When Should We Pray for the Latter Rain?

When he was here on earth, the Lord spoke more about the Holy Spirit and our need to ask for it than any other topic. The prophets of the Old Testament had a similar message:

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. Zec 10:1.

While we should always pray for the blessing and presence of the Spirit, in the above text the Lord invites us, even urges us, to petition him for the outpouring of his Spirit when it is needed most, at “the time of the latter rain.” The verse implies that when the time comes for it to be given, those who understand the times will, like Daniel, at the end of Jeremiah’s seventy-year prophecy, earnestly petition God for the fulfillment of his promise.

Sacred history confirms that all of the greatest acts of God are prefigured in the feasts of the Hebrew calendar. The question is, which feast(s) point to it?

Over the years I’ve held different opinions on which feasts symbolize the latter rain. At first, I assumed it would be Pentecost but as I studied more I came across scriptures that point elsewhere. In more recent years I’ve thought the refreshing comes at the Feast of Tabernacles. I still believe there will be a final outpouring of the Spirit at that season, but recently I’ve concluded that the refreshing is progressive and starts in the spring. Let’s look now at what the scriptures say.

The biblical feasts are all based on the lunar cycle and there are two main kinds of days – the greater, holy convocations which are ceremonial Sabbaths in which no work was permitted, and the other, lesser feast days which were neither holy convocations nor ceremonial Sabbaths. On all these other days work could be performed except, of course, when they fell on the weekly Sabbath.

Pentecost, the feast of the early rain, was a holy convocation and a ceremonial Sabbath. By taking note of this, we can narrow down the number of days pointing to the latter rain from twenty to six - two in the first Hebrew month, one in the third and three more in the seventh.

Thanks to Chapter 2 of Joel we can narrow it down further still - to just two. Joel tells us clearly when the refreshing begins:

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. Joe 2:23.

According to scripture, the first month is the month of Abib, late March, early April on our calendars, and starts on the new moon. Exo 12:2, Lev 23:5. In contrast, Pentecost is always in the third biblical month, in early June. Since Joel directs us to the first month, this rules out Pentecost and the fall convocations as the start of the latter rain, but this raises the question, which feast day of the first month is the best fit?

Is it -

1. The 10^th day of the month when the Passover lamb was set aside?

2. The evening of the Passover, the 14^th day?

3. The following day, the first day of Unleavened Bread, the 15^th which was a Sabbath and holy convocation?

4. The Feast of First Fruits on the 16^th, a holy day but not a Sabbath or a holy convocation?

5. The final day, the 21^st which was also a Sabbath and a holy convocation?

Of the above five options, the third and fifth, are the best fits because: 1) The refreshing is a corporate event that involves the body of believers. Like Pentecost, both the 15^th and 21^st days are holy convocations and are set apart as Sabbaths; Lev 23:7, 8, and 21. 2) These feast days have never been fulfilled. Unlike the Passover, First Fruits and Pentecost, these days were not fulfilled at the crucifixion; neither were they fulfilled before the crucifixion nor have they been fulfilled since; and, 3) The feasts of Ezekiel’s temple also point to these spring convocations, which we’ll look at briefly now.

The Latter Rain in Ezekiel’s Temple

The first thing to notice about Ezekiel’s temple vision (see Ezekiel 40 to 48) is that it describes a new order of things brought about by the return of the glory of God to his people. In the ancient tabernacle, the glory of God abode between the two golden angels over the mercy seat. However, shortly before the destruction of the first temple, the glory of God departed, exiting the temple and city by the eastern gates and lingering, for a time, over the Mount of Olives, as though God was weeping over Jerusalem. After pausing here, his glory ascended to heaven, forsaking the city and nation. See Ezekiel 8 to 11.

The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem soon followed and the Jews were taken captive. But in their darkest hour, the Lord sent a vision of hope to Ezekiel of a new temple and a restored nation. The prophet saw the glory of God return to this new structure, which in many ways was different from both the Mosaic tabernacle and the temple built by Solomon. The most dramatic difference was this: The throne and glory of God that filled Ezekiel’s temple was not merely represented by the ark, mercy seat and a halo of light. Instead, the actual throne and person of God filled the entire temple, Holy and Most Holy, and the doors to the Holiest remained open, confirming it as the temple of the New Covenant.

