The Early and the Latter Rain

How the Holy Spirit Sowed the Gospel, and How He Will Ripen the Harvest

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” — James 5:7 (KJV)

Author’s Note on Terminology: This paper uses the traditional Christian terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” for clarity. The author recognizes that the books of the Old Testament are the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, which Jewish tradition holds as complete Scripture in its own right, and quotes them with respect for that tradition.

A note on what follows. The interpretation in this paper is my best understanding of Scripture, reached by following its own examples and patterns. Where I draw a conclusion of my own, I say so plainly. The paper is held to one rule above all others:

Rule 1: No Scriptural conflicts. No conclusion here may contradict any passage of Scripture. Where Scripture does not settle a detail, I say so plainly.

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pronouns for God and Christ are capitalized in the author’s own words; KJV quotations are left as written.

How to read this study. The paper follows the farmer’s year. It starts with rain as Scripture’s own picture (Sections 1-2), then shows the early rain falling at Pentecost (Sections 3-4). Next it follows the latter rain at the end: where it begins, who receives it first, and how it works (Sections 5-8). Then come the harvest it brings, how God cares for His workers, and the last call before the door shuts (Sections 9-11). It closes with Israel’s return, the two kinds of looking on Christ, and a call to ask for the rain (Sections 12-14). A summary of the whole chain of events is at the end.

A few key terms.

1. Rain in the Land

Every farmer in ancient Israel lived by two rains. Without the first, the seed never sprouted. Without the second, the grain never filled out for harvest. God made both rains part of His covenant promise:

“And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil” (Deuteronomy 11:13-14).

Jeremiah ties both rains to the harvest God has appointed: “Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest” (Jeremiah 5:24).

A note from outside Scripture: in Israel’s climate, the early (former) rain falls in the autumn, when the seed is sown. The latter rain falls in the spring, ripening the grain just before harvest. Joel’s “latter rain in the first month” (Joel 2:23) fits this, since Israel’s first month falls in the spring.

So the pattern is simple: sow, wait, ripen, reap. The early rain starts the crop. The latter rain finishes it. Then comes the harvest.

2. The Prophets Turn the Rain into the Spirit

The prophets took this picture every Israelite understood and used it to describe God Himself coming to His people.

Hosea: “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:3).

Isaiah puts the water and the Spirit side by side: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (Isaiah 44:3).

And Joel spells it out. First the rain: “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” (Joel 2:23). Then, a few verses later, what the rain stands for: “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” (Joel 2:28-29).

Rain is poured out on the ground. The Spirit is poured out on people. I believe that is the key that unlocks this whole subject: Scripture’s two rains picture two great outpourings of the Holy Spirit.

3. The Early Rain: Pentecost

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He told His disciples to wait: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:4-5). “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 Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Then the rain fell. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).

Peter told the crowd exactly what they were seeing: “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:16-17).

Notice the order, because it matters later: wait, be filled, then preach. The disciples waited in Jerusalem, the Spirit filled them, and the preaching began that same day.

And the seed took root. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). When persecution came, the Spirit filled them again: “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).

The book of Acts reads like a record of the early rain at work:

Through the Spirit and the Word working together, the gospel was sown from Jerusalem to the ends of the known world in a single generation. That was the early rain.

4. Joel’s Prophecy Reaches Past Pentecost

Here is something easy to miss. Peter didn’t stop quoting Joel at the part that happened that morning. He kept going:

“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:19-21).

The sun darkened and the moon turned to blood are signs of the end, the same signs Jesus gave for His coming (Matthew 24:29) and John saw at the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12). So as I read it, Joel’s prophecy is one chain of events stretching from Pentecost to the day of the Lord. The outpouring began at Pentecost, but Joel’s promise is not finished until the great day comes. That leaves room, and a need, for a second outpouring at the end.

5. The Latter Rain: Ripening the Harvest

James ties the latter rain directly to the second coming: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7-8).

