Latter Rain Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
The latter rain of the Holy Spirit is coming to the church. The Lord is getting ready to pour out His latter rain on His wheat and bring His crop to full measure. This will be the most powerful work of the Holy Spirit that the church has ever witnessed. The current state of the church and these dark times will require the Lord’s grace in an overwhelming abundance. Only Jesus can cause the seed that has been sown to produce a hundredfold, and He will receive all the glory for doing so.
The 1948 Latter Rain revival in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada was the rain of the Holy Spirit that caused the Charismatic Movement to spring up from the ground. That generation believed that what they were witnessing was the latter rain of God’s grace and power being poured out upon the church. Initially, those at the revival simply referred to it as a “Move of the Spirit,” but by 1949 others from around the nation were labeling it the “Latter Rain.” In 2025, we can look back and see that this was only the early or “former” rain of the Holy Spirit.
“‘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, then 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.” (Deuteronomy 11:13-14 NKJV)
In ancient Israel, the early rain (also known as the former rain) fell in the fall and was used to germinate seeds and soften the soil for planting. Then a long and dry winter season would occur. Spiritually, this is the season that the body of Christ has been for some time. Many have been going through spiritual drought, delay, desert seasons of testings and trials, and the suffering process of carrying the cross and following after Jesus.
But after the long and difficult dry winter season came the time of the latter rain. The latter rain would fall in the spring and it ripened the harvest. The rain was harder than the early rain and could have caused flooding if it had come earlier.
The Lord’s spiritual “latter rain” is near and it will fall harder than ever before. The spiritual dryness that many of us have felt has been necessary to prepare the soil of our hearts to soak up the latter rain of the Spirit. If our soil was too moist, we might not be able to fully absorb what the Lord is going to do in us and thus not go on to full measure. Some wouldn't have been ready if the latter rain had come earlier, and they would have been swept away in the runoff.
If we are to consider the full two thousand years of church history, we could say that the outpouring in the first century was the early rain and that the latter rain began in 1948. But if we are to look at the final 100 years of this age, we can see the early rain as having fallen in 1948 and the latter rain coming in our final generation. We are a chosen generation to be transformed (as much as possible) into the image of Christ which is the definition of the wheat harvest coming to full measure.
The Coming of the Lord
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:7-8 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit inspired James to link the coming of the latter rain with the coming of the Lord. The Lord returns for His wheat crop when the wheat has reached maturity. This is highlighted by Jesus in a parable found in Matthew chapter 13. It was impossible for a crop to grow to maturity without the latter rain. We have been in a season of waiting patiently (at least trying) for the Lord to send forth His final outpouring of the Spirit.
1948 Move of God
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, which had been lost to much of the church, was restored in a small gathering in Topeka, Kansas on New Year's Day 1901. However, there was still much the Holy Spirit wanted to restore due to the church drifting from the truth in the scriptures over the centuries.
When 1948 came around, the Holy Spirit decided it was time to send the early rain, which would water the seeds of the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century. The Latter Rain Revival started what we know as the charismatic movement by restoring understanding of the five leadership gifts of Ephesians chapter 4, including the roles of apostles and prophets, elderships, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, visions and prophetic encounters, impartation through the laying on of hands, and healing the sick. These truths in the word of God had to be restored to the church before the Holy Spirit could move the church onward to full maturity.
We would not be where we are today without the Holy Spirit initiating that movement and bringing that former rain to the church. Regardless of how certain things have gotten off track in the charismatic movement in certain ways and false doctrines that have been taught, it’s important that we recognize the pure movement that the Holy Spirit initiated before sinful man perverted things. We must honor the Holy Spirit by valuing the rain that He initially poured out upon His people to begin the restoration of all things in His church.
The Outpouring
On February 12, 1948, a pure revival started at Sharon Orphanage and Bible School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. The elders had come out of dry Pentecostalism and the students simply wanted to encounter the Lord. The Holy Spirit had been resting upon the hearts of students since the prior school year. Sometimes instead of regular school instruction, they would sing songs and minister to the Lord as the grace to do so was present. The Holy Spirit was moving in a special way.
