Israel’s
Restoration
A Regathering, Rebirth, and Repossessing
(from unpublished "One Book Rightly Divided" appendix)
by Doug Stauffer & Andrew Ray
The Bible contains prophetic passages
that are increasingly and unnecessarily dividing good brethren. Obviously, God
is not the cause of these divisions; however, believers on both sides of the theological divide have misinterpreted
key prophetic passages. Matthew chapter 24 is a
prime example.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
In
short, this conflict ensues because two phrases are misunderstood: (1) “after the tribulation” and (2) “gather together.” First, we consider the faulty views concerning the
meaning of “after the tribulation.”
After
the Tribulation?
The
first question that needs addressed concerns when the “Tribulation” (more appropriately, Daniel’s Seventieth
Week) ends? Many
Post-tribulation Rapturists
(some of which are Pre-wrath Rapturists) point to the phrase “after the tribulation”
incorrectly assuming that this is the point where the “Tribulation PERIOD” terminates. This
assumption is not correct. One must carefully consider the context to grasp
God’s intended meaning.
What saith the
scripture IN CONTEXT? To
grasp the truth, one must read the
two verses from Matthew and Mark paying close attention to the peculiar wording. Doing so will bring to light key words which reveal to the reader the
correct context. HINT: “of those days”
in Matthew and “after that” in Mark change the entire context and meaning from what is
generally taught by those teaching the Church will go through Daniel’s Seventieth Week. These two phrases change the entire
meaning.
Matthew
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mark
13:24 But in
those days, after that
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light,
Neither passage implies that the events that take place prior to these verses serve as the all-encompassing “Tribulation PERIOD,” nor do they serve as the terminus to the so-called Tribulation PERIOD. Instead, Matthew’s gospel states that the sun and moon will go dark “after the
tribulation of THOSE DAYS.” In context, this clearly refers to the tribulation mentioned in Matthew 24:4-28. Mark said the same thing: the sun and the moon will go dark “AFTER THAT tribulation.” What
tribulation is that? It involves the
suffering mentioned in Mark 13:5-23.
Gathering Together
After
the world suffers tribulation described in the first 28 verses of Matthew chapter
24, the focus turns to the cosmic disturbances. Sometime thereafter, the Lord will
return TO EARTH. However, prior to His return, He will send His angels to
gather together the elect from all over the world. Plainly stated, this GATHERING
IS NOT A RAPTURE (Matthew 24:31). A rapture implies that people depart the earth
and there is no indication that anyone leaves.
Two primary purposes for Christ’s Second Advent
are to judge the world and to deliver believing Israel. Yet, Israel had and still has a problem with walking by faith. They
have grown accustomed to—and dependent upon—signs (1
Corinthians 1:22). God, therefore, in His infinite wisdom and boundless
mercy, will provide three distinct and visible precursors announcing the return
of His Son. These three forerunners are:
- Cosmic and
earthly disturbances,
- The sign
of the Son of man, and
- Christ’s sending His angels
for the gathering of the elect.
Although no one can
be completely certain concerning the duration of the cosmic and earthly
disturbances, the second and third precursors seem to provide no time for the
unbelieving to repent.
The Cosmic and Earthly Disturbances (Matthew 24:29)
Unfortunately, many
prophecy teachers fail to recognize the distinguishing features between the Rapture
of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and
Christ’s Second Coming. The Rapture, involving the Church’s call to meet Christ in the clouds and only
forecasts decline in godliness as a precursor. The Church leaves this earth at the Rapture, but
none of God’s people leave the earth at Christ’s Second Advent. That is not the
purpose of His return to earth. In fact, Christ’s return to earth begins with judgment and soon follows with the blessings of His
ruling in an earthly kingdom.
This Second Coming
to earth is preceded by visible evidence, especially natural disturbances, or
what the world refers to as “natural disasters.” Every “real” Rapture passage
noticeably excludes any indicators of these physical precursors. Yet, these
types of disturbances are prevalent and dramatic just prior to Christ’s Second
Coming. In fact, the anxiety caused by the worldwide upheavals will cause men’s
hearts to fail them. These events consist of at least five specific types of
catastrophic events:
1) the sun will be darkened (Matthew 24:29)
2) the moon will stop shining (Matthew 24:29)
3) the stars will fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29)
4) the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Matthew 24:29)
5) the sea and the waves will roar (Luke 21:25)
When the world turns
pitch black, earth’s inhabitants will not expect what is about to take place,
nor how drastically things will change. The Day of the Lord will be introduced
with the sun and moon being darkened, but this phenomenon of darkness is only
temporary. Upon Christ’s return, things instantaneously swing to the opposite
end of the spectrum with the normal light multiplied seven times brighter.
Isaiah 30:26 Moreover
the light of the moon shall be as
the light of the sun, and the light of
the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the
LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their
wound.