The farmer in James’ picture already has the early rain. He’s waiting for the latter rain, and then the harvest. Jesus tells us what the harvest is: “the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels” (Matthew 13:39). Revelation shows the harvest ripe and reaped: “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped” (Revelation 14:15-16).

Jesus also named the work that must be finished before the end: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). I believe the latter rain is how that work gets finished. The early rain sowed the gospel. The latter rain ripens it in every nation, right before the Lord of the harvest comes.

Peter looked ahead to the same thing when he spoke of “the times of refreshing”: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you” (Acts 3:19-20).

6. The Sealing: Where the Latter Rain Begins

Revelation 7 opens with a pause. “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:1-3).

Nothing is harmed until God’s servants are sealed. In my research, this pause comes just before the fourth seal, when the four winds are released and the great tribulation begins (see The Four Horsemen and The Shepherd’s Gathering).

What is the seal? Paul tells us the seal of God is the Holy Spirit Himself: “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:13-14). “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

Every believer is sealed with the Spirit as a down payment. In this research’s reading, the sealing in Revelation 7 is a special sealing of God’s servants “in their foreheads” for an end-time mission. The Old Testament gives us the pattern. Before judgment fell on Jerusalem, God marked the faithful first: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezekiel 9:4).

So if the seal is the Spirit, then being sealed means receiving the Spirit. As I understand it, that places the start of the latter rain at the sealing itself, during the pause, with the 144,000 the first to receive it in full. It follows the same order as Pentecost: wait, be filled, then preach. The servants are filled while the winds are held, and the power of their witness is shown openly once the winds are released.

Chosen, then fully sealed. I believe the firstfruits are chosen because they are already sealed in one sense. Like every believer, they “were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13) when they believed. Because of their faith, God selects them, and then they are fully sealed and empowered by the two witnesses, the Spirit and the Word, for the work ahead.

“Eat the book.” Scripture shows how God commissions a messenger to carry His Word: He has them eat it. Ezekiel: “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll” (Ezekiel 3:1-2). “And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them” (Ezekiel 3:3-4). Jeremiah: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).

John received the same commission, and his was to the whole world: “And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:10-11). I see that as the pattern for the 144,000: they take the Word in, it becomes part of them, and they go out to “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Jeremiah’s words fit them too: “I am called by thy name,” just as they bear “his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

How long does it take? As I understand it, the full sealing is an event unaffected by time as we know it (see The Author of Time). God is not bound by our clocks: “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Scripture shows Him commissioning His servants both ways. Sometimes it is quick: after the coal touched Isaiah’s lips, he heard, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Sometimes He takes time: “Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:18), and Ezekiel “remained there astonished among them seven days” (Ezekiel 3:15) before he began. God could speak with the 144,000 for a while, explaining and sealing, or it could be quick, even seemingly instantaneous from our point of view. Either way, it happens just before the great tribulation begins, before the destruction of the fourth seal and its first four trumpets, while the four winds are still held (Revelation 7:1-3).

A note on Revelation 10. Revelation 10 comes between the sixth and seventh trumpets, so I use John’s eating of the little book as a pattern for how God commissions His servants, not as the timing of the sealing.

7. The Firstfruits: Who Receives It First

John hears the number of the sealed: “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:4). Later he sees them with the Lamb: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

Revelation tells us four things about them that matter for the latter rain.

They are servants. They are “the servants of our God” (Revelation 7:3), and Joel said the Spirit would be poured out “upon the servants and upon the handmaids” (Joel 2:29), both men and women.

They are firstfruits. “These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4). Firstfruits were the first ripe grain, offered to God before the harvest, and they were a sample of the same crop. If the harvest that follows is “of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (Revelation 7:9), then the firstfruits come from every nation too. That fits what Scripture says about who Israel is: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter” (Romans 2:28-29). “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).

No guile is found in their mouths. “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:5). Scripture says no deceit is found in them. I believe this is part of why they are sealed with the Spirit first: they carry God’s Word faithfully, without twisting it or mixing it with falsehood.

