The Latter Rain.

Among the many different events that millennialists had come to hope for and expect, one was a repeat of the Pentecost described in the biblical book the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 2, the original twelve disciples of Jesus had gathered for the Jewish holiday of Shavuoth, or in the Greek, Pentecost, the commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses. The Holy Spirit then descended on them in the form of a strong wind and tongues of fìre that came to rest on their heads. The Spirit bestowed upon the apostles several gifts, or charisms, including the ability to speak in other languages (the "gift of tongues"), to heal, and to prophesy. The early twentieth century saw the beginnings of what would become an extensive charismatic movement in American religion as Protestants of many hues looked for these gifts to be replicated among presentday believers. This "latter rain" of the Spirit would be a clear...