The Lord’s Rain Brings Truth and Grace
The unseen spiritual things of the Lord are understood by the physical things seen in creation. The Lord shows us these truths in the physical creation to those who look to the Lord.
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead
When our eyes are opened to see the hidden wisdom and the mystery of God in the Scriptures, we see that physical rain shows the workings of the power unto salvation and the Godhead, meaning the relationship between Christ, the Father, and us. The common denominator in all of this is the Gospel and coming to know that Jesus Christ, the Living Word, is the Holy Commandments given to Him by the Father. Rain falling from heaven onto the earth and bringing forth life is the Godhead being made manifest to us.
Joh 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own; but the Father who dwells in Me [the commandments] does the works.
Rain is the Spirit of God, which is His eternal words that never pass away. Understanding spiritual rain confirms the mystery of the Gospel and expands our understanding of God’s hidden wisdom. Spiritual rain is the Father’s eternal commandments given to Christ, now being sent [spoken] to us.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
God loved us when we were yet sinners, which means He sends the rain that nourishes us to both the just and the unjust. We do the same.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
The Scriptures speaking of rain reveal how the Spirit of Christ, the living commandments, is either poured out or withheld from us in various seasons to mold and to shape us. Earthen clay and rain are needed to make an earthen vessel in the hands of the Potter. Hearing His Word is hearing His doctrine that the Lord speaks to both our heaven and our earth within. This rain of the commandments first comes softly to us as we are first drawn to the Lord.
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Rain is the power upon high [the living commands] that we are told to patiently wait on and trust the Lord to bring to us as we gather in fellowship.
Jas 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.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Natural rain comes in many seasons; it can rain hard or softly. Rain replenishes the various earthly reservoirs, such as rivers, lakes, and groundwater, that are needed for life and to produce food. In the spiritual, rain is needed to replenish our earthly reservoirs and satisfy our thirst for righteousness in the same way the bread of life satisfies our hunger.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Rain, like all Scriptures, can be positive or negative. Rain and floods can also represent the lies of the evil one, Satan, who is our carnal mind and the father of death. Yet even the negative all works for the greater good of our salvation. Rain also brings destruction and can come in the form of storms, including thunder and lightning, which are the tribulations the Lord brings us to remake us in the image of the Son. The Lord’s rain, the Word of God, is a two-edged sword and is both positive and negative. Rain, the commandments are used to test our faith, and the rain is used to bring judgment and destroy the wicked from our earth.
Trials of Faith: Mat 7:25 And the rain [Satan’s lies] descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock [The Commandments]
Judgment on Sin: Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Spiritual rain, the commandments of Christ, His Spirit, does not come to us all at once, as we are not able to bear it. The rain comes in seasons, little by little, as we are being prepared for the latter rain.
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The power of God unto salvation, the living commandments within, is essential to run the race and not grow weary as the flesh is weak. We wait for the rain that renews us and strengthens us, enabling us to rise above the worldly distractions and not tire of the race.
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD [The Rain] shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The commandments of rain are the holy gift and the manifestation of God’s love. We are to do what Christ did and are commanded to love our enemies by obeying His commandments at every turn. On our journey to the promised land [salvation], the Lord sends us lots of rain to confirm and strengthen us when we are weak and to confirm us as His people.
Psa 68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
We are blessed when the Lord gives us the measure of His faith, as then [the earth] can receive His rain and blessing.
Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Without rain, the seed of Christ in all of us does not germinate; it takes the living waters that are the commandments. When we receive this Gospel of commandments, we now have these living waters flowing back out of our bellies as we preach the Gospel, sending rain to every ear that hears.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
The ways of the Lord are higher than our ways. The Lord’s rain is inseparable from the life-giving bread that gives seed to those who sow it [preach the Gospel] and becomes life-giving food to those who receive the Gospel and thereby eat it. The Lord’s rain, His Word, is sent to those being saved and successfully prospers those in whom it dwells.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
The Former and Latter Rain
While rain comes in all seasons, there are two primary “spiritual seasons of rain”, the autumn and the spring, where we get the blessing of rain. These seasons of our lives are the two comings of Jesus Christ to every man. They are known in the Scriptures as the former (early) and the latter rain in symbol. They are the first baptism of John and also the second baptism by fire. Being first drawn to Christ, we are given a measure of rain to prepare us for the latter planting in the spring.
