- Welcome to presentation six in the seven part series on last day events. I'm Ken Norton, speaker director for the Voice of Prophecy. My prayer is that during this series your faith has been strengthened and your trust in Jesus has grown deeper and my hope is that this presentation on the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry, we'll encourage you to draw ever closer to Jesus as He prepares His church in these last days to give the final message of warning and invitation to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Let's begin with prayer. God in heaven, I pray that You open our eyes, that we may see wondrous things from Your law. Lord, we ask that You prepare us to receive the Latter Rain. We wanna be part of that group that gives that last gospel cry to the world. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. We begin by taking a moment to review the overall sequence of last day events. In this series, we are focusing primarily on events taking place during the period known as the Little Time of Trouble. We've already looked at the Sunday Law, The Shaking, and in this presentation we will examine the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry. These all happen before the close of probation. In the next and final presentation, we will cover a lot of ground as we focus on what takes place after the close of probation. During the Great Time of Trouble, the seven last plagues, the death decree and the time of Jacob's trouble. We will close the series by looking at the most talked about event in the New Testament and the most anticipated event in all of history. The second coming of Jesus, like the Sunday Law and The Shaking, the Adventist understanding of the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry have strong scriptural foundation. We take the name loud, cry directly from Revelation 18 verses one through four. Let's read that after these things. I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority and the earth was illuminated with his glory and he cried mightily with a loud voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine, of the wrath of her fornication. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people, lest you share in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues. These verses describe the last message of warning and invitation to be given to humanity before the close of probation and the second coming of Jesus. It will be a time period like none other Ellen White describing what she saw concerning this time in vision says this, 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. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand. The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the spirit of God. The arguments have been presented, the seed has been sown and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere. The truth is seen in its clearness and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them family connections, church relations are powerless to stay them. Now, truth is more precious than all beside, notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth. A large number take their stand upon the Lord's side. The last warning and invitation known as the Loud Cry that illuminates the earth with God's glory is not proclaimed by a heavenly angel. The heavenly messenger represents people, God's people who are the carriers of this final message. Just as the three angels in Revelation 14 represent God's people, so does this angel. In Revelation 18, they are the servants of God who Ellen White saw in vision hastening from place to place to proclaim the last message of warning and encouraging people to come out of the chaos and confusion of spiritual Babylon. Who exactly are these servants of God? Are they only the pastors Bible workers, chaplains, evangelists, church administrators and Bible scholars who are trained to know just the right things to say and how to say them? No. Look at the unusual yet incredibly effective way. God is going to finish the gospel work right before Jesus comes. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God to dictate even what shall be made when the work goes forth under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness. And what are these simple means? The same simple and effective means God has used throughout the history of his work to reach the lost and to bring them into a saving relationship with God as the time comes for it. The message of the third angel to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men and women of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal declaring the words which God gives them. Ellen White describes his humble servants at that time as being on fire for the Lord. Many will be seen hurrying, hither and thither constrained by the spirit of God to bring the light to others the truth, the word of God is as a fire in their bones filling them with a burning desire to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Many even among the uneducated now proclaim the words of the Lord. Children are impelled by the spirit to go forth and declare the message from heaven. The spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings and casting off all man's machinery. His binding rules and cautious methods. They will declare the truth with the might of the spirit's power. Multitudes will receive the faith and join the armies of the Lord. So just to clarify, no, it will not be just pastors and church workers who proclaim the last message. It will be all of God's people. It is not alone by men in high positions of responsibility, not alone by men holding positions on boards or committees, not alone by the managers of our sanitariums and publishing houses that the work is to be done which will cause the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This work can be accomplished only by the whole church acting their part under the guidance and in the power of Christ. In fact, the work will never be finished until everyone unites together to get the job done. The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers. Ellen White often emphasizes in her writings that all who accept Jesus as their Savior are to be soul winners and it is a fatal mistake to believe otherwise not upon the ordained minister only rest the responsibility of going forth to fulfill this commission. Everyone who has received Christ is called to work for the salvation of his fellow men. The spirit and the bride say, come and let him that heareth say come. The charge to give this invitation includes the entire church. Everyone who has heard the invitation is to echo the message from Hill and valley saying, come. