Daniel was passionate about his people, Israel, and desired to glean some insights into God’s future plans for them. Daniel regularly inquired from God about His plans for Israel. Israel was marooned in exile in Babylon, brought there as slaves by King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel pleaded and prayed, and God listened. God answered Daniel’s prayers by giving him four separate visions. In these visions He answered Daniel’s requests. In addition, God also provided him with a lot more information than what one would expect. Not only was Israel’s future foretold, but also the coming of the Messiah and His everlasting kingdom. Not only are the forthcoming events were foretold, but a timeline into the future was also given. (Refer post 3.4)
God provided Daniel with a a precise timeline until Jesus’s ministry, a prophetic vision spanning the 483 years between Israel’s return from exile until Jesus’s ministry commences, which is completed with His sacrifice on the cross for our salvation, the purpose of His first coming. In addition, God told Daniel what would happen after the Messiah, Jesus Christ, had come. After Jesus’s first coming there would only be 7 years left of God’s specific dealings with Israel.
Other than Daniel 9’s ’70 week’ prophecy, only one other prophecy gives us a distinct timeline. In Hosea 6:2 we also have a prophecy about the future of Israel with a timeline attached. As with Daniel 9, symbolic ‘days’ are used. In Daniel 9, a day symbolizes a year. In Hosea, a day symbolizes a millennium. Verse 2 gives us this hint:
“Come, and let us return to the Lord, For He has torn, but He will heal us, He has stricken (smitten), but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us, And on (in) the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” -Hos 6:1-2 NKJV (KJV in brackets)
This is a very strange statement. “After two days” would normally mean ‘during the third day’. However, here an event happens (revival) after day two but apparently still before day three, when a sequential event (raising up) occurs. What we will see in the discussion further on is that the interpretation of this passage may read:
“After two thousand years of being stricken and unable to recognize Jesus as Messiah, God (He) will revive the Jewish remnant with a great revival, and they will accept Jesus as Messiah during this revival. And on the third millennium after Jesus’s first coming, God (He) will raise them up (restore them as a godly Jewish nation), that they may live in His presence (sight) during the 1000 year reign of Jesus, in Israel, during the Sabbath millennium, and with father God, forever more.”
This is not an interpretation dreamed up by me. Refer to post 3.2 stating a source of this interpretation. The Jewish Rabbi’s have long ago come to this conclusion: Hosea 6:2 applies to the revival of the Jews after 2000 years of being exiled from their home country, most of it spent in the diaspora, spread all over the earth: (’round’ bracketed comments mine)
- Sanhedrin 97a: R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
- It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,’ and it is further said, A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day, meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath — and it is also said, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past. (… i.e. he is proposing that the 7th day sabbath and the 7th year ‘rest of fallow land’ point to a 1000 year rest period after 6000 years allocated for the world to exist.)
- Abaye said: it will be desolate two [thousand], as it is said, After two days will he revive us: in the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. (… i.e. he is quoting Hosea 6:2 and linking it to a 2000 year period of desolation or ‘lostness’ of the Jews)
- The Tanna debe Eliyahu (Teachings of the School of Elijah) teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation, two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era. (refer https://www.torahinmotion.org/discussions-and-blogs/sanhedrin-97-its-almost-over quotation: “The Gemara divides these 6,000 years into three district periods. “The Tanna devei Eliyahu teaches: Six thousand years is this world: Two thousand desolation, two thousand Torah, and two thousand years the days of the Mashiach” (Sanhedrin 97a). “
And indeed the 2000 years are nearly up! Amazing that the Jews themselves identify the 2000 years after the Torah (time of the Jews) as the messianic era (time of the gentiles). Aren’t they are truly blinded to the fact the Jesus is the Messiah, who initiated this ‘messianic era’ that they are talking about?
The only difference between the Jewish and Christian interpretation of Hosea 6:2 would be regarding the start date of the 2000 year ‘dispersion and blindness’ of the Jews. The Jews would interpret that the start date of the ‘messianic era’ has somehow been delayed, whilst Christians would view the crucifixion and the Pentecost as the start date of the ‘messianic era, or the time of the gentiles’ and the new covenant.
Daniel 9’s clear message is that only 7 years remain of God’s plan with Israel after Jesus’s ministry had commenced. We are now living in the ‘time of the gentiles’, during which ‘the Jews are blinded’ (ref Romans 11:25), which reinforces the interpretation that the redemption plan for unbelieving Jews was placed on ‘Hold’ after the crucifixion.
