The Day of the Lord Will Be the Church’s Finest Hour!
We have all been conditioned to think about the last days as being how dark and evil the whole world will be. Chaos, death, suffering. A day of darkness and gloom as Joel says.
For the day of the LORD is coming;
Surely it is near,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness. Joel 2:2
But does Joel stop there? Look at the rest of the verse.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a great and mighty people; Joel 2:2
Why doesn’t anyone talk about what God is doing in the last days?
See the contrast? A day of darkness and gloom. But at the same time, a great and mighty people, like the dawn spread upon the mountains! Many say this army is demonic. They have never seen the dawn spread upon the mountains!
There is a principal in the Bible called the early and latter rain.
The Early Rain
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.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The early and latter rain as before.
The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. Joel 2:23,24
The early rain softens the soil for the planting and germination of the seed. It is a soft rain. The latter rain brings the field to maturity for harvest. It is a hard rain.
Between the early and late rains there is a long dry spell.
The new covenant in the blood of Messiah was birthed with the early rain. Peter quoted Joel chapter two in his Pentecost sermon.
The Promise of the Spirit
“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
These verses come shortly after Joel prophesies the early and late rains. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost created the church. Three thousand people got saved. This was the planting and germination of the gospel. The early rain came with great signs and wonders. People saw the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in power and got saved by the thousands. During the early rain, the disciples performed the miracles we read about in the book of Acts.
Gradually, the early rains ceased. The power and authority that the disciples operated in dried up just like the ground in Israel dries up at the beginning of the long dry spell. This dry spell has been the condition of most of the nearly two thousand year church age that followed. This is the long dry spell between the early and late rains. Of course, there have been pockets of outpouring, like the Welsh revival and Azuza Street, foreshadows of the good things to come. But in the last two millennia, let’s be honest, there has been nothing like what we see in the book of Acts.
Now for the Latter Rain
I need to go back to Daniel 9:27 for a minute. I’ve already done three messages on this verse, but I need to refresh us on the first part.
And he will confirm the covenant with the many for one week… Daniel 9:27a
The established narrative on this verse is that the anti-Christ will make a peace treaty with Israel. The word in the Hebrew for confirm means to strengthen or enhance. No one is making or creating anything. The ‘He’ is strengthening an existing covenant.
The word in Hebrew for many means great in number. Israel has the least number of people on the planet. How can the many be Israel? It is not Israel. It is the church. In the book of Daniel, when God is talking to Daniel, Israel is referred to as ‘your people’. When Daniel is talking to God, Israel is referred to as ‘Your people’. Never is the term the many used for Israel.
This verse is actually prophesying the latter rain outpouring on the church! The ‘He’ is Jesus. The covenant He is strengthening is the new covenant in His blood. The ‘many’ is the church. The one that comes and makes desolate is not the same one who strengthens the covenant. There are two people in this verse. The He that strengthens the covenant and then at the midpoint, the one who comes and makes desolate. Two different people!
Daniel’s Seventieth Week begins with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit!
This later rain outpouring will grant even greater power and authority than what the church experienced at Pentecost. Signs and wonders! Remember, the early rain is a soft rain that prepares the soil for planting. The early rain gave birth to the church. The latter rain is a hard rain that brings the fields to maturity for the harvest. The new covenant is strengthened with power and authority by the latter rain outpouring. This final manifestation of the Holy Spirit will produce a great harvest in the earth during the last days!
The early rain took place at Pentecost. Peter quoted Joel chapter two to describe the early rain outpouring. But Peter didn’t stop with the early rain. He continues right into the latter rain outpouring.
Now let’s look at the second part of Peter’s sermon.
The Day of the LORD
I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Joel 2:30,31
John quotes Joel in chapter six in the book of Revelation. These verses in Joel are referring to the sixth seal. Joel says this will happen before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. What comes after the sixth seal? The seventh seal! The seventh seal is the Day of the Lord!
The latter rain outpouring on the church lasts the entire seven years of the Day of the Lord. This is what Daniel is prophesying in verse 27. Daniel’s 70th Week is the seventh seal. It lasts seven years and has seven trumpets. It is the day of the Lord. It is great and awesome! No wonder there is silence in heaven for about a half an hour when the seventh seal is opened. The church will operate in power and authority that has never been seen before in the history of the world during the entire seven years. This will be the church’s finest hour!
Now let’s look at the very next verse in Joel.
And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:28-32
This is the later rain outpouring that produces the harvest. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered! How many will call upon the Lord during the Day of the Lord?
This is the preaching of the gospel that Jesus prophesied in Matt 24.
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
The rains come in their season.
That He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. Deuteronomy 11:14
Most references of the early and late rains in the Bible also mention, in its season. Daniel’s Seventieth Week is the season of the latter rain! At the end of the week, the angels will gather together the harvest.
James talks about the early and late rains in chapter five. The context of this statement is the Day of the Lord.
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8
We are told to be patient and wait for the latter rain outpouring.
Many in the church will shun the later rain outpouring.
One more thing. We must position ourselves to receive the later rain outpouring. This outpouring will not look like what we have seen before. The later rain is a hard pounding rain. It will come in times of trouble with great power and authority for those who receive it. Many in the church will oppose it, just like many in the church opposed previous outpourings. That is why James says to strengthen our hearts. We don’t want to miss this!
Thanks,
Michael