“The Former Rain, and the Latter Rain”?
Introduction
Multiple references are made in the Bible to “the former rain” and “the latter rain”. Some theologians see prophetic references being made in them, while others maintain these have only literal, physical (e.g. meteorological and/or agrarian) implications. However, the later group also states that, if indeed there are any prophetic implications, then those prophesies are yet to be fulfilled. This has led to some debate and confusion. In an effort to gain greater clarity on the realities of the meanings of “the former rain” and “the latter rain”, this post has been developed for the benefit of all who might be interested. This post, which is extracted from a larger study of the Book of Joel, is derived through careful comparison of scripture with scripture (“comparing spiritual things with spiritual“, per 1 Corinthians 2:13)
God Equates His Word with “Rain”
Isaiah 55:10-13 tells us the following: “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: 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. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be cut off.“
This helps to explain what we read in Isaiah 30:23, “Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.” [NOTE: It is worthwhile at this point to review this post, the “Parable of the Sower.“]
This is because God is making the analogy that just as “earthly” rain comes down from heaven, from physical clouds, to bring temporal physical life in the form of harvested crops like grain for bread, and similarly so does the Word of God, as “spiritual” rain, comes down from Heaven to bring eternal life and prosperity to the hearers as God so ordains by the effectuation of God’s Holy Spirit. Moreover, just as God can provide or withhold earthly rain to mankind, so God can provide, or withhold His Word, to mankind. God can bless the earth with rain, or God can punish the world by not sending it leading to drought and famine.
Please also not that regarding God’s merciful rain (His Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ), we are told the following in Amos 4:7, “And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.” and Matthew 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.“
Former Rain, Latter Rain?
But what about “the former rain, and the latter rain”? Well we read these words in Joel 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].“
The word “rain” appears four times in Joel 2:23. It might at first seem as though God is saying that what National Israel had, beforehand, only brought life to them in moderation, but now will be bringing plentiful and abundant life, coming via both the “former rain” and the “latter rain” at the beginning. (Note that the word “month” is italicized, which informs us that it was inserted by the King James translators and it was their presumption of the meaning because the first “month” is generally April in our calendar when Spring rains come.)
There is also something very interesting and subtle that God has interwoven in Joel 2:23 which should not be overlooked. The word that is translated as “former rain” by the King James translators is in the original Hebrew, מוֹרֶה (môrê)H4175, which can also be translated as “teacher” or “teaching”. Moreover the word that is translated as “moderately” by the King James translators is in the original Hebrew is צְדָקָה (ṣᵊḏāqâ)H6666, which can also be translated as “righteousness” or “righteously”. Therefore, given that this can also be the case, we must consider that the prophet Joel could also be saying, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you a teacher of righteousness (מוֹרֶה (môrê))H4175 according to righteousness (צְדָקָה (ṣᵊḏāqâ))H6666, and he will cause to come down for you the rain (גֶּשֶׁם (gešem))H1653 , a teacher of righteousness (מוֹרֶה (môrê))H4175 , and the latter rain (מַלְקוֹשׁ (malqôš))H4456 in the first.” [And גֶּשֶׁם (gešem)H1653 does indeed mean “rain” as we know it, because it was this word that God used describing the rain coming down during the Noachian Flood in Genesis 7:12.]
It should also be noted that much of Joel Chapter 2 uses very similar language to what we find in Deuteronomy 11:1-16, where God commands complete obedience from His people, and conditionally promised them these benefits in return: “¶Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. And know ye this day: for [I speak] not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and [how] the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that [was] in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did. ¶Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong [your] days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, [is] not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst [it] with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 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.“
And let us see in particular the context of the “former and latter rain” as we find it in Hosea 6:1-3, “¶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 (גֶּשֶׁם (gešem))H1653, as the latter (מַלְקוֹשׁ (malqôš))H4456 [and] former rain (יָרָה (yārâ))H3384 unto the earth.” [(יָרָה (yārâ))H3384 can also be translated as “teach”]
Leviticus 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. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.“
Job 29:22, “After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide [as] for the latter rain.“
We can sum-up the above verses by saying that everyone must repent of his or her sins and turn back to God, and He will abundantly pardon, and God will become unto us as the rain, both the latter and former rain, and raise us up in Christ just as Jesus rose from the grave on the third day. God’s Precious Word (Jesus Christ) Is what Is necessary to provide the believers with life, eternal life, and will sustain them.
Zechariah 10:1, “¶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.” While this verse can most certainly be taken literally in that God did and does provide literal temporal rain for the growing of earthly sustenance, it must also be understood as having an important spiritual meaning, which points us to salvation that can only come from God in the form of His Word, Who Is Jesus.
Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.“
On the one hand, perfect obedience to God’s Laws Law of Moses (the Old Covenant of the Old Testament) would have ensured National Israel all of God’s plentiful benefits, but, on the other hand, it was, and is, impossible for anyone (other than Jesus) to perfectly keep the Law, thus National Israel would remain in bondage to the Law and the consequences of breaking that Covenant. That is why they needed, and all of mankind needs, the Promised Messiah, Jesus Christ (Who Is The Word made flesh). Jesus kept the Law perfectly, and, through His Atoning Sacrifice, paid for the sins of His sheep. Jesus imputed that perfection to the believers by Grace through His Faith. Jesus’ payment made possible the forgiveness of sins as part of the New Covenant of the New Testament as foretold in Jeremiah 31:31, “¶Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:“. Moreover, that blessing of forgiveness for sin through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice would apply not just to the remnant of National Israel, but also to all of God’s elect from all the nations on earth (the Gentile world as promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3b.
