God Himself (“Elijah” – hebr.) forsook Jesus Christ. He who led Him in everything, He whose will He had fulfilled, was with Him no longer. The Godhead, whose connections were not separated even through personification (because ever since in Mary’s womb the Holy Spirit had been with Him) got separated on the cross: the Father and the Spirit on the one side (enshrouded in the dark cloud) and the Son of God and of man on the other side (on the cross), hanging between heaven and earth and between Them an eternal wall – the sin of man.

In the morning of the resurrection, the Spirit of God and the highest angelic rank came down from heaven, from the Throne of Grace to the dark grave, the place where “the Father of Eternity” (Isaiah 9:6) had been confined in eternal sleep. He, who had breathed breath of life into the man's nostrils, was now deprived of it. The angels took the rock aside. The very moment Gabriel, the angel, called Him, the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8:11) re-established the connection between Himself, the Son and the Father, hence uniting what had been separated through the sin of the mankind (the Son of God with His Father). The relation which had been broken, was that very moment re-established and the Son who was asleep in eternal death, came back to life through Himself, as He Himself is Life (John 14:6; 15:26; 2:19,21; 10:15,17-18).

The separation between man and God because of sin caused Him who is Love to put away from Himself His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish (by accepting sin and thus breaking his relation with God), but have eternal life in His Son. The wages of sin by transgressing His Eternal Law, the illustration of His character, should have been eternal death. Christ came and paid our own guilt, making Himself sin for us, bearing the fire of God in our behalf.

“The chastisement of our peace [with and from God] was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed [from sin, which is in us].”

Isa 53:5

God, through the death of His Son, healed not only the eruptions of sin on our faces that should have reflected His image but also the fountain. He healed (1 Peter 2:24) our heart so that the fruit of the Holy Spirit should spring out of it (Galatians 5:22-23).

Jesus, through the great sacrifice He made for us by choosing to be a propitiation for sin, drank a bitter cup which, at the moment He became fully aware of the separation from the source and supreme subject of His love (His father and the Holy Spirit), would have wished to put away. But God, out of love for mankind, said: It is You who must drink this cup so that all My lost sons should be redeemed. And thus, He accepted to drink a cup of death, that of the breaking of such a tight relation as They were One (a breaking equivalent to death) and through His baptism, He advances towards Golgotha, towards His death and our resurrection from the dead. The cup Our Lord Jesus Christ drank in Gethsemane is the one, in a sense, that we (the last generation) must drink as well, but the circumstances and form of this act are different. We must be baptized with His baptism, the one that gave Him strength to drink the cup He had to.

His cup was that of doing God's will perfectly (Matthew 26:39). It was a yoke for Him, but not a yoke of slavery, but a yoke of liberty.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law [Malachi 4:4] in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people [Malachi 4:6]. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD.” “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”

Mat 11:29-30; Jer 31:33-34; Jer 50:20

We have also been promised to be baptized with Jesus' baptism, meaning with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” “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. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”

Joh 16:13-15; Joe 2:23,27-29

What is it that we can do so that this promise should become a living reality for each and every one of us? The words of the One who made it possible by His sacrifice, echo from Heaven through the Spirit, striving to find way to our hearts:

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are.”

Luk 13:24-25

How solemn is the time we live in! Judgment is passed onto us and could it be possible that the words above be uttered this very moment?! It must be a terrible thing to believe yourself as being one of God’s children for years and years, to believe yourself as being saved, and still be cast out where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and those you have for years despised to be saved, rushing into at the strait gate, willingly accepting the invitation of the Spirit and of the Bride to enter the weeding room of the Bridegroom, to enter the heavenly dwellings prepared by Him.

Many of us wait for the final events to make a firm decision, either of standing for or against the Lord. The events we have expected to be taking place at a distant moment in the future are being in progress right now. We have been waiting for the Decree, that law to make us more aware of the fact that we are nothing but pilgrims on Earth and it can take less than a moment to lose everything that has represented EVERYTHING for us so far, namely, material values and wrongly acquired spiritual ones). As long as we now consent to an existence without God, it would be impossible for us to say “Yes” then. The latter rain represents the key element we need so that we should be fortified then to drink up the cup of the anger of nations.

If our hearts have not been cleansed before the latter rain through the blessing of the former rain, the latter rain will fall around us, but will not touch us. And if we are not blessed by God through the refreshing from His face, whom will we be blessed by when the Decree, the work of Satan, will have passed, in his despair against the remnant, faithful witnesses of God's justice and grace?

“There [in the Sanctuary] I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father. On the hem of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. Those who rose up with Jesus [because that got the light] would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us Thy Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy and peace.

I turned to look at the company who [“were careless and did not cherish the light, and it moved off from them”] were still bowed before the throne. They did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne and pray, My Father give us thy spirit. Then Satan would breathe on them an unholy influence. In it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy and peace. Satan's object was to keep them deceived and to draw back and deceive God's children.”¹

“Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.

The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut.

Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:34).”²

Time is running fast, seemingly impatient to unite over the ages two glorious events, to unite this very moment, through people, the cry of the Son of God on the Cross – the highest expression of the cup-drinking and baptism – with the cry of His voice of an archangel, coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Back then, just like now, all heaven was in agitation, striving to impress the man, forcefully inviting him to take a firm stand; there have been no more than a few moments left for us to make a decision, moments that seem to go by faster than ever before. The horologe of time will soon strike for the last time. And from that moment on, any effort we might want to make so that we should be able to say “Yes” to God will be in vain.

The greatest danger we have to face is that, in spite of there being but a little time left, our daily responsibilities we have always considered extremely urgent and important might prevent us once more from taking the only decision of an utmost importance we need: accepting God's invitation to sanctification (salvation) and thus contributing actively to the union of the two glorious events. Never before has there been a greater responsibility entrusted to the man than this, nor will ever be a greater satisfaction than its fulfilment!

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Luk 21:34