Ezekiel’s revival vision
In addition to Hosea 6:1-2 there is another prophecy about the future of Israel. It is found in Ezekiel 37, the prophecy and vision of the valley of dry bones. In Ezekiel 37, the prophet sees an awesome vision. The bones of God’s people lie scattered in a valley of utter destruction and desolation. They lie sprawled out, dead, in a valley full of dry bones. This is today’s story of the Jews. Very much like in the prophecy, the Jews have been dispersed all over the earth. They are dry and lifeless, spiritually speaking. They have no temple, no accompanying sacrifices, they can’t even practice their lifeless religion properly, the core elements of their Judaism are missing. They are spiritually stricken. In their religion, besides being blinded to the gospel, many current Jews have even stopped believing in the Old Testament, and have placed their corrupt man-made Talmud higher than the God-given Old Testament.
Since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D, Jews from the tribe/kingdom of Judah are scattered and are without the temple of God. In 70 AD they lost what was left of their nation. In this context that the revival of the remnant comes. God has always reserved a remnant for Himself. As Ezekiel speaks the redemptive Word these bones begin to stir. Then he sees the bones come together with a rattling sound. The bones are then covered with flesh and come to life. The only end time revival is going to be a Jewish one, and then only after their severe suffering under the hands of the antichrist. The end time revival is going to be concurrent with the ‘day of the Lord’.
AFTER TWO DAYS HE WILL REVIVE US. When could this revival be?
Hosea prophesied that “after two days He will revive us”. Are there common indicators of this event in other prophesies? The prophet Zachariah sees this event happening as the nations of the earth gather against Jerusalem.
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it……And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Zechariah 12:3, 9-10 KJV. (Refer to Appendix E for further indicators).
Joel saw this same Holy Spirit outpouring coming to a peak as the ‘great and awesome day of the Lord’ approached. The context indicates that this epic revival peaks towards the last days, the end times.
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” – Joel 2:28-32 NKJV
Or in the KJV:”… for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32 KJV) We know for a certainty that this revival is coming right at the end of this age immediately prior to the millennium. The revival that Zachariah and Joel saw is also time tagged by:
- armies in siege around Judah and Jerusalem
- their mention of those cosmic disturbances of the sun turning to darkness, the moon to blood etc..
- these heavenly signs will be coming in the second half of Daniel’s 70th week (click chart) and are likely to go on beyond the 1260 + 1260 (360×3.5=1260) days of the 70th Week. (refer Daniel 11, 12)
Since the end times ends 1260 days after the abomination is set up, we are probably speaking now of those last thirty days that lead up to day 1290 wherein the Jewish revival and restoration takes place. (Dan.12:11)
Let’s look at Hosea 6 again. The prophecy states, “After two days he will revive us, and on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his sight“.Hos 6:2 NKJV. As mentioned before, this is a very strange statement. “After two days” would normally mean ‘during the third day’. However, here an event happens (revival) after day two but apparently still before day three, when a sequential event (raising up) occurs.
In medical terms, if a man is found lying down and unconscious, he would first be treated, given some water or medication, in other words “revived”, and come to his senses, before one would attempt to “raise him up” and help him on his way. Especially so when the third day involves being in God’s presence. When that day comes everyone will know, there will be no missing it. It will be a cosmic, all changing event. This is not a minor event, so that anyone could ‘sleep-in’ on the morning of the third day.
That leaves only the small hours of the morning, or the last minutes before midnight, for the revival. Midnight or dawn, depending on what we consider the start of the third day to be. This is an 11th hour repentance and restoration of the Jewish nation, which ties in beautifully with the prophecies we have read, which predict a spirit empowered return of the chosen people to their Lord in their darkest hour.
If we now look at the context of the Hosea 6:2 it is very unlikely that the “two days” and the “third day” refer to physical days. A revival that starts after the second day but before the third physical day is by necessity limited to a few hours. An allowance of a few hours for a revival to occur, that includes the people of an entire nation, just makes no sense. Revival involves time.
Neither is it likely that a day represents a year like in Daniel 9. However, if a day represents a Millennium, it all starts to fall in place. We know from Daniel’s 70 week prophecy that, after the ‘times of the Gentiles”, as Jesus calls it, is complete and the abomination is set up, there are three and a half years left for God’s plan for the Jews to be fulfilled. There is a closure to the redemption plan for the Jews. But this happens only after the ‘second day’ but before the third day (millennium), ie this revival happens in the 7 year period referred to in Daniel, the time allotted to the antichrist for his persecution of Gods people and for God’s two witnesses to proclaim the final warning to a rebellious world.