As the students of the Bible school gathered that February, they began to sing together in unity. Their voices blended together in a heavenly chorus as the Holy Spirit led them. The atmosphere was saturated with the Lord‘s glory, power, and presence. A stillness then settled over the students as they waited quietly in the presence of the Lord. The Lord was revealing Himself to them in a pure and simplistic way, and that is a way He still desires to reveal Himself to us today. The “Latter Rain” revival and Charismatic Movement then came forth.
Obviously, man can insert “the flesh” into a movement of God over time and drift into various false doctrines and ungodly practices. But we have to see and value what the Holy Spirit initiated and the purity He intended. We must embrace everything that He wants to do and walk in His wisdom to maintain it and see it come to full measure.
I understand that a false doctrine called “The Manifest Sons of God” was brought into the revival by an outside person (not one of the founding ministers of the revival). It was a doctrine that brought the sons of God being manifested prior to Jesus returning, instead of after Jesus returns as the context in Romans chapter 8 describes. The doctrine shouldn’t have been allowed by church leadership, and Jim Watt (an elder at the revival) warned them regarding this.
Just because scripture was misinterpreted and preached doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit didn’t move in a genuine way. I won’t make excuses for the doctrine, but I will say that it is extremely important that other biblical truths were restored to the church during the revival, such as elderships, prophetic ministries, and apostolic ministries. Without those key truths being preached, taught, and restored, the church would not be positioned for the second coming of Christ and the final move of the Spirit.
Ephesians chapter 4 clearly tells us that it takes all five ministry gifts of Christ to build the body of Christ, equip and perfect, bring to unity and to the knowledge of the Son of God, and to see believers come to the fullness of Christ. If the understanding of apostles and prophets had not been restored through this movement, the church would never be ready for the return of Christ. God uses what He has said in His word to bring forth His will and prepare His church.
The greater false doctrines come from those ministers who teach against apostles and prophets and thus teach against the scriptures. The heaviest critics of the Latter Rain revival are actually deceived far more than those who taught the Manifest Sons of God doctrine. The teachers who speak against the gifts of the Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit, and the powerful moving of the Spirit are speaking against the Holy Spirit Himself. That is a dangerous and fearful place to be and it demonstrates a lack of the fear of the Lord.
These Pharisaical false watchmen are actually turning believers away from the truth in the word of God with teachings that apostles and prophets are no longer functioning today. This false doctrine causes believers to reject these ministries, which in turn prevents the believers from coming to the unity of the faith and coming to the measure of the stature of Christ. Pastors and teachers cannot fulfill Ephesians 4 without apostles and prophets and some seem to arrogantly teach. So there are far more damaging doctrines taught today than one doctrine that got off track in the 1948 move of God.
Early and Latter Rains in the Same Season
Many younger believers have never experienced the former rain, and they are in need of that rain before they are ready for the latter rain. Due to the proximity to the end of the age and the Lord’s desire to see many people transformed into the image of His Son, He will release the former and latter rains within the same season for certain believers.
“Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.” (Joel 2:23-24 NKJV)
Even though the Lord can get the younger generation to a place of readiness very rapidly by sending the former rain upon them, they will still need the counsel and instruction of spiritual fathers and mothers in order to prepare them for the latter rain. Mature disciples have much understanding of the Lord to impart to the younger generation and if the younger generation embraces this, they can mature more rapidly.
Times of Refreshing
Because of the long and dry winter that we have gone through, many need healing and restoration. The testing and trials of the drought season have been very hard on devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. The Lord understands that His people have endured difficult circumstances and are in great need of His refreshing presence. As the latter rain begins to come, we will experience times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord so that we are prepared to absorb all of the rain.
“To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion–to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit–that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3 AMPC)
The Lord will release to Zion (His city of people upon the earth who are registered as citizens of Heaven and have the Kingdom of Heaven within them) the oil of joy. This is a heavenly joy that will cause our minds to be renewed and have the mind of Christ. We will see from a glorious and eternal perspective even in coming times of deep darkness. We will have an inward happiness as our spirits are enlightened by the glory of the Lord. Our attitudes will change for the better as we are filled with the light and hope of Jesus.
