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Link of article or video : http://www.revelationofjesus.net/...p=04_sealing...the-latter-rain


( ...continuation of my post entitled OUT OF THE SILENCE, REVELATION)


Hello all,

The following article is about how the sealing of the 144,000 is the Latter Rain promised God's people in the end of days. I am not sure why those weird icons got into this message, so please ignore them...must have pushed the wrong button and now cannot make them go away.


THE SEALING OF THE 144,000 AND THE LATTER RAIN

The sealing of the 144,000 will be a mass outpouring of the Holy Spirit, similar (but on a much greater scale) to what happened on the Day of Pentecost. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:1-4).

The experiences of the Day of Pentecost and the similar but greater outpouring at the end of time are the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Former and the Latter Rain.

“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” (Joel 2:23).

In Palestine the “former rain” came in October and allowed the newly planted seeds to sprout and take root. They would grow slowly through the winter despite setbacks from storms and frost, but in March the “latter rain” would come, drenching the earth and giving the moisture needed to bring the plants to maturity for the harvest. The Former Rain represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost that established the Christian Church. Throughout the long “winter” of church history the Church has continued to grow and expand despite the “storms” that have beset her.

But in the “latter days” God will send the “latter rain”— a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will bring the Church to maturity.

This experience will come when God’s people seek His Spirit and power with the same determination that the disciples did before the Day of Pentecost. “I (the Lord) will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. ‘Come, and let us return to the Lord…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 5:15-6:3).

Now, at the End of the Age, it is time for God’s people to plead for His power so that the 144,000 can be “sealed in their foreheads” and go out to give the last message to the world.

“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” “Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (Zechariah 10:1, Hosea 10:12).

The law summarizes God's character and the character He wants to develop in His children. The negatives “Thou shalt not…” (Exodus 20:1-17) reveal that sin has no part in His character. The positive summary “Thou shalt love…” (Matthew 22:37-40) show that His kind of self-sacrificing love reaches out and embraces His creation in order to help and save them.

God’s sealed people are called “the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ”. The “testimony of Jesus” is defined in Revelation 19: 10 as “the Spirit of prophecy”. Having the “Spirit of Prophecy” (the Holy Spirit) is thus integrally connected with keeping the commandments. As long as the law is external, on tables of stone, it serves only to condemn the sinner, reminding him of the death he deserves; it is “the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones” (2 Corinthians 3:7). But “what the law could not do…God did by sending His own Son…that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).


See for example Exodus 31:3, Numbers 11:25, Judges 6:34, 1 Samuel 10:10, 16:13, 2 Chronicles 15;1, 20:14, 24:20, Psalms 51:11, Isaiah 63:11, Daniel 5:11.


In Ephesians 4 Paul lists the gifts of the Spirit that are given “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine”, that we “may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-14). The division and disunity that still exists within the Christian Church shows that this is a promise that still awaits its fulfillment in the future.

IN HEAVEN WHILE ON EARTH

The sealed 144,000 are so connected to God’s kingdom that it is as if they are “in heaven” even while still on earth during the Time of Trouble. This dual state of being secure citizens of heaven while still on earth is indicated by the language used in chapter 7. “Then one of the elders answered saying to me, ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know’. So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat” (Revelation 7:13-16).

They are pictured as “standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes…” (Revelation 7:9) with “all the angels… the elders and the four living creatures” (v.11), in other words, they are portrayed as if they are in Heaven. But paradoxically, they still seem to be on earth in the midst of the Time of Trouble.

When John dialogues with the angel about who these people are, he is told, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation” (v. 14). The Greek present participle verb for “come out” (erhomeni ) has the definite sense that while they are standing before the throne they are still in the process of coming out of the tribulation! Moreover, verse 15 says that “they are before the throne of God”, using the present tense.

But in the next verse it says that “they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them…and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (vs. 16,17). The future tenses for the verbs imply that at the time they are before the throne, relief from hunger, thirst and the heat of the sun is still in the future, as is having their tears wiped away.

But despite the fact that they are still experiencing severe trials of their faith, the seal in their forehead is a sign to the universe that they are so absolutely secure in the Kingdom that they are essentially already there.

