The Early & Latter Rains-Pt. 2

        This is a word of preparation given at a recent Chronos Ministry weekly meeting.  We have been looking at the scriptures concerning the early and latter rains. We know that these rains are connected with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the earth. So naturally we’ve been looking at what Peter preached in Acts 2 concerning the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He connected it to Joel 2, telling the people that what they were experiencing was what Joel had prophesied. Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32, word for word except for one strategic part.
       In Joel 2:28, the Hebrew wording says “it shall come to pass afterward.” Peter, however, chose to substitute that phrase  with “it shall come to pass in the last days.” We will cover what he meant by the last days in part 3 of our study of the early and latter rains. For now, we need to see that by making this change, Peter was pointing us to the concept of prophetic time. There was something time-specific that needed to be acknowledged. In light of Peter’s unique phrasing, the obvious question that needs to be asked is what is it that precedes what would come afterward? Or to put it another way, what happens first that is responsible for this outpouring? The answer is in Joel:27. “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God.”     
            Since we know that the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost followed the first coming of Jesus, Peter was drawing attention to what Jesus’ first coming meant in that time. The apostle John described it in the first chapter of His gospel. In essence, the Word was with God and the Word was God. And so the Word was made flesh and dwelt among them. This meant that Jesus was indeed the Lord their God in their midst and that there is no other. Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. Of course this refers to salvation in Christ alone.
            Peter understood this and so framed his message on that day around that truth. This is why he changed the wording from Joel’s prophecy to “the last days.” We will look at what that means in Part 3. How did Peter come to see this? Most likely when the 120 were gathered in the upper room after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were studying the scriptures and seeking revelation about the outpouring of the Spirit because He had told them explicitly not to go out to preach the Gospel and continue His earthly ministry until they had received this outpouring and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This is most likely what enabled Peter to say, “This is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel.”
            They needed to recognize the truth that the Lord Jesus was not only their Messiah but that He was God in the flesh. He was not just a man, the natural descendant of David, but God in their midst. This is why Peter begins to review the mighty miracles and signs which God did through Jesus. The very Jesus they had crucified God raised up because death could not hold Him since He was the Son of God as well as the Son of Man. Peter goes on to affirm Jesus’ connection to David in the flesh in Acts 2:31 and that David even foresaw this.
            The point of Peter’s sermon, then, was to let the house of Israel know that God had made this Jesus whom they had crucified both Lord and Christ (God’s Anointed One). It’s no surprise, then, that this cut through their hearts such that they asked what they should do. Peter’s response: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That was the message for their time. But it doesn’t fully answer why Peter chose to use the phrase in the last days. Stay tuned because we shall consider the answer in part three.