They are faithful to Christ alone. “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Revelation 14:4). Revelation defines the defiling woman for us: “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5). Paul uses “virgin” for faithfulness to Christ: “for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Read this way, the 144,000 are not defiled by Babylon or her daughters. They keep themselves from false religion and follow the Lamb alone.

8. The Oil and the Two Witnesses

Zechariah saw a golden lampstand fed by two olive trees, and he was told how God’s work gets done: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). “And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof” (Zechariah 4:3). “What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?” (Zechariah 4:12). “These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:14).

Revelation takes up the same picture for God’s end-time witness: “And I will give power unto my two witnesses” (Revelation 11:3). “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth” (Revelation 11:4). Their power is the power of Elijah and Moses: “These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” (Revelation 11:6).

In this research’s reading, the two witnesses are the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, speaking through God’s sealed servants (see Without Excuse and The Jubilee Calendar and the Story of the End). The olive trees pour golden oil into the lamps. In the same way, the Spirit and the Word pour into the 144,000, and the light shines out to the whole world.

I believe Revelation 18:1 pictures the climax of the latter rain: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory” (Revelation 18:1). The whole earth lit with God’s glory, just before the last call goes out. Section 11 follows that call.

9. The Harvest That Follows

The firstfruits are only the beginning. Right after the 144,000, John sees the harvest: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-10). And the elder tells John where they came from: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

I believe this great multitude includes many who come to Christ through the witness of the 144,000 during the latter rain. Unbelievers hear the Word preached faithfully, in the power of the Spirit, and they are converted, sealed and saved from the second death. It is Pentecost again, but worldwide. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). The latter rain is God’s answer to that prayer.

The latter rain keeps falling, as the early rain did. Once the 144,000 are sealed, as I read Scripture, the latter rain continues much like the early rain did in Acts. The early rain didn’t stop at Pentecost. Luke keeps reporting its growth: “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). “But the word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). The same will happen in the latter rain: the sealed servants preach, the Spirit works, and nonbelievers become believers every day, all over the world, right up to the close of mercy.

Why God does it: He wants none to perish. This is the ultimate purpose of the sealing and of the two witnesses’ work. God is not looking for reasons to condemn. He is gathering as many as will come. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

Why the Word goes to the ends of the earth: an informed choice. People can’t choose what they’ve never heard. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). That is why Revelation shows the everlasting gospel going out to the whole earth before the end: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:6-7). “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).

So before mercy closes, I believe the everlasting gospel will reach “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6), and the world will face a clear call to respond. Scripture doesn’t tell us how each person will hear it, and those who never hear a preacher are judged fairly by the light God gave them (see Without Excuse). Christ “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), and even creation speaks, “so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). It is the same choice God set before Israel: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). No one will be lost because God kept His light from them. Those who are lost will have refused the light they were given.

10. The Workers’ Wages

While the latter rain gathers the harvest, God feeds His workers day by day, guards the Spirit and the covenant they carry, and at the end of the day pays them in full as the builders of His eternal city.

If the latter rain sends workers into the harvest, how will God take care of them? Revelation gives a short answer at the third seal (see The Four Horsemen), and the rest of Scripture fills it in. “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:5-6). Wheat, barley, oil and wine. Scripture has used that list before, and I’ll let those passages speak for themselves.

The passages that follow are not meant to make every mention of wheat, oil or wine mean the same thing. Together they show a pattern that runs through Scripture: God provides the harvest for His people, sustains those who labor in His work, and builds His dwelling through them.

God pays the workers in His harvest. The penny of Revelation 6:6 is the same coin Jesus used for a day’s pay in His vineyard: “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-2). At the end of the day, every worker is paid: “So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first” (Matthew 20:8). Jesus said, “the labourer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7), and He promised the final payday at His coming: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).

God supplies the builders of His house. When Solomon built God’s house, he hired skilled workers from Tyre and Sidon to work beside his own men: “my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint” (1 Kings 5:6). He paid them in those same four things: “And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil” (2 Chronicles 2:10).

