A Study From a Prophecy in Hosea 5 and 6.
How soon might Jesus come back? Are we the last generation? When could the Tribulation start? Could it be in 2020, or 2021? Or does the Bible have anything to say about it? I believe it does. And that’s what I’m going to be talking about today, from a passage in the Old Testament.
Today I want to take you to a passage that I think anchors the timing of the end times events. It’s Hosea 5:14-6:3.
Hosea 5:14-6:3
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
6 Come, and let us return to the LORD;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
In the beginning of this passage, in verse 14, the Lord talks about Ephraim and Judah. This is a way of saying the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, or the whole house of Israel. So, this passage is about Israel, and God’s relationship to Israel.
“I, even I, will tear them and go away. I will take them away and no one shall rescue. I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense.” This is about Israel rejecting Jesus–or Yeshua–as their Messiah, and so He went back to heaven–He went to the right hand of the Father, where He waits until He hears from Israel, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” So, He has to wait for their faith before He’s going to come back–that’s what it says in verse 15.
The end of verse 15 says, “Then they will seek My face. In their affliction, they will earnestly seek me.” The Tribulation’s going to be difficult–especially for Israel, it’s going to be called the time of Jacob’s trouble, says Jeremiah 30. We aren’t looking forward to it, but God is going to use this severe trial to bring faith to a greater remnant of Israel than has ever believed before! And so that is exciting.
And let’s continue on to chapter six. “Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn and He will heal us. He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days, He will revive us; on the third day, He will raise us up that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.” This is showing that Israel, before the return of Christ, is going to have–at least this remnant–is going to have a significant faith that Jesus is going to come, just as He said–or, Yeshua is going to come, just as He said He would–and, that is really awesome to think about.
So, what does this have to do with the timing of the return of Christ? I’m seeing it from verse 2. Hosea 6:2: “After two days, He will revive us; on the third day, He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” This verse is a prophecy about Israel’s revival. It must mean something, but an ordinary day doesn’t make any sense, because two days after the crucifixion, nothing happened in terms of Israel’s revival. And still, almost two thousand years later, Israel still has, for the most part, rejected Messiah as their Savior. So, what could this mean? It has to mean something.
There are two verses in the Bible that talk about a different length of a day, in Psalm 90:4, and 2 Peter 3:8.
Psalm 90:4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.2 Peter 3:8
But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3, starting in verse 3, is talking about people who mock the second coming of Christ because it’s taken so long. In verse 8, He’s basically saying, “To Me, it’s not that long!” A thousand years are like a day. So, since Jesus left, it’s only been less than two days—in His sight.
Going back to Hosea 6:2: “After two days, I will revive them.” I believe that two days or two thousand years must pass after the crucifixion before Israel can be revived at the end of the Tribulation, before the return of Christ.
So, when was the crucifixion? Scholars have proposed from biblical and historical records somewhere between 30 and 33 AD. I believe 33 AD is the most accurate, because I feel it fits best with the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9. [See It’s Jacob’s Trouble for an introduction to the seventy weeks prophecy.] So, personally, I don’t think Israel will experience this prophesied revival–this end times revival preceding the return of Christ–until 2033 at the earliest. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m saying that Jesus is going to come back in 2033. I think He could, if it works out that way, that the Tribulation starts in that line, but I’m not saying He has to. I’m just saying, I don’t think it can happen earlier.
If the Tribulation were to start in 2026, and Jesus were to return in 2033, that’s not very long for us to prepare ourselves to go through these things that He prophesied for us, so that we can be His witnesses to the nations–including the nation of Israel. So, this is an exciting time to be alive. God made us for this purpose, to glorify His name, to finish the great commission.
I really do believe we’re the last generation. Can I prove it? No, but I do believe it within my heart, that we are going to experience these things.
Some people have talked about the Tribulation starting in 2020 or 2021. If you heard those things and were distressed, possibly this message gave you an encouragement that you have a little more time left–maybe. Remember, we can die at any time, so we should never presume on the grace of God for another day. We have the breath that we have right now because He gave it to us, but we can’t presume on any more time from Him. So, we should always live like we can meet Him tomorrow, because we could die tomorrow.
On the other hand, you may have thought, we have years and years, and maybe this passage has opened your eyes that maybe the time is shorter than you thought. And I hope that is the case, because I want you to be prepared for it.
I encourage you not to be afraid, but to be of sober mind, and see the times that we’re in. I want us to be able to shine like stars, as it says in Daniel 12:3. The world is getting so dark, and the only hope that really can be found is in the person of Jesus Christ. And we know that hope, so I pray that we would share it, that we would take God seriously, that we would believe His Word, that we would abide in Him, that we would not spurn Him, or take Him for granted.
I know it’s maybe not encouraging to think about going through these things, but the reality is somebody has to do it! And God is going to use the Christians who are faithful to Him to finish the Great Commission. He’s going to do great works through them! And, if we get to be a part of that, that’s going to be amazing! I mean, there’s going to be hard things about it, too, but there’s going to be a lot of blessing out of being such a key, integral part of His plan. So, I hope you can be excited about that.
