Our previous commentary highlighted the spiritual theme of water being the word of God. Just as there are many physical conditions of water (rain, clouds, ice, snow, rivers, oceans, fresh, brackish, etc.) so there are variations in the application of the word of God. Examples would be the spoken word of God (creation), the written word of God (Bible), the word made flesh (Christ), the word in judgment and the word exercised in power. We have chosen to focus our initial consideration of how the features of creation demonstrate divine truths and principles, by examining the law of the early and the latter rains. This law is presented as a key component of the careful geographical design of the Promised Land.
The rain law
Egyptian crops were watered by irrigation ditches. However, Israel’s fruitfulness was dependent upon rain, just as Israel’s spiritual fruitfulness was dependent upon accepting and processing the rain-like word of God.
“But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. 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. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you” (Deut 11:11-17).
Yahweh emphasized a direct connection between receiving the blessing of the first rain and the latter rain to Israel’s responsiveness exclusively to God’s word.
The heaven and earth witnesses
Interestingly, God invokes the two witnesses that He had appointed to be the ones to first ‘put their hands’ against the accused. This would be heaven and earth. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day” (Deut 4:26). “At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death” (Deut 17:6-7). If Israel did not maintain the word of God nationally then the hands of the two appointed witnesses (heaven and earth) would be the first against the accused. The early and latter rains would be withheld and the land would not yield its fruit and they would perish from the previously good land the Creator had given them.
The three early rains and the three latter rains
The bond between the early and the latter rains and the word of God extends through the divine plan in practice and prophecy. Just as there are three components to the molecular construction of water (H20), so there were three applications of the word of God poured out as the early rains. This took place two ‘divine’ days ago (2 millenniums, Psa 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8) and the same three applications of God’s word will be poured out as the latter rains in the very near future (the third divine day). These three ‘word of God subdivisions’ qualifying as the early and latter rains are (1) the spoken word of God (New Testament), (2) the word made flesh (Christ) and (3) the word in power (Holy Spirit gifts). The time between these early and latter outpourings is prophetically defined as a drought of the word of God, in perfect compliance with this Scriptural/creational pattern.
The early and latter rains of the word made flesh
This time frame between the early and latter rains is identified by Hosea.
“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 (Hos. 6:1-3).
The reviving and living after two days refers to the resurrection about 2,000 years after the ascension of our Messiah (after two days). We are told Yahweh would come to us as the rain, as the former and latter rain upon the earth. We are the ‘earth’ in this prophecy, as that is our composition. Adam was made of dirt. We are dust and to dust we shall return. Yahweh came to the enlightened through His son as the early rains, the planting rain. He will come again through Christ as the latter rain, the harvest rain. This is exactly what we were told to expect. James confirms this parallel in his exhortation for our faithful patience. “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). Solomon employs a similar expression concerning the King’s son. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth” (Psa 72:6-7). Our Messiah will come down on the “mown” grass, referring to how Christ will circumcise the hearts of mankind by the educating fear of God by wielding the sword out of his mouth (commanding earthquakes, volcanoes, panic, flooding, etc). The fact that all flesh is grass was the testimony of John the Baptist as well as Peter (Isa 40:3-6; 1 Pet 1:24).
The early and latter rains of the power of the word
We find the same early and latter rain context concerning the promise of the Holy Spirit gifts. Peter explains the miraculous multilingual gift at Pentacost (the Feast of the First fruits) by quoting Joel 2. In the context of the divine promise to pour His Spirit upon the sons and daughters of Israel is this phrase: “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” (Joel 2:23).
The drought of the word separating early from latter
There has to be an absence of rain between the early rains and the latter rains, to distinguish their early and latter status. The early rains mark the period at the beginning of the Ecclesial Age when Christ (the word made flesh) was commissioned by heaven, when the New Testament was written over a single generation and the Holy Spirit gifts were available for the two generations that Peter referenced in his promise (unto you and your children… Acts 2:38-39). Then the rains stopped. Christ left in a cloud to go to his Father, just like the natural/recreational process of evaporation that replenishes the clouds. John’s visions recorded in Revelation completed the written word of God. The Holy Spirit gifts only lasted for two generations, concluded by the unavailability of the Apostles hands and by the replacement of that which was perfect, the completed Bible (1 Cor 13:8-10). The latter rains will come when Christ returns, when God ends His self-imposed silence and the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit is showered once more on men. The time frame between the early and the latter rains is therefore prophesied as a drought of the word of God. “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” (Amos 8:11).1Micah confirms this period of divine silence (Micah 3:6-7) when the sun would go down on the prophets, when there would be no answer from God.
We can identify the time when the latter rains will fall from the clouds of the divine presence, with power and glory. We are told when our Creator will end His self-imposed silence. In the context of a very clear prophecy of the Millennial Kingdom Isaiah tells us: “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” (Isa 42:13-14). The latter rains of the spoken word of God, the word made flesh and the word in power (reflecting the three component molecular structure of water) will pour from heaven when our Heavenly Father dramatically ends His silence at the introduction of the Millennial Kingdom Age (the third ‘day’)… in the same manner as the early rains escorted the Ecclesial Age into the divine plan two ‘divine days’ ago
In our next commentary we will examine the application of the clouds in the context of divine communication patterns. This creation/spiritual bridge will offer greater understanding about the Day of Atonement, the transfiguration on the mount, being caught up in the clouds of heaven at the return of Christ, and the great cloud of witnesses encompassing us.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One