Joel 2:23, commentary and pictures

After His people turn to Him with fasting, weeping and prayer to spare them from reproach, the Lord answers by sending corn, wine and oil for satisfaction, removing reproach and restoring what the locusts have eaten, and calls the children of Zion to be glad and rejoice in Him for giving the former rain moderately and sending both the former and latter rain. The pouring rain is His provision of comfort and salvation, and a symbol of the spiritual outpouring of blessing in truth and righteousness. The former rain was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel on the day of Pentecost to cause the sown seed to germinate and bring thousands to conversion, and the latter rain will be a more abundant outpouring at the close of the gospel to ripen the harvest, prepare a people to stand the final test, and lighten the earth with His righteousness. It is the refreshing when sins are blotted out that gives power for the loud cry of the third angel, coming in a short time just before the seven last plagues while Christ is still in the sanctuary, reviving the faithful, making truth dearer than life, and sweeping away selfishness and idolatry. It falls only on those who have cleansed the soul temple of every defilement, lived up to light already given instead of waiting passively, put away dissension, and pleaded in faith for power to save the lost. Now is the time of the latter rain, to be sought continually with contrite hearts, earnest prayer and watchful action at every convocation and labor for souls.

Setting and Plain Promise

The promise comes after turning to God with a sanctified fast, a solemn assembly, and weeping intercession pleading that His people not be made a reproach among the heathen. Then He is jealous for His land and pities His people, sending corn and wine and oil for their satisfaction, removing reproach, and doing great things. This is held out as escape from declared judgments, calamities and wrath to fall on those who continue to dishonor Him, to be kept before the people and borne in mind by all who love God as reason to trust Him and not lean on the arm of flesh.

The children of Zion are commanded to be glad and rejoice in the Lord their God because He has given the former rain moderately and will cause the former rain and the latter rain to come down in the first month. That rain expresses His provision, comfort and salvation made known among the nations. It brings springing pastures, fruitful fields and fruit-bearing trees, floors full of wheat and vats overflowing with wine and oil, eating in plenty with satisfaction, praise to Him for dealing wondrously, restoration of the years eaten by the locust, cankerworm, caterpillar and palmerworm, and a promise that His people shall never be ashamed. The former rain is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, and the latter rain will be given at its close for the ripening of the harvest.

Literal rain pouring down in torrents with the windows of heaven opened is a symbol of the spiritual outpouring of rich blessing in truth and righteousness falling upon His people. It comes upon those who bear testimony, sing, pray, and receive the resting of the Spirit. When it falls it brings cheerfulness and a decided change in atmosphere.

Meaning of the Rains

The former and latter rains are figures of spiritual grace and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. The former rain was given at the opening of the gospel and the commencement of the Christian age, in the time of sowing the gospel seed to cause it to germinate, take root, take good root and spring up, when the church enjoyed the gifts of the Spirit. That outpouring in apostolic days, on the day of Pentecost, converted thousands in a day as precious first-fruits. When the people attain to primitive faith and practice under the last message, all the gifts will be revived and manifested in all their fullness.

The latter rain will be given at the close of the gospel and of the dispensation to ripen the golden harvest for the garner of God and to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man. It will be a more abundant outpouring than the former, for those living in the last days. Then Christ will again be glorified, the message will go with power and in the Holy Ghost, many will be converted in a day, a people will be prepared to stand the final test, and the earth will be lightened with the bright shining of the beams of His righteousness as the Fountain of Light. Christians are to pray for this promised blessing, which God will provide.

Spiritual growth follows an ordered process: the former rain gives life and starts growth, while the latter rain ripens the harvest, brings the seed to perfection, and cannot complete the work unless the former has first done its work. The prophecies fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain will again be fulfilled in the latter rain, and the great closing work of the gospel will have no less manifestation of God's power than marked its opening. As the Jewish age opened and closed with special manifestations of the Spirit, the Christian age, whose light is far greater, must also close in glory and not in obscurity after beginning in glory. This special work is even more necessary to prepare a people for the second coming than was needed to prepare a people for the first coming, because the last days are perilous beyond all precedent and false prophets will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive if possible the very elect.

God continually supplies spiritual, physical and mental power to those consecrated to Him, enabling them to work with Christ in saving souls. As minds are fixed on Christ and follow His example, they grow into His likeness, faith and conscience are strengthened, and the fruits of the Spirit appear in their lives. The rain imagery thus describes the Spirit's empowering work in carrying the gospel and saving souls, bringing gladness to Zion.

