- The Latter Rain -
Letter 15, June 25, 1892 |
Letter 6, January 16,
1896 |
Letter 8, February 6, 1896 |
Manuscript 148, October 8,
1899 |
The Lord will soon come. There must be a refining, winnowing process in every church, for there are among us wicked men who do not love the truth or honor God. There is need of a transformation of character. Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ? Soon it is to be seen who are the vessels unto honor.
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird" [Revelation 18:1-2].
"Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" [Malachi 3:18-4:1].
Here are plainly brought to view those who will be vessels unto honor, for they will receive the latter rain. Every soul who, in the light now shining upon our pathway, continues in sin will be blinded and will accept the delusions that come from Satan. We are now nearing the close of this earth's history. Where are the faithful watchmen on the walls of Zion who will not slumber but faithfully declare the time of night?...How painful it is to contemplate that the Lord Jesus is being kept in the background!...
Never was the confederacy of evil greater than at the present time. Spirits of darkness combined with human agencies set themselves firmly against the commandments of God. They confederate together to make of none effect the law of God. Traditions, falsehoods are exalted above the Scriptures; reason and science above revelation; human talent, above the teaching of the Spirit; forms and ceremonies, above the vital power of godliness....
Time, precious time, has been lost in wanderings and backslidings from God. Every character is to be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary; if the moral character and spiritual advancement do not correspond to the benefits, opportunities and blessings bestowed, "wanting" is written against the name.
All who claim to be children of God should seek daily to understand why they believe [what they believe] by diligently searching the Scriptures for themselves. They who with humble hearts study the character of Jesus, will come more and more to reflect His image. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as [being something to be bestowed] in the future, but it is the privilege of the church to have it now. Seek for it; pray for it; believe for it. We must have it, and heaven is waiting to bestow it....
The history of the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram...will be repeated till the close of time. Who will be on the Lord's side? Who will be deceived, and in turn become deceivers? Everything is to be shaken that can be shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Dear Brethren who occupy Responsible Positions in the Work:
The Lord has a controversy with you...Religious principles have been corrupted. We will either make more pure, noble, and holy the principles held by God's heritage, or else we will mislead by false proposition, unholy schemes, saying, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we" [Jeremiah 7:4]. The work and cause of the Lord is sacred. There is to be no mingling of human, common, unholy fire with God's offering. This has been and is still being done. But men are blind, and see not the result of their zealous efforts. The question is, Shall those who are called from place to place act a part in the sacred work of God, use the fire of God's own kindling, or shall they use the common fire, of which not one spark should be used, to kindle the incense upon the censors which are offered to God....
Obedience is the first price of eternal life. "But the comforter, which the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you" [John 14:26]. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Comforter is to reveal himself, not in any specified, precise way that man may mark out, but the order of God; in unexpected times and ways that will honor his own name.
Now, just now is our day of mercy and salvation. The Lord God who dwelleth in the holy place, sees every soul that shows contempt for the manifestations of his Holy Spirit. God has revealed himself again and again in a most marked manner in Battle Creek. He has given a large measure of his Holy Spirit to the believers there....Some felt annoyed at this out pouring, and their own natural dispositions were manifested. They said, This is only excitement; it is not the Holy Spirit, not showers from heaven of the latter rain....
On many occasions the Holy Spirit did work, but those who resisted the Spirit of God at Minneapolis were waiting for a chance to travel over the same ground again, because their spirit was the same....They pronounced in their heart and soul words that this manifestation of the Holy Spirit was fanaticism and delusion. They stood like a rock, the waves of mercy flowing upon and around them, but beaten back by their had and wicked hearts, which resisted the Holy Spirit's working. Had this been received, it would have made them wise unto salvation; holier men, prepared to do the work of God with sanctified ability. But all the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been before them, they would have treated him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ....
Those who opened the door of their hearts to temptation at Minneapolis and carried the same spirit home with them, will realize, if not now, in the near future, that they resisted the Holy Spirit of God, and did despite to the spirit of grace. Will they repent, or will they harden their hearts, and resist evidence?
There is much that needs to be set in order in every institution that is in operation in our world. Finite men are not to make themselves lords, and seek to govern men's minds and principles, when their own minds, and their own principles, are very shaky. This uncertainty is being communicated to the churches by men in prominent positions....
Some have been and are still, refusing to put on the wedding garment. They still wear their citizen's dress, and despise the garment woven in the loom of heaven, which is, "Christ our Righteousness."...
The Spirit of the Lord has been upon His messengers whom He hath sent with light, precious light; but there were so many who had turned their face away from the Sun of Righteousness that they saw not its bright beams. The Lord says to them, They have turned their backs to Me, and not the face....
This lording over God's heritage as though the endowment of the talents of the mind, the soul, the principles of men, are to be under the jurisdiction of men, is permeating our churches with a spirit after the same order. There are many getting where the Lord can do nothing for them. They will not recognize the spirit or voice of God, but treat His words as idle tales. Many have breathed the atmosphere that has surrounded the souls of men in positions of trust, who have not only thought in their hearts but expressed with their lips, "My Lord delayeth His coming" [Matthew 24:48] and their acts reveal the sentiment.
Who will now understand these things that I write. There are men who have known the truth, who have feasted upon the truth, who are now divided between infidel sentiments. There is only a step between them and the precipice of eternal ruin. The Lord is coming, but those who ventured to resist the light that God gave in rich measure at Minneapolis, who have not humbled their hearts before God, will follow on in the path of resistance, saying, "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?" [Exodus 5:2]. The banner all will bear who voice the message of the third angel, is being covered with another color that virtually kills it. This is being done. Will our people now hold fast to the truth? "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" [Revelation 14:12]. This is our standard. Hold it aloft; for it is truth.
The Holy Spirit has been insulted and light has been rejected. Is it possible for those who for years have been so blind to see? Is it possible that in this late stage of their resistance their eyes will be anointed? Will the voice of the Spirit of God be distinguished from the deceiving voice of the enemy?
There are men who will soon evidence which banner they are standing under, the banner of the Prince of Life, or the banner of the Prince of Darkness....
These are poor, honest, humble souls whom the Lord will put in your places [men in responsible places] who never had the opportunity you have had, could not, because you were not worked by the Holy Spirit.
We may be sure that, when the Holy Spirit is poured out, those who did not receive and appreciate the early rain will not see or understand the value of the latter rain.
We have the assurance that in this age of the world the Holy Spirit will work with mighty power, unless by our unbelief we limit our blessings, and thus lose the advantage we might obtain....
Personal religious experience is needed in every church. Why?--because those who are not under the working of the Holy Spirit will not stand amid the perils of the last days....
Unless the revival of the Spirit of God shall come, all their professions will never make the members of the church Christians. There are sinners in Zion who need to repent of sins that have been cherished as precious treasures. Until these sins are seen and thrust from the soul, until every faulty, unlovely trait of character is transformed by the Spirit's influence, God cannot manifest Himself in power. There is more hope for the open sinner than for the professedly righteous who are not pure, holy, and undefiled....The spiritual anointing of the Lord will never come to self-sufficient men and women...you will certainly be weighed in the golden scales of the heavenly sanctuary and found wanting....
What kind of witnesses are we for truth and righteousness? Are we striving with all our God-given powers to reach the measure of the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever reaching higher and higher, trying to attain the perfection of His character? When God's servants reach this point, they will be sealed in their foreheads. The recording angel will declare, "It is done." They will be complete in Him whose they are by creation and by redemption....
We must be laborers together with God, else we shall fail in the work of overcoming, and our irreligious influence will cause other souls to fail. No soul is lost that does not draw other souls down with it.