When the temple was rebuilt after the exile, the builders were paid the same way: “They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia” (Ezra 3:7). And the king ordered that the temple’s needs be supplied daily: “wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail” (Ezra 6:9). Notice that both times, workers from the nations helped build God’s house, and God’s house paid them.

Today God is building a greater house. The New Testament calls God’s people His building and His workers: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22). “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). And the faithful become part of the city itself: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God” (Revelation 3:12). Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Every soul won in the latter rain is another living stone in that city, among “the nations of them which are saved” (Revelation 21:24), “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

God feeds His servants in hard times. A measure of wheat for a penny is a day’s bread for a day’s work. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), and told us, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). God makes the same promise for the time of trouble: “He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure” (Isaiah 33:16). “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied” (Psalms 37:19).

Scripture even shows God doing this for a prophet during a famine. While Elijah’s word held back the rain, God kept a widow’s meal and oil from running out: “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 17:14). “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:16). The two witnesses carry Elijah’s power to shut heaven “that it rain not in the days of their prophecy” (Revelation 11:6), and the same God feeds His servants through it.

What the rain produces. Wheat, wine and oil are the very harvest the two rains were given to bring in: “That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil” (Deuteronomy 11:14). Joel names them on both sides of his latter-rain promise: “Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith” (Joel 2:19), and after the rain, “And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil” (Joel 2:24). When God judged His people by withholding rain, these were what He struck: “And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil” (Haggai 1:11).

Why the oil and the wine are spared. Scripture gives both a meaning. The oil is the anointing of the Spirit: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power” (Acts 10:38). It is the golden oil the olive trees pour into the lamps (Zechariah 4:12). The wine is the covenant in Christ’s blood: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:28-29). The Good Samaritan healed the wounded man with the same two: “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Luke 10:34).

I believe “see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” means that while judgment goes forward, nothing will touch the Spirit and the saving covenant, the very things God’s workers carry to the world. It echoes the command given before the sealing: “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3). God’s workers are fed day by day, the oil and the wine are kept safe, and at the end of the day the Lord of the harvest pays every worker in full.

11. The Last Call Before the Door Shuts

The latter rain does not last forever. Like Noah’s preaching, it ends when the door shuts. Revelation shows the last call, the closing of mercy and the fall of Babylon, and it does it the way Revelation often teaches: it gives a short version first, then circles back and enlarges it.

The short version: three angels warn the world. In Revelation 14, angels carry God’s final message to the whole earth. The second angel announces Babylon’s fall: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Revelation 14:8). The third angel warns what is at stake: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:9-10).

The enlarged version: the last call to come out. Revelation 18 repeats the second angel’s message word for word, and then adds the plea. First the angel of glory: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:1-2). Then: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

As I see it, the third angel tells the world what is at stake, and Revelation 18:4 tells God’s people what to do about it. Notice that God calls them “my people” while they are still inside Babylon. He has His people even inside Babylon, and the latter rain is His last call to bring them out.

This is the same call God gave when the first Babylon fell: “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence” (Jeremiah 51:6). “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:45). Revelation takes the old call and enlarges it for the end-time Babylon.

The door of the ark. Jesus told us the end would be like the days of Noah: “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39). Noah preached while the door stood open. Then came the moment no one could undo: “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). After the door shut, the rain of judgment fell, and no one outside could get in.

Revelation describes the same moment: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11). In my research, this is when mercy closes, at the end of the 1,260 days (see The Shepherd’s Gathering).

Then the bowls. Once the door is shut, the seven last plagues fall: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1). And no one can enter the heavenly temple while they fall: “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled” (Revelation 15:8). That is why the call to come out has to sound before the bowls. Its whole purpose is “that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

Babylon falls at the seventh bowl. “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done” (Revelation 16:17). “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:19).

