During His first coming Jesus fulfilled each of the Spring Feasts of the Lord, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and here Pentecost, when He sent the Holy Spirit as He said He would. And this last act would begin a new time on earth, the time of the Church that would include both Jews and Gentiles.

“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 and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” – Acts 2:1-4

John the Baptist had told the people when the Messiah came, He would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11). And here were the tongues of fire. Because of the noise of the mighty rushing wind and the disciples all speaking in tongues a crowd of people gathered wondering what was happening. So, Peter stood up and preached to them. He said to them “Heed my words for these are not drunk as you suppose since it is only 9:00 in the morning, but this is what the prophet Joel said would happen in these last days.” 

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved” – Acts 2:17-21

There are many truths all bound up in this short statement. First, the 120 Disciples were already ‘born again’ and baptized so we know the Holy Spirit was with them because no one comes to repentance without the Holy Spirit. So, this filling with the Holy Spirit was something extra, something that would give them extra power to witness for the Lord. No one was excluded, some would see visions, some would dream dreams and both men and women would receive this in filling. Second, there would be signs on the earth, the shedding of blood and volcanos. And there would be signs in the heavens as well. We know that there was a Blood Moon Tetrad when Jesus was crucified that occurred on the feasts of Passover and Tabernacle’s. And lastly, 3000 souls called on the name of the Lord that day! This Pentecost is called in Scripture “the former rain”, the rain that prepares the soil and crops for growth. But many prophets talk about another outpouring like Pentecost called “the latter rain”

“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.” – Joel 2:23

“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.” – Zech. 10:1

“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.” – James 5:7

“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

Some translations hint that the latter rain will be greater than the former rain. Joel said this would happen in the “last days”. Many prophesies have primary and secondary fulfillments. While many of those first disciples believed they were living in the last days, we now know it was not the last days, so Joel’s word has a secondary fulfillment to come in our days. Our day and age certainly fulfill all the conditions that Joel prophesied: blood and fire and vapor of smoke on the earth. 100,000’s die every year due to wars and persecution and volcanos are happening at record numbers. Then there are the signs in the heavens: in 2014-15 we had the four Blood Moon Tetrads occurring on Passover and tabernacles for the eighth time since Jesus. In 2017 we had the fulfillment of Revelation 12 in the heavens as Virgo gave birth to the “man child” (planet Jupiter) for the first time in 6000 years. 

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” – Rev. 12:1-2

These are just a few of the heavenly signs we have been shown recently that point to the time being ripe for an outpouring of the Latter Rain! It’s time to take Zechariah at his word and pray for the latter rain to begin. As the antichrist system is sweeping the world and our nation, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to resist and hold to our ground in the Lord. Revival seems to be breaking out in a few places but to save this country we need downpours of revival around the nation. So earnestly pray!

Pastor Charels Cooley, ret.