This is how far we have fallen!
This is how far we have fallen!
If we are not willing to walk on the narrow path, we never will experience the fullness of God's Spirit that has been designated for the closing days of the Church Age.
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. (Revelation 10:11)
This is not a prophecy within the assembling to build up the members of the Body of Christ. Rather, this is the testimony to the whole world of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God, the will of God, to the earth.
We can see from this the amount of preparation we must undergo in order to be a part of this witness! But such is the Latter Rain revival.
Notice what the Lord Jesus said, when speaking of the Latter Rain revival:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
Notice that the Latter Rain witness is not today's "gospel" of going to Heaven when we die, but the original Good News of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. (Revelation 11:1)
Before we can serve to testify to the whole world of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, we must be judged (measured).
Of particular notice is the "altar." This is the Altar of Incense. It is at the Altar of Incense, after we have passed the Lampstand of Pentecost, that we cry out from the depths of our personality, "Not my will but Yours be done."
This cry is necessary if we are to go past the Veil and become part of the Ark of the Covenant.
This cry is necessary if we are to experience the power of the seven thunders.
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
A thousand two hundred and threescore days is the first half of Daniel's "seventieth week." This is the period of the fullness of the Latter Rain power and wisdom.
The unprecedented Divine Glory is "clothed in sackcloth." The willingness of some of today's outstanding ministers to vaunt themselves is an abomination. They never shall receive the power of the seven thunders.
The Apostles of Christ were not popular preachers, arriving in chariots driven by thoroughbred horses, wearing the latest fashions, demanding money from the Christians who were meeting in houses.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (II Corinthians 1:8,9)
Have you ever heard a popular evangelist speak like that? Neither have I.
The ministers of the Latter Rain revival will emerge from lowly places, prophesy, and then return to their lowly places. There will be no more "big names" in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ!
This reminds me of Ananias ministering to Saul of Tarsus.
They are "the two olive trees" and the two lampstands, and "they stand before the Lord of the earth." (Revelation 11:4--NIV)
Lampstands in the Bible represent Christ, and also the Christian churches.
Notice, in the following passage, that previously there was one Lampstand, and two Olive Trees perpetually pouring oil into the one Lampstand.
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. (Zechariah 4:2,3)
Now there are two Lampstands. Christ is one Lampstand. The victorious saints of the seven churches of Asia are the second Lampstand.
The two Olive Trees represent the Elisha anointing, the double portion of the Spirit of God, that shall keep the two Lampstands burning day and night.
We can understand from the unprecedented power of this anointing how Seymour and Mrs. Woodworth-Etter could make the predictions that they did.
Those who imagine the two witnesses to be bearded patriarchs from the pre-Christian era may be assuming that present-day Christians are not spiritual enough to perform the acts described in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation.
The Apostle John is representing the witnesses of the Christian Church. Notice that the angel said:
Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." (Revelation 10:11)
"You must prophesy again"; not "I am going to bring two patriarchs from the past to prophesy about people and nations."
The Lord Jesus stated that he or she who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist; and John was the equal of any of the Prophets.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
If there is one thing we can learn from the dry years we have been experiencing, it is that the Kingdom of God is constructed "not by might, nor by power," but by the Spirit of God. Can you agree with me here?
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. (Revelation 11:5,6)
We see a preview of this destructive power of the Kingdom in the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, don't we?
The miracles mentioned above may be what the Lord Jesus meant by "greater works," and what William Seymour and Maria Woodworth-Etter meant by Glory surpassing what they had experienced.
Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)
When they have finished bearing witness of the Kingdom of God, Antichrist shall "kill" them, that is, destroy the Christian witness.
How will he do that? Just as he has done with the people of America: by "Sodom" (the lusts of the flesh); by "Egypt" (the love of the things of the world); and by "Jerusalem" (spiritual pride and self-will).
"Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time." (Daniel 11:33-35—NIV)
Some of the saints who bear the testimony "will stumble," meaning perhaps that they have been deceived by Satan and are overcome by the sin that will be so prevalent at that time. But they will stumble so they may be made spotless.
