“It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28-29.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
When it comes to routing the devil out of your life, the fastest and best way to do it is by being filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. Acts 6:5; Acts 11:24. If you are walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh you are walking by faith and not by sight. And the victory that overcomes the world is your faith, but you accelerate to a whole new level when you are filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. Fan the gift into flame. Spirit filled people stand out above the crowd and the devil sees you too for he knows he has met a conqueror and he will try to take you down. Do not be unaware and do not let him ever catch you off guard, and even worse, over in his territory. Be careful how you walk and make sure you are walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. If your peace and joy level is going down you are getting over in the flesh so step up your Word level and praise songs.
Today we will look at what I promised you by My prophet Joel that began at Pentecost with the early rain, but now is coming to a conclusion with the latter rain. And you want to be in that flow for the age of grace, the church age, is heading for the fulfillment of the appointed times of Trumpets and Atonement, after which the thousand year reign of My Son on earth and the final judgment and the descent of My heavenly city the new Jerusalem to earth will take place, fulfilling the final feast of Tabernacles. But Satan knows his time is short and he will be coming against the latter rain and those who are participating in it.
And that is today’s Life Lesson in what to do when the devil attacks, “The Latter Rain.”
Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. Revelation 12:12.
Do you know why he will have great wrath at the latter rain? You know what happened at the early rain. When Jesus poured down the Spirit to fulfill the appointed time of Pentecost, three thousand people were saved that day. And it just kept increasing from then on. And when people got filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, like Stephen and Barnabus (who were not the original disciples or apostles), they began performing great wonders and attesting miracles among the people, Acts 6:8, and considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. Acts 11:24.
If you recall, Jesus likened the way My Kingdom works to agriculture and farming, His first parable was about a sower sowing seed. My Word gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Isaiah 55:10. I tell you that is you sow sparingly you reap sparingly but if you sow bountifully you reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6. I call My Word imperishable seed that I plant in your heart. James 1:21. My appointed times, which are called “feasts” in translation to English, are integrated with the natural agricultural cycle of the year in Israel.
The process begins around the month of Kislev (November/December) with staggered sowing of the seeds over a period of four months. The first crops harvested are flax and barley (if you recall from the story of Ruth, the first harvest she gleaned was barley), at the time of Passover and First Fruits (the waving by the priest of the sheaf of first fruits, Leviticus 23:10). The time of the wheat harvest is at Shavuot (Pentecost) with the Two Loaves offering, made from the newly harvested wheat. Leviticus 23:17. The summer months are spent harvesting and gathering the summer crops and fruits. The cycle ends in the month of Tishrei (September). It is a time to take stock, a time for introspection and for making resolutions and planning the coming agricultural year. This is reflected in the festivals of Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Atonement). The nation’s prosperity for the coming year is set on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur if atonement is accepted before Me when the High Priest enters the Holy of holies to sprinkle the blood seven times for the sins of the nation. The celebration of the early rain, that is, the first rain for planting, showing My favor on the county, is accompanied by a feeling of wellbeing and prosperity reflected in the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), the time of rejoicing.
So now you see the cycle, the early rain appeared in late autumn at the time of planting (feast of Tabernacles) and the latter rain occurred in springtime at the beginning of the time of the harvest (close to Passover). The early rain of the outpouring of My Spirit into the hearts of believers planted the Church and it has been growing during the age of grace. The latter rain comes at the beginning of the harvest. Now the time of harvest is even at your door. Jesus explained this in a parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30.
You have the benefit of having this parable revealed to you by Jesus as He explained it to His disciples. “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:36-43.
My Son told you that the tares that grew with the wheat are sons of the devil. My Son told the Pharisees, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” John 8:37-38. So the one that My Word finds no place in is still under the dominion of Satan, for that is how Adam and Eve got there and how they murdered the eternal life within them that was from Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” John 8:43-45. And until My Word finds place in you and you are born again from that imperishable seed you are still a child of the devil, that is, a child of wrath, for, as Jesus told them, “Unless you come to believe that I AM you will die in your sins.” John 8:24.
And Jesus explains to you very clearly, so you should not be unaware of this, that the harvest is the end of the age. What age? The age planted by the early rain, the Church, the age of grace, for when the feast of Trumpets is fulfilled all who are in the Body of Christ, that is, all born again believers in My Son (for if you have not been born again from above in Christ you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, let alone see it, John 3:3-5), that is, the Church, will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air in a twinkling of an eye at the trumpet blast. And a new age will begin. The age of the great tribulation, the fulfillment of the feast of the Atonement.
And when you read the Book of Revelation you will find that the reapers are the angels. But all of you will be at the marriage feast of the Lamb! Get as many there as possible while there is still time. Be My witnesses to the end of the earth and bring as many as you can reach to the knowledge of the saving grace in My Son that is still available to them at this time. That is why I let the tares grow with the wheat, so that the wheat can bring the tares to join them in the great joy of eternal life with Me in the glorious Kingdom that will embrace Heaven and earth, a new earth. Go after the tares (the lost) and bring them into My barn. I do not want any to perish but for all to be saved and come to know the truth. Hell was created for the devil and his angels not for the sons of men but the devil will try to take you there with him and if he cannot do that at least to make you taste hell now by depression, worry, anxiety, and fear.
