As previously noted, there are 3 divinely appointed applications of the word of God as expressed through the divine law of the early and the latter rains.
- First, we have the complete Bible, the inspired word of God. But that inspired word that flowed from heaven ended when the prophesied silence of the Creator began when the early rains of that inspired word ended after the 2nd generation of the Ecclesial Age. John finished that last book of Revelation less than 70 years after the death & resurrection of Jesus.
- Jesus is that word made flesh and his two comings are directly identified with the early and latter rains.
- The 3rd application is the word of God expressed in power. Jesus and Paul both reference the two ‘Ages’ during which the Holy Spirit power will be demonstrated through people. Paul even defines being made a partaker of the Holy Spirit power as “tasting the word of God”. Paul also defines the outpouring of Holy Spirit power to be like rain. Therefore the time between those 2 “Ages” during which the rain-like outpouring of the Holy Spirit gifts would constitute the absence of rain; therefore constituting those 2 Holy Spirit outpourings to qualify as an early and a latter rain.
The early rain application of all three of these associations was fulfilled at the beginning of the Ecclesial Age. 1) The Bible was completed. There have been no divinely inspired writings since John wrote Revelation. But divine inspiration will begin again following the return of Christ. 2) Jesus came the first time as the early rain to plant the seed of the gospel. He comes again as the latter rain to harvest that fully matured seed in the faithful. 3) The Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven in rain-like fashion at 3 highly significant events during that transition from the 1st Kingdom Age into the Ecclesial Age. That power could also be awarded by the hands of certain Apostles. Those gifts ended after the 2 generations Peter promised at Pentecost. This was the early rains of the word expressed in power. These miraculous powers will be displayed again in the world following the return of Jesus Christ, qualifying as the latter rains. All 3 of these applications of the word of God share the same early rain and latter rain timestamps.
1. The Early and Latter Rains of the Word of God
God prophesies of a period when He would be silent, when there would be no outpouring of His word from heaven. There would be no new revelations, no Holy Spirit powers displayed and the word made flesh (Jesus) would not be in the earth.
Micah 3:6-7 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; And it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; And the sun shall go down over the prophets, And the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: Yea, they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer of God.
Amos 8:11-12 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, That I will send a famine in the land,
Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
This prophesied divine silence is identified as both a sunset and a famine, indicating darkness and a drought of the word of God. This dual identification of the dual application of both early and latter rains satisfies our theme of the dual emphasis in the context of salvation and divine acceptability. That sunset and drought are also significant in correctly understanding other prophecies.
We can very easily and definitively prove when this period of self-imposed divine silence ends. Isaiah makes this perfectly clear. In the context of an obvious prophecy of the introduction of the Millennial Kingdom we read this:
Isaiah 42:13-14 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: He shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: Now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.
God’s self imposed, prophesied silence will end dramatically at the beginning of the restored Kingdom, following the return of Jesus Christ from heaven with power and glory. The two silence ending parallels of a charging soldier and a woman giving birth are also common Bible expressions referencing the introduction of the Sabbath Kingdom in that 7th Millennium.
This prophesied divine silence, that absence of new revelations of the word of God being poured in rain-like fashion from heaven, is described by Amos as a famine of the word of God. Another validation of this understanding is where Isaiah defines the resurrection of the saints at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom as how Yahweh will go forth as the morning (eliminating darkness) and come to us as the early and latter rains.
Hosea 6:1-3 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. After two days will he revive us: In the third day he will raise us up, And we shall live in his sight. 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.
Notice the 3 sets of dual parallels describing the promise of resurrection: 1) torn/heal, 2) smitten/bind up and 3) revive us/raise us up. This is the language of resurrection and restoration.The timestamp is defined in the dual application of being after 2 days and as well as on the 3rd day. Let’s not underestimate our Creator’s very careful expressions. Our Creator uses surgical redundancy to offer more to those who have while simultaneously taking away from those who have not. We need to remember that a day with the Lord is equivalent to 1,000 years (Ps.90:4; 2 Pet. 3:8). This doubled timestamp for the resurrection of the saints is scheduled for 2 millenniums after the 1st resurrection that took place in 30CE… therefore scheduled for that 3rd divine ‘day’. Pay particular attention to the dual validation of this 2,000 year prophecy from the 1st resurrection to the 2nd, as this specifically references the 2 prophecies of the period of divine silence. First we see this resurrection frame as being defined as the morning, which is the ending of the divine silence that Micah defines as darkness. Then we see the coming of the Lord being like the early and latter rains, referencing Amos in his definition of the famine/drought of God’s word during the period of divine silence.
2. The Early and Latter Rains of the Word of God Made Flesh
Jesus Christ is defined as the word of God made flesh (Jn. 1:14). The two comings of Jesus, 1st as the sacrificial lamb and 2nd as the lion of the tribe of Judah, are also paralleled to these same early and latter rains.
James 5:7 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 directly identifies the coming of Jesus to this law of the early and latter rain that brings agricultural bounty and richness of life. Additionally, Solomon describes how the reign of the King’s son would be like rain upon the mown grass and showers that water the earth (Ps. 72:1-11). Interestingly this early and latter rain principle is referenced a 2nd time in that same chapter in James 5.
James 5:16-18 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
The 2 rains bookending the 42 month drought prompted by Elijah’s fervent prayer offer this same early and latter rain frame of reference. The 42 month drought between the early rain and the latter rains further validates the subtle divine testimony of how these early and latter rains define the drought of the word of God between the early rain that ended after that 2nd generation of the Ecclesial Age and the latter rain that will begin with the restoration of the Kingdom of God with the ending of divine silence, the return of Jesus Christ and the accompanying outpouring of Holy Spirit gifts. Those 42 months are referenced in the 42 generations in the lineage reported by Matthew from Abraham to Jesus and the 42 encampments from Egypt to the promised land during the 40 year wilderness wanderings. It is also interesting how we see the ministry of Jesus lasting 3.5 years, which is 42 months as well as the political authority of the antichrist (Papal office) is expressed in the similar terms of 42 months (Rev. 13:5). This was fulfilled in the 1260 years (42 months is 1260 days) from 606CE when the Bishop at Rome was first given that political authority and 1866 when Garibaldi effectively took that Papal political power away.
Those 42 months of drought between the previous (early) and latter rains resulting from Elijah’s fervent prayer are part of a scriptural pattern of 6 seven’s (6×7=42) that references a beginning to a partial completion.
We need to remember the Millennial Kingdom is only a partial completion. The Sabbath Kingdom of the 7th millennium (7th divine day) only offers a rest from sin. It is the 8th divine day following the conclusion of the Sabbath Kingdom when we see death and sin completely cut away in circumcision-like fashion.
Our next post will highlight that 3rd early and latter rain application of the word of God expressed in power, which is the pouring out from heaven of the Holy Spirit gifts.