The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the End.

Pentecost is the name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks and it is also known as the Feast of the Firstfruits. It was considered a day of joy and thanksgiving, when the people of Israel brought before the Lord “the firstfruits of the wheat harvest”, thus the feast. We see how it became a fitting symbol for when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and thousands were baptized. Jesus had ascended but had promised the 'Comforter' would come and it did at Pentecost. Now this outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, was a event that transformed the apostles from simple fishermen, into men of conviction and courage who would change the world. We see it in Acts 2:

Acts 2:1-3
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And we see them being filled with the Holy Ghost..

Acts 2:4-12
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Now many people today, claim they have gotten the power and are now speaking in tongues from the Holy Spirit and we hear them with clearly make up words, or they say they are "slain in the Spirit" and fall or laugh with what they call "holy laughter" or go around making sounds or roaring like if they are lions.

Are these things really from the Holy Spirit, or from another origin. If you look at verse 6 of Acts 2 you see that at that time in Jerusalem there were Jews from every nation and it says And these people came together "and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

To communicate and spread the word to all the nations, the early Christians needed to have been given a gift so the others could understand the Gospel. So is what we see today, speaking nothing that spread Gods truth and making sounds and utterances which no one to understand the same as the speaking in tongues given to the apostles and the early church. of course not, and we see what happens next that shows the Holy Spirit at work. Peter preached a sermon that had an amazing effect on the people. We see what happened in Acts 2:29-37:

Acts 2:29-37
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Peter’s hearers were cut to the heart by what he told them. Some of them might have been among the crowd at Jesus’ crucifixion and even worse, some may have even joined in the shouts to put Him on the cross. But now, persuaded that Jesus of Nazareth who had been crucified, was indeed God’s anointed, what did they say: “What shall we do?” .Peter answers them in the next verse, we see it in Acts 2:38:

Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter calls for repentance, and to baptized in the name of the one who was put on the cross and there would be a gift given. So what does repentance mean, it means a radical change of direction in life, a turning away from sin not just a feeling of sadness or remorse, but true change. Now true repentance along with faith, is a gift of God, but like all gifts, it can be rejected.

We see this rejection when Peter was brought before the High Priest and the other religious leaders of the Jewish Council in Acts 5:27-33:

Acts 5:27-33
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

The religious leaders along with the High Priest. who should have known better. raged as the truth cut them to the heart and they rejected the gift being given when Peter and the other apostles spoke. They tried to see how they could stop them or do away with them rather than listen to the truth being given them. Does this happen today, we know the Holy Spirit is guiding, and some allow doubt and hesitation to block the path it opens. We cannot allow our minds and hearts to be closed and turned away today from the guidance of the Holy Spirit by what is the work of the deceiver and his evil angels.

Now look and we also see what John the Baptist called on the people to do at the river Jordan, it was for repentance. And like what Peter said, it was also associated with baptism, symbolizing the washing away of sins and the transformation by the Holy Spirit. They are put together, so there is clearly a important connection. We read the promise given to those who repent and are baptized by Peter in Acts 2, look back on verse 38 and 39:

Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Here we see, they were offered not only forgiveness of sins but also the fullness of the Spirit as a gift. So what does this do, what is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is promised, we see it in Acts 2:17-21.

Acts 2:17-21
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We see what it says that will come to pass on when, "in the last days", and are we there, look around and see. Now, it will be poured out on not just the leaders of the church or the ministers, and we see what it says, "on all flesh", and on "your sons and daughters" and your "young men" and others as the day of the Lord comes. And what will happen, it says "they shall prophesy", and "see visions" and "dream dreams", and like Peter we will give the Gospel, and as we know the Third Angels Message. But we have to be prepared for this outpouring or else we may have it pass us by if we do not make ready for its power and transformation into people of conviction and courage for the final day before us.

Lets look in James 5:7 which tells us something important on this:

James 5:7
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.

You see what it says, it puts together the 'latter rain' and the 'early rain' that is poured out as we wait. Now its important to understand that we need to experience the early rain to awaken us and spiritually grow to be prepared for the latter rain which prepares Christians for the final crisis and Christ’s return. And this is where we are today, and there is no reason to hold back and not ask now for the Holy Spirit even in its early rain stage for us, because there are some in the church that wrongly feel that they must wait for the latter rain of the Spirit in order to change spiritually and truly overcome. Is that what we should do, as Paul says, 'God forbid', we have the signs of the time showing up daily. If we hesitate and hold back now, it can take you down a wrong path if allowed, as the early rain of the Spirit, brings us to the level we need to be at, in order to receive and grow from the latter rain.

We see more on this from SOP:
“The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection” (The Faith I Live By, p. 333).

Those who do not heed it, will be like those on the day of Pentecost who did not receive the initial outpouring of the early rain, and wondered what it is. They will not understand what is happening and will be confused or even try to hold back those who are experiencing the fullness of God’s power at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They have not prepared, and we dont want to be in this state at the end, we want to be ready, so there is work to be done now. We cant come on Sabbath and just warm the seat and say I will just wait for the signs, to what we know will be the time such as never was, where the image to Beast will rise up and more, and then decided to ask for the outpouring. We cannot wait but ask for the Holy Spirit with much prayer, allow its power, and we put on the whole armor of God, for the time such as never was of the end. We see what it says in Ephesians 6:13-18:

Ephesians 6:13-18
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Notice how it says to pray, "with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit". We put on the whole armor and as the Holy Spirit is imparted, it gives strength to not only the proclamation of the Gospel but what is the loud cry of the third angel and its message. The effect of the loud cry on the world will cause a reaction, and much as the High Priest and religious leaders at the words of Peter, we will see a strong rejection and they will seek ways to stop it or do away with those giving it rather than listen to the truth. And one of things that will happen is Sunday laws will come into effect. Whether the leaders of the world, spurred on by the Image or the Beast itself or even the false Christ, declaring this needs to be done, and people will think it is for the 'common good' or from God. So we see how the latter rain, the loud cry, and the Sunday laws, all come into play. As they do, God’s people who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with with power and conviction, spread the truth and proclaim the Sabbath with great power. We see what the SOP tells us on this:

"And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God’s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us. I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land." {EW 33.2}

Now we see it here before us so the Sabbath must be proclaimed more fully as we see in the events unfolding in front of us, and we need to prepare ourselves to receive the latter rain and be ready for Christ’s coming.