This passage also specifies that “They…serve Him day and night in His temple” (v. 15), which cannot refer to the future heavenly kingdom or the new earth. First of all, there is no night in the future kingdom (see Revelation 22:5). Moreover, when John saw the vision of heaven he “saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). The temple ministry will cease with the eradication of sin, so the service “day and night in His temple” refers to the earthly ministry of God’s faithful servants on earth before the Second Coming of Christ.

As we will see in chapter 14, this passage describes the ministry of the 144,000, which takes place during “the hour of His judgment” (Revelation 14;7) as they call the captives in “Babylon” to “come out of her my people” (Revelation 18:4). Their present service on earth is contrasted with their future when “They shall see His face” (Revelation 22:4) and “He who sits on the throne will dwell among them” (v. 15).

In chapter 14, which is a parallel of chapter 7, the 144,000 are again shown in both heaven and on earth. In verses 1-5 they are “on mount Zion”, “before the throne of God” with “the four living creatures and the elders” singing “a new song”. But in verses 6-13 they are on earth, preaching “to those who dwell on earth” (v.6), patiently enduring the persecution of the beast (v.12) and even suffering martyrdom (v.13).

Again in chapter 15 the same group is pictured “on the sea of glass”, “having harps of God”, singing the victory “song of Moses”. In verse 2 they are called “those who have the victory over the beast”. Again the present participle is used (“those having the victory” , indicating that this is a victory that is still in progress. In the very next scene we see seven angels coming out of the temple to pour out the seven last plagues. The sealed saints are spiritually in heaven on the sea of glass, and at the same time they are on earth, victorious over the beast while all around them the most fearsome plagues in human history are falling! This incredible experience is unique in all human history and will be an eternal blessing to those who live through it, as evidenced by the new song that they sing, “and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth” (14:3).

The Greek word “erhomeni” is translated in the New King James version “the ones who come out” , which gives the sense of something they do repeatedly or habitually. This is closer to the meaning than the King James version “they which came out”, or New International version “they who have come out”, both of which give the sense of a completed action. The difficult-to-translate present participle of the passive verb is perhaps best translated as in The New Living Translation, “these are the ones coming out”, which shows that the coming out is still in process at the time they are standing before the throne.

This position is supported by the statement of Paul in Acts 26:7, “To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain”. Obviously Paul was referring to service on earth (the same verb as in Revelation 7:15, latreuo is used), not future service in the eternal kingdom.

The victory song of Moses is found in Exodus 15 where the children of Israel celebrate God’s victory over the Egyptians.


There have been a few, such as Enoch, who have “walked with God” while on earth (Genesis 5: 22-24, Hebrews 11:5), but the 144,000 will have this experience during the great Time of Trouble.

This is seen in the Beast system of Revelation 13, which uses false teaching and political alliances to deceive the world into persecuting God’s true people. The false doctrines and political power are very seductive and addictive—they are called a “golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” and “the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17:4,2).

The 144,000 have not been involved in this kind of spiritual immorality—they are virgins, which means that they have not been a part of Babylon. In fact, in chapter 14 they are the ones who announce Babylon's fallen condition and warn the world not to commit fornication with her—“Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Revelation14: .

Their message is repeated in chapter 18 with even more power, where they are depicted as an “angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying,‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons” (Revelation 18:1,2).

This is God’s final plea for His people to escape from Babylon.

“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (v.4).

Incredible as it may seem, there are many people who are a part of Babylon but who are called God’s people (“come out of her My people” . These are people who love God, who want to serve him, but who have been deceived or “seduced” (Revelation 2:20) into worshiping idols in the name of God. God, through His 144,000 messengers, will call them to come out of Babylon.

Even the Greek word “come out” can have the sense of ending a sexual relationship. The message is for those who have “come in to” the harlot to “come out of her”. So compelling is the appeal of the 144,000 that “a Great Multitude” will come out of Babylon.

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Again, if anyone is being shown this by the Lord, please add to what I am presenting with these studies. Could what so many have seen as a pretrib rapture actually be this sealing of the 144,000? It will be very similar, it will be the most important event to transpire before the great tribulation of this earth and its people.

I am having some difficulty getting all this together and writing about it, as it is such a big revelation and so new to me. I pray I can do it justice, and present it the best I can. Any help would be greatly
appreciated, as time is short and this all seems so much bigger than me!!

I will keep adding to this with more studies as I find them.

God bless you all,

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.