Thursday: The Loud Cry
Daily Lesson for Thursday 20th of June 2024
Read Revelation 18:1-4, Habakkuk 2:14, and Matthew 24:14. How do these verses say God’s work on earth will be finished?
The angel announcing the fall of Babylon has “great authority.” Like the angels of Revelation 14:1-20, this angel represents human messengers. This angel reveals the glory of God so fully that it illuminates the entire earth. The Greek word for authority or power in the New Testament is exousia. It often refers to Christ’s triumph over the principalities and powers of hell. Jesus uses this word in the gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples authority over the principalities and powers of hell.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28:1-20, He once again sends them out with “ ‘all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” to “ ‘go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ ” (Matthew 28:18-19, NKJV).
Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, going forth with the authority of the living Christ who in His life and death triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell, the New Testament church lightened the earth with the glory of God. In a few short years, the disciples proclaimed the gospel to the then-known world (Colossians 1:23).
At the end time, the Holy Spirit will be poured out in unprecedented power, and the gospel will be spread rapidly to the ends of the earth. Thousands will be converted in a day, and God’s grace and truth will impact the entire planet. In this way, the world will be warned and the gospel, and the hope it offers, will be spread worldwide.
“The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. . . .
“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.
What is holding back the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, and the loud cry? However small our role as individuals might be, what role can we fill in being open and receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
(18)
My first overseas trip to countries that did not speak English was in 1992 when we visited Italy as part of a European Tour. We were let loose in Rome for an afternoon and allowed to walk wherever we liked. I have to say that it was pretty scary. The Italians did not speak English, and to make it more confusing they all appeared to speak simultaneously with wild gesticulations punctuated with shouting. To make matters worse, Italian traffic was back to front, travelling on, what for us was, the wrong side of the road. Added to this was their almost complete disregard for traffic lights. Often, you would get a green light signalling that it was your turn as a pedestrain to cross the road, only to find a hoard of Fiats weaving their way through the people.
It was scary. A loud cry that I was about to walk into a moving Fiat would have gone unnoticed in the cacophony of Roman traffic. I learned the importance of the maxim, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do!" I watched carefully and when the pedestrians moved, I knew it was safe to move.
The title of today's lesson is "The Loud Cry!" and it certainly does not mean, "Shout Louder!". In a world where there is a disorienting matrix of messages of dubious quality, the Gospel message goes unnoticed. In recent years it has become customary to declare everyone who disagrees with you as a person who dispenses "Fake News". For every argument, there is a counter-argument.
In all this confusion, how are we to share the Gospel? If I can get back to my illustration for this morning. I knew it was safe to cross the road when those who lived in Rome knew it was safe. And to apply the illustration with a question: Are we Christians providing a watchable example of Gospel living so that others, seeing us know when to follow? We pray for the outpouring of the latter rain, hoping to see thousands making their decisions to follow Jesus, but we need to consider what changes the Holy Spirit should make in our own lives so that we are watchable Christians, crossing the traffic of life with confidence and safety. The language of a loving caring Christian in action speaks more loudly than a sermon.
Sorry help me.
When is the later rain going to start?! And how can I receive the later rain?!
Plz help
It is unwise to think of the "latter rain" as an event but rather something that will develop as we grow our relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is sent to us as a comforter, teacher and guide. It speaks to us when we listen to God communicating through Bible reading, conversations with our spiritual community, and spending time in prayer. That sort of relationship is important; more important than defining when and how the latter rain will take place.
Lynn please power up your YouTube. Type in search. The Final Shaking of Adentism by Roger Coon and listen to part 3. An excellent answer your questionings on the later Rain.
Happy Sabbath, and God bless you.
It is difficult to get my mind wrapped around what the ‘The loud Cry’ means, as the lesson touches on so many issues related to the end of time. The question at the end of the lesson might help to focus on what is important on a personal level, but this again, considers ‘roles’ one might fill when being “open and receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”
In my experience as a Christian, I hear ‘loud cries’ of spiritual nature calling for my attention on a daily basis; usually prompted by something I hear or observe. The spiritual alertness, the ability to hear and see with one's heart filled with compassion is present in us since we believed.
The Holy Spirit renewed and still renewes our heart and mind to pay attention to the spiritual aspects of practical experiences coming to our attention in our daily life. What I am trying to say is that we are continuously on high alert, attuned to the voice calling us to action. It is the new life we live in the Father's kingdom as a born-gain, living soul since the time we have believed and love our heavenly Father with all our heart.
We have been told about the things prophesied to come about in the end of days, though 'waiting for the Holy Spirit' is not what we are to do right now or focus on. As I see it, He is always present in us and it is always the right time, most prudent, to engage wholeheartedly in 'loving our neighbor’ in the most effective, most overt way the Father has equipped us to do - allow the Holy Spirit be your Guide - Matt.5:15-17.