The end of the world is an event that will take place for seven years. During this time, God will end the sinful era of humanity and usher in a new era ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ, as prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

“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. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” (Hosea 6:1-2).

“For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” (Psalms 90:4).

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (II Peter 3:8).

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

In the article “Hosea 6:1-2 and the End of the World” [1], we came up with the following hypothesis based on the prophecy in Hosea 6:1-2:

[Quote]

IF… the Passover of the year 27 was the time of Israel’s spiritual death for denying and killing Christ and if a thousand years are as one day in the Lord’s eyes, then the two days mentioned in Hosea 6:2 are the 2,000 year period from the Passover of the year 27 to the Passover of the year 2027, and the third day mentioned in Hosea 6:2 is the 1,000 years of peace that follows the end of the world. After the end of the world, Israel will be resurrected physically and spiritually to be ruled by King David in the Millennial Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ…

. . .

If the year 2027 is the end of the two day period of Israel’s spiritual death and if it is the time that *God resurrects them spiritually, then the year 2027 also marks the completion of the end of the world, which leads to the Millennium. Thus, the year 2020 will be the inaugural year of the Seven Years of the Great Tribulation.

We already know that the Lord Jesus Christ will take the Church out of the world before the end of the world, according to His promise:

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10).

Therefore, if the previous assumptions are correct, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rapture of the Church can happen between the time that I preach this sermon (April 22, 2017) and the Passover in 2020. The Passover in 2020 is on Wednesday, April 8. In other words, this period of time is less than three years!

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Since writing that article, we continued to reflect on the meaning of Hosea 6:1-2 daily while we live a holy life by following the Word of God. We continually reflect on the Word of God because we believe and understand that the Lord Jesus Christ can come at any time to rapture His Church. Our contemplation of the Word of God to reach the depths of the Word is a blessing. Deuteronomy 29:29 says:

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

In other words, all that God does not reveal are things we are not allowed to find out, but all that is revealed to us in Scripture belongs to us. As His children, we have the duty to search for that information in His Scriptures, especially in the prophecies about the time when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to rapture His Church.

Proverbs 25:2 also says:

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

In other words, only God, Who is omnipotent and omniscient, can conceal anything He wants such that no one can ever discover it. A king is the ruler of a country, and he needs wisdom to observe, analyze, and evaluate many important issues.

All of those who belong to the Church of God are considered kings and priests by *God (Revelation 1:6). Although we are not kings of any countries, we have the powers and duties of a king to uncover the mysteries of God to serve Him. Therefore, we should consider the issues addressed by the Word of God to know and do His will.

God’s encouragement to His people comes from our observations of what is happening in the world. When we compare our observations to the Word of God, we know that the Lord is coming very soon. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ are recorded in Matthew 16:1-3 as this:

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

Are we the people of God if we cannot distinguish the signs of the Lord’s coming? There are people believe that because the Lord has said that no one can know the day and hour of the Lord, the people of God should not inquire about the coming of the Lord. These people are ignorant of the Bible. If we should not inquire about the coming of the Lord, why does God allow us to know the signs of that “day” so we know that it is nearing?

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

Thus, those who refuse to learn about the coming of the day deny themselves the glory and blessings that God gives to those who meditate on His Word. They will not be able to know the Word of God and carefully follow it.

As we continued to review and reflect on the prophecy in Hosea 6:1-2, we came up with two more hypotheses, making a total of three hypotheses.

Remember: The “two days” in Hosea 6:2 could be the 2,000 years from the year Israel rejected Christ. They handed Christ over to the Romans to His death on the Passover of the year 27 on April 7^th. Therefore, they are considered spiritually dead until the year 2027. Please read the article: “Dates of the Lord’s Resurrection and Pentecost” [2].

Hypothesis 1:

If the day the Lord brought the Israelites into the Millennial Kingdom at the end of seven years of tribulation is supposed to be the day the Lord spiritually resurrects the Israelites 2,000 years after their spiritual death, then it will be around the Passover of 2027 on April 21^st. The end of the world will begin seven years before that around the Passover of 2020 on April 8^th.

From January 1^st, 2018 to April 8^th, 2020 is a period of two years, three months, and one week.

Hypothesis 2:

If the day the Lord brings the Israelites into the wilderness to take refuge from Antichrist is supposed to be the day the Lord spiritually resurrects the Israelites 2,000 years after their spiritual death, then it will happen during the seven years of tribulation and around the Passover of 2027 on April 21^st. The end of the world will begin three and a half years before that around October 29^th, 2023.

From January 1^st, 2018 to October 29^th, 2023 is a period of five years and ten months.