The early rain was the warm, life-giving showers that fell a few days after Christ finished three and a half years of labor that ended with only a criminal confessing Him, bringing thousands of conversions as precious first-fruits to God the patiently waiting Husbandman. The latter rain is yet to quicken places like Britain, where truth moves slowly like seed in cold, hard earth and where oppression, tradition, error and moral darkness hang like dense clouds. There it will pierce and break the darkness, stir the soil by the Word of God, warm it by His love, and bring abundant fruit to the glory of God and the joy of His co-laborers.

Prophetic Work of Latter Rain

The latter rain is the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the times of refreshing when sins are blotted out in the investigative judgment before Jesus is sent. It is the heavenly refreshing that joins the third angel in completing the work for the world, giving God's people power to proclaim the truth and to give the loud cry of the third angel with great power and effect. Under it honest souls who had been bound and prevented from hearing the truth eagerly lay hold upon it, with all fear of relatives gone and truth alone exalted as dearer and more precious than life.

It comes in a short period just before the seven last plagues are poured out, while Christ is still in the sanctuary and the work of salvation is closing. That short period is the commencement of the time of trouble, when trouble is coming on the earth and the nations are angry yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. It is given to the children of Zion when they have accomplished their work of proclaiming the third angel's message, received just as mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth and probation closes. It prepares them for the trying hour before them, when they must live without an intercessor through the time of trouble and the time of Jacob's trouble.

It revives and strengthens God's faithful people for their final time of trouble, as the third angel's message swells into a loud cry and the closing work is attended by great power and glory; they partake of that glory and their faces shine with its light. Under it honest souls who had been bound and prevented from hearing the truth, some wives by husbands and some children by parents, eagerly lay hold upon it, all fear of relatives is gone, truth alone is exalted and made dearer and more precious than life, and their hungering and thirsting is satisfied. It breathes new life into every sincere soul, touches lips with a live coal from the altar, makes thousands of voices eloquent with praise, looses the stammering tongue, and makes the timid strong to bear courageous testimony so that truth is heard by every man in his own tongue as at Pentecost. It sweeps away dishonest business, selfishness and idolatry, throws down every altar except the cross of Calvary, and fills those who remain with God's people, endure trials and press on as the mighty angel strengthens the third angel. It will arrive suddenly, like the midnight cry and with ten times its power, a few drops already falling in healing the sick, and in one instance shown in 125 conversions with 25 more awaiting baptism.

God designs the plan of redemption to come to His people as the latter rain because they are fast losing connection with God by trusting in men and glorifying men, with strength only proportionate to dependence. It brings more knowledge than is possessed at present, comprehension of the deep things of God, themes worthy of more than a passing notice, and matters to be fulfilled ere long, including truths in the last book of the New Testament about the last days that Satan has blinded men from studying and angels have desired to look into. When God's people regain primitive faith and practice under the last message of the commandments of God and faith of Jesus, all the gifts will be revived in fullness with diversities of operations, including the gift of prophecy as a living voice to counsel, admonish, instruct and guide, to return them to early-church faith and prepare them for Christ's second advent. This special work is even more necessary than to prepare a people for the first coming, because the last days are perilous beyond precedent, false prophets will show great signs to deceive if possible the very elect, and Satan works with increasing power because he knows his time is short, calling for a stand on the Lord's side.

No date is given for this outpouring. A genuine work of God and revival to prepare for the latter rain may occur even when human weakness, fanaticism or counterfeits accompany it, and when it comes it may show even greater evidences of fanaticism. The presence of such errors is not by itself reason to condemn or stop the work, and rejecting a genuine work because fanatical people press into it risks condemning the latter rain. At Battle Creek God gave a large measure of the Spirit bringing deep conviction and release from selfish purposes, which came unexpectedly moving people to surrender and make things right, but some called it mere excitement, fanaticism or delusion and resisted it, losing its blessing.

Conditions for Receiving It

The latter rain falls only after every spot, stain and defect of character is remedied and the soul temple is cleansed of every defilement, for no one receives the seal of God while character has one defect. Only those who have purified their souls through obedience to the truth and gained victory over every sin will receive the refreshing needed to stand in the day of the Lord and live in God's sight, and it cannot take the place of that preparation nor purify after neglect. Receiving it calls for being zealous of good works with careful heart-searching and removal of every wrong, readiness to stand pure and holy before God. Those who heed the True Witness, overcome selfishness, pride and evil passions and endure every test, who are pure and do all they can to share eternal truth, receive it by God's grace and Christ's blood as formerly, and are then prepared for translation and to stand in the day of the Lord.