Many of us have experienced extreme crushing and breaking during this last season of carrying our crosses through the hope deferred and the disappointments of life. It’s natural to develop some bad attitudes and discouraging thoughts during this process of extreme testing. However, once the anointing of the Spirit is released and the oil of joy comes, we will be healed of this difficult past season and ready for the latter rain. The Holy Spirit is coming to refresh us after our dry season:
“I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” (Isaiah 41:18 AMPC)
Continual Harvest
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt [that is, everything heretofore barren and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing]. [Lev. 26:5; Joel 3:18.]” (Amos 9:13 AMPC)
The latter rain will produce such a great harvest that it will be a bit overwhelming. Before the reapers (saints doing the work of ministry) can finish gathering the wheat, the plowman (preachers, evangelists, disciples, missionaries) will already be caught up to them again, sowing the gospel of Jesus Christ into the hearts of more people. It will be a continual work of the salvation of souls as we approach the second coming of Christ.
Matters of the Heart
Who would have ever thought that the Lord would choose a place like the small town of North Battleford to release a move of the Spirit? But the Lord looked at their hearts and saw the hunger and desire for Him. When the convergence of enough leaders and believers occurred, the Holy Spirit moved. Convergence and hunger are keys for the choosing of the locations that the latter rain will start being released.
The Lord doesn’t care about how small a church or town is. He chooses according to our hearts:
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him. You have done foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you shall have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 AMPC)
If the Lord releases the latter rain to us, will our hearts remain pure and focused on Jesus? Will we continue to honor Him and give Him glory above all else? Or will we start selling the latter rain of the Spirit for fame, recognition, or money when the rich and powerful charismatic religious system offers us its treasures and positions of power? Satan tried to give Jesus the treasures and glory of this world in order to stop Him from fulfilling His purpose and he will do the same to us.
The Father sees all of His children who have been despised or rejected by the Charismatic Religious System. He has taken note of the messengers, like John the Baptist, whom the institutional church has falsely accused of having a demon or being in error (Luke 7:33). Our Father is a fair and righteous Judge that will give His Spirit to the marginalized and the forsaken. He has been waiting to do so and will take pleasure in releasing a move of the Spirit to the remnant who simply want Him. Those believers who want their system, organization, formulas, or doctrine more than the latter rain of the Holy Spirit will be allowed to have it their way and miss the Lord's Spirit.
Underground Movements
The latter rain will begin being poured out in “underground movements.” These movements will be considered “underground” because they are outside of the current institutionalized church, which can be hindering to God’s Spirit and oppressive to His people. Those in the underground movement will seek to restore spiritual purity, challenge corruption, and reignite fervent passion for Jesus in contrast to what they see as a compromised or institutionalized church.
This underground movement will be a united group with one heart, one accord, and one mind. These people will not be seeking approval from men or positions. They will only be seeking the Lord, His heart, and His kingdom. The underground movement will not look like it does above ground. It will be a humble, powerful, and pure company of hearts. These will not care if they’re seen because they only want to be seen by God.
The underground movement will draw many young and fiery believers into it, but the older generation will be mixed in as well. These are the ones who have been disrespected or discounted by the current church and its leadership. These older ones have refused to take part in the building of man’s ministries or man’s personal kingdoms. The Lord has seen their hearts for Him even when self-centered leaders couldn’t. The Lord will bring together His remnant and give them grace to steward the latter rain of His Spirit.
The underground remnant church must maintain focus on the Lord and the meetings must be focused on ministering to Him. Jesus must be our priority, even before any of our needs. This is a key to stewarding the latter rain of the Holy Spirit.
Refiners Fire Rain
The Lord has revealed to me several times that His next move of the Spirit will consist of the “Refiner’s Fire" of Malachi chapter 3. This spiritual fire will burn the impurities out of our hearts and minds. This purifying fire will consume everything in us that the Lord is not pleased with so that we can be near to Him in intimacy without any hindrances. This fire will transform us into the royal priesthood and ensure that we are offering up spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing to Him.
When we are purified by this fire, we will be able to dwell near to Him in His weighty and fiery glory. Then we will behold His glory and be transfigured into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). The veils that are keeping us from dwelling near to the Father in the Spirit will be burned away by the refiner’s fire as it cleanses us. Then we will behold the beauty of the King and partake of His transforming grace.
