Early and latter rains are seasonal rains.
Dear marks,
You said:
Early and latter rains are seasonal rains. They are used for examples of when we need patience, but there is no teaching of an early and latter rain as some kind of 2-step spiritual growth.
The Early and Latter Rain concept is
very concealed in scripture. It is not milk - it is strong meat. You will likely not be able to "see" what I present below because your foundation of truth is presently at a lower level.
The farming analogy which is used throughout scripture teaches the
pathway to salvation. The Early and Latter Rains are symbols used in that analogy. The Early Rain occurs when Christ plants His seed of the Holy Spirit within a person (
Mat 13:24). With this seed, the person becomes a believer and enters the church.
Consider the scripture below which uses the farming analogy to teach its message:
Hos 6:3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he (Christ) shall come unto us as the RAIN, as the latter and former (Early) RAIN unto the earth.
Water is the symbol for the Holy Spirit. It can come as rain or snow (or even spit).
Consider what James says below:
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the EARLY and LATTER RAIN. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James makes this comment to believers who are have received the Early Rain and are waiting for the Lord to return with the Latter Rain. James purpose in making this statement is to tell them to have patience for the Lord's return.
Note: The Second Coming of Christ is NOT a one-time visible appearance to this world at the literal end of the age. Christ's second coming is a reoccurring spiritual event
within the Elect. After Christ gives a believer the Latter Rain, Christ will appear to them because their spiritual blindness has been healed.
Consider these verses that teach on the Second Coming of Christ:
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for THE TIME IS AT HAND.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
The book of Revelation says that the time for Christ's return was "
at hand" when John received the vision and that Christ
is, was and will be coming quickly. Those who are blessed will "keep" the sayings of the prophecy. They are the Elect.
The prophecy (like all end-time prophecy) is teaching on the
pathway to salvation that leads an Elect person to their conversion and salvation. If Christ does not return to a person before they die, they are not one of the Elect.
Below, Paul makes a statement concerning the Early and Latter Rain concept, though he does not use those terms:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
When Christ gives a person the Early Rain of the Spirit, they will only see Christ
carnally (Christ and Him crucified). This is when Christ first appears to them. The second time Christ appears, He will appear
spiritually and bring salvation to the believer who has been waiting for Him to return.
The Jewish Elect received the Early Rain during Christ's journey to the cross. That is when they called Jesus "Lord" and received a measure of faith. At that time, they remained spiritually blind and could not understand Christ's teachings (the story of the blind man in Mark 8:15-25 applies). They were not converted. But Christ told them in John 14:18 that He would return and give them the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth is another name for the Latter Rain because the Latter Rain will give the believer the ability to understand the spiritual teachings of Christ.
The pathway to salvation begins when Christ comes to an unbeliever and gives them the Early Rain of the Spirit. In the marriage analogy, this is when a person becomes "espoused" to Christ. With the Early Rain, the person will receive a measure of faith and certain spiritual gifts.
Without the gift of the Early Rain of the Spirit, no one would ever call Jesus "Lord" but would only consider the gospel "foolishness".
1Cor 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
1Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
God's Word also says that the people who are given the Early Rain in this age are said to be "many". They are
called to be saints.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
From the "many" who enter the church, a "few" of them have been chosen for salvation. It is these "few" who will receive the Latter Rain and become saints.
Now look at Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church and notice how he addresses them:
1Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Paul says that the Corinthian believers have been "called to be saints". They are not saints at this time because they have not received the Latter Rain and been converted.
Now look at verses 6-8:
1Cor 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in the Corinthian believers when they received the Early Rain of the Spirit and they made a confession of faith. That is also when they received their spiritual gifts and began waiting for the Lord to return with the Latter Rain of the Spirit. When Christ comes with the Latter Rain, that is when a believer is converted and they become blameless when judgment comes (Day of the Lord).
The reason the Latter Rain is necessary for a person's salvation is because the Early Rain of the Spirit is given in "measure" (a small amount) and will not convert them:
Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain (Early Rain) upon the tender herb, and as the showers (Latter Rain) upon the grass:
Job 37:6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain (Early Rain), and to the great rain (Latter Rain) of his strength.
Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain (Early Rain) in just measure, and he causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month.
Because the Early Rain leaves a new believer spiritually blind, Satan will come to them and plant his seed (spirit of anti-Christ) within them, too (Parable of the Wheat and the Tares). This is the Abomination of Desolation that causes the new believer to become apostate. They will remain in this condition until they die or until Christ comes to them a second time with the Latter Rain.
These verses apply:
Psa 68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful RAIN (Latter Rain), whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance (as one of the Elect/heirs), WHEN IT WAS WEARY.
Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no Latter Rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
Note: The spirit of anti-Christ did not come until after Paul wrote his letters to the churches. Because of this, the new believers to whom Paul was writing did not fall away and become apostate as like what happens now.
That is all the time I have for today. If you have any specific questions, please ask.
I will read and respond to the rest of your post tomorrow (as the Lord wills).
Joe