Those who fail to receive and value the early rain will not recognize or understand the value of the latter rain when the Spirit is poured out. Spiritual growth follows an ordered process in which the former rain gives life and starts growth while the latter rain ripens the harvest and brings the seed to perfection to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man, and the latter cannot complete the work unless the former has first done its work. The latter rain does not make up for neglecting that earlier grace, but comes in greater measure to those who live up to light already given, confess and forsake sin, pray, consecrate themselves to God and continue to grow in Christian character, while those who have not advanced in the work begun in their hearts may fail to recognize or receive it. It is not to be waited for passively nor treated as a future substitute for the work God requires now, but comes upon those who recognize and receive the dew and showers of grace already falling, while those who wait for it to do that work may grow cold, fail to recognize it, and reach the close of probation unprepared for the final change and marriage supper, losing the soul by their own responsibility.

It is given when Christians put away all dissension and are of one accord, give themselves to God for the saving of the lost weighted with the burden of souls to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth rather than seeking blessing for themselves, and ask in faith for the promised blessing and claim the endowment of power. The same holds when they preach the Word of God instead of human speculations, and when churches become active in seeking the salvation of the perishing and sincerely plead for the Spirit, heaven's windows open for that outpouring. It refreshes and invigorates earnest, faithful colaborers with Christ and fits the church for work with power from on high to be looked forward to with confident hope, but it will never refresh and invigorate the indolent who do not use the powers and capabilities God has given them and are only a burden, nor those who neglect to use spiritual power already given, for it is not a substitute for earnest, devoted labor.

To be vessels unto honor ready to receive God's glory, hearts must be cleansed from all iniquity, selfishness, idolatry and defilement, the vessel kept clean, emptied of impurity, holy, prepared and right side up. Self must die and be crucified every day and every hour while work remains and entrusted capabilities are to be used, for after destiny is decided it does no good, but those made ready now will have the everlasting arms around them and angels as a wall of fire to deliver them in the earnest test, seeing God's salvation and having part with the angel united to the third angel to sound the proclamation and labor with Christ. Straight paths must be made so the lame and halting in faith are helped not turned out of the way, by standing firm in principle like tried and proven men firm as a rock, keeping close connection with God, coming as little children with clean purpose and continual prayer, bearing testimony, singing, praying and receiving the resting of the Spirit. No one lifting the soul to vanity, speaking perverse things, secretly cherishing roots of bitterness and dissension with a spirit unlike Christ's will be ready, but God's frown will be upon such, while cleansing the soul-temple from every defilement and maintaining close connection with Him prepares to share the glory that lightens the earth. The latter rain itself sweeps away every vestige of dishonest business and every thread of selfishness, consumes all idolatry, throws down every altar except the cross of Calvary that sanctifies gift and giver, breathes new life into every sincere soul, touches lips with a live coal from the altar, makes thousands of voices eloquent with praise, looses the stammering tongue and makes the timid strong to bear courageous testimony so truth is heard by every man in his own tongue as at Pentecost, while the third angel's message is proclaimed with a loud voice over the land.

Seeking the Promise Now

Both the former and the latter rain must be received through moment-by-moment connection with divine agency in order to progress in spiritual life. Having had a measure of the Spirit is not enough, for more must continually be sought by prayer and faith, and effort must never cease. Each person must place himself in an attitude to receive both the former and the latter rain, and if he does not progress he will lose his soul with the responsibility lying at his own door. The convocations of the church, as in camp meetings, the assemblies of the home church, and all occasions where there is personal labor for souls, are God's appointed opportunities for giving the early and the latter rain.

Now is the time of the latter rain, when showers of grace are to fall with warmth and moisture upon souls. The outpouring of the Spirit in the apostles' time began the former rain, and near the close of earth's harvest a special and more abundant outpouring, the latter rain, will give the church added power and prepare it for the coming of the Son of man. That promise belongs to believers today as it did to the first disciples, and those who ask in faith for the Spirit will receive this blessing as God has promised. It is God's design for the message of redemption to come to His people as latter rain.

The latter rain is to be sought from God with contrite hearts and most earnest prayer at every meeting attended, working in believers meekness, humbleness of mind, and conscious dependence upon God for perfecting. Readiness for it means seeking the Spirit's light day by day so it can work on soul and character, as a heavenly refreshing that joins the third angel in completing the work for the world, with no date given for its outpouring. Seeking this abundant gift calls for fervent, continual prayer, trust in God, spiritual watchfulness, and action in keeping with prayer. Christians are to pray for this promised blessing, which God will provide.