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of soul saving depends alone upon the ministry, the humble consecrated believer upon whom the master of the vineyard places a burden for souls is to be given encouragement by the men upon whom the Lord has laid larger responsibilities. Those who stand as leaders in the church of God are to realize that the Savior's commission is given to all who believe in his name. God will send forth into his vineyard many who have not been dedicated to the ministry by the laying on of hands, who are the servants of God, whose faces are lit up hastening from place to place to proclaim this last message from heaven. It is you, my friend who is watching this presentation. It is you. It is you who may have no training in theology, no Bible worker certificate or maybe even no formal education at all. It is you young person or child with a humble heart and a desire to tell others about Jesus. It is you those in high positions of responsibility in the church, pastors and principals, teachers, board members, hospital and clinic workers, publishing house workers. It is us. It is all of us, the whole church of God who is called to work for the salvation of their fellow men. Now it will be all of us who God will use at the end of time when the Loud Cry will sound forth across this planet. Some of you may be thinking, I don't know how this is possible because I just can't see myself as one of those hurrying hither and thither and warning people and teaching and preaching. That's just not me. You may think and you're right, it won't be you. Something extraordinary will have happened to you. It's something you will have been prepared for even though you may not feel prepared for it now, but when it happens and you find yourself proclaiming with a loud voice, your voice, you will realize that it's not really your voice. Something will have caused a great change in you and in all of us who were made ready for that moment. Even Ellen White envisioned she was shocked at the change that she saw in this group that had gone through the agonizing struggle of The Shaking and they seemed incapable of any kind of spiritual rebound, but she saw that very group, they were armored up and they were proclaiming the truth with great power. We saw this in a quote that we saw in our last presentation, but it's worthy to read it again. Listen to this. I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth in great power. It had effect. I saw those who had been bound, some wives had been bound by their husbands and some children had been bound by their parents. The honest who had been held or prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold of it all fear of their relatives was gone. The truth alone was exalted to them, it was dear and more precious than life. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth. I asked what had made this great change. The angel answered it is the Latter Rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the Loud Cry of the third angel. This presentation is entitled Latter Rain and the Loud Cry because the two go hand in hand, one prepares for the other, the Latter Rain comes first to be followed by the Loud Cry. What is the latter rain? First, let's look at where the term comes from. In the region of the world where the Bible writers lived, everyone was familiar with the early and latter rain. The early or former rain took place in the fall of the year at sewing time and it continued through the winter into the spring. The Latter Rain came in the spring right before the harvest. The early rain consisted of a series of moderate showers while the Latter Rain could be very heavy at times the early rain softened the ground germinated seeds, it kept the crops watered the Latter Rain brought the grain to full maturity. Without the Latter Rain, the grain did not ripen and there was no harvest. In a moment we will see that the Bible writers, especially in the New Testament use the terms early rain and Latter Rain to describe the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God's people. Where did they make this connection between rain and the Holy Spirit? Well, following the rules of how to interpret Bible prophecy, we find that rain is often symbolized as the Holy Spirit in texts like this one in Isaiah 44, for I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants and My blessing on your offspring. In the New Testament, there is a very specific event that could be pinpointed as the time when the early rain was poured out on the followers of Jesus. We find this outpouring in the book of Acts chapter two, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire and one sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. Look at how Peter explained that outpouring event in verse 16, Peter says, but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel and it shall come to pass in the last day, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams and on my men's servants and on my maid servants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. Peter understood what was happening at Pentecost was a direct fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. Joel himself had connected the early and Latter Rain to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as seen in the same Joel passage that Peter quoted from, be glad then you children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God for he has given you the former rain faithfully and he will cause the reign to come down for you, the former rain and the latter. In the first month the threshing floors shall be full of wheat and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. Peter lived in the climate of former and Latter Rains. He recognized exactly what was happening at Pentecost. One interesting piece to this is that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of both the early and the Latter Rain. In a sense, Christ three and a half year ministry of planting gospel seeds, watering them and tending them as they grew could be compared to an early rain. Then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out in Latter Rain force, the disciples became the reapers. 