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The Acts of the Apostles
the days of the apostles He wrought mightily for His church through
the agency of the Holy Spirit. The same power that sustained the pa-
triarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made
the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God’s faithful
children in every succeeding age. It was through the power of the Holy
Spirit that during the Dark Ages the Waldensian Christians helped to
prepare the way for the Reformation. It was the same power that made
successful the efforts of the noble men and women who pioneered the
way for the establishment of modern missions and for the translation
of the Bible into the languages and dialects of all nations and peoples.
And today God is still using His church to make known His purpose
in the earth. Today the heralds of the cross are going from city to city,
and from land to land, preparing the way for the second advent of
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Christ. The standard of God’s law is being exalted. The Spirit of the
Almighty is moving upon men’s hearts, and those who respond to its
influence become witnesses for God and His truth. In many places
consecrated men and women may be seen communicating to others the
light that has made plain to them the way of salvation through Christ.
And as they continue to let their light shine, as did those who were
baptized with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they receive more
and still more of the Spirit’s power. Thus the earth is to be lightened
with the glory of God.
On the other hand, there are some who, instead of wisely improving
present opportunities, are idly waiting for some special season of
spiritual refreshing by which their ability to enlighten others will be
greatly increased. They neglect present duties and privileges, and allow
their light to burn dim, while they look forward to a time when, without
any effort on their part, they will be made the recipients of special
blessing, by which they will be transformed and fitted for service.
It is true that in the time of the end, when God’s work in the earth is
closing, the earnest efforts put forth by consecrated believers under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit are to be accompanied by special tokens
of divine favor. Under the figure of the early and the latter rain, that
falls in Eastern lands at seedtime and harvest, the Hebrew prophets
foretold the bestowal of spiritual grace in extraordinary measure upon
God’s church. The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles
was the beginning of the early, or former, rain, and glorious was the
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