It is not possible to interpret Hosea’s 2 days as an actual 2 days. Neither does it refer to two years. There is too much happening in the final seven year period that the Jewish revival can only be represented as the last two years of the second millennium.
During this time, among many other events, the people of Jerusalem are being witnessed to by the ‘Two Witnesses’ of Rev 11. (ref post 7.1) The obedient remnant flees into the desert on receiving the warning. God provides supernatural protection of the remnant in the desert for 1260 days. Elsewhere, the plagues and disasters of ‘God’s wrath’ follow each other (click chart).
To summarize we can note four things about this prophecy:
Firstly:
About 2,000 years ago Jesus ascended into heaven. He is now with the Father. He will return to this earth. During the coming 1,000 year Millennial reign of Jesus, He will be Emmanuel, or ‘God with us’. Surely this is the “third day” that Hosea speaks of, when “we shall live in His sight”, the 1000 year Millennium of Christ Jesus. (Christ is the Greek word for Messiah)
The phrase; “and on the third day…. we shall live in His sight”, is thus the most likely reference to the one thousand years of the coming Millennium. After Jesus’s second coming he will rule from Jerusalem, and the Jews, those who were not raptured like us, but came to faith after the rapture while being protected in the desert, will then be living at a time where they will be able to see Jesus bodily, perhaps face to face, and physically be in his sight.
Now if we know that the third day in this passage has duration of a millennium, would the first two days not also be two millennia?
Secondly:
Does this time interval of 2000 years mark out for us the duration of the current ‘gap’ between the end of the Daniel’s 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week?
Hosea said “after two days He will …… and on the third day..”. As we observed above, the context indicates that these are not likely to be two ordinary 24 hour days. Elsewhere in scripture we read that “a day with the Lord is as one thousand years and a thousand years as one day……” -2Pet.3:8 NKJV
If these “two days” do indeed refer to two millennia then the “two days” which precede the Millennium of Messiah may represent the two millennia we are living in right now! In fact the second millennium is nearly done! If we take Jesus’ crucifixion as 30 AD then the second millennium will logically end in 2030! You may ask, are we now not getting dangerously close to predicting a date for His return? No, because it is at this point where historians encounter and enter into a major dilemma. Jesus year of birth and the year of His crucifixion are unknown! Nobody knows exactly when Jesus was crucified. The year is lost in history, as we soon shall see. The next posts (3.6 & 3.7) will deal with the reasons behind the mystery surrounding the year of Jesus’ death, and His resurrection and glorification.
Hence we will not be predicting a year, the closest we’ll come is estimating a range of years, like the Magi did. Uncertainties about the year of Jesus’ crucifixion will lead us to establish a possible range of years, possibly from 2025 to 2033.
Thirdly:
Hosea states that “after two days He will revive us”. What can we say about God’s mention of a revival? That would mean that even in the midst of tribulation, God is going initiate their revival. It is clear that the Jewish nation will be deceived during the Antichrists’ first 3.5 years. Hence this is not the likely time of the revival. However, It will be during the second 3.5 years when the two supernaturally empowered witnesses of Revelation 11 will be testifying, possibly initiating this final revival.
It seems that the 70th week and especially those final days of the final 7 years may open up this great revival. The prophet Isaiah saw the end-time saints as a wedding party. He saw them going forth with lamps shining brightly, even in the midst of thick darkness (Isa.60). His inspired poetry bears witness to this end-time revival going forward in a time of thick darkness. What is God telling us?
Even in these times of trials and tribulations God is bringing us a message. It is a word of exhortation and encouragement. Believers, these words were written for the remnant as they come to the end of this age. These words are also for us!
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, The darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant,And your heart shall swell with joy.’ –Is a 60:1-5 NKJV …… And
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood,t he Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him, And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:19-21 KJV)
Forthly:
Hosea goes on to say, “And on the third day He will raise us up”
That we may live in His sight”, indicating, as we shall see, that this revival will continue up to the Millennium that follows the 70th week. Jesus’s victory at Armageddon initiates the millennium, by which time all His followers will be restored, and all raised up.