In Ezekiel’s temple, it was not copies of the heavenly things that adorned the Most Holy Place, but God Himself who, after taking his seat on the throne of judgment personally announced to mankind and the universe that this is to be his new, permanent home. The implications of this are infinitely large and weighty, not only for Israel, literal and spiritual, but for mankind and for the universe itself.

Ezekiel tells us he saw all of this on the 10^th day of the first month, the day when, under the Mosaic service, the Passover lamb was set aside. The return of the glory of God is a watershed event that is paralleled for us in the scenes of Daniel 7 and Revelation 4 to 8. In these, the throne of God is set in place along with the thrones of the 24 elders, and the Father takes his place with a scroll in his right hand. The Son of Man is presented before him and judgment begins as, one after another, the seals are broken and the contents of the book unsealed.

This is where we are today – on the cusp of the permanent return of the glory of God and of the fulfillment of the seals, trumpets and plagues. The judgment is set and the books are about to be opened. As mentioned above, in Ezekiel’s temple this occurs on the 10^th day of the first month. Then, like in the mosaic tabernacle, in Ezekiel’s temple, the 15^th and 21^st days of the first month, are days of holy convocation which answer to the refreshing of the latter rain. Eze 45:21-24.

A Progressive Refreshing

Although, according to Joel, the final refreshing of the Spirit comes in the first month, yet it comes progressively, in stages. The refreshing first gives convincing power to the first angel’s message that the hour of judgment has come. But this message is followed by two more. Not only is there a spring convocation and refreshing, there are also three more unfulfilled fall convocations in the seventh month - on the 1^st, 15^th, and 22^nd days. Christ himself links the refreshing of the Spirit especially to the 22^nd, the holy convocation ending the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Fall Refreshing

Regarding the Feast of Tabernacles, the book of Zechariah ends with a divine command to all nations, not merely Jews, to keep this in the end times. Any person or nation who fails to do this will be plagued with a flesh-eating disease and receive no rain, the latter rain. This doesn’t mean that we are to reinstate this part of the ceremonial law. It means we must participate in the move of God at his appointed time, the Feast of Tabernacles:

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; . . .And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters [the latter rain] shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea: . . And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain. [The latter rain]. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither shall it be upon them; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. Zec 14:2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13-19.

Linking the latter rain to not only the first but also the seventh month agrees with the prophecy that Christ read at the start of his ministry in Nazareth. He chose as his text that day the first part of Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God. Isa 61:1, 2.

After Jesus read all of the above except the last phrase “and the day of vengeance of our God” Luke tells us he closed the book and sat down. The record states:

And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luk 4:20, 21.

So, what day did Christ read this? It was at the beginning of the final Sabbatical, the “acceptable year”. Recall that according to Daniel 9, the Messiah would appear at the start of the final Sabbatical, the 483^rd year of the 490 years or 70 weeks. Christ, in pointing to the “acceptable year” was saying that the Spirit had been poured on him that day to proclaim the final Sabbatical of Daniel 9. And from that day forward he and the disciples proclaimed the message saying, “The time is fulfilled, [referring to Daniel 9] the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:15.

Christ affirmed the connection of the outpouring of the Spirit with the Feast of Tabernacles three years later near the close of his ministry:

In the last day, that great day of the feast, [Tabernacles] Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.

Every act and word of Christ during his earthly life was significant. The apostle John applied his promise of the Spirit above to Christ’s glorification which was partially fulfilled at Pentecost but the complete fulfillment is just ahead at Christ’s second glorification described in Revelation 4 to 8. As we’ve seen above this process starts on the 10th day of the first month, but it climaxes at Tabernacles, on the last day of that feast in the third and fourth angels who combine their voices together.

Two other scriptures pointing us to Tabernacles as the time of the final glorification of Christ and outpouring of the latter rain are, 1) the Day of Atonement which occurs five days before. This day points to the removal of the sins of spiritual Israel, and, as in the vision of Joshua and the Angel, the next scene is the Spirit being poured out from the two anointed ones to the seven lamps, Zec 3 and 4; and 2) the scriptures say that Tabernacles was the feast of the greatest rejoicing in Israel.

When the Spirit is given we'll not only be grateful beyond words for our atonement, but we will be filled with the spirit of love and joy. We'll have peace like a river and joy like a fountain. Who can make us sad when Jesus makes us glad?