Deu 11:13 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,
Deu 11:14 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.
Deu 11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. [The living bread]
We first get the rain when drawn to Christ and learn of Him and the commandments. Being washed with truth, we do not yet possess the power unto salvation, being hearers of the Word only. These are the living commandments put into our hearts that begin to turn us into doers of the Word. This is the latter rain that precedes the summer, where the fruit of the Spirit grows in abundance. Christ comes as the rain on our earth twice by bringing the Father’s commandments.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The Lord returns to all in our appointed time, in our day of the Lord, with the latter rain to finish the work He has started. Here we know Him no longer in the flesh. The first coming, the Lord, the Word comes unto us softly [meekly] sitting on a yet carnal beast.
Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
The second coming or the latter rain is when the fire comes that begins our day of the Lord and coincides with the power of the Gospel, the living commandments taking root in our hearts. Henceforth, the rain of God turns into a burning fire that saves us from our sins and makes us doers of the Word. Zion is now being redeemed with judgment by the living Word. The faith of Christ, the commandments, is the rain that comes by hearing from His mighty angels.
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
The prophet Joel prophesied to us, the elect of God, who followed centuries later, of the latter rain [Jesus Christ Words] that should come.
Joe 2:23 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 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
The moderate [meek] former rain softens the earth and prepares us for the latter rain coming in the spiritual spring that initiates our day of the Lord. This ensures the farmer’s harvest of spiritual wheat, wine, and oil is bountiful. The former rain washes [baptizes] us in truth, the latter rains bring the power that is the fiery grace that washes our feet.
Being alive in the Spirit by the rain, we now receive the promise of the Father and are reaping the promise of eternal life. We are commanded to wait for the latter rain, trusting the Lord, learning patience by tarrying together in the upper room in spiritual Jerusalem. We have the former rain having already been washed with truth, but we now wait for the power on high that is the Father’s eternal commandments living inside of us.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Truth and grace come by way of Jesus Christ, with the former rain bringing the truth and the latter rain the grace that changes our hearts. The living Christ is both the first and the last rain. The time is at hand as the Lord’s rain is now pouring upon the earth, and to all who hear and receive the Gospel. Now are the sons of God being made manifest.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
When the time of reformation has come, Christ brings the latter rain upon our earth. Asking for rain is praying for rain, which we are to do when we struggle to produce fruit of the Spirit, and the promised land within us is parched, devoid of the Spirit.
Zec 10:1 Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Praying for rain is the same as praying for the heavenly bread of Jesus Christ. The Lord taught us His prayer asking for daily bread. We know the Lord abides in us when we are given even more of His Spirit by prayer.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit [living commands] which he hath given us.
Hosea spoke of Israel’s revival on the third day. This is our resurrection into newness of life as the Lord comes and brings the latter and former rain [the commandments] into our earth. We are awakened by the commandment “to arise and come forth” to new life in the Spirit of the commandments.
Hos 6:2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.
Hos 6:3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
The latter rain is likened to the early rain, as Christ changes not. The eternal commandments, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. A new day has dawned, the day of the Lord, as the day star has risen upon us.
Christ Comes as in the Days of Noah
The coming of the living commandments [The Lord] at His second coming at the end of the age is likened unto the days of Noah. Noah’s story was the first time rain ever fell on the physical earth, and it rained for 40 days, bringing the great flood. The earth had waxed wicked and it is the Lord’s purpose to make a new earth and thus rain, lots of it was needed.
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The first time it rains on “our earth”, is the first time we receive of the Gospel and believe in the Lord’s commandments. The purpose of the heavy rain and resulting flood was to take the wicked away and create a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Gen 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
So it is today when Christ, the living commandments, come the second time with great power upon our earth.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
Mat 24:39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
The wicked are all of us in our time, and the entire world is feasting on knowledge [eating and drinking at the wrong table], being one [married] to the world. We don’t heed the preaching of the commandments as Noah preached for 120 years. Christ eventually came as the flood, and the wicked were swept away. Only the new man in symbol is being saved, represented by the eight members of Noah’s family.
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness [Christ], bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
The latter rain coming to us sweeps the wicked away from our earth [same as the lake of fire], leaving behind only the righteous who are the Christ who were in the ark, meaning they abided in the commandments, the ark of His testimony. The Lord’s rain is the blessing of God, and we get more of it as we obey. All our work is blessed when we obey.
