The Early and Latter Rain

By Richard Govier

The harvest of the earth is at the root of God's purpose for mankind, and humanity is the "field" into which God is planting the "seeds" of His Kingdom. Many of Christ's parables dealt with the sowing of seed and the harvest that could be expected. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the Feasts of Israel should be linked to the rainy seasons in Palestine if they were to be symbols of God's Harvest. Rain has everything to do with the planting and the maturing of seed. When it came to the annual Feasts of Israel, they represented more than the mundane gathering of the fruit of the earth. They represented the planting and the maturing of a spiritual "seed" that God had planted.

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Govier
• Release date: Jul 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463497678

Richard Govier

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.After his marriage to his lifetime sweetheart, Christine Ann Golfis, at the Bethesda Missionary College in Portland, Oregon, he attended extension classes at Pierce College and the Portland State college. Touched by the Latter Rain revival that began in the Northwest, the call of God rested continually on their hearts and they were forever seeking means of preaching the Gospel to their generation. They bought a small trailer and began an evangelistic trek across the United States, preaching in small churches that were open to the work and moving of the Holy Spirit. They criss-crossed the United States from Los Angeles to New York and finally settled down in Los Angeles where they both got jobs and attended a church in Long Beach, California. While serving in that church their son, Jeffrey Lee, was born on November 4, 1963.God had spoken through prophetic words that they would be going to a land whose language they would not understand. Going through a dry period in their lives, Richard loaded up a small tent and made a trip to Mount Palomar, to wait on God. After a week of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart that it was time to fulfill the call to a foreign land. Richard, Christine, and Jeff, set out for Brazil. They had no financial support for this until the night they boarded the ship. God sent a local Christian businessman who committed himself to their support for two years, just enough time to attend language school.It was while attending the Brazilian language school that a missionary visited and introduced Richard to one of Brazil's most notable guitar players, who had recently converted to Christianity. Richard played with him on the banjo and the two began a ministry together that took them to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Richard taught pastors in afternoon meetings, while accompanying his Brazilian friend in large city-wide evangelistic campaigns in the evenings.After serving for ten years in South America, Richard and Christine returned to the United States, primarily to get Jeff into an English-speaking school. Richard pastored churches in York, Pennsylvania, and later in Brooksville, New Jersey. The family eventually moved to Florida where Richard went to work for Piper Aircraft and Page Avjet.Richard loved studying the word of God and, in his retirement years, wrote over thirty books about the unfolding revelations of God in human history. His son, Jeff, published these books one year after his father passed away.

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THE EARLY AND LATTER RAIN

RICHARD O. GOVIER

Copyright © 2020 by Jeff Govier

Bible quotations unless otherwise identified are taken from

the King James Version with emendations by the author.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from The Holy Bible : Revised Standard Version

Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

After reading this book and finding it of value to you, please consider sending a small donation for the the costs of advertising my father's work. Send all donations either by Paypal account name [e-mail] or by mail to:

Jeff Govier, 5511 Lorraine St., Lakeland, FL 33810.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Feasts Of Israel Are Inseparably Linked To The Seasons

The Barley Harvest And Wheat Harvest In Israel

Both Harvests Are Related To The Rainy Seasons

The Prophecy Of Joel

The Feast Of Tabernacles And The End Of The Age

The Seventh Month - Tishri

Beyond Pentecost

The 144,000 On Mount Zion

The Feast Of Ingathering And Its Implications

Tabernacles - A Parabolic Shift

The Diversity Of The Harvest

Appendix

About the Author

Introduction

The creation of the nation of Israel began at Mount Sinai fifty days after the first Passover the night before the tribes of Jacob left Egypt. The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai marked the beginning of the commonwealth of Israel in a cultural sense just as on the anniversary of this same event, the Church was born. Fifty days after the Passover in which Jesus was crucified, the Holy Spirit was poured out during the Feast of Pentecost being celebrated at Jerusalem. Both of these Feasts followed the pattern that was given by God on Mount Sinai. This showed, without doubt, that they were intended to be used as a pattern for things in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God. I am not left without scriptural grounds, therefore, for believing in a coming spiritual visitation that will culminate in the final harvest before Jesus comes.

I. The Feasts Of Israel Are Inseparably Linked To The Seasons

The harvest of the earth is at the root of God's purpose for mankind, and humanity is the field into which God is planting the seeds of His Kingdom. Many of Christ's parables dealt with the sowing of seed and the harvest that could be expected. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the Feasts of Israel should be linked to the rainy seasons in Palestine if they were to be symbols of God's Harvest; for rain has everything to do with the planting and the maturing of seed.

When it came to the annual Feasts of Israel, they represented more than the mundane gathering of the fruit of the earth. They represented the planting and the maturing of a spiritual seed that God had planted. We gather as much from the prophecy of Joel that Peter alluded to on the Day of Pentecost. This is that, said Peter, which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God; I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh… (Acts 2:16, 17).

It was on the 7th of Sivan when Moses had received the Torah on Mount Sinai. Both of these events happened on the very same day of the Hebrew Calendar even though they were years apart. It is clear, therefore, that the Feasts of Israel and the rainy seasons in Palestine are meant to show God's dealings with His planting - the sons of God.

The following chart illustrates a calendar of months of the Agricultural Year of the Hebrews. Along side the Agricultural Year is the Sacred Year beginning at the seventh month Nisan, or Abib. Within this Sacred Year are contained the three annual Feast Days of Israel which are symbolic of God's plan of Redemption for the human race. The chart shows the approximate time that the sowing of the seed began in Palestine and also the month that the Early Rain began to fall. The Early Rain was a light rain that continued during the months leading up to the month of Passover. Barley had ripened and apparently provided the first-fruits of the Spring Harvest.

1. Abib - The Ripening of the Barley - Passover

Barley was the first crop to ripen in the spring in Canaan. In fact, the Hebrew month of Abib (Nisan) is a direct reference to the ripening of barley. The Biblical Year, or the Sacred Year, begins with the first New Moon after the barley in Israel reached the stage in its ripeness called Abib. The wave-sheaf offering shortly after Passover was the first fruits of the ripened barley that the priest offered to God in the early spring. The Sacred Festivals of Israel were designed to coincide with the gathering of the produce of the earth. Passover followed the New Moon closest to the Vernal Equinox. It was also the time of the Latter Rain.

Kim Harrington writes "The rainy season follows a time of relatively steady, but not heavy rains. Finally, in late March or April, the Latter Rain comes. The Hebrew called it malqoesh or the Harvest Rain. It was much heavier than the early rain, and compared to the rainy season, it was a veritable deluge. The crops grew by leaps and bounds during this time, and the harvest immediately followed."¹

As can be seen by the chart, the rainy seasons in Israel clearly corresponded to the Feast Day that it accompanied. Passover accompanied the Barley Harvest, Pentecost accompanied the Wheat Harvest, and Tabernacles accompanied the ingathering of fruits and grapes, figs and olives. When we compare the imagery involved in the Feast of Passover with the sheaf of barley waved before the Lord the day after the Passover, it is not hard to see how these symbols were fulfilled in the death and resurrection of