“In the Third Day He Will Raise Us Up” — Could Hosea 6:2 Point Toward the Return of Jesus Christ and the Rapture (KJV)

August 17, 2026 | www.gospelofjesuschrist.blog | River Wilde

There are certain verses in the Bible that can suddenly take on remarkable significance when they are placed beside other scriptures. Hosea 6:2 may be one of them.

Hosea 6:2 — KJV

“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

What exactly does this mean?

In its immediate context, Hosea is speaking about Israel returning to the LORD and being restored by Him. We should never remove that meaning from the passage.

But could God have placed within these words a larger prophetic pattern?

Could the words “after two days” and “in the third day” also point toward something much greater—the eventual return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom?

Let’s “investigate” this intriguing possibility through the Scriptures.

A Day with the Lord Can Be as a Thousand Years

Many of you are very fimilure with this scripture:

2 Peter 3:8 — KJV

“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.”

Peter wasn’t giving us a mathematical formula for calculating the date of Christ’s return. In fact, the surrounding passage warns us about God’s timing and teaches that He does not experience time as mortal mankind does. But notice something fascinating.

If one day can prophetically picture one thousand years, then:

One day = 1,000 years

Two days = 2,000 years

The third day = the next 1,000 years

Now let’s read that scripture in Hosea again:

“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

Suddenly, the wording becomes extremely interesting.

Jesus Christ Came Approximately 2,000 Years Ago

Nearly two thousand years have passed since the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. For almost two millennia, Jesus has been physically absent from this earth.

But Scripture promises that He will return.

Acts 1:11 — KJV

“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

Jesus left. Jesus is presently in heaven. And Jesus is coming back.

Now consider the possibility represented by Hosea’s language:

After two days… Approximately two thousand years, then “in the third day…” what happens?

“he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

He will raise us up! That should certainly get the attention of anyone studying Bible prophecy. It gets mine! But, let’s keep digging to see what else we can find about this.

Jesus Himself Rose on the Third Day

There is another reason the language is so fascinating. Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that He would rise on the third day.

Matthew 16:21 — KJV

“…he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”

Christ’s resurrection literally occurred on the third day.

Death appeared to have won. Christ’s followers waited. Then came the third day, and everything changed. The stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.

Jesus Christ was alive!

That makes Hosea’s language particularly striking:

“in the third day he will raise us up…”

Throughout Scripture, the third day repeatedly appears in connection with God’s intervention, deliverance, restoration, and resurrection.

Then Comes Another Astonishing Connection

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ will eventually return and establish His Kingdom. And how long will that Kingdom last? You know this answer…

One thousand years.

Revelation 20:6 — KJV

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power… and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Think about this pattern. Approximately:

First 1,000 years = Day One

Second 1,000 years = Day Two

Then comes another period of:

1,000 years = the Third Day

And the thing that characterizes that coming period has always been one consistent thing…Jesus Christ is present.

Now compare that with Hosea:

“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

“We shall live in HIS SIGHT.”

If the pattern is intentional, those words are remarkable.

For approximately two thousand years, believers have walked by faith without physically seeing Jesus Christ. But a day is coming when Christ will return.

The “Third Day;” the Millennial Reign of Christ

Revelation describes a future thousand-year period in which Christ reigns.

Revelation 20:4 — KJV

“…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Notice the similarity.

Hosea:

“we shall live in his sight.”

Revelation:

“they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Again, we must be careful.

Hosea 6:2 does not explicitly say, “Two thousand years after Christ’s first coming, He will return.”

The Bible does not give us permission to rewrite the verse that way.

But when Hosea 6:2 is placed alongside 2 Peter 3:8 and Revelation 20, there is a fascinating pattern worthy of serious consideration.

Could Hosea’s “third day” contain a prophetic shadow of the age in which mankind will once again live in the physical presence of Jesus Christ?

But whether or not the “two days” represent exactly two thousand years, the conclusion of Scripture remains unchanged:

Jesus Christ is coming again.

And one day, those who belong to Him will no longer simply wait for Him.

We will be with Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:17–18 — KJV

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

I hope that this information gives you more conclusive evidence to what we have been studying. I must once again ask you to take all of your end-times studying to God in prayer and to let HIM be the one that confirms all truth.

See you soon.