James 5:7-8 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
James 5:7-8
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Why the Apostle Compares Waiting for the Lord to a Farmer James compares waiting for the Lord to the patience of a farmer who waits for the crops to mature until the land has received both the early and late rains.
Early rain (spring rain) starts the sowing season.
Late rain (autumn rain) completes the growth and ensures the harvest.
Israel, unlike tropical countries where water is available almost anywhere, is a desert land. There, crops cannot grow without the seasonal rains. Rivers are not always sufficient for irrigation, and the soil is hard and dry until rain falls. Farmers had no choice but to wait patiently for the right seasons. When the rains came, they worked tirelessly, knowing that outside the proper season, no work would produce fruit.
Historically, in Israel, the early rain began around the 10th–11th month, and the late rain around the 3rd–4th month. This is the opposite of tropical climates like ours, where rain may fall throughout the year.
The early rains marked the start of agricultural activity: planting, preparing the fields, sowing seeds, and tending them. Later, the smaller rains of the late season nurtured the crops and kept the soil fertile until the end of the rainy period.
James uses this analogy to teach us that our waiting for the Lord is like the farmer waiting for both rains. When the rains have done their work, the farmer harvests and stores the crops. Likewise, the Lord’s return will complete our labor, and our struggles will come to an end.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Early and Late Rains Spiritually, believers received the early rain on the day of Pentecost, about 2,000 years ago, when the Holy Spirit was poured out and God’s work began in the Church. This marked the initial planting of the Kingdom of God on earth.
However, God promised another outpouring, the late rain, which would complete the spiritual harvest. This period began in 1906, when God once again poured out spiritual gifts similar to those seen at Pentecost: gifts of the Spirit, miracles, and divine empowerment. Leaders such as William Seymour, William Branham, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, and others were raised to confirm this revival and announce that the final season of spiritual rain had begun.
The Message of the Last Rain and the Harvest The preaching of the late-rain revival carried a clear message:
“The time of harvest has come! The Lord is coming to take His Church.”
Those who preached this understood that the Church was entering the season of the final spiritual rain. We are now at the edge of this outpouring. Once the rain has fallen and the harvest is gathered, there will be no further outpouring.
Beloved, the grace and miracles you see today are not random. They are signs of this final season. God has granted us the privilege to live in the time of the late spiritual rain, which is soon to end. If we neglect this season, there may come a time when the door of grace is closed (Matthew 25:10).
This period is short. The Church will be gathered, and judgment will follow. The signs are evident: deadly diseases, wars, earthquakes, false prophets, greed, immorality, and societal decay—just as scripture foretold (Luke 21:25-28; Matthew 24:37-39).
Those who have received Christ are warned and prepared. Let us lift our heads in hope, because our redemption is near.
Final Call The late spiritual rain is at the edge. Invite the Lord into your heart before this season ends. We are not called to wait patiently as the general Church, because we are in the final harvest season of Laodicea.
Shalom.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.” —Amos 8:11-12
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