My Son told you that as the time of the great harvest approaches there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25-28. For when He comes will He find any faith on the earth? Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Matthew 24:11-13.
So how do you defeat Satan and live free from fear in what is coming upon the earth? Let us take a look at when the early rain fell and you will find your answer, for the first believers that were planted at the time of the early rain were subjected to much persecution and trials as they grew. But even in heavy persecution and rejection, they just shook the dust off their feet and went on “and the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:50-52.
First, Jesus had told His followers that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit and clothed with power from on High. So after He ascended back to Me, they went to wait in Jerusalem as instructed and they spent the time together in prayer so that they were ready to receive the Promise of My Spirit. And it came to pass that right on the perfect day planned from all eternity My Son reached My throne and poured down the Promise that He came to give you by making your spirits alive again so you could receive Mine. And what happened? Beyond all they could ask or imagine, and it is the same today when you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, a great regeneration takes place without you even being aware.
“When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4. The evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the speaking in tongues. Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:6.
And a crowd gathered at the noise for many had come up to Jerusalem for the pilgrim feast of Pentecost, and they were amazed at what they were hearing and seeing. So Peter stood up and how did he explain what was going on to the crowd? The prophecy of Joel, for they were hearing the sound of the early rain, My glorious Church had been planted in the earth and the age of grace had begun. And you are now part of this glorious age and once you believed in the gospel of your salvation, I sealed you in My Son by the Holy Spirit as a pledge of your resurrection to a new and glorious body at the end of the age.
Here is the prophecy of Joel:
“And it shall be in the last days,” God says, “that I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above and miracles on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:16-21.
Now you may be saying where do you find the early and the later rain in this passage? I will show you in the context of the prophecy as it was first spoken from Me by Joel.
“So rejoice, O sons of Zion, and be glad in the LORD your God; for He has given you THE EARLY RAIN FOR YOUR VINDICATION.” Joel 2:23. With the early rain came the opening of salvation to all men, for “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:11-14. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:5-7.
And Peter understood this for he went on to tell the people standing there before him at the pouring out of the early rain: “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” Acts 2:32-33. And he goes on, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2: 37. And the result? “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:38-42.
And what happens when the latter rain comes? Go back to Joel, “The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil (the bread and the wine of the New Covenant of My Son’s body and blood, and the oil of the anointing). Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, my great army which I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame.” Joel 2:24-26. And it is after this that the prophecy Peter quoted began.
Let Me show you the agreement with the prophet Hosea, “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn Him (Jesus), but He will heal us; He struck Him (Jesus), but He will bind us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the (את) LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and the early rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3. He is coming to raise you at the beginning of the third day—a day is as a thousand years to Me and it is close to the dawn of the third day since I raised Christ from the dead. The time is near at hand. And the devil knows his time is short before he is locked in the abyss.
Now, so what should you be doing to overcome and be found busy about My business when I come? Go back to the prophecy of Joel for insight. I stated that I will pour My Spirit on you and My bond servants (those who serve Me willingly as their own choice), men and women, shall prophesy. And what will I do? “And I will grant wonders in the sky above and miracles on the earth below.” Your work is to prophesy and My Word is to confirm that Word by signs, wonders, and miracle that follow, Mark 16:20 (“And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the attesting miracles that followed.”) to bring all you can reach into the Kingdom. for “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14.
And what is prophecy? “One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.” 1 Corinthians 14:3. And, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10. And at the Passover meal before He died, Jesus told His followers, “When the Paraclete (Helper) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27.
My Work is to do the miracles of healing and provision through you who are in Him that Jesus did and greater, and your work is to receive Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit and go forth and testify to the same so all may know the glorious gospel of salvation that is found in Jesus your Lord. And you are to take His authority and His Name and heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and preach the good news whether convenient or inconvenient.
And to finish the prophecy, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But “how then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” Romans 10:14-15. Remember what Jesus told His followers when I raised Him from the dead? “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21-22. And Jesus told you I sent Him to seek out and save the lost. Go and do likewise. And do as Peter did and get people saved, but do not stop there, tell them about the Holy Spirit so they too can be filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, and have the joy of believing.
For no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3.
It is time for you to witness. Jesus told you, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8. Are you paying attention? The devil will try to distract you, dissuade you, and persecute you to stop your prophesying and your witnessing but he cannot stop you if you are filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. Faith comes by hearing, speaking and doing My Word. You get filled with the Holy Spirit by asking Me for Him and then continually worshipping and making melody in your heart unto Me in the Spirit. And never forget praying in the Spirit, that is, tongues. It is the doorway to the supernatural.
I love you. Walk with the wise. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.” Proverbs 11:30. “And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:1-3.