This overpowering,
brilliant light will shine forth sometime following the piercing darkness and
blackening of the heavens. This bright light heralds the coming of the Son of
Man from heaven’s glory. Imagine when the light of the moon becomes as the sun
in its normal strength and the sun shines “sevenfold,
as the light of seven days.”
To the human eye,
these events might seem simultaneous; yet the following sequence seems to take
place.
- the
brightness of the sun will be magnified seven times (Isaiah 30:26);
- the Son of
Man appears (Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27);
- all the
tribes of the earth mourn (Matthew
24:30);
- a great
trumpet will sound (Matthew 24:31);
- Christ
sends His angels to gather the elect for protection (Matthew 24:31);
- Christ
comes to earth from heaven to execute judgment upon the enemies of Israel (Revelation 19:11-13, 15-16);
- the armies
which were in heaven follow Christ to earth (Revelation 19:14); and
- an angel stands in the sun,
inviting the fowls of the air to gather for the supper of the great God (Revelation 19:17-18).
The Sending of Christ’s Angels (Matthew 24:31)
This next issue
reveals the importance of every word of scripture. Those who insist that the
Church will enter Daniel’s Seventieth Week fail to distinguish certain key
elements and differences between two major events. Most confusion can be
eliminated by simply noticing the differences between Christ’s return for the
Church before the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and His return to gather the Jewish remnant toward the end of that period.
Nowhere in any of
Paul’s writings where he refers to the Church’s Blessed Hope (also known as the Rapture) is there any indication of angels being sent
to gather the saved. Instead, all believers will be brought UP to meet the Lord Jesus in the clouds. The Lord HIMSELF gathers the
Church to Himself.
1
Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
At the
Rapture, the Lord will meet the saved in the clouds followed by all believers returning
into heaven where we will remain with Christ until His Second Advent. This is not
the scenario presented throughout the Old Testament or the Gospels when
describing Christ’s return at the close of Jacob’s Trouble to establish a
kingdom for the Jews. Instead of Christ HIMSELF gathering at the Second Coming,
the Bible says that Christ will send His angels to gather the elect (believing
Israel) to protect them from
the onslaught of judgment proceeding from the Saviour. In fact, the Bible is
clear that Christ will lead His armies into battle rather than
meeting with believers in the clouds (Revelation 19:11, 14). This is
likely the reason why
the angels must precede Christ and His armies.
Matthew
24:31 And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Unfortunately, many
Bible teachers and students fail to grasp three of the key components of this
passage concerning Christ’s Second Coming: (1) the identity of the elect, (2)
the meaning of the four winds, and (3) the heaven referred to within the
context. Clearly, the elect of Matthew chapter 24 identifies believing Israel (Isaiah 45:4). Now, the four winds
and heaven must be defined in light of the context and other correlating
scriptures.
If the angels are
going to gather the elect from the four winds, it would make sense that the
elect first had to be scattered into the four winds. The Bible repeatedly
mentions this scattering of the Jews toward all the winds. Here are just a few of the many examples:
·
Notice that the Bible clearly
says that God scattered His people into and toward all the winds.
Ezekiel 5:10b the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
Ezekiel 17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and
they that
remain shall be scattered toward
all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
·
The scattering into all winds
is defined as the utmost corners of the earth.
Jeremiah
49:32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the
multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I
will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners;
and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
·
The four winds are mentioned
in conjunction with the four quarters of heaven.
Jeremiah
49:36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four
quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward
all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the
outcasts of Elam shall not come.
The
nation that
God previously
scattered toward the four winds will be gathered
by the angels prior to
the physical return
of Christ and
His armies. Any diligent Bible student can recognize that these four winds
cover the earth and are associated only to the first heaven
where the winds blow. John, in the book of Revelation, provided additional
confirmation in Revelation 7:1 when he prophetically wrote of another event involving
the four winds during Daniel’s Seventieth Week: “I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the
earth.”
Despite
these truths, some
Post-tribulationists assume that the mere mention of heaven means the third Heaven (God’s abode); however, the context
remains consistent since the passage refers not to the Heaven of God’s abode
but to the first heaven where the winds
blow (1
Kings 18:45 – see below; also Psalm 78:26; Daniel 7:2; Daniel 8:8; Daniel 11:4).
1
Kings 18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while,
that the heaven was black with
clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab
rode, and went to Jezreel.
Other passages
clearly associate the four winds with the first heaven. For example: “I bring the four winds from the four
quarters of heaven” (Jeremiah 49:36)
and “the four winds of the heaven” (Zechariah
2:6). In each case, the winds and the heaven refer to the first heaven
and never the “third Heaven” of God’s
abode (2 Corinthians 12:2) where the Church will have resided for nearly seven years. Read the passage again with these truths in mind.