3000 people were baptized after Peter preached that day. Peter could rightly apply Joel's Latter Rain passage to what was happening then, but the full and complete application of the Joel prophecy would be in the future and it appears that Peter understood this as well. Listen, as he describes a final ladder reign that would come right before the second coming of Jesus and what Peter described as the times of refreshing. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send Jesus who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Ellen White comments on this text, she says, 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 you 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. Peter was not the only one in the New Testament to predict a major outpouring of the Holy Spirit right before Jesus comes. Revelation speaks about a special time when the Holy Spirit's power is unleashed. It's found in the same text we read earlier that describes the Loud Cry after these things. I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority power in the King James version and the earth was illuminated with his glory and he cried mightily with a loud voice. How do we interpret this? As always, we look for signpost words that point us to other places in the Bible for greater expansion and explanation. Great authority, power, and loud voice in witnessing for God are the key words that point us back to the following words of Jesus right before Pentecost, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. According to Jesus, power is equated with what the Holy Spirit, which causes people to witness to proclaim loudly comparing these words of Jesus to Revelation 18. Many Bible students believe that Revelation 18, one through four is a description of the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry as they are fused together into one grand final event before the close of probation. I wanna repeat something I've said a few times in this series already. We can have memorized a last day events timeline or chart. We can know exactly what's going to happen in order, but none of this will matter if we are not prepared for the events when they come. Which leads us to an all important question on this topic. How can we be prepared to receive the Latter Rain? God doesn't hide the answers to big questions like this. He wants us to be ready. I believe the answer is found in a study of how the disciples were made ready to receive the early rain. Studying their story lets us know what our story should look like in preparation to receive the Latter Rain. So how did they prepare? First they put away all differences between them. Speaking of the disciples before Pentecost, the book of Acts says this, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. It was only after the disciples had put away their differences that the spirit fell and the spirit of unity continued as they worked together to turn the world upside down. The Book of Acts makes this very clear now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. Ellen White shares how we must do the same as we wait in expectation of the Latter Rain, let Christians put away their dissensions and give themselves to God for the saving of the lost. Let them in faith ask for the blessing and it will come. The outpouring of the spirit and apostolic days was the former rain and glorious was the result, but the Latter Rain will be more abundant. Does God bring someone to your mind? Even during this presentation that you need to reconcile with, don't put it off. You are responsible to do what you can do to make your relationship right with others. Even if they don't accept your offer. Leave the results to God. If God asks you to do it, He will provide you the strength to do so. First, we must put away all differences with others. Secondly, just as the disciples did, we must engage in earnest prayer. Here's the same text we read just a few moments ago. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. What should we be praying for? Ellen White gives us some insight. We should pray as earnestly for the descent of the Holy Spirit as the disciples prayed on the day of Pentecost. If they needed it at that time, we need it more today. Without the spirit's aid, our efforts to present divine truth will be in vain. At no point in our experience can we dispense with the assistance of that which enables us to make the first start. Divine grace is needed at the beginning. Divine grace at every step of advance and divine grace alone can complete the work. There is no place for us to rest in a careless attitude. We must never forget the warnings of Christ. Watch under prayer, watch and pray. Always a connection with the divine agency. Every moment is essential to our progress. We may have had a measure of the spirit of God, but by prayer and faith we are continually to seek more of the spirit. It will never do to cease our efforts if we do not progress, if we do not place ourselves in an attitude to receive both the former and the Latter Rain, we shall lose our souls and the responsibility will lie at our own door. As I've traveled to different churches recently, it's thrilling to see a renewed interest and conviction in the importance of prayer. And truly the only way we are going to stay united and reach our communities for Christ is to pray together. In preparation for the Latter Rain, we must put away all differences with others. We must engage in earnest prayer and thirdly, in following in the disciple's footsteps, we must allow God to expel sin from our lives. Listen to the end of Peter's first sermon after Pentecost, then Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God will call. I wanna share with you one of the most pointed passages from Ellen White on this topic about the importance of putting away sin from our lives. It's a long quote, but it's helpful for us. In this study I was shown that the testimony to the Laodiceans applies to God's people at the present time and the reason it has not accomplished a greater work is because of the hardness of their hearts. But God has given the message time to do its work. The heart must be purified from sins which have so long shut out Jesus. This fearful message will do its work. God leads His people on step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point but fall off at the next. At every advanced point, the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to the straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome. If they would not be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord said the angel, God will bring his work closer and closer to test and prove every one of his people. Some are willing to receive one point, but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth and their hearts are not prepared to receive. Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the true witness, if any, will not be purified through obeying the truth and overcome their selfishness, their pride and evil passions. The angels of God have the charge. They're joined to their idols, let them alone and they pass onto their work leaving these with their sinful traits. Unsubdued to the control of evil angels. Those who come up to every point and stand every test and overcome be the price what it may have heeded the counsel of the true witness and they will receive the Latter Rain and thus fitted for translation. I think we can all see ourselves in Ellen White's description struggling or having struggled with some sin that just seems to clinging to us no matter what we do and God has good news for us. He promises to purify us himself. If we are willing, here's one of my favorite Bible promises concerning this cleansing process, then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. That is why He is called Savior. It is He that will save us, not we ourselves. I have many favorite Ellen White quotes and this is one of them. No man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure. For I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, un-Christlike self mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul. It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made at every advanced step heavenward. It is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Therefore, there needs to be continual reaching out of the heart after God, a continual earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the soul before him. Only by constant renunciation of self and dependence on Christ, can we walk safely. May God alone be praised. He is a wonderful Savior. God just needs our consent now and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. It is through the mighty agency of the Holy Spirit that the government of Satan is to be subdued and subjected. It is the Holy Spirit that convinces of sin and expels it from the soul by the consent of the human agent through the merits of Christ, man may be able to exercise the noblest powers of his being and expel sin from his soul. Put away all differences with others. Engage in earnest prayer. Allow God to expel sin from your life and lastly, actively labor for Jesus. Now, the disciples of Christ lived a life of active labor as they traveled with Jesus and learned how to be fishers of men. They made many mistakes, but they learned in the process and consecrated themselves to serve as Christ taught them to serve. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on them, they were empowered with greater boldness to continue what they had already been doing. It will be the same at the end of time. The great outpouring of the spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with His glory will not come until we have an enlightened people that know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God when we have entire wholehearted consecration to the service of Christ. God will recognize the fact by outpouring of His Spirit without measure, but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God. When the churches become living working churches, the Holy Spirit will be given an answer to their sincere request. Then the windows of heaven will be open for the showers of the Latter Rain. When the reproach of indolence and slothfulness shall have been wiped away from the church, the spirit of the Lord will be graciously manifested. Divine power will be revealed. The church will see the providential working of the Lord of hosts. The light of truth will shine forth in clear, strong rays and as in the time of the apostles, many souls will turn from air to truth. The earth will be lighted with the glory of the Lord. Put away all differences with others. Engage in earnest prayer. Allow God to expel sin from your life, actively labor for Jesus. Now, if we neglect to do these things, we cannot receive the former rain which is falling now and available to all of us. Unfortunately, there are many who think that they can just wait until they receive the Latter Rain to make the necessary changes in their lives, but they're sadly mistaken. 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. They're making a terrible mistake. There is no need to make such a mistake. If we do the same things that prepared the first disciples to be ready for the outpouring of God's spirit, we too can be ready for that time. When it comes, now is the time to actively prepare and in this process we must be patient with ourselves and with others as God works to bear fruit in each of our lives. In preparation for his coming. James in the New Testament tells us to be patient and I close by reading his appeal. Therefore, be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and Latter Rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. I would like to pray a prayer of commitment for all of us as we close. Lord God, we need your help. We know that we are not able to prepare ourselves. God, we are asking that you fill us with your Holy Spirit now. Prepare our hearts. Lord, we surrender ourselves to you. We cannot keep our own hearts. We give them to you and we praise you and thank you that you promise to make us ready. We ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.