God bless you, and have a great day.
How soon might Jesus come back? Are we the last generation? When could the Tribulation start? Could it be in 2020, or 2021? Or does the Bible have anything to say about it? I believe it does. And that’s what I’m going to be talking about today, from a passage in the Old Testament.
Today I want to take you to a passage that I think anchors the timing of the end times events. It’s Hosea 5:14-6:3.
Hosea 5:14-6:3
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
6 Come, and let us return to the LORD;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
In the beginning of this passage, in verse 14, the Lord talks about Ephraim and Judah. This is a way of saying the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, or the whole house of Israel. So, this passage is about Israel, and God’s relationship to Israel.
“I, even I, will tear them and go away. I will take them away and no one shall rescue. I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense.” This is about Israel rejecting Jesus–or Yeshua–as their Messiah, and so He went back to heaven–He went to the right hand of the Father, where He waits until He hears from Israel, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” So, He has to wait for their faith before He’s going to come back–that’s what it says in verse 15.
The end of verse 15 says, “Then they will seek My face. In their affliction, they will earnestly seek me.” The Tribulation’s going to be difficult–especially for Israel, it’s going to be called the time of Jacob’s trouble, says Jeremiah 30. We aren’t looking forward to it, but God is going to use this severe trial to bring faith to a greater remnant of Israel than has ever believed before! And so that is exciting.
And let’s continue on to chapter six. “Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn and He will heal us. He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days, He will revive us; on the third day, He will raise us up that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.” This is showing that Israel, before the return of Christ, is going to have–at least this remnant–is going to have a significant faith that Jesus is going to come, just as He said–or, Yeshua is going to come, just as He said He would–and, that is really awesome to think about.
So, what does this have to do with the timing of the return of Christ? I’m seeing it from verse 2. Hosea 6:2: “After two days, He will revive us; on the third day, He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” This verse is a prophecy about Israel’s revival. It must mean something, but an ordinary day doesn’t make any sense, because two days after the crucifixion, nothing happened in terms of Israel’s revival. And still, almost two thousand years later, Israel still has, for the most part, rejected Messiah as their Savior. So, what could this mean? It has to mean something.
There are two verses in the Bible that talk about a different length of a day, in Psalm 90:4, and 2 Peter 3:8.
Psalm 90:4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.2 Peter 3:8
But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3, starting in verse 3, is talking about people who mock the second coming of Christ because it’s taken so long. In verse 8, He’s basically saying, “To Me, it’s not that long!” A thousand years are like a day. So, since Jesus left, it’s only been less than two days—in His sight.
Going back to Hosea 6:2: “After two days, I will revive them.” I believe that two days or two thousand years must pass after the crucifixion before Israel can be revived at the end of the Tribulation, before the return of Christ.
So, when was the crucifixion? Scholars have proposed from biblical and historical records somewhere between 30 and 33 AD. I believe 33 AD is the most accurate, because I feel it fits best with the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9. [See It’s Jacob’s Trouble for an introduction to the seventy weeks prophecy.] So, personally, I don’t think Israel will experience this prophesied revival–this end times revival preceding the return of Christ–until 2033 at the earliest. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m saying that Jesus is going to come back in 2033. I think He could, if it works out that way, that the Tribulation starts in that line, but I’m not saying He has to. I’m just saying, I don’t think it can happen earlier.
If the Tribulation were to start in 2026, and Jesus were to return in 2033, that’s not very long for us to prepare ourselves to go through these things that He prophesied for us, so that we can be His witnesses to the nations–including the nation of Israel. So, this is an exciting time to be alive. God made us for this purpose, to glorify His name, to finish the great commission.
I really do believe we’re the last generation. Can I prove it? No, but I do believe it within my heart, that we are going to experience these things.
Some people have talked about the Tribulation starting in 2020 or 2021. If you heard those things and were distressed, possibly this message gave you an encouragement that you have a little more time left–maybe. Remember, we can die at any time, so we should never presume on the grace of God for another day. We have the breath that we have right now because He gave it to us, but we can’t presume on any more time from Him. So, we should always live like we can meet Him tomorrow, because we could die tomorrow.
On the other hand, you may have thought, we have years and years, and maybe this passage has opened your eyes that maybe the time is shorter than you thought. And I hope that is the case, because I want you to be prepared for it.
I encourage you not to be afraid, but to be of sober mind, and see the times that we’re in. I want us to be able to shine like stars, as it says in Daniel 12:3. The world is getting so dark, and the only hope that really can be found is in the person of Jesus Christ. And we know that hope, so I pray that we would share it, that we would take God seriously, that we would believe His Word, that we would abide in Him, that we would not spurn Him, or take Him for granted.
I know it’s maybe not encouraging to think about going through these things, but the reality is somebody has to do it! And God is going to use the Christians who are faithful to Him to finish the Great Commission. He’s going to do great works through them! And, if we get to be a part of that, that’s going to be amazing! I mean, there’s going to be hard things about it, too, but there’s going to be a lot of blessing out of being such a key, integral part of His plan. So, I hope you can be excited about that.
God bless you, and have a great day.