Hypothesis 3:

If the day the Lord elects 144,000 Israelites, sending them to preach the gospel throughout the world (Revelation 7:1-8), is supposed to be the day the Lord spiritually resurrects the Israelites 2,000 years after their spiritual death, then it will occur at the beginning of the seven years of tribulation and around the Passover of 2027 on April 21^st. The end of the world will begin around April 21^st, 2027.

From January 1^st, 2018 to April 21^st, 2027 is a period of nine years, three months, and three weeks.

As we can see, Hosea 6:1-2 in conjunction with Psalms 90:4 and II Peter 3:8 helps us understand that any of the following can be true:

• The Lord Jesus Christ may come to rapture His Church at any time, but not beyond two years, three months, and one week from January 1^st, 2018.

• The Lord Jesus Christ may come to rapture His Church at any time, but not beyond five years and ten months from January 1^st, 2018.

• The Lord Jesus Christ may come to rapture His Church at any time, but not beyond nine years, three months, and three weeks from January 1^st, 2018.

Based on the parable of the blooming fig tree in Matthew 24:32-34, which refers to the day Israel will be replanted in the promised land of Canaan, the day of the end of the world will not occur after May 31^st, 2030 if a generation is considered 70 years long or after May 31^st, 2040 if a generation is considered 80 years long [3]. Then, the Lord Jesus Christ may come to rapture His Church any time, but after twelve years and five months or twenty-two years and five months if we start counting from January 1^st, 2018.

However, these are only assumptions and cannot be made into doctrine. We can only remind ourselves that the coming of the Lord is so close that most of us have the hope of being alive in the flesh to witness it. Additionally, it is profoundly clear that we can only recognize the signs of the coming of the Lord, but we cannot know the exact day or hour of the Lord’s coming.

Although the Lord Jesus Christ may come at any time within the next two years and three months or twenty-two years and five months if we count from January 1^st, 2018, we should still eat, marry, study, and work as we normally would in the name of the Lord. As the Word clearly states, on the day of the Lord’s coming, the people of God are living and working normally:

“Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matthew 24:40-41)

Only the heretics attempt to determine the exact day and hour of the Lord’s coming and call people to leave their normal lives to gather at some place on a certain day to witness and make an event out of His coming.

Some of the heretics use the words of the Apostle Paul to argue that because the Lord is coming soon, the people of God need not to marry:

“Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” (I Corinthians 7:1)

“I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.” (I Corinthians 7:26)

However, after writing verse 1, Paul immediately wrote verse 2:

“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”

Verse 26 is Paul’s reference to the persecution that the Church experienced under Emperor Nero. It is only relevant to the people of God who are or will be persecuted for their faith. Moreover, the coming of the Lord is not a disaster. It is important that each of us lives by the call and gift of God.

“But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.” (I Corinthians 7:17)

If the Lord gives us a share of celibacy to serve the Lord, then we should continue to be celibate as Paul was (Matthew 19:10-12). However, keep in mind that God determined that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Therefore, unless the Lord calls and blesses us to be celibate, we cannot use our own power to live alone.

If God gives us the right to marry to avoid sexual misconduct, to serve God more effectively, to uphold one another’s faith (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), and/or to receive children as eternal inheritance from God (Psalms 127:3), then we should marry. Also, whoever shall be pregnant when the Lord comes, the child in the womb will still be considered an eternal inheritance from God. That means that the child has a certain place in the kingdom of God, for the Lord Jesus Christ said to let the children come to Him (Matthew 19:14).

Regarding the hypotheses mentioned above, we favor the third hypothesis. We expect that the Lord will come at any time, but hope that it won’t be more than nine years, three months, and three weeks from January 1^st, 2018.

We call on all the people of God to live each day to wait in readiness for the Lord, as He may come in our next breath. Live in such a way that your thoughts, words, and actions would glorify God, giving no offence to anyone so that many will be saved (I Corinthians 10:31-33).

May the love, grace, and fellowship of God be with you and help you to want and do the will of God (Philippians 2:13). Amen!

Pastor Timothy Christian Huynh and Priscilla Christian Huynh
Edited by Grace Christian Huynh
12/30/2017

Notes:

A. Link to download pdf file of this article:
https://od.lk/d/MV8xNjQ2NDg5NzRf/201801_Hosea_6_1-2AndTheEndOfTheWorld_2.pdf

B. Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures in this article are quoted from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2018. www.kingjamesbibleonline.org.

C. Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible uses a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as “*God”. We understand that “God” without a definite article was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. “God” with a definite article was used to refer to only God the Father. In Biblical Greek, the noun CHRIST always has the definite article to denote the Lord Jesus, so we translate it into English as “*Christ.”

[1] https://preachingfromthebible.net/hosea-61-2-and-the-end-of-the-world/

[2] https://preachingfromthebible.net/dates-of-the-lords-resurrection-and-pentecost/

[3] Psalms 90:10 “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”