What really is the latter rain?
The “latter rain” is a term used to describe a special endowment of God’s Holy Spirit on Christ’s church just before the coming of Jesus. It is a biblical symbol for the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, by which the corporate spiritual experience of God’s church will be brought to ripeness for the harvest .
The Purpose of the Latter Rain.
The “latter rain” or the spring rain is interpreted as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s children. Biblical writers used the terms “latter rain” and “former rain” to describe the visitation of the Holy Spirit upon the church in a dispensational sense. The “early rain” came at Pentecost to give power to the witness of the gospel. And another outpouring of rain will be coming at earth’s final soul harvest before the second coming of Christ.
The “latter rain” and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be simply to qualify the saints for witnessing. This power for witnessing gives power within, power to proclaim the truth and power to lead sinners to God. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and transformed them from fearful men to brave warriors for Christ. They spoke the truth with boldness despite threats, persecution, and even death.
Some assume that the purpose of the latter rain revival is to provide victory over sin. But this is not true. No one will receive the “latter rain” who do not already have victory over sin through the “early rain.” Under the power of that spiritual baptism, strength is available for complete victory over every weakness. Paul affirmed this truth, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Witnesses to the world.
“‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).
In contrast with the Great Commission given when Christ first sent out the Twelve disciples (Matthew 10:5, 6), this work of witnessing is to be worldwide. Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The beginning of this universal work started in the book of Acts. And we have the outline for the disciples’ ministry: (1) Jerusalem and Judea (chs. 1 to 7), (2) Samaria (chs. 8 to 10), (3) and the uttermost part of the earth (chs. 11 to 28). This ministry will continue till the end.
Through the faithful followers of Christ, the Lord will spread the work He began on earth. They will do even “greater works” than those He accomplished (John 14:12). These works will be greater in quantity rather than quality. Christ’s ministry had reached over a relatively small section of the world. But after His ascension, the gospel will reach the whole world.
The Spirit-given witness will be a defining mark of the believers. Christians today are called to give a personal witness to the life and teachings of Christ. The Lord will save the world by His grace and the ministry of the believers’ lives. This is the most powerful testimony that can be given. Without sharing the personal experience, there can be no genuine Christian witness.
The apostle Peter is a great example of witness in the early church. He proclaimed after healing of the lame man, “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole” (Acts 4:10).
The End-Time Sign.
Jesus Christ said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). His statement was right but in a limited way and will find a later complete fulfillment. The Lord is coming soon to harvest the faithful of the world. John the Revelator declared, “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” (Revelation 14:14). Therefore, we need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to prepare the world to this end-time harvest.
In the same way that the former rain fell on those who already knew the Savior and had a daily connection with Him through the Scriptures, so the latter rain is going to fall on those who will have the mark of God and His seal (Revelation 9:4). These saints are described as having two characteristics: keeping the commandment of God and having the faith of Jesus (Revelation 12:17; 14:12).
Getting Filled With the Holy Spirit.
About being filled with the Holy Spirit to be part of the latter rain evangelism, the apostle Paul wrote, “That he (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).
The first step of preparation for being filled with the Holy Spirit anointing is to claim the gift of “justification” which is accepting Christ’s blood as atonement for sins and receiving instant forgiveness from all past confessed sins through His blood (1 John 1: 9).
The second step is called “sanctification” which is a daily submission to God’s will through the study of His word, prayer and walking in the light. When we ask in faith and claim the power to stop yielding to sin, God places His strength in our lives. And in that moment, we can claim deliverance from any habit of sin (Galatians 3:14).
The Scriptures repeatedly confirm that the Holy Spirit cannot be given to those who are disobedient. “And we are his witnesses of these things and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him” (Acts 5:32). When justification and sanctification unite to work in the life, the believer experiences the “blessing of Abraham” in the full sense.
The third step involves an exercise of the same kind of faith for sharing with others the powerful experiences of Justification and sanctification. It consists of claiming the promised power to make our words convicting and fruitful to fulfill God’s great commission of sharing the gospel to the whole world (Matthew 28:19).
Hosea 6:1–3 predicts that the people of Israel would return to the Lord after a period of judgment. In that day, the people of Israel will say,
“Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth” (NKJV).
The “latter” and “former” rains are called the “winter rains” and “spring rains” in the NIV.
The Lord had “torn” and “stricken” His people—, Hosea predicts that God will discipline them (Hosea 6:1)—because they were unfaithful to the covenant they had promised to keep (Exodus 24:3, 7). While the judgment would be certain and severe, God would demonstrate His grace and restore the people. He would heal them and bandage their wounds (Hosea 6:1). He would come to them like a refreshing and nourishing rain (Hosea 6:3). He would come like the latter and former rain, which would seem to refer to the early rain after planting and the later rain at harvest.