The Latter Rain testimony given during the first half of the "week" will bring many to salvation. But remember—rain brings up more than flowers!
The second half of the week will not be as blessed.
During the second half of the week, many who are not true disciples of Jesus ("many who are not sincere will join them") will make a profession of salvation, as is true today.
The majority of people in the world, including some of the professed Christians will rebel against God and give themselves over to sin.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. (Matthew 214:12)
Many of the saints may be martyred during this period. But after God has decided that Antichrist has been fully revealed, God shall resurrect the saints and the witness.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. (Revelation 11:9)
I believe this refers to Christian institutions which then will have no spiritual life in them.
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. (Revelation 11:10)
I do not believe we are doing our job when worldly people are comfortable around us. The Christian churches are not to reflect the values of Humanism!
When our goal is to build a big church of many members, the temptation is to compromise the stern demands of Christ concerning what it means to be His disciple. How would the mega churches of our day fare if their pastors told the congregations that in order to be a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, they would have to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow the Lord at all times?
God is a Consuming Fire. He is not the kindly grandfather being presented in our day. Therefore God's endtime witnesses will perform acts of destruction as part of the testimony that is coming to the earth in the near future.
The return of the Lord will bring justice to the nations. This is good news for the oppressed of the earth. But it is a terrifying vision confronting those of the world who have made their life comfortable and merry at the expense of impoverished people.
A concept that I believe ought to be adhered to by every righteous person is that we never are to gain our pleasure at the expense of other people. Can you imagine how many people of the world, particularly the wealthy and prominent, violate this principle?
When the Kingdom comes, the meek, not the wealthy and prominent, shall inherit the earth!
And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. (Revelation 11:11)
The "three days and a half" compose the last half of Daniel's seventieth week. The Christian witness shall be "killed" for a season that Antichrist may be revealed in his fullness. But then God shall revive the saints and their witness.
According to my understanding, the last half of the "week" are the days of the Great Tribulation caused by the reign of Antichrist. The hindrance to the appearing of Antichrist has been removed as the majority of people have given themselves over to sin, thus "killing the testimony" and some of the witnesses along with it.
(This reminds us of America of today that has forgotten the Christian principles of the founders of our nation.)
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (II Thessalonians 2:3)
The worldwide rebellion against God will remove that which hinders the full revelation of Antichrist. This must take place before the day of Christ's appearing.
Here is the "hot sun" of persecution that will "harden the heads of grain." The "rain" of the Spirit will not be poured out during this period, just as in the weeks following the spring rains of Israel.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. (Revelation 11:12)
It is my point of view that this is the same event described in the fourth chapter of the Book of First Thessalonians, commonly termed the "rapture."
The truth is, there shall be no "rapture," as is commonly understood. Those who will be caught up are the saints who had borne the Latter Rain testimony, not everyone who has "accepted Christ." I believe these are the same people described as the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, of Revelation, Chapter Fourteen.
The "firstfruits" follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are not the rank and file of those who attend Christian churches.
"Heaven" may refer to the sky. This is reinforced by the fact that "their enemies" could see them. The Hebrew and Greek languages employed in the Bible do not distinguish between the spirit Heaven and the sky.
Also, in the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation, the new heaven and the new earth, probably mean a new sky and a new earth. There will be no need for a new spirit Heaven.
Compare:
Then I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea. (Revelation 21:1–Amplified Bible)
The witnesses will be caught up to the Lamb. They are prepared to descend with Him to the earth, just as they had prophesied in their testimony of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. The witnesses shall fulfill their own prophecy, as it were.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
Such is the event to which the Latter Rain will bring us. The Lord Jesus Christ shall come into His Glory and we shall be co-heirs with Him.
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16,17)
Amen and Amen.
(Let us keep in mind, from what we have just read, that these mighty events of the Latter Rain, of the Day of Redemption, employ believers who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. This may not be true of everyone who professes to be a Christian.)