Living Water
Jesus, The Word, working effectually together with God’s Holy Spirit, is represented by the “latter rain” and the “former rain”, whereby Jesus would provide the Living Water, which is the Gospel of Salvation for all who would believe in Him as we read in John 4:13, “¶Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” and John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:37, “¶In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, 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 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.” Only The Holy Spirit can “quickeneth”, which means to “make alive” or “bring to life”.
Revelation 22:17, “¶And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.“
And let us remember that this was prophesied in the Old Testament by verses such as we find with Isaiah 43:20 &21, “The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” and Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:“
A Teacher of Righteousness?
Moreover, as was pointed out above, there is something else here that is not obvious when casually reading only the English translation in the King James Version of the text. In the margin of this teacher’s Bible for Joel 2:23, it says that in the original Hebrew this verse reads as follows: “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you a teacher of righteousness according to righteousness, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first [month]“.
This is extremely important because it is telling us that there is more here than simply earthly refreshment and prosperity that is associated with plentiful rain in the agrarian world of the Old Testament. Rather, it is providing us with expanded spiritual insights and understanding, which are entirely consistent with the context of the subsequent verses (particularly Joel 2:28-32).
We have already seen how the “rain” can be representative of God’s Word. We also know from John 1:14 that Jesus Is The “Word”, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” And Nicodemus called Jesus “Rabbi” (meaning “Master”) and was a term that the Jews used to honor someone as a “teacher”).
We also know from Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
And “The Holy Spirit” Is also known as “The Spirit of Truth” as Jesus told us in John 14:17, “[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” and John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” and John 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.“
This is made all the more clear in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing (χρῖσμα (chrisma) G5545 which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing (χρῖσμα (chrisma) G5545 teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“
And note how consistent this is with what we read in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.“
Additional information on this can be found in the post entitled “The Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye“
And let us not forget what we are told in 2 Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.“
Joel 2:24, “And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.”
The Threshing Floor of God will be plentiful in the harvest (e.g., of wheat); and the wine press and the oil press will yield abundantly in the form of wine and oil….which once again points us to the sacrifice of Jesus:
- His Body Is represented by the “wheat” (from which “bread” is derived, sometimes also referred to as “corn”)
- His shed Blood Is represented by the “wine”
- The blessing of eternal life, through the new birth, by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit Is represented by the “oil”.
Leviticus 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. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.“
James 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.”
Jesus said that, “The Harvest is the End of the World”
This would seem to indicate that Jesus will return at the end of the world (“the harvest is the end of the world;” according to Matthew 13:39) when the world is ready to be reaped, and all who are to be saved will have been saved and taken up into Heaven, and the wicked will be Judged guilty and cast into Hell. Jesus said in Matthew 13:39 when explaining to His disciples the meaning of the “Parable of the Tares of the Field” that, “The enemy that sowed them (the tares) is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.” For more on this, please see again the “Parable of the Sower.“
Mark 4:26-29, “¶And he (Jesus) said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.“
Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.“
Joel 3:13, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.“
Revelation 14:19, “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.“
A Promised Drought to Come?
And Finally, we must remember what God said in Amos 8:11, “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: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it]. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.” This would suggest that at some point in time, the Word of God (Who is Jesus Christ) will be very scarce in the world, and many people will spiritually die for the lack of hearing the Word of God, which is the only means for eternal life. It would not be inconsistent to believe that this period would come at the same time as the Final Tribulation just prior to that Great Day of the Lord, Judgment Day and the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ on the clouds of glory.
Similar warmings of such a period is found in Isaiah 3:1, “¶For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,“
Conclusion:
The “Former Rain and the Latter Rain” Is God’s Word, Coming Down From Heaven Throughout Time and Yields Fruit by the Effectual Working of God’s Holy Spirit
As this teacher has come to understand, the solution for interpreting this verse is that the believers can be glad and rejoice in the fact that because Jesus is on the throne in Heaven at God the Father’s Right Hand, that God has sent both His Word (Typified by the “rain”) and His Holy Spirit to “teach” the believers the Word of God (that testifies of Jesus) by giving them spiritual ears and spiritual eyes to know The Word, Who Is Jesus Christ, and His Truth and Righteousness beginning with the Old Testament Era in Genesis 1:1 and later, post-Resurrection, with Pentecost at the start of the New Testament Era. Hebrews 1:1&2 sums it up nicely, “¶God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;“
It would seem then, that if God compares His Word to “rain”, then the “former rain” would represent the Old Testament era while the “latter rain” would represent the New Testament era until Judgment Day when the harvest of souls occurs. And the Living Water is the combined effect of the Gospel of Salvation brought to mankind by the Word and the Holy Spirit working together according to the Will of God the Father.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” and we are told in 2 Peter 3:13, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” The believers who seek after righteousness are seeking Jesus for their Salvation and will have Jesus’ righteousness imputed to them forever in the new heavens and a new earth.
Hosea 14:9, “Who [is] wise, and he shall understand these [things]? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are] right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.“
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September 16, 2025 at 6:14 pm
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