AUDIENCE: [APPLAUSE]
RON: I want to talk to you for a few minutes. And I’m going to get to James 5 and we’re going to talk about anointing with oil. But I want to talk to you about the Latter Rain. It was one of the segments on the program we taped today but you didn’t hear that so it’s going to be some repetition for some of the staff. But I want to talk you about the Latter Rain and what it is and what its promise is for the Last Days. Now the first mention of the Latter Rain in the Bible is in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 11, verse 11 and following. But the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares, now that’s Israel, a land for which the Lord your God cares. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil. This is the first mention of the Latter Rain and one of the principles of understanding God’s Word is The Law of First Mention. When something is first mentioned in the Bible that will be its primary meaning all the way through the Word of God to the very end. And here God is talking about their possessing their land, going in, possessing that land, becoming fruitful in that land. So understand that the Latter Rain itself has to do with Israel, the people of God, and their possession of the land. So when you hear someone talking about well the latter rain’s about to fall always know that if they’re rightly interpreting what’s happening it has something to do with what’s going on in Israel. Now let me give you a little bit of history. The land of Israel, the Jews have just been back there since 1948 but the movement’s been going on longer than that and I’m going to show you a little comparison real quick with history and Israel. There have already been two Latter Rain movements in our history and because there are two of them people say well neither none of them are real cause Jesus didn’t come back. But I’m about to show you something if you’ll stay with me for about a half an hour. The first Latter Rain movement started about the 1880’s. Went to Azusa in the early 1900’s and it was powerful. The evangelists that came along and that were raised up in those days, I think of Richard Spurling, A.J. Tomlinson who founded the Church of God in Cleveland, the Baptists, the disaffected Baptists, the Methodists that were even before Azusa were speaking in tongues, the early Pentecostals in Kentucky and Arkansas and even some Baptists in the areas of Arkansas it was going on. At the very moment in 1898 that Latter Rain, they were calling it Latter Rain, a man named Theodore Herzl wrote a book, Der Judenstat or The Jewish State to come and so that was the beginning of Zionism. Latter Rain Number One. I could spend an hour talking about that history. It happened. And remember those of you who may be people of color that, that Azusa was an African-American movement but it’s connected with Zion. Unfortunately many people in some of the communities of faith whether they’re White Anglo, predominantly white, predominantly African-American or whatever, I believe we’re just one church now by itself by the way.
AUDIENCE: Yes.
RON: But many of them have turned their back on Israel. But you need to remember Dr. King’s undying support of the nation Israel. If you can get his message Knock at Midnight he talks about that, it’s available, he talks about his support of Israel and his opposition to abortion, by the way. I haven’t got time to go there this afternoon. I’m not, that’s a rabbit I could chase and shoot but I’m not going to do it.
AUDIENCE: [LAUGHTER]
RON: Latter Rain Movement Number Two started in 1948 with people like Oral Roberts, Billy Graham, Pastor Hagin and many others. There was just a huge revival, a healing revival and an evangelistic revival. Had those rivers ever really met we’d have a different nation than we have now. And also Dr. King came up during that very same time. Think of what would have happened if the social involvement of King, the evangelism of Billy Graham, and the anointing, charismatic anointing of Roberts had all meshed in the United States of America!
AUDIENCE: [CLAPPING]
RON: Latter Rain Movement Number Two started in 1948, went to the Six-Day War in Æ67. In 1948 what happened on May 15th? Israel took their land! And the Latter Rain always has something to do with Israel’s possession of the land. But there will be a third movement but before I go there I want to identify what the Latter Rain is. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of spiritual talk. What is the Latter Rain? By the way the Lord told me in the words of the old rock and roll song raindrops keep falling on your head.
AUDIENCE: [LAUGHTER]
RON: I felt rain when I walked in here and I know there’s no leak in the ceiling. I believe we’re in an atmosphere.
AUDIENCE: !
RON: There’s a weather change.
AUDIENCE: Yes.
RON: There’s a glory cloud rising! Hallelujah!
AUDIENCE: Yeah! [CLAPPING]
RON: There’s some rain about, there will be showers of blessing!
AUDIENCE: Amen! [CLAPPING]
RON: We’re about to get into that Latter Rain and when I show you what I’m going to show you in a little bit you’re going to shout I hope if you got any shout in you! So I want to identify the Latter Rain. Now in Isaiah 55 this is where God says: Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money without price and so forth. And then He says in that same Isaiah 55: Let the wicked forsake his ways, the unrighteous man his thought and let him return to the Lord. So he’s talking about a revival breaking out. But then He says, it’s the same place where He says: For My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. Isaiah 55:8 and 9. And then he identifies the Latter Rain. I want you to know what the Latter Rain is. It’s not you doing a back flip over the pew. It’s not even your holy dance. And though I speak in tongues every day to strengthen my life it’s not your speaking in tongues. It’s not your jerk. I want you to know what it is so you’ll identify it because it may not come looking like you think it’s going to look. It may come with tattoos and a pair of blue jeans!
AUDIENCE: Oooh. That’s right. That’s right. Preach it!
RON: I don’t know, have any of you, have any of you heard the ministry of Luke Holter, this young man? Have you heard of him? You will! He’s going to be at Abbott’s House for sure next March and I’m telling you this young man has a powerful anointing. In fact he’s going to be there for Collide in July with our young people. He’s strange. But the anointing of heaven is a funny thing. Here’s what we’re looking for. Isaiah 55:10, write it down: For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and do not return there but water the earth and bring forth and bud, how many of you would like to have a harvest?, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth. The Latter Rain is when the Word of God begins to fall on our nation and on our Churches again and saturate us!
AUDIENCE: Yes! [CLAPPING]