“The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling seizes the godless ones. [They cry] Who among us can dwell with that devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with those everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises gain from fraud and from oppression, who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil. [Such a man] will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; water for him will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; [your eyes] will behold a land of wide distances that stretches afar.” (Isaiah 33:14-17 AMPC)
Seven Spirits of God
The seven spirits of God will be instrumental in bringing the fire of God back to the church and bringing the bride to maturity. The seven spirits of God will be the ministry of fire that cleanses and purifies. Grace provided by the seven spirits of God will enable the church to become what the Lord has intended from the beginning.
“And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (Revelation 4:5 NKJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2 NKJV)
These spirits will empower the “firebrands” who will be sent to the church. The firebrands are the messengers who are coals that have been plucked from the Charismatic Church as much of it is being burnt to the ground by the judgment fire of Holy Spirit. These firebrands are forerunners who are passionate about the cause of Christ that the Lord has seared in their hearts. The firebrands will take radical, God-directed actions and incite pivotal change within the church (as their definition implies). These are the burning ones.
Rain in the Proper Season
Many of us have grown weary and our hearts discouraged because we have been crying out for the latter rain (a move of the Spirit) and have not seen our prayers come to pass. This is partly due to the fact that we have been asking for rain in the time of the dry winter season. We have not properly discerned the times and seasons and have therefore become discouraged by the lack of response from Heaven.
The Lord is not going to send us revival rain when it's not time for the latter rain. The latter rain only comes in the proper season, and it comes with the purpose of bringing the crop to completion. We have to know the times and seasons and ask for rain at the proper time:
“Ask the Lord for rain In the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.” (Zechariah 10:1 NKJV)
Belief that Revival is No Longer Needed
There are certain groups of believers who have taken the stance that revival is not needed anymore and that we should only focus on Christ and coming to maturity. I agree that we should focus on Christ and His coming forth to full measure within us, but I believe that we need revival desperately. Some groups who understand we have overfocused on revival, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts are starting to err by drifting into the ditch on the other side of the path of life.
Are you burning for Jesus brighter than you ever have been? Is your entire family and friends saved and burning with intense heat for Jesus? Is the church in America (or your country) blazing and lighting up the entire nation? If we can’t answer “yes” to all of these questions, then it is clear that we need revival and we need the latter rain.
This time we must steward the revival properly. We have to keep the focus on Jesus, and we have to abide in the will of the Lord for His church. He desires His living stones to be built into a unified temple, a pure and ready bride, and a people who are progressing into the mature man that Jesus is.
Without the latter rain revival, many people will never be saved and many believers will not be spiritually prepared to go on to maturity. It’s a selfish theology to say that we don’t need revival because we are on the path to spiritual maturity when most of the church and world is not. Jesus' ministry is our example. We absolutely need the latter rain!
Pure Oil / Wicks Trimmed
The purpose of the latter rain is to transform our lamps and make sure we have high-quality trimmed wicks with plenty of pure oil in reserve. The quality of the wick greatly affects how a lamp burns. Low-quality or untrimmed wicks can produce more smoke, soot, or a weak burning flame. Trimming our wicks ensures the removal of excess soot and ensures we are burning as a clean, bright, and hot flame.
We must take the Lord seriously and not waste the latter rain. The Lord will give us an opportunity to embrace the movement of the Holy Spirit and His ability to cleanse us of all filthiness of fleshly lifestyles and spirits. If we yield to Him, He will bring deliverance from demons, inner healing from hurt and bitterness, and cleanse our hearts from iniquity. This sanctification process will enable us to have high-quality and trimmed wicks that effectively burn the oil of the Spirit.
The quality of oil significantly affects how a lamp burns, so we must allow the Lord to fill us with His pure oil. We can no longer have a “mixture” of oil in us. The Lord will draw near to us as we seek His face. A grace will be released to abide in His presence. His presence will fill us with the pure oil of intimacy and we will have an abundance. The distractions of this age will still attempt to pull us out of His presence and prevent us from focusing on Jesus. It will be paramount to have tunnel vision on the Lord and maintain the intimate relationship in the secret place and in church gatherings.
Knowing the Lord
“Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.” (Hosea 6:3 NKJV)
The Lord Himself will come to us like the latter rain. This is the most important aspect of the latter rain. The Holy Spirit will come and reveal Jesus in a greater way within our hearts. We will come to know Him by experience in ways we didn’t know were possible. The Holy Spirit will bring glory to Jesus by revealing Him within our spirits, where we can actually say, “I know the Lord as a friend.” The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will be released in the latter rain.