Because of God’s promises, His people could know with certainty that God would keep His word—that He would indeed come to them as the latter and former rain to restore and refresh. While the context doesn’t specify when this restoration would take place, the passage seems to be pointing forward to the salvation that would be provided through the Messiah: God would revive them after two days and raise them up on the third day (Hosea 6:2). This prophecy seems to correlate directly with the events of Jesus’ death, as He died, was buried, and then rose again on the third day ( 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3–4).
Paul mentions that Christ’s resurrection on the third day was “according to the Scriptures” (or writings). While there may have been a written gospel account by the time Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians (Matthew and Mark may have written by that time), Paul is probably referring to the Hebrew Scriptures and may have had Hosea 6:2 in mind.
If Hosea’s prophecy of revival in the two days and raising on the third day (Hosea 6:2) is pointing forward to the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah, then the immediately following context that God would visit the people of Israel as the latter and former rain is likely also a picture of how refreshing and nourishing that event would be for the people under God’s judgment.
In Hosea’s time, there was coming a somber judgment because of the people’s disloyalty to God and their transgressing of the covenant. But there was also a coming day of restoration for Judah (Hosea 6:11). God would come to the people as latter and former rain.
It is important to note that God doesn’t ignore sin, and His holy standard is high—perfection, in fact ( Matthew 5:48). When God restores the people of Israel, He first deals with their sin problem. The Messiah would die as a sacrifice to pay for sins; thus, the nation would no longer be in bondage to the Law of Moses (the Old Covenant) or the consequences of breaking that covenant. God would forgive their sins as part of a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31).
That blessing of forgiveness from sin through the sacrifice of the Messiah would be not just for one nation but for all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3b). The Messiah would be like the latter and former rain for Israel and Judah (Hosea 6:3), and He would also be the water of life for all who would believe in Him (John 4:13–14).
ReplyDeleteThe Latter Rain Movement is an influence within Pentecostalism which teaches that the Lord is pouring out His Spirit again, as He did at Pentecost, and using believers to prepare the world for His Second Coming. The Latter Rain Movement is anti-dispensational and amillennial, and many leaders of the movement embrace aberrant teachings.
The term “latter rain” was first used early in the history of Pentecostalism, when David Wesley Myland wrote a book called Latter Rain Songs in 1907. Three years later, Myland wrote The Latter Rain Covenant, a defense of Pentecostalism in general.
The name comes from Joel 2:23, “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.” Pentecostals interpreted the “rain” in this verse as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The “latter rain” (the end-times outpouring) would be greater than the “former rain.”
In 1948, a “revival” broke out in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the teachings of the Latter Rain movement were clarified. Those involved in the revival were convinced that they were on the verge of a new era, one in which the Holy Spirit would demonstrate His power in a greater way than the world had ever seen. Not even the age of the apostles, they said, had witnessed such a movement of the Holy Spirit.
Latter Rain teaching is characterized by a highly typological hermeneutic. That is, the Bible is interpreted in a symbolic, extremely stylized manner. An emphasis is placed on extra-biblical revelation, such as personal prophecies, experiences, and directives straight from God. Latter Rain doctrine includes the following beliefs:
- the gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, are received through the laying on of hands.
- Christians can be demonized and require deliverance.
- God has restored all the offices of ministry to the Church, including apostle and prophet.
- divine healing can be administered through the laying on of hands.
- praise and worship will usher God into our presence.
- women have a full and equal ministry role in the Church.
- denominational lines will be destroyed, and the Church will unify in the last days.
- the “latter rain” will bring God’s work to completion; the Church will be victorious over the world and usher in Christ’s kingdom.
Many “apostles” in the Latter Rain Movement also teach the doctrine of “the manifest sons of God.” This is a heretical doctrine which says that the Church will give rise to a special group of “overcomers” who will receive spiritual bodies, becoming immortal.
It is important to note that the Assemblies of God deemed the Latter Rain Movement to contain heresy from the very beginning. On April 20, 1949, the Assemblies of God officially denounced Latter Rain teaching, nearly splitting the denomination in the process. Other established Pentecostal groups have passed similar resolutions.
Today, the term “latter rain” is rarely used, but the theology of Latter Rain continues to exert an influence. Most branches of the Charismatic Movement adhere to Latter Rain teaching. Modern movements such as the Brownsville/Pensacola Revival, the Toronto Blessing, and the “holy laughter” phenomenon are a direct result of Latter Rain theology.