Deu 28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations and borrow from none
In our abundance, we give to others, multiplying the talents the Lord has given. We are given more faith and blessed even more as the parable of the talents shows.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
If we are faithful to the commands, we are always given even more of the Spirit, more of the faith of Christ, to be even more productive.
Lev 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Famine and Droughts of Rain
When we willfully disobey the Lord, He can shut off the rain. This is the Lord’s strange work to bring us to repentance and turn us back to the commandments [Him], and then He restores the rain. The Lord spoke to Solomon at the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem [you are the temple of God], and here was His deal that is with us today.
2Ch 6:26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
2Ch 6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
When we know the truth and continue to sin willfully, the rain stops, and our land becomes parched as the Lord seeks repentance. Thus, we see the purposes of God in the seasons of spiritual famine [Amo 8, 1Ki 17] of the Word that are used to return us to our first love, the holy commandments.
2Ch 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
David in OT type knew the Lord gives and takes away the Spirit of the living commandments needed to guide us into righteousness. After being confronted with a major sin, David repents and prays fervently, asking the Lord not to take away His Spirit, that is, the rain.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
We come to the Lord’s feast, and eat at His table and partake of the Lord’s supper by eating His Body and drinking of His cup. If we do not go to this feast and remain in the world [Egypt], our earth becomes parched.
Zec 14:17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.
Zec 14:18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Lord’s Witnesses Call Down Rain or Shut Up the Heavens
As the sons of God, we have the power to open the heavens to rain and to shut them off.
Rev 11:6 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.
We open or shut heaven through our prayers and forgiveness, or in some cases, a temporary unforgiveness of sin.
Like physical rain that evaporates back to heaven and falls again, spiritual rain is likened to incense [Psa 141:2] that ascends up to heaven and falls back to our earth when requested.
Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
The prayers, the incense is cast back to the earth in the form of spiritual rain and smites the earth and works the work of righteousness by bringing the tribulations [grace] moving us further into the kingdom of God. When we confess our sins and ask for strength, the Lord is faithful to forgive us and send more rain, a strengthening of the living commandments in us.
1Ki 8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
1Ki 8:36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
Our confessions and prayers for one another also cause the rain to fall from heaven and on those who hear us and receive the Gospel.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [i.e. doing the commands] availeth much.
Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name [by obeying the commands], that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
As sons of God, we have the power of Christ in us to forgive or to not forgive sins. When we retain sins the heavens are shut on those impacted.
Joh 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
With one exception, we always forgive those who trespass against us, yet we rebuke them with the Word and wait for the Lord to give them repentance.
Luk 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
All the stories of Israel, leaving Egypt and sojourning in the promised land we see the withholding of rain by way of prayer as the means to shut the heavens and bring the subject unto repentance. King Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord and Elias was sent to rebuke him and shut off the rain.
Jas 5:17 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.
The eventual famine of the Word comes and brought Israel back to repentance and the heavens were reopened.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
We pray for rain for all sins of our brethren that are not the sin unto death. But we do not pray for the rain if one has blasphemed the Holy commandments of the Lord. The heavens are shut instead. A recent study HERE explains this grievous sin of speaking evil against the commandments in detail.
1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
The Latter Rain Bears Fruit in Due Season
When the rain falls hard upon us, sweeping the wickedness away, it is not pleasant or joyous to our flesh. But the Lord has His plan, and our chastening by our heavenly Father through His living commandments yields the fruit of righteousness.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Once the rain comes, our earth begins to bear the fruits of the Spirit and the Word accomplishes the purposes for which it was sent.
Son 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Son 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
Son 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
If we seek Him by spiritual prayer and spiritual fasting, we are finding Him. It is time to ask the Lord for this latter rain, which is also the living bread of life. If we ask in faith, we receive.
Hos 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
The Lord’s new covenant spoken by Ezekiel promises us these rain showers of blessing that yield the fruits and medicine that are the leaves of the trees. .
Eze 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
Eze 34:27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
Hearing and receiving the Gospel is a blessing. It is the blessing of spiritual rain that is the living commandments falling upon our earth.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
May the Lord open the ears of His chosen ones to receive this Gospel.
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