Matthew
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Interestingly,
it truly does not change the outcome of Matthew
24:31
regardless of what heaven is being referenced. After all, in both Matthew 24:31 and Mark
13:27 the
elect are being GATHERED FROM heaven and NOT UNTO heaven. In other words, no one
is leaving the earth and going UP during this event. Any other private
interpretation destroys the fulfillment of Deuteronomy
30:4 where
the Lord promised, “If any of thine be DRIVEN OUT unto the outmost
parts of heaven, FROM THENCE will the LORD thy God GATHER thee, and FROM THENCE will he
FETCH thee.” Where was Israel DRIVEN? Verse 1
says they were driven “among all the nations.” Verse 3 says they were SCATTERED into the nations and He
will “gather thee from all the nations.” Read the entire context that shows that the prophecy does
not point to a gathering TO Heaven.
Deuteronomy
30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these
things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before
thee, and thou shalt call them to
mind among all the nations, whither
the LORD thy God hath driven
thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice
according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy
captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations,
whither the LORD thy God hath scattered
thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from
thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the LORD thy God will bring
thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and
thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy
fathers.
The
scriptural truth taught is that those
who had been scattered by God all over the earth (to the four winds of heaven) will be GATHERED
by His angels just prior to Christ and His armies arriving to the earth! The gathering will bring them “into the land.” Those who had endured persecution will find refuge, being protected and
preserved! Those accused and attacked by Satan will be redeemed and secured in
Jesus! Jacob’s testimony that once was “all
these things are against me” (Genesis 42:36) will become “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans
8:31).
Furthermore,
Matthew, at the time of his
writing, neither knew of nor wrote of the New Testament Church’s removal from
the earth. Paul, on
the other hand, knew of both the Blessed Hope and the Second Coming and clearly distinguished between the two by pointing out that the Lord HIMSELF would come and get
His Church while
sending His angels as forerunners of Christ’s Second Advent. If the calling UP of the saints at the Rapture is the same event as that
described in Matthew chapter 24,
why no mention by Paul of the armies following the Lord at the Rapture (Revelation 19:14)? It is because
they are two separate events.
Don’t
miss this! There is no general catching up in the days approaching the
Second Advent. It is simply NOT A RAPTURE. The angels will GATHER together the elect for protection UPON THE EARTH. This protection takes place toward the end of
Daniel’s Seventieth Week and almost simultaneously with Christ’s return in vengeance on the Day of the Lord. They are gathered into the land.
Israel’s Gathering Versus
the Church’s Rapture
In the
passages describing the Church’s Blessed Hope, there is only one usage of the
word gather. In fact, even that single reference distinguishes the Church’s
Rapture as “our gathering together UNTO
HIM” (2 Thessalonians 2:1), not
unto the land The word unto identifies
destination. In other words, the Church’s departure is a gathering of the
saints UNTO the destination [Christ in the clouds]. While the significance may
not be self-evident until one considers that the gathering of Matthew chapter
24 matches the promised gathering of the Old Testament. To understand this
better, consider a few of the promises of Israel’s future final “gathering” as
the Bible repeatedly uses this terminology to describe God’s promise to Israel.
Deuteronomy 30:3 That then the LORD thy God
will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD
thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy
God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Nehemiah 1:9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the
uttermost part of the heaven, yet
will I gather them from thence, and will
bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth.
(more scripture references in the book)
Matthew 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up
also the wheat with them. 30 Let
both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn them: but gather the wheat
into my barn.
These
verses should sufficiently prove that Israel will be regathered into the LAND!
God promised He would one day gather a remnant of the nation of Israel. That gathering
would take place upon this earth with them being led back into their own LAND for
safety. Not one time is the third Heaven (the place of God’s abode) in view and
the context in each passage suggests the timing is Christ’s Second Advent
followed by Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. Replacement Theology teachings will
struggle to pervert this event by calling it a Rapture!
The Witness of Ezekiel
and the Dry Bones
Simply
believing the Bible changes one’s perspective about even the most familiar
passages. For instance, Ezekiel chapter 37 contains the prophecy of the Dry
Bones. It has been incorrectly taught as a Last Days revival when it teaches no such thing. Instead, Ezekiel points to Israel’s
future restoration as a rebirth and regathering, along with a repossessing of
an earthly land once possessed by the Jewish fathers. Notice the gathering
mentioned in verse twenty-one. According to Ezekiel chapter 37:
1) God will GATHER the children of Israel and bring them INTO THEIR
OWN LAND.
Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be
gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own
land:
2)
God will make the children of Israel one undivided nation IN
THE LAND under one king.
Ezekiel 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be
king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be
divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
3)
The
remnant of Israel (also known as the elect or believing Israel) shall be SAVED.