Satan’s Strategy to Staunch the Latter Rain
Our enemy has been seeking to compromise ministers in hidden sins and allow those sins to remain hidden until they have a massive amount of influence. Satan knows that God exposes publicly when ministers sin in the dark, but he has been carrying out a campaign to hide sins from the church through deception, lies, manipulation, and control. The more influence a minister has when their sins are exposed publicly, the more damage it does to the body of Christ. Satan has a “mass causality” agenda, and his strategy is to cause believers to be hurt and disillusioned by the church and thus turn away from it. Ultimately he wants believers to fall away from Christ and new believers are the easiest victims because they lack the spiritual understanding and foundations of Christ that mature believers have.
We must not be ignorant of the enemy’s schemes to destroy the church of God. Another tactic that Satan is employing is to keep leaders in a position of leadership even when they are exposed for a disqualifying sin. I Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1 clearly list the character qualifications set forth by the Holy Spirit for overseers of churches. Therefore, we do not need a prophet to tell us who is qualified to oversee a church. We have already been told by God and we are expected to obey His word and judge justly and righteously according to His standard.
For example, if a church overseer betrays his wife, family, and church by committing sexual sins with a woman in his congregation, he is clearly unfit to lead a church. The overseer should be immediately removed because he has shown himself to be unfit, unapproved, and unqualified to shepherd the Lord’s sheep.
Obviously the Lord is merciful and desires the overseer to repent and be restored to his family and the church. The Lord will pour out grace and mercy when the leader responds with godly sorrow and repentance. Part of the repentance is when the leader humbles himself and realizes that he is not qualified to be shepherding the flock of God. The prideful and resistant will continue in ministry or say they went through restoration all while maintaining a leadership position. These will also try to appear humble and attempt to make us feel sorry for them so they can maintain their position of power.
Depending on the sin, the Holy Spirit may restore an overseer to ministry, but that will be up to the Holy Spirit. Generally, years are needed to restore a minister to ministry because it is an inward work of the Spirit. Just as important, the leader needs to be retested and reapproved by God so that they have proven to the church that they are truly restored and will not fall into sin again. Generally, this process should be at least five years.
We have seen leaders exposed for their sins against the church over the last few years. Some have continued in ministry or planted new churches. Even worse, some established leaders are supporting them by ministering at their churches or inviting the exposed ministries to speak at their ministries. This is sowing chaos and confusion into the body of Christ and dividing it right down the middle.
These “unholy alliances” cause believers to question the ministries and messages of established leaders. How can ministers preach about holiness and righteousness and then endorse ministers who are a living contradiction to 1 Timothy 3? Many in the church are not going to tolerate these unholy alliances from well-known ministers. A divide is currently underway in the church.
The old way of doing things (the old wineskin) is disregarding Titus 1 and allowing ministers to continue in ministry to have some watered-down version of a restoration (or sometimes no restoration). That way of doing things will not be tolerated in the building of the Lord’s temple. The new wine cannot be poured into the old wineskin. The new wine of the Holy Spirit’s work will be lost if we try to put it on the old wineskin of doing things like we did in the 1990s and 2000s. There must be approved and qualified leaders who have the positions of building up the body of Christ into the temple of God. Otherwise the work will be polluted and divisions will occur.
Satan is attempting to get believers and other leaders to show unsanctified mercy (false grace) as he tricked King Saul into showing Agag (1 Samuel 15). Saul was to carry out righteous judgment by obeying The word of the Lord, but instead he was moved by his own human compassion (which comes from the self-life). Saul disobeyed God and sealed his fate and removal from leadership. But his kingdom would remain for some time and bring division to the people of God by fighting against God’s will and His true leadership.
Gehazi was disqualified from the ministry and the anointing was never transferred to him from Elisha after he failed the testing of the Lord (2 Kings 5:20-27). Gehazi gave in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life and thus forfeited his ministry calling. Elisha didn’t show humanistic, unsanctified mercy by saying, “It’s going to be okay, Gehazi. You are still qualified to receive the spirit and power of Elijah even after lusting after money and lying to the Lord. You can continue following me and have my mantle when the Lord takes me.”
