Hosea's Great Mystery

           The power of the Spirit-inspired connections in Scriptures enables us to piece together the significant sequence of end-time events. We know that in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 Paul gave us four strategic features concerning Christ’s coming: (1) the resurrection of the Body of Christ; (2) the harpazo gathering (rapture) when we receive our immortal bodies; (3) this is tied completely to the start of the last Day, which is the Day of the Lord; and (4) just before that Day dawns, Israel is invaded by the Antichrist and his armies, which is described as labor pains coming suddenly.
            Whenever we see any one of these four traits, we can know by extension that the passage is talking about the other three traits as well. Using these connections, we’ve been able to see that when Jesus comes to gather us, He literally descends and stands on the Mt. of Olives, splitting the mountain and making a way of escape for the Jews. We’ve seen that we do not remain on the earth, but ascend back to Heaven with Jesus to begin the ruling declarations that release the wrath of that Day. We’ve seen that this treading operation, which we’ve dubbed Operation Consume and Destroy, covers the first 3½ years of Christ’s 1,000-year reign over the earth.
            So now let’s look at some more connections in order to pick up what is happening back on the earth. Joel 2 describes the coming of the Day of the Lord from Israel’s perspective. From the strategic connections, we know they are being invaded by the Antichrist’s coalition of armies. We should expect to see God turn out the lights to stop the invasion—which is exactly what we see in verse 10.
            God speaks to His people in verses 11-12, telling them to rend their hearts and repent. Facing another Red-Sea moment, Isaiah 64:1-3 tells us what the people do. They call out to God to rend the heavens and come down so that the mountains shake at His presence, as He did at Mt. Sinai with Moses. He obliges with a repeat performance—sort of. He rends the heavens and they see Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father. Then He stands and comes to earth. It is Jesus’ presence that shakes the mountain. And they finally recognize Jesus as the Son of God. They finally cry out collectively, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
            So what does this have to do with Hosea’s mystery? Hosea prophesied about this very moment (Hosea 6:1-2). “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. After two Days He will revive us; on the third Day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.”
            From the Day code connections, we know that the two Days that they are stricken are the 2,000 years of the Church Age, when the natural branch of Israel is cut off and the Gospel is extended to the Gentile nations. But when the 3rd Day comes (which is the last of the last Days), they shall be revived and grafted back into the Vine, receiving Christ as the Savior.
            They are reborn through faith in the blood of Jesus and they have new life in Christ. The offspring of the Woman (Rev. 12:17) are now saints (Rev. 13:7; Dan. 7:18, 21-22, 25). The word “saint” simple means being set apart by God. They are set apart to God once more, even though they have missed out on being part of the Body of Christ because they did not believe until they saw Him.
            So are they raised up to Heaven as well? No, both Joel and Isaiah tell us that they remain on the earth. You see, they have a new assignment. They become the natural head of the nations, representing Christ on the earth and preaching the Gospel to all the nations. They will, however, be raised up at the end of the 3rd Day at the final great white throne judgment.
            As the firstfruits resurrection, the Church, His Bride, are raised up at the start of the 3rd Day. In a sense, our 3rd Day resurrection triggers Israel’s 3rd Day revival. Our 3rd Day seating as the immortal government releases divine intercession that empowers them to overcome their oppressors and protects them from the wrath of that Day.
            “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins’ ” (Romans 11:25-27).