Wounded in the House of His Friends: When will the Aborted Latter Rain Resume? (Return of the Latter Rain)

“‘And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’—Zechariah 13:6“Yes, long ago Jesus came to this earth – the 'house of His friends' – and was mortally wounded. But this would not be the last time His presumed friends would wound Him.“This book is the story of a time much closer to ours, when Jesus came near again, bringing with Him a priceless gift to present to His church – the full measure of the Holy Spirit in Latter Rain power.“But though some few accepted it fully with joy, many others chose to wound the Giver by resisting and rejecting His gift. The Latter Rain that might have been was delayed – and waits even yet to resume.“This story is our chance to learn from the past, to avoid repeating it – it’s another chance to welcome the Giver fully and receive His gift with unbounded gratitude.” (From the Back Cover)“Wounded in the House of His Friends is really an interlude, or summary volume, in The Return of the Latter Rain series—Volume 1 being first published in 2010. The Return of the Latter Rain was the result of a personal study that began in 1998 as a simple, yet unique compilation of Ellen White statements on the subject of the latter rain and the loud cry, placed in chronological order—statements which Ellen White made between the 1840s and the close of her life in 1915. As the study developed into a manuscript, more and more background information was added to help give context surrounding the historic events in which Ellen White’s statements were made….“Originally, the manuscript’s main objective was to address the core questions surrounding the 1888 episode that have plagued Adventism since the 1890s: Did in fact the Lord send the beginning of the latter rain and the loud cry in 1888—and were they accepted?...“As The Return of the Latter Rain manuscript continued to develop, more and more original sources and primary evidence was added in an attempt to address the above core questions. At the same time, the manuscript also began addressing many other related topics and issues, such as: biographical sketches of both Jones and Waggoner before and after the Minneapolis meetings; what part their personalities might have played in the 1888 session and controversies that followed; a fuller understanding of the law in Galatians controversy; what exactly was the 1888 message in its totality; what were the theological contributions of both Jones and Waggoner in such areas as, the nature of sin and of man, the nature of Christ (both human and divine), righteousness by faith, the covenants, the perfecting of a final generation before Christ’s return, religious liberty, etc.; the extent of Ellen White’s endorsements of Jones and Waggoner; the degree to which the message was accepted or rejected; the aspects and extent of the antagonism expressed against Jones and Waggoner by key proponents; the thoroughness and outcome of confessions made by antagonists following Minneapolis; the magnitude of the revival and reformation that took place between 1889 and 1893 among Adventists; the cause and reality of Jones and Waggoner’s departure from the faith; the consequences of all the above on Adventist thought since the 1890s to this very day; and many other related topics and issues.“As a consequence of seeking to cover so many related topics and issues, when The Return of the Latter Rain was originally published in 2010 it was merely the first volume drawn from the original manuscript, but only covered the years 1844 through the year 1891. …“Once again, Wounded in the House of His Friends is really a summary book of the underlying theme of The Return of the Latter Rain series. Work will continue on the series, covering in greater depth the main theme in Wounded, as well as many of the other related topics and issues that surround the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference and its aftermath.” (From the Introduction, pp. x-xiii)

Ron Duffield is a fifth-generation Seventh-day Adventist. His great-great-grandfather attended the 1888 General Conference session in Minneapolis. His grandfather was an Adventist minister and worked at the Braille Foundation in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father was a printer who worked for Pacific Press and other Adventist printers during his career. Ron's education includes Laurelwood Academy, respiratory therapy studies at Walla Walla Community College, and a bachelor's degree in public health from Weimar College. Ron, his wife, and their three daughters live in Walla Walla, Washington, where, since 2004, Ron has worked as a respiratory therapist at Walla Walla General Hospital. His books include The Return of the Latter Rain, vol. 1 (2010); this present volume, Wounded in the House of His Friends; and upcoming, The Return of the Latter Rain, vol. 2 (expected publication 2015). [from back cover]