No, Elisha gave Gehazi the pure word of the Lord. Judgment came upon Gehazi and he became leprous. He did not travel with Elisha anymore and he never operated in a ministry of his own by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is warning us regarding who we accept as a leader or an overseer. If we accept those who have proven to us that they are leprous like Gehazi, we are greatly deceived by the devil’s false grace doctrine and are becoming like King Saul—spiritually blind.
“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the hiding place (the shelter).” (Isaiah 28:17 AMPC)
Are we disciples of Jesus Christ and following after Him or are we disciples of our favorite apostle or prophet? Those who place an unhealthy focus on leaders or follow (support) overseers who shouldn’t be leading may be swept away in the overwhelming waters that the Holy Spirit is going to pour out in the latter rain. The latter rain is a double-edged sword. It will be Holy Spirit revival for some and the washing away of others.
We must not tolerate Jezebel and the workings of that wicked spirit within the church (Revelation 2). Her working is evident, leaders committing sexual sin (sometimes with their own sheep). The bride cannot be made ready by leaders who have proven that they will use the Lord's bride for their own self-gratification (including sexually).
A man’s gift can make room for him as an overseer of a church and cause him to be before great men, but unless he has the character of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, he should not be given the office of a bishop by the church. The people of God need to stand on the word because not all leaders are! Ministers who support unapproved and qualified overseers who are continuing to lead the church may find themselves disqualified as well. The Lord's people need safe shepherds.
“Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:26-27 NKJV)
Lastly, the enemy also seeks to deceive believers into following after false apostles and prophets who are operating in signs and wonders. I have written at length on these issues over the last few years, so I will only mention this subject to bring a more complete exposure to the evil one’s plans and agenda.
Poured Out from On High
“For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briers–yes, for all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace shall be forsaken, the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watchtower shall become dens [for wild animals] endlessly, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks, Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is valued as a forest. [Ps. 104:30; Ezek. 36:26, 27; 39:29; Zech. 12:10.] Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) will abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.” (Isaiah 32:13-18 AMPC)
During this last season, many have felt like a forsaken desert filled with thorns and wild beasts. But the Spirit is going to be poured out from on high just as the first-century disciples received power from on high. The latter rain will turn our desert hearts into fruitful fields. Justice and rightness will reign in the remnant church as the unholy is cast out. We will have the inward quietness and peace of the Lord (that transcends all human understanding) in the darkest and most evil times. The remnant people of God will become the Lord’s temple, and we will be His dwelling place in the Spirit. We will enter into His rest.
““So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”” (Luke 11:9-13 NKJV)
Many a preacher has spoken about Jesus’ teaching of continually asking, seeking, and knocking when we pray. But it’s important we see the context of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus is specifically speaking about the Holy Spirit. He is the One we need and He is who we should be asking for. So far, we have only seen Him come in various measures at different revivals throughout church history, but what happens when He comes in full measure as He did in the ministry of Jesus?
Jesus teaches us to ask for Him. Jesus doesn’t say to stop asking for him when we have attained a certain measure, such as being born again, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the spirit, or various manifestations of power. The Holy Spirit is a person and there’s so much more to Him than the things that He does. I’m convinced that we need to be asking for Him in Fullness. When He is present in fullness, we will be on our faces in His fiery glory, and the full attention of our hearts will be turned towards Jesus Christ in worship.
I believe that the time of the latter rain is near. The Holy Spirit started bringing this up with me recently, and I believe this is because we are to start asking for rain as the time for the latter rain approaches. I know it has been a long dry season, and it almost seems like the Lord will not move after years or even decades without revival rain. But think of how things were in North Battleford in 1948. No one expected the Holy Spirit to move there, but He did. He brought inward transformation to hearts, which changed the global church forever.
“And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. Elijah said, Go again seven times. And at the seventh time the servant said, A cloud as small as a man's hand is arising out of the sea. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, Hitch your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. In a little while, the heavens were black with wind-swept clouds, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went to Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:41-45 AMPC)
Once Elijah knew it was the Lord’s timing to bring the rain, he began to pray. At first, only a tiny cloud could be seen in the distance that didn't look like much. But as he endured in prayer, the small cloud grew to fill the entire sky and the outpouring began.
Ask for rain in the time of the latter rain.
-Ty Unruh (March 2025)
