Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for 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, KJV).
God has promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days. Many individual believers, churches and even nations are waiting for revival, believing for the latter rain as spoken by the prophet Joel. I believe we are living in that day! God wants to stir us into action; that is why He allows the crisis! Today we are facing the greatest challenge ever to the church and indeed to our faith. Secularism has eroded freedom to preach the Gospel in public spaces; the pandemic has restricted our freedom to gather and worship as a corporate body. The church is in a valley of decision: how will it react to the eroding of its freedoms. And our nations are in the valley of decision: whom will they serve? The coming of the Lord is near!
Many people accept that the first rain as spoken by the prophet Joel was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It literally birthed the Church, with three thousand converted on that first day; we can read the effect of this outpouring in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Really, the book of Acts is the story of evangelism and the growth of the first Church.
The reference by the prophet Joel to the last rain is a reflection of what happened in Israel. When farmers planted the seed, they had the first rain which brought initial growth. But then there is the dry barren season through the summer. The promise is, before the harvest, there comes a latter rain which swells the grain. The prophesy is relating to two things: first, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the church, and secondly, a final outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the time of the return of Christ.
I believe we are living in the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days; I know from my own life and ministry that I’ve seen some incredible miracles: and when I look at the wider Church, the Gospel is reaching more people today than ever before! God IS pouring out His Spirit on all flesh.
“Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for their wickedness is great.” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of the decision (Joel 3:14-15, KJV).