Revelation 17 and 18 then enlarge that one verse. John is shown the details by one of the bowl angels: “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (Revelation 17:1). The same God who “remembered” her at the seventh bowl is named again: “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:5). Her plagues are the last plagues: “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Revelation 18:8). And the ten kings carry out the sentence (see The Brittle Coalition): “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (Revelation 17:16).

So as I read it, Revelation 18 covers two moments. Verses 1-4 are the last call, the climax of the latter rain, while the door is still open. Verses 5-24 are the judgment, under the bowls, after the door is shut.

Then the King comes. Revelation 19 follows right on. Heaven rejoices over Babylon’s fall: “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand” (Revelation 19:2). The bride is ready: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). And the Bridegroom rides out: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11).

Revelation 19 has two suppers, and they should not be confused. “The marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9) is for the redeemed. “The supper of the great God” (Revelation 19:17) is the call to the birds over the battlefield.

The order of events.

1. The latter rain falls, and the sealed servants preach the Word. 2. The three angels warn the world (Revelation 14:6-11). 3. The angel of glory lights the earth, and the last call goes out: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:1-4). 4. The door shuts, and mercy closes at the end of the 1,260 days (Revelation 22:11; Genesis 7:16). 5. The seven bowls are poured out (Revelation 15:1, 8; 16:1). 6. Babylon falls at the seventh bowl (Revelation 16:19; 18:5-24). 7. Heaven rejoices, the bride is ready, and Christ rides out (Revelation 19).

Revelation teaches the way a good teacher does. It says the key thing once, then comes back and says it again, larger, so we won’t miss it. We see it with the seals and the sealing of the 144,000, and we see it here: Babylon’s fall is announced in chapter 14, accomplished in chapter 16 and enlarged in chapters 17 and 18.

12. Lifting the Veil: Israel’s Return in the Latter Rain

Scripture gives one more reason to watch for the latter rain. It points to a great turning of Jewish hearts to Jesus their Messiah.

The veil, and its “until.” Paul describes a veil over Israel’s heart: “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). The blindness is only “in part.” Any Jew who turns to Christ can see, and some always have: “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5).

But Paul also puts a time limit on the veil: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).

Jesus set the same kind of “until”: “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24), and “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39).

And Paul expected something great when the veil lifts: “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?” (Romans 11:12). “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). “And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again” (Romans 11:23).

Tribulation, the latter days, and the rain. The prophets connect Israel’s return to the very time and the very rain this paper is about.

Moses: “When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31).

Hosea: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:4-5). Israel has been without a sacrifice since the temple fell. I take “David their king” to be the Messiah, the Son of David.

And Hosea ties their return straight to the latter rain: “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 5:15-6:1). “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:3). They seek Him in their affliction, and He comes to them as the latter rain.

Joel, in the same chapter as the former and latter rain: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:32).

Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). The two witnesses work with Elijah’s kind of power (Revelation 11:6).

How it fits together (this research’s reading). The blindness lasts “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). The latter rain carries the gospel to all nations (Matthew 24:14). So the chain of events is: the latter rain falls, the gospel reaches its fullness among the nations, and the veil lifts. Many Jews “turn to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:16) in their affliction, during the great tribulation, under the Spirit poured out.

Three guardrails.

13. Two Kinds of Looking: Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7

Two verses speak of people looking on the One they pierced. One is a looking in grace. The other is a looking in judgment. Keeping them apart shows how Scripture’s order of events flows.

Zechariah: a mix of near and far. Zechariah 12 and 13 are one prophecy, “The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel” (Zechariah 12:1), and like many prophecies it mixes events near to the prophet’s future with events far off. Some of it Scripture places at the cross. The Shepherd is struck: “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7). Jesus applied that to the night of His arrest: “for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31). And He bears the wounds: “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).

John places the piercing itself at the cross: “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). “And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced” (John 19:37). The cross is where He was pierced. The looking comes after, and John wrote his record “that ye might believe” (John 19:35).

