The Latter Rain, also known as the New Order or New Order of the Latter Rain, was a post–World War II movement within Pentecostal Christianity which remains controversial to this day. For clarification in discussion of the Latter Rain a distinction should be made between:
The Latter Rain Movement had its beginnings in the years following World War II and was contemporary with the evangelical awakening that was occurring with Billy Graham at the forefront, as well as the Healing Revival with Oral Roberts, Jack Coe, and William Branham.[1] William Branham is often erroneously considered the founder of the Latter Rain because those who started it were inspired by attending one of his meetings. Rather, several leaders of the small Pentecostal, 'Sharon Orphanage' in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, were inspired to look for a deeper dimension of Christianity after visiting Branham's meeting, and they began to fast and pray in search of it. Later that year, revival events occurred, and news quickly swept across Canada and the United States, influencing many Pentecostal believers.
As the revival itself died down after a few years, those who had been changed by the doctrine formed various groups which became known as "The Latter Rain" (Movement). The Latter Rain heavily emphasized relational networks over organizational structure. In addition, the term Latter Rain has become somewhat of a pejorative label; therefore, many ministers who were influenced in some way by it are reluctant to make this well known and often choose to emphasize any formal involvement. Much of the movement, along with elements of the Healing Revival, slowly dissolved into parts of the larger Charismatic movement.
For these reasons, history may never know the breadth of its influence. Latter Rain emphases are some of the most noticeable difference between Pentecostals and Charismatics as delineated, for example, by the Assemblies of God USA in their 2000 position paper on End Time Revival.[2] The movement was rejected by classical Pentecostal denominations.[3]
This should not be confused with earlier movements or ideas within Pentecostalism including the Latter Rain Assemblies in South Africa, begun in 1927. Distinction should also be made between various groups with Latter Rain influences and the Sharon Schools (also known as Global Missions) organization with "camp" meeting grounds at North Battleford, where the revival and movement first originated from.
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The late 1940s was a time of deep spiritual hunger among Pentecostals,[4] who were concerned about the declining operation of the gifts of the Spirit once so evident when Pentecostalism began in the early 20th century.[5] In response to this spiritual hunger, about 70 students gathered in October 1947 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, to begin the first term of the newly formed Sharon Bible College.[6] Most were first year students, but some were second and third year students from the Pentecostal Bible College in Saskatoon.[6] The students worked hard by day to prepare the buildings for classes and gathered for prayer in the evenings, which included intercessory prayer, prophecy and fasting. Some fasted between three and forty days.[6] At this time the school consisted of three buildings at the North Battleford airport.[7]
Initial leadership of the group at this time was primarily from two former pastors of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, George Hawtin and Percy G. Hunt, and Herrick Holt, a pastor of the Church of the Foursquare Gospel in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.[8] They were later joined by George Hawtin's brother-in-law, Milford Kirkpatrick, and Ernest Hawtin, George's brother.[8] The initial seventy Sharon School students came with Hawtin and Hunt from Bethel Bible Institute in Saskatoon, where both had formerly taught. Hawtin was asked to resign for lack of cooperation with the institute, and Hunt resigned out of sympathy for Hawtin.[8]
On February 11, 1948, a young woman prophesied [8] about an open door which God had set before the students and was asking them to enter in. Following this came a prophecy that this open door is the doorway into the gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ.[6] Thomas Holdcroft continues:
In extended chapel services for four days… the procedure emerged of calling out members of the audience and imparting a spiritual gift to them by the laying on of hands accompanied by a suitable prophecy. The authorization and direction of these activities was a series of vocal prophetic utterances by both students and their teachers.[9]
In the spring of 1948, on the Easter weekend, special services were held which the school called the "Feast of Pentecost". Many people who had heard of the revivals in North Battleford attended these services. This led to what is considered the first "Camp Meeting" during July 7–18, 1948 which began drawing large crowds in the thousands.[6][8]
The teachings from this revival came to be known as "Latter Rain" and quickly spread throughout Canada, the United States and around the world. However, the excitement was hampered when opposition arose from denominational leadership in late spring of 1948 and the teachings and practices of the movement were questioned.[10] Resolution #7 of the 1949 General Council of the Assemblies of God USA made the following declaration:
We disapprove of those extreme teachings and practices, which being unfounded scripturally, serve only to break fellowship of like precious faith and tend to confusion and division among members of the Body of Christ, and be it hereby known that this 23rd General Council disapproves of the so-called 'New Order of the Latter Rain'...[4]
Bill Britton expounds that,
in the restoration of the last days, we find certain men whose names are linked with the principles that were being revealed in their day... when we come to the time of the so-called "Latter Rain" revival of 1948–49 and the early 50's, the doctrine of "laying on of hands" (with prophecy) springs up, and we see ministries emerging into the national limelight as George and Ernie Hawtin, Myrtle Beall, Winston Nunes, Omar Johnson and many others.[11]
George Warnock, former personal secretary to Ern Baxter (an associate with William Branham's healing ministry), took up residence at Sharon Schools in the fall of 1949 and performed various work supporting the movement.[8] Warnock wrote a book titled 'The Feast of Tabernacles,' in 1951.[8] This book discussed the role of Sharon Schools and affiliated groups in living out the completion of God's feasts for Israel, through perfection of the saints and their dominion over the earth. The Jewish feasts Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles were considered in the book to "pre-figure and typify the whole Church Age, beginning with the death of Jesus on the cross, and consummating in "the manifestation of the Sons of God" – the "overcomers" who will step into immortality and establish the Kingdom of God on earth."[8]
Latter Rain proponents saw Pentecostalism as spiritually dry in the post-war period and in danger of slipping into a dry or mental formalism like many of their evangelical peers. Latter Rain doctrines addressed this formalism with a series of doctrinal and practical changes. These changes made the Latter Rain Movement distinct from the Pentecostal context from which it arose, and church life in Latter Rain influenced churches significantly different from traditional Pentecostal ones.
The Latter Rain brought a new focus on the spiritual elements of Christianity including personal prophecy, typological interpretation of Scripture, the restoration of the five-fold ministry and a different eschatological emphasis. Many of the doctrinal emphases which later emerged were outlined in seed form in George Warnock's Feast of Tabernacles, which is the primary foundational text for the movement.
The Latter Rain broke with the dispensationalism which had become entrenched in the ranks of Pentecostalism. Dispensationalism tended to be pessimistic in its outlook whereas the Latter Rain emphasized a victorious eschatological outlook. Rather than attempting to simply save a few souls before the rise of the anti-Christ, the Latter Rain emphasized the Church as overcoming and victorious in the fact that the Church would come into "full stature" as taught by the Apostle Paul.
The term Latter Rain stems from Bible passages such as Jeremiah 3:3, 5:23–25, Joel 2:23, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1, and James 5:7. The idea of a latter rain was not new to Pentecostals. It was present from the earliest days of Pentecostalism, which believed that the reappearance of speaking in tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit marked the latter rain of God's Spirit and that these were signs of the coming end of history. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost had been the "former rain" that established the Church, but the current "move" of the Spirit was the latter rain that would bring the Church's work to completion and culminate in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which was and is imminent.
A major feature of the expected latter rain would be the "manifestation of the Sons of God" or "Joel's Army". The Latter Rain movement taught that as the end of the age approached, the "overcomers" would arise within the Church. There was debate among various branches as to the nature and extent of this manifestation. These Manifest Sons of God, ones who have come into the full stature of Jesus Christ, would receive the Spirit without measure. They would be as Jesus was when he was on earth and would receive a number of divine gifts, including the ability to change their physical location, to speak any language through the Holy Spirit, and would be able to perform divine healings and other miracles. They would complete the work of God, restoring man's rightful position as was originally mandated in Genesis and by coming into the full stature of Christ would usher in his millennial reign. Extreme versions of this spoke of Jesus as a "pattern" Son and applied "ye are gods" (Psalms 82:6) to this coming company of believers. [12]
Joel's Army has been connected to Dominion Theology and Fivefold ministry thinking,[13] and has been described as a "rapidly growing apocalyptic movement" prophesied to become an "Armageddon-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.[13]
The "Sacrifice of Praise" and the restoration of the Tabernacle of David were important themes within the Latter Rain. Dancing, lifting of hands and spontaneous praise are marks of this movement. An effort was made to show the error of many Christians that deny the imperative form on these verbs.
