The prophet Joel spoke of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days.

• 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
• 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
• 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
• 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
• 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
• (Joel 2:28-32)

• 1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
• 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
• (Joel 3:1-2)

The Holy Spirit was first poured out in a mighty manifestation of power on the Church by God on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Peter quotes Joel's prophecy to the people to explain what is happening.

Through study of the word, however, we discover in the prophetic scriptures the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the Church Age is only a partial fulfilment of Joel's prophecy.

Throughout scripture the earth is likened unto a field which is owned by God and the people on the earth are His harvest of souls. In an earlier chapter, the rapture of the Church was described in Revelation as a harvest of the earth.

• And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
• (Revelation 14:15)

• 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
• 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
• (James 5:7-8)

The harvest will not come, however, until the early rain and the latter rain falls. In Palestine the early rain came in the autumn at seed time when they sowed their wheat. This was necessary to supply sufficient water to get the crop started, then it would grow on its own. The latter rain came in the spring time just before harvest. It was necessary to bring the crop to full maturity so it could ripen and be harvested. According to Deuteronomy 11:14 these rains were sent by God.

Because the Holy Spirit is comparing the harvest of the earth, and the two rains necessary to bring it in, to a harvest of souls in the last days, we know there must also be two spiritual rains (outpourings) of the Holy Spirit.

The first one came on the day of Pentecost to get the Church started and the final one will be just before the rapture to bring in the harvest of souls to end the Church Age. This coincides perfectly then with our study of the events of the last days.

To further confirm this we look at what Hosea had to say about the Lord's coming.

• 1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
• 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
• 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
• (Hosea 6:1-3)

We conclude from these scriptures there is still another outpouring of the Holy Spirit (a spiritual rain) to come before the final harvest of the earth.

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156 Bedford Road, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3A4 (519) 623-7000 (888) 835-7007	Rev. Harvey G. Lainson, B.B.R. Principal      Executive Director   Last update Jan 20 2000 URL: http://home.golden.net/~stefanm