The looking in grace. Zechariah 12:10 describes a looking that begins with God’s grace: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10). Notice the order: first the Spirit is poured out, then they look, then they mourn. The mourning is personal repentance: “And the land shall mourn, every family apart” (Zechariah 12:12). And it ends in forgiveness: “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1). It ends with a remnant refined and restored: “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:9).

I believe that pattern is fulfilled when the veil lifts in the latter rain (Section 12): the Spirit is poured out, hearts look on the pierced Messiah and repent, and the fountain for sin is opened to them, all before mercy closes. I use Zechariah for that pattern of grace, looking, mourning and cleansing. I do not build a timeline of a future siege of the earthly Jerusalem from it. Scripture shows that God’s people are counted as Israel by faith (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:29), and that the Jerusalem believers come to is “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22).

Pentecost shows the same pattern at work in its own time. The Spirit was poured out, Peter told the crowd about “that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified” (Acts 2:36), and “they were pricked in their heart” (Acts 2:37) and repented (Acts 2:38). Acts records what happened then. It shows us what grace does when it is poured out on those who pierced Him.

The looking in judgment. Revelation 1:7 is a different kind of looking: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). No grace is poured out first, and no fountain is opened afterward. Zechariah’s mourning leads to cleansing. This wailing comes too late and leads to none. And the verse right before it sets the contrast. The redeemed sing, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (Revelation 1:5-6). The washed rejoice. The lost wail, both when He comes and at the end.

In this research’s reading, Revelation 1:7 is a headline, the kind of summary Revelation often gives first and then enlarges later. It covers His coming from beginning to end:

That is the final separation Jesus described: “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). It is when every knee bows: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). And it is when Jesus’ words to Caiaphas come true: “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).

The two lookings side by side.

The cross stands between them. Every person who ever lives will look on the One they pierced. The only question is whether we look now, in grace, or later, in judgment.

14. Ask for the Rain

Scripture doesn’t tell us to sit and wait for the latter rain. It tells us to ask for it: “Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field” (Zechariah 10:1).

And Jesus promised the Father would answer: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13).

The rain was always promised to a people who wanted it, “if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments” (Deuteronomy 11:13). The Spirit is given “to them that obey him” (Acts 5:32). So the best preparation for the latter rain is the same as it was for the early rain: a people of one accord, seeking God, waiting on His promise.

Summary: The Chain of Events

1. God promised two rains for the harvest (Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24). 2. The prophets made the rain a picture of the Spirit poured out (Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:23, 28-29). 3. The early rain fell at Pentecost. The disciples waited, were filled and preached, and the gospel was sown across the world (Acts 1-10). 4. Joel’s prophecy runs on to the day of the Lord, leaving a second outpouring still to come (Acts 2:19-21). 5. The latter rain begins at the sealing, during the pause before the fourth seal, with the 144,000 the first to receive it in full (Revelation 7:1-3; Ephesians 1:13). (My study.) 6. The sealed servants preach the Word faithfully, with no guile in their mouths, in the power of the Spirit, as the two witnesses’ oil pours through them (Revelation 14:5; Zechariah 4; Revelation 11:3-4). (This research’s reading.) 7. A great harvest follows. The latter rain keeps falling as the early rain did in Acts, and many nonbelievers become believers, because God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). The Word goes to every nation, and the world faces a clear call to respond before mercy closes (Revelation 7:9, 14; Revelation 14:6-7). 8. The veil over Israel lifts, and many Jews turn to their Messiah before mercy closes (Romans 11:25-26; Hosea 3:5; Hosea 6:3). (This research’s reading.) 9. The last call goes out, and the door shuts. “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4); then “the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16), and mercy closes (Revelation 22:11). 10. The bowls fall, and Babylon falls at the seventh (Revelation 15:1, 8; 16:19; Revelation 18). (This research’s reading.) 11. The Lord of the harvest comes to reap (James 5:7-8; Revelation 14:15-16; Revelation 19:11).

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

References

Related papers in this research

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