in a greater measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them….”
GCB p.185, 1893 (Jones) – “That however, is but a sample. There will be things more surprising….and brethren, we will be required to receive and preach that truth. But unless you and I have every fiber of that spirit rooted out of our heart, we will treat that message and the messenger by whom it is send, as God has declared we have treated this other message…”
Elder T. G. Bunch (former conf. president of Idaho, Michigan, Oregon) – Exodus in type and Antitype p. 947 – “The opposition of some became very bitter and they not only ridiculed and criticized those who led out in preaching the message of righteousness by faith, but even accused Sister White for standing with them. Scenes were enacted at the Conference and afterwards that were very similar to those enacted by the Israelites at Kadesh - Barnea…”
G.C.B. MAY 9, 1892 (E G W – Melbourne, Australia)
“I saw that Jones and Waggoner had their counterpart in Joshua and Caleb. As the Children of Israel stoned the spies with literal stones, you have stoned these brethren with stones of sarcasm and ridicule. I saw that you willfully rejected what you knew to be truth, just because it was too humiliating to your dignity….I saw that if you had accepted their message, we would have been in the Kingdom two years from that date, but now we have to go back into the wilderness and there stay 40 years.”
Letter to E. E. Andross, Dec. 14, 1914
“I feel confidence, Elder Andross, that the brethren in Southern California will find blessing in the teaching of Scripture concerning the 144,000…” (through E.G. White’s 1st Secretary C.C. Crisler).
NOTE
Dr. Fulmer taught that the 144,000 will be Americans only, none from other lands. Elder E E Andross was the Pacific Union President who wrote to Ellen White about it. Hence this reply. Southern California was to be the venue of the advent of the 4th Angel’s Message. Also - add 40 years to 1890, you are at 1930 - which was the end of the 40 years of waiting the 4th Angel’s Message to return.
Did anything Happen in 1930, in Southern California?
On the dot of time – 1929-1930: A Sabbath School teacher in Los Angeles brought the message of the 144000 to the 1930 GC session held in California, but the G. C. Committee kept quiet for over year. Only Dr. Gilbert (rejected), Dr. Butterbough (accepted) and Pastor E.T. Wilson (accepted) replied as individuals.
Later, after a bad meeting with Br. V.T. Houteff, the G.C. wrote a fight-back document and threatened any SDA who might accept the message. Thus the Angel of Rev. 18:1 was rejected the second time! It is now moving to all SDA individuals to choose their own future as the Judgment of the Living is approaching. Let’s remember that:
RH May 27, 1890/ June 25, 1901
“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….The message God sends through His servants will be scorned and derided by unfaithful shepherds.
TM 233
“Many who hear the message by far the greatest number will not credit the solemn warning…The Lord’s servants will be called enthusiasts. Ministers will warn the people not to listen to them.”
THE SDA LEADERSHIP IN SPOTLIGHT :
E.G. WHITE, GCB 1901, P. 23 : “ The brethren assented to the light God had given, but there were those who were connected….with the Review and Herald office( Uriah Smith was the Editor, and used it to fight the message) and Conference (Uriah Smith was the out-going Conf. Secretary) who brought in elements of unbelief, so that the light that was given (i e in 1888) was not acted upon…. God gave them clear light as to what they should do, and what they should not do, but they departed from that light….That these men should stand in a sacred place to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be….that is past. What we want now is re-organization. We want to begin at the foundation (ie with the GC)…..The men that have long stood in position of trust while disregarding the light that God has given, are not to be depended upon. God wants them to be removed….”
MANUSCRIPT 29, 1890 (E.G. WHITE) :
“The religion of Jesus is endangered. It is being mingled with worldliness. Worldly policy is taking the place of true piety and wisdom that comes from above and the God will remove His prospering Hand from the Conference. Shall the Ark of the Covenant be removed from this people? Shall idols be smuggled in? Shall antichrist be respected? Shall the true doctrines and principles given to us by God, which have made us what we are(i.e. 3 Angel’s Messages), be ignored?.... This is directly where the enemy, through blinded, unconsecrated men, is leading us.”
During the loud cry, the church, aided by the providential interpositions of her exalted Lord, will diffuse the knowledge of salvation so abundantly that light will be communicated to every city and town. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of salvation. So abundantly will the renewing Spirit of God have crowned with success the intensely active agencies, that the light of present truth will be seen flashing everywhere. {Mar 27.6}
"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God. . . ." 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." Acts 2:17, 21. {Mar 31.4}
The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. {Mar 31.5}
I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of "refreshing" and the "latter rain" to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who . . . fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth . . . will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be . . . no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. Before this time the awfully solemn declaration has gone forth, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." {Mar 41.3}
NOTE
All the apostasies in the list above have already been fulfilled upon the G. Conference, therefore, it is no longer the voice of God to the people. The GC now recognizes/respects/works together with the Sunday churches and the Papacy; abandoning the 3 Angel’s Message doctrines, Health Reform but introducing world policies, smuggling foreign idols (teachings) into the SDA Church – all are now very visible to the naked eye! This amounts to the removal of the ‘Ark’ from its midst, and very soon God is about to re-organize His Church.
Therefore, there is a need of the 4th Angel’s Message, to inform us of what we should do to survive this SDA CRISIS.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!