What Deuteronomy, the Latter Rain, and the Emptying Storehouse Have to Do With It
Former General Conference president Ted Wilson made a remarkable admission while discussing ADRA receiving government funding:
“ADRA is doing a wonderful work in the name of Jesus. Yes, as they take funds from governments, that requires a careful approach in how you use the money and what you can say while you’re distributing the funds and the goods that come from those funds.”
Notice those words carefully: “WHAT YOU CAN SAY.”
That statement goes directly to the heart of the controversy.
Some ministers have responded to my previous article as though government money were simply a harmless gift. One brother told me, “There is nothing wrong with taking money from the UN.”
But that does not address the actual situation. We are not merely talking about somebody walking up to the church, handing over an unconditional gift, and walking away. The General Conference itself has had formal NGO consultative relations with the United Nations for decades. Its own UN Liaison Committee has spoken of developing “bilateral relationships between the Church and the United Nations” and preparing proposals for General Conference participation in UN initiatives.
That is a relationship—not merely a gift.
And in the case of government funding through ADRA, Ted Wilson himself acknowledged that accepting the money requires carefulness concerning “what you can say.”
For a church entrusted with the Three Angels’ Messages, that should set off every alarm bell we have.
God says: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet.” — Isaiah 58:1
Yet government money can require careful consideration concerning what we are allowed to say.
How do those two principles coexist?
What happens when the government financing our work is involved in something God’s prophetic message requires us to condemn? What happens when the kings of the earth are moving toward the very religious-political system Revelation warns us about?
A prophetic church cannot afford to have its message restrained by those financing its institutions.
PERHAPS WE SHOULD STUDY GOD’S LAW
There is another irony in all of this.
Much of modern Adventism effectively treats the statutes and judgments contained in Deuteronomy as belonging to a law that was nailed to the cross. Yet when the subject of tithe arises, suddenly Old Testament principles concerning God’s treasury and storehouse become extremely important.
If we are going to appeal to God’s financial order, then perhaps we should stop selectively crucifying the very book that explains why God’s storehouse is blessed or cursed.
Listen to Deuteronomy 28:
“And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day…” — Deuteronomy 28:1
Then comes the promise:
“The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses.” — Deuteronomy 28:8
Notice the order. It is not:
Have a denominational storehouse → therefore God must bless it.
It is: Hearken diligently unto God → obey His commandments → God commands His blessing upon the storehouse.
Maybe the first question we should be asking is not, “Why aren’t the people giving to the storehouse?”
Maybe the first question should be:
“HAS THE STOREHOUSE HEARKENED DILIGENTLY UNTO GOD?”
Because simply calling something the “storehouse” does not guarantee the blessing.
THE LATTER RAIN IS CONNECTED TO THE SAME PRINCIPLE
And this goes much deeper. Deuteronomy connects obedience not merely with financial blessing, but with the rain.
God said: “And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments… that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain.” — Deuteronomy 11:13-14
There it is. Hearken diligently. Keep God’s commandments. Receive the former and latter rain.
Then Deuteronomy 28 repeats the principle: “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand.” — Deuteronomy 28:12
Mal 3:10, 4:4 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it….Remember the law of Moses with the statutes and judgments….
The windows of heaven were opened during Noah’s flood. Adventists have preached for generations about receiving the latter rain. But how can we preach the latter rain while declaring the very statutes that connect obedience with that rain to be nailed to the cross?
The latter rain is not poured out because we possess a denominational name, an organizational structure, or a large treasury. God’s blessing is connected with a people who hearken diligently unto His voice. Who KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.
That should cause us to examine ourselves very seriously. We are praying for the latter rain while increasingly depending upon the kings of the earth for financial rain.
Perhaps we are looking to the wrong treasury.
God said: “The LORD shall open unto thee HIS GOOD TREASURE, THE HEAVEN…” — Deuteronomy 28:12
God has a treasury. And when His people walk faithfully with Him, He promises to open it. Why then should God’s church become dependent upon Caesar’s treasury?
THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL
Deuteronomy becomes even more pointed: “And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.” — Deuteronomy 28:12
And then: “The LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; IF that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God.” — Deuteronomy 28:13
Again, the condition is obedience. But now read what happens under the curse:
“The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.” — Deuteronomy 28:43
The UN is now above them. And then:
“He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: HE SHALL BE THE HEAD, AND THOU SHALT BE THE TAIL.” — Deuteronomy 28:44
That is an extraordinary contrast. Under the blessing, God’s people lend and are the head. Under the curse, the outsider becomes the lender and he becomes the head.
I am not claiming that every government grant mechanically fulfills Deuteronomy 28:44. But surely we cannot miss the principle.
Financial dependence changes relationships.
And Ted Wilson’s own words demonstrate exactly that principle: when government money is involved, suddenly there must be carefulness about “what you can say.”
Who is becoming the head? Who is becoming the tail?
If the person supplying the money affects what the recipient can say, then the financial relationship has already begun affecting the religious relationship. And there is much more that can be said here about that relationship and the pitfalls that have come upon GC Adventism.
WHAT ABOUT CONRAD VINE?
Some have attempted to answer Conrad Vine by pointing out that his ministry received government assistance during COVID. But there is a very important part of that story: my understanding is that they subsequently returned the money.
I have already discussed this with some of the ministers raising the objection. And SILENCE. Not even a word. But yet they still use this as an argument.
Suppose Conrad did take the money. Suppose he then became convicted that taking it was wrong and returned it.
What should a Christian call that? Repentance.
John the Baptist said:
“Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” — Matthew 3:8
If you believe receiving the money was wrong, then returning it is exactly the kind of fruit you should expect from someone correcting his course.
Yet strangely, rather than acknowledging that giving it back was honorable, some continue bringing up the fact that it was once received. But if a person repents and corrects something, who specializes in continually dragging the former action back out?
“The accuser of our brethren.” — Revelation 12:10
There is also an obvious contradiction here.
Perhaps the question should be: “WHY DOESN’T THE CONFERENCE GIVE IT UP TOO?”
TWO DIFFERENT STANDARDS
This remains one of my greatest concerns with some of the ministers criticizing the redirection of tithe.
When it is the people’s money, the standard becomes absolute:
“You must follow God’s financial system.”
“You cannot redirect the tithe.”
“You must bring it into the storehouse.”
Fine. Then apply God’s financial system to the institution too.
The law says the storehouse is blessed if God’s people hearken diligently.
The law says God opens His treasury.
The law says God’s people should be the head and not the tail.
The law says dependence reverses under the curse until the stranger lends to God’s people and becomes the head.
And the law connects diligently hearkening to God’s commandments with receiving the latter rain.
So do not resurrect Deuteronomy when you want the people’s tithe and nail Deuteronomy to the cross when its statutes begin examining the Conference.
The people must hearken, but so must the storehouse.
And if people are losing confidence in the Conference, maybe ministers should stop asking only: “Why aren’t the people giving?”
And begin asking:
“Why isn’t God blessing the storehouse?”
“Why are we becoming dependent upon the nations?”
“Why are we entering relationships in which receiving money affects what we can say?”
Seems many ministers are remaining silent on these questions, and it seems the evil prevails because of their silence.
“HAVE WE HEARKENED DILIGENTLY UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD?”
We say we want the latter rain. Then perhaps we should return to the book that tells us:
“If ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments… I will give you… the first rain and the latter rain.” — Deuteronomy 11:13-14
God does not need the United Nations to finance the Three Angels’ Messages. God does not need Caesar to sustain His work. And God’s prophetic church should never become so dependent upon the kings of the earth that their money affects “what you can say.”
If obedience costs us millions, let the millions go. If it costs programs, let the programs go. If it costs institutions, let the institutions go.
That is God’s principle, and that is what God will do. And furthermore, it is also what God’s people will do when a church is in wedlock with the State.
Better to lose Caesar’s money and receive God’s good treasure from heaven than preserve the machinery while losing the freedom to proclaim the message.
We want the latter rain. Then let us hearken diligently.
One Bible. One standard. For the people—and for the storehouse.
