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Many of the most marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit were given to those who knew little of the Bible teaching on the subject, thus confirming the supernatural nature of these visions and confirming the reality of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit recorded in the New Testament.
Some children who had never heard us speak of the present day outpouring of the Holy Spirit as "the latter rain" in this outpouring upon Adullam actually experienced it as the Latter Rain.
As we all prayed and praised the Lord together with closed eyes, some of the children seemed to feel water dropping upon their heads. They were so busy seeking the Lord they did not want to hinder the blessing by opening their eyes to look around. At the same time, in their hearts they wondered how it could be sprinkling rain on them when there was a roof and a floor between them and the sky. But with the sprinkling their hearts were refreshed. As the dropping of water seemed to increase and the sprinkling became a shower, it all seemed so glorious that the wonder of how it could rain in a downstairs room was forgotten. The sprinkling became a shower, the shower became a great downpour, the downpour became a deluge filling the room and rising higher and higher until the fortunate seeker was submerged in this wonderful life-giving flood from heaven.
At different times several children experienced this sense of the downpouring of rain. Six months after the great outpouring, and after a "dry spell," the flood gates of heaven were opened again, and there was another downpouring of the Holy Spirit. Again two of the small children experienced rain, "the latter rain," that seemed to fall upon their heads, penetrating and flooding their whole beings.
Through Bible study and through direct revelation by the Holy Spirit, Adullam is now coming to understand the meaning of this "rain." They understand that "this is that" spoken of by Joel the prophet: "He hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month" (Joel 2 :23).
The "former rain" was upon the first church, the seed church, sown on the earth on the day of Pentecost and the succeeding two or three hundred years. The "former rain" was the rain in the autumn upon the grain that was sown in the ground. Then came "the great falling way," [1] the long winter of the dark ages, the grain sown in the earth—the Church in the world—apparently dead. Then came sprinklings of the "latter rain" in the first month in the spring through Luther, Wesley, Fox, Finney, Moody, and other servants of God. Salvation by faith, the born again experience, holy living, first the blade and then the ear, began to come forth. Now the sprinkling is becoming a shower. Healing through faith in Jesus has come again. The Lord is again casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead, proving Himself the Almighty God in the midst of those who believe Him. The hope of the Coming King has revived. The Lord is again baptizing believers with the Holy Spirit as in the beginning, the former rain, so that they speak with other languages and prophesy as the Holy Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2 :4).
The harvest is near. "The former rain," "the seed rain" (Rotherham), came moderately; "the latter rain." "the harvest rain" (Rotherham) will come abundantly to ripen the grain, to perfect the Church. There will be deluges of rain, the latter rain of the Holy Spirit. The greatest revival the world has ever seen is just ahead. The greatest miracles, the most wonderful wonder-working Church the world has ever seen is near. The downpouring of latter rain is at hand; the clouds are now filling the sky. According to promise, the Lord will soon pour out his "Spirit upon all flesh." The church that was sown in the time of the "former rain" and fell into the earth and died has come forth. It will soon be the full corn in the ear. Beyond anything Pentecostal days ever saw, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions," "and also upon the servants and upon the handmaidens in these days will I pour out of my spirit" (Joel 2 :28, 29; Acts 2:17-21).
Because of this final and greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the church in the full ear will have restored to it the years eaten by the locust, the canker-worm, the caterpiller, and the palmer worm (Joel 2:25). The fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit will all be restored to the true church of bloodwashed believers. In its supernatural life and supernatural ministry, multitudes will be converted: "The floors shall be full of wheat and the vats shall overflow" (Joel 2:24); multitudes which no man can number will come into the garner "from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues" (Rev. 7:9).
If you read Acts 2 you will see that this outpouring upon "all flesh" is for today. Our Adullam people, at any rate, are sure of this. Many times has the Lord stood in their midst, made to them the same promises He made to first believers, and commissioned them with the same commission to carry the same gospel in the same power with which He sent forth the first disciples in the days of the "former rain." We know that "the latter rain" that fell on Adullam is like the former rain, but it is the last rain that will bring the wheat and tares to full harvest and separation and will usher in the return of the Lord of the harvest to gather the wheat into his barns and burn the tares in the furnace of fire.
The Holy Spirit has on different occasions and by different Adullam people been seen as a Tongue of Fire [2] upon the head of each one in the room. In some instances more than one person has seen this vision at the same time. Of course, all who are familiar with the Bible know that the things of God are not equally revealed to all.
When the Spirit has fallen in our meetings many have felt the Holy Spirit as a wind [3]. blowing upon them, flooding their souls with peace and power. These breezes from heaven have sometimes been in such power that we have no difficulty in believing the record that when the first disciples met together and "lifted up their voices to God with one accord, when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.'' [4] Many times have older and younger children seen the Holy Spirit as seven lamps. At times of special outpouring of the Holy Spirit these seven lamps of fire were seen let down from heaven into the room in our very midst. At other times in the visions of the throne of Christ in heaven, children saw the "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God" (Rev. 4:5). We all knew that the seven lamps meant the Holy Spirit in our midst.
In the first days of the outpouring of the Spirit one small boy spoke in pure prophecy when in the Spirit he seemed to be in heaven at the feet of Jesus. The Lord spoke through him in the first person clearing up many things the children did not understand and telling them how to tarry and how to seek the Spirit. At that time the Lord said, "When the Spirit is in your midst do not open your eyes, for that will hinder; the Holy Spirit will descend to give you power to preach the gospel, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick; the Holy Spirit is in seven colors, red, blue, and other colors." One of the older boys then said that when the Spirit had been upon him he had seen a great, red light and other colors. The word from the Lord explained this to him and others who had seen different colors. Of course I know light is made up of seven colors but I had never thought of the seven lamps before the throne of God, the Holy Spirit, as seven colors. All light comes from God, and God is light.
These Adullam people have also seen the Holy Spirit brighter than the noon-day sun. This manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a great light has been very common. Some children, having opened their eyes to see if it was something about the electric light, could scarcely discern the lights in the room because of the exceeding glory of the light of heaven which seemed to fill the place. These children know what Paul meant when he said that on the Damascus road the light that shone about him was "a light from heaven" that was "brighter than the noon-day sun" (Acts 26:13). After their visions of heaven and this great light brighter and clearer than any they had seen on earth, Adullam people know why in heaven "there shall be no night; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light." Through these manifestations and revelations these one-time beggar children in this dark land on this dark earth know beyond a doubt that in the New Jerusalem in heaven "the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God lightens it and the lamb is the light thereof" (Rev. 21:23).
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