Ezekiel 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more
with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their
transgressions: but I will
save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have
sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall
they be my people, and I will be their God.
4)
David
will be restored as KING of a united Israel.
Ezekiel 37:24 And David
my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my
statutes, and do them.
5) Israel will dwell IN THE LAND safely and FOR EVER.
Ezekiel 37:25 And
they shall dwell in the land that I have given
unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell
therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be
their prince for ever.
6) God will make with Israel an EVERLASTING COVENANT—the
New Covenant.
Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with
them; it shall be an everlasting
covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set
my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel,
when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
7) The vision of the valley of dry bones at the
beginning of the chapter brings the whole prophecy together.
After the Rapture of the Church, God
will again turn His focus toward His people—the nation of Israel. He will gather the children of Israel and make of them one nation in the
land; thus, the believing remnant of Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:26). David
will be restored as king and God will make an everlasting covenant with Israel.
This restoration is taught throughout both Testaments.
In fact, consider again
the 37th chapter of Ezekiel and the prophecy of the valley of dry
bones. The prophecy began, like John in Revelation, with Ezekiel carried forth
in time (Revelation 1:10).
Ezekiel 37:1
The hand of the LORD was upon me,
and carried me out in the spirit of
the LORD, and set me down in the midst
of the valley which was full of
bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold,
there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
These bones represent a spiritually and
physically dead Israel. As such, they had no marrow and are brittle and bleached. The question was whether God could revive
such dead matter.
Ezekiel 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
The
solution for deadened Israel will be the same as it is for sinners who are dead
in trespasses and sins today—hear the word of the LORD. Heeding the charge from
Heaven, Ezekiel prophesied upon “these
bones.”
Ezekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones;
Behold, I will cause breath to enter
into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall
live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
These
lifeless dry bones will get their “second breath” or as the LORD puts it in Ezekiel 37:14, He will put His Spirit in them and they shall live!
Ezekiel 37:7 So I
prophesied as I was commanded: and as I
prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the
flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no
breath in them.
Ezekiel
did his part and God will do what only God can do. Although there was a
gathering of the bones, they remained lifeless until the wind of God’s Spirit
blew upon them!
Ezekiel 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy,
son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live.
While it
is God’s Spirit that comes from the four winds and not the elect as it is in
Matthew chapter 24, this
designation helps to pinpoint the timing and significance of this event. Those who had historically been
scattered into the winds will be regathered.
Ezekiel 5:10
Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons
shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter
into all the winds.
Ezekiel 5:12
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they
be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword
round about thee; and I will scatter
a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Ezekiel 12:14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all
his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
Those scattered will be gathered, revived and regenerated by God’s
Spirit, and brought into the land of Israel. The once-dead bodies are restored
and clearly identified as the “whole
house of Israel.”
Ezekiel 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came
into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great
army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:
behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for
our parts.
It is important not
to miss the significance of the meaning of the prophecy of the dry bones of
Ezekiel chapter 37. Israel’s future points to a time when God opens the GRAVES
and brings believing Israel into the LAND OF ISRAEL to dwell there safely for
the Millennial kingdom.
Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, O my people,
I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out
of your graves, and bring you into
the land of Israel.
This is clearly Israel’s restoration and rebirth performed by
the Spirit. John says, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Notice
that the bodies are resurrected and brought into the land of Israel. One could
even say that this is a resurrection when God puts His spirit in these once
dead bodies. It certainly does not match the bodies resurrected and “changed” in the “twinkling of an eye” at the Church’s last trump when the dead at
the end of the Church Age are raised (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
Ezekiel
37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves,
O my people, and brought you
up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye
shall live, and I
shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have
spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
Additionally, it is important to note that man consists of three parts—body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This prophecy
only mentions the body and spirit but one might infer that the soul too must reenter these bodies
to complete the rebirth. Regardless of this unaddressed aspect concerning the soul, the truth is
that Israel will be regathered into the land and the prophecy of the dry bones
is another confirmation of that glorious truth.
Israel and Judah: The New Covenant
The spirit
reentering the bones/bodies likely refer to the institution of the New Covenant
(Jeremiah
31:31). This New Covenant takes place “after those days” indicating the timing taking place at the end of
Daniel’s Seventieth Week at the commencement of the Day of the Lord.
Hebrews
8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, when I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the
Lord. 10 For this is
the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Hosea’s prophecy of
Israel’s reviving takes on special significance too if one day with the Lord
could represent one thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). This reviving
certainly could match the two millennia since Christ’s death (“two days”) and point to the final
millennium of Christ’s earthly kingdom yet to come (“in the third day”).
Hosea
6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third
day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Many of the
prophesies in the Bible points to Israel’s future:
·
Restoration,
·
Regathering,
·
Rebirth, and
·
Repossessing of the land.