A major theme of the Latter Rain was "unity" among the believers in the church service, the geographic region and at large. They taught that God saw the Church organized not into denominations but along geographical lines as in the book of Acts—one Church but in different locations. They expected that in the coming last days, the various Christian denominations would dissolve, and the true Church would coalesce into city wide churches under the leadership of the newly-restored apostles and prophets.
The Latter Rain taught that there would be a restoration of the five ministerial roles mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher). It was believed that the foundational roles of apostle and prophet had been lost after the time of the first apostles due to the Dark Ages but that God was restoring these ministries in the present day. These ideas are part of the "prophetic movement" and "New Apostolic Reformation".
Belief in the restoration of the offices of apostle and prophet distinguished the Latter Rain Movement from the rest of Pentecostalism. Classical Pentecostals understood the five ministerial roles not as offices or authority designated to any particular person but as functions available to the entire Spirit baptized congregation subject to the leading of the Spirit.[14]
Unlike Pentecostals who traditionally held that the baptism of the Holy Spirit usually comes after prolonged "tarrying" or waiting for the Spirit, the Latter Rain movement taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be imparted from one believer to another through the laying on of hands.[15] A participant in services at Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit described the discerning of gifts:
During the day men of God, who have been called to various offices by the Lord, as they feel led by the Spirit, call out of the congregation folks whose hearts have been made ready, lay hands upon them and set them apart for God. This laying on of hands is accompanied by various prophecies relative to their ministries and gifts of the Spirit that God has bestowed upon them.[16]
The movement itself should be distinguished from those whom it ultimately influenced. Some branches of the movement ultimately led to cult-like groups, some parts of the movement remained orthodox, and other parts of the movement moderated the doctrine and ultimately had positive effects on the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches at large.
During the early years, some of the most ardent critics of the Latter Rain and its theology came from within Pentecostalism, particularly the Assemblies of God. In 1949, the General Council of the Assemblies of God, following the leadership of its General Superintendent E. S. Williams, stated that pre-tribulation rapture represented correct eschatology, and it rejected the Latter Rain practice of personal prophecy accompanied by the laying on of hands, as well as the Manifest Sons of God doctrine.[17] One noted Assemblies of God leader, Stanley Frodsham, left the Assemblies in favor of the Latter Rain, noting the experiential similarities with the Azusa Street Revival. The stand of the other Pentecostal denominations ultimately led to the withdrawal, under pressure, of Elim Fellowship founder Ivan Q. Spencer from inter-Pentecostal fellowship.
Modern criticism of the Latter Rain, however, is primarily among fundamentalists, as is evidenced by the hosts of websites critical of the movement. Such sites use association with the Latter Rain as a way of discrediting modern Charismatics.[18] Some identify the roots of more recent Charismatic trends such as Kingdom Now theology, the Kansas City Prophets including Paul Cain, and the New Apostolic Reformation including C. Peter Wagner as being rooted in the Latter Rain. While there are some doctrinal parallels, the historical connections have not been well demonstrated. The modern charismatic movement, while clearly influenced by some Latter Rain ideals such as the fivefold ministry and the laying on of hands generally rejects the more extreme elements of Latter Rain theology.
A small and controversial offshoot of the Latter Rain is the "Reconciliation" movement, especially those who believe in Manifest Sonship theology.[19] Reconciliation (also called ultimate or universal reconciliation) is a doctrine of Christian Universalism focusing on God's plan to save the whole world through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. According to this tradition, the manifest Sons of God are expected to reign on earth during a coming millennial age until ultimately every human being will be restored to harmony with God.[20]
The following list includes some representative leaders of various branches, both past and present but is not exhaustive.
Ministers Fellowship International (MFI) is the most prominent direct descendant of the Latter Rain movement and one of the most theologically mainstream. It founded Portland Bible College in Portland, Oregon, which is a leading institution in the Latter rain tradition. Many of the books used by Latter Rain churches are textbooks created for Portland Bible College and written by its original teachers. These books include Present Day Truths by Dick Iverson and many by Kevin Conner. City Bible Publishing carries many contemporary books that define the movement. The Tabernacle of David by Kevin Conner and Present Day Truths are classics on worship and restoration.
MFI's leadership includes many of the significant players from the early years of the movement.
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Critical
Attempt to be Neutral
Hollenweger, Walter (1972). The Pentecostals. London: SCM.