The Holy Spirit here in Hosea 6 is speaking of a latter day event, an endtime revival of all things!“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days. Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the 1335 days.” (Daniel 12:11, 12 KJV).….We have been talking about 1260 days all along. Where does this 1290 days come from? These 30 days are likely to result from the additional 30 day month in the Jewish calendar, added each 6th year to account for the annual 5 day difference to the solar calendar of 365 days.
And the 1335 days? It seems there is a further mysterious gap after the final seven years, after the two 1260 day periods plus the 30 day calendar extension. Daniel speaks about a further 45 days! Is this the time allowed for the Jews to repent before the millennium begins? Is this also the time of the peak of the revival, in those days of darkness when only the blessed can remain standing?
Hosea and Joel’s great end-time revival peak:
It is perhaps in this time context that the prophet Joel saw the peak of the Endtime Revival. From his vantage point around 800 B.C. Joel saw the peak of the Holy Spirit outpouring. This is the final climax of the very same revival Peter saw and commented on at Pentecost two millennia earlier. Our apostle Peter also spoke of Joel’s prophecy. We can read it in Acts 2. When those momentous events opened up on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem somewhere between 29-33 A.D., Peter tagged the revival he was seeing as that same revival Joel saw, the one that would climax at the end of the age!
Peter saw the firstfruits, Joel prophetically saw the harvest. Peter saw the start, Joel saw the mountain peak of the revival. And he said it was “afterwards”. “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them,
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapour of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’ 22 Men of Israel, hear these words:”…”
So as we have seen, this would surely refer to the last days.
“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it…And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Zechariah12:3, 9-10KJV
Like Zechariah (Zech 12:7-13:1), Joel saw the salvation and deliverance of the ‘house of David’ in Jerusalem. (Joel 2:28-32) Their calling on the name of the Lord coincides with cosmic signs of the 6th seal where the sun was turning to darkness and the moon to blood (Joel 2:28-32) and Jesus’ second coming. Even at that late hour people were repenting and being saved. Joel saw the Word of God go out to bring many to salvation, even up to the very last day of this age.
From Jesus’s own words in Mat.24:29-31 we know that these cosmic disturbances are associated with the 6th seal of Revelation which is His second coming as Messiah. They precede and lead up to the climactic ‘Day of the Lord’ (click chart) and heralds the opening of 7th seal. In these scriptures we see clear evidence that the Holy Spirit outpouring will come before the Millennium as the nations are gathered against it, and in fact will be rising up to a crescendo right inside the very darkness of the 70th week and its 30 day extension. Those Jews not raptured and who are protected in the desert will have seen Jesus coming on the clouds. They will have called on the name of the Lord, even in the desert, as Jesus has promised that every eye will see Him.
For those who missed the opportunity to flee into the desert, and have been converted by the two witnesses and the 144 000:
- The peak of their revival comes after the 1260 days of the Great Tribulation. – Dan.12:7
- This is after the 42 month (or 1260 day) reign of the Antichrist. – Rev.13:7
- This is after the 42 month (or 1260 day) trampling of Jerusalem. – Rev.11:2
We are looking at a peaking of the revival coming in the interval between the 1260th day, which marks the end of the 70th Week, and the end of the age which will come the end of the 1290 days. The 1290 days were outlined for us by the prophet Daniel. – Dan.12:11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. (Daniel 12:11, 12 KJV)
The 1290th day will probably come on a future Day of Atonement. Indeed, it will probably fulfill the 6th feast of the Seven Feasts of Israel.
God is so patient. He is so gracious. He is giving His wayward nation one last chance to repent and be saved.
You will have realized by now that these events occur 2000 years from Jesus’ death and resurrection, which takes us to approximately 2030’ish. (Jesus birth date is given as anytime from 7BC to 1AD) This also fits the outline seen by the ancient sages of Israel. They saw six millennia of man’s rule followed by a rest, a sabbatical 7th Millennium. During those final 1,000 years mankind and the created order would enjoy peace under the glorious rule of Messiah.
- HOSEA’S ‘TWO DAYS’ = TWO MILLENNIA AND A TIME FIX ON THE JEWISH REVIVAL
- HOSEA’S “TWO DAYS” = 2,000 BIBLICAL YEARS
As mentioned before, “a day with the Lord is as one thousand years and a thousand years as one day……” -2Pet.3:8 NKJV. If these “two days” do indeed refer to two millennia then when would this time-span begin and end? If we reckon each ‘day’ as a thousand years and the “two days” as 2,000 years then we can lay out a timeline from when the last cutting prophetic words were given by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse. He will return to this earth. In the coming 1,000 year Millennium of Messiah Jesus will be Emmanuel, or ‘God with us’. Surely this “third day” when “we shall live in His sight” speaks of the 1000 year Millennium of Messiah.
Finally:
Jesus made His final prophecy during the Passover of around 26-34 A.D. in the days before His crucifixion. On Palm Sunday (the 10th day of Nisan), He announced His Messianic office to Israel. As His 3.5 years of ministry ended Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Later on that day, after His final cleansing of the temple, He went up into the mount of Olives. His trusted disciples, Peter, James and John came to Him privately there. They asked Him specifically about the sign (singular) that would usher in His return.
In Mat.23 and 24, Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem. He also spoke of the scattering of His people. The prophet Daniel said quite clearly that this scattering of the power of the holy people would come to a climax and then end with the “time, times, and half a time, or the final three and a half years of the 70th week of Daniel. This is the time period of the desolation and trampling of Jerusalem (Rev.11) and the pouring out of the wrath of God (Rev.7-9 and 16, click chart) Our Apostle Paul spoke of the end-time apostasy, and a coming false messiah. (2Thes 2:3) Jesus spoke of the Great Tribulation, and the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. (Mat.24) He clearly stated that His second coming as Messiah would come after the Great Tribulation. These were and are the last prophetic words given in scripture…..
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. …
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: 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. (Matthew 24:29, 30 KJV)”
The fig tree.
Hosea 6:2 has placed us on a track where we may expect the return of Jesus in this current generation. This knowledge may enable us to explore the metaphor of the fig tree as a sign of the end of age and of Jesus’ second coming. (Matt 24:32)
As Jerusalem and Israel are mentioned in end time prophecy, it has been suggested for quite some time, since the ‘rebirth’ of Israel as a nation in 1952, that Israel is the fig tree of Matt 24:32-33:
- 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
The budding of the fig tree is a sign of Jesus’ coming return, and when the buds are seen, we can know the time ‘is near, even at the doors’. The fig tree is obviously a metaphor, and it may be that this refers to Israel.
If we were to accept this explanation, we should look at the further mentions of ‘the fig tree’ by Jesus, and see if there is a fit. And indeed there seems to be, but only in the light of Hosea 6:2.
Jesus brings up the fig tree in a parable a further two times in his ministry:
- The parable of the unfruitful tree, given 4 years to produce before its removed.
- The cursing of the fig tree not bearing fruit, although out of season.
In the first, a fig tree has not produced fruit for 3 years. The servants then dung/fertilize it for another year and agree to pull it up by the roots if it still does not produce fruit afterwards. Should the fruit tree be considered a metaphor for a saved believing Christian being removed after an unproductive 4 years, there is a lack of fit, because there is no time limit set elsewhere in scripture. However, as the ‘time of the gentiles’ is likely to be 2000 years (also per Hosea 6:2), and that the ‘time of the Jews’, as we have seen in previous posts, is 2000 years, this adds up to 4000 years! In Hosea 6:2, one year is equivalent to 1000 years, and using the 4 years of care for the fruit tree in the parable, this is equivalent to 4000 years.
As God has been dealing with the Jews for 4000 years, it seems to be that the unbelieving Jews will be ‘rooted up’ at the end of this time.
In the second, Jesus is travelling to Jerusalem, just prior to the crucifixion. He is going to be rejected by the Jews and condemned. As Jesus passes by the fig tree, he looks for fruit on it, although it is not the season for fruit. As Jesus would certainly have known that it is not the season for fruit, we should see this as a metaphor. Jesus curses the fig tree and it withers. A possible fit to this apparently strange act would be to consider it as a prophetic metaphor. The Jewish nation is the fig tree. They will reject Jesus and crucify Him. The result would be that they are cursed and will wither as a nation. And that is what happened. And today Israel is still unbelieving and under a curse. The current rebirth of Israel is a false rebirth. There is nothing but trouble ahead for them. Their true rebirth, that of Ezekiel 37 and Hosea 6:2, will happen when Jesus’s kingdom becomes visible, when he comes again as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Then there is also the parable of stars dropping like figs in Revelation 6, at the sixth seal. (Jesus’ second coming). The mention of figs seems deliberate, as stars generally can’t be likened to figs. This may refer to the purging of Israel (torn @ smitten) as in Hosea 6:1. Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet…..v21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered away.
Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind
TBC