Hosea 6 is a prophecy of Israel's national revival and restoration: after two days (2,000 years) God will revive them, and in the third day (the Kingdom) they will live in His sight.
Les Feldick teaches that the passage records Israel's words after God's chastisement, promising that God will heal and bind them up. He interprets the 'two days' as two thousand years since Christ's rejection at the cross, and the 'third day' as the coming Millennial Kingdom when Christ will rule from Jerusalem.
Hosea 6:1-3 — The entire prophecy is found here — Israel's call to return, the torn/smitten discipline, the healing, the revival after two days, and life in God's sight on the third day.
The passage begins with a collective call: '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' (Hosea 6:1). The nation is speaking; it acknowledges that God has torn and smitten, but it looks ahead to healing and binding up. Verse 2 continues: 'After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.' Verse 3 adds, 'Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.' The text itself does not define the length of the days; it simply declares that the God who afflicted will revive, raise, and be known by His people.
Les Feldick reads Hosea 6 as a prophecy addressed to the nation of Israel, not to the Church. He emphasizes that the pronouns in verse 1 ('us,' 'He will heal us') are Israel's words after God has chastised and disciplined the nation (Hosea 6:1; clips 3, 5). The 'torn' and 'smitten' language refers to the discipline Israel has suffered, while 'He will heal us' and 'bind us up' point to future national restoration (clips 1, 3, 5). This restoration, in Les's teaching, comes after 'two days.' Because Peter says a day is as a thousand years, Les interprets the two days as two thousand years since the cross; the 'third day' is the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ will rule from Jerusalem and Israel will live in His sight (clips 1, 2, 6). He sees the modern return of Jews to their homeland — especially since 1948 — as the beginning of this promised revival (clips 1, 6). Les also connects the prophecy to Christ's departure: Israel rejected and crucified the Messiah, but Jesus went to glory with the promise that He would return, just as He told the Twelve on the Mount of Olives (clip 4). The entire passage is thus a covenant promise to Israel of a coming King and Kingdom after a long period of dispersion and discipline.
Les says the pronouns in verse 1 refer to the nation of Israel. When the text says 'He hath torn, and He will heal us,' it is Israel acknowledging that God has chastised them, but promising future healing and binding up (clips 3, 5).
Using Peter's equation that a day is as a thousand years, Les reads 'after two days' as two thousand years, during which Israel has been dispersed and disciplined after the cross. 'In the third day' is the Millennial Kingdom, when God will raise Israel up and they will live in His sight, with Christ ruling from Jerusalem (clips 1, 2, 6).
Les sees the modern return of Jews to their homeland — especially the establishment of Israel as a state in 1948 — as evidence of God reviving the nation after roughly two thousand years. Bible scholars expected it; the world did not (clips 1, 6).
Les explains that Israel rejected and crucified the Messiah the first time, so the Lord went back to glory — not to forget Israel, but to return just as He promised the Twelve on the Mount of Olives. Hosea 6 looks forward to the day when Israel finally longs for that returning Messiah (clip 4).
Les notes that Hosea was told to marry an unfaithful woman; just as she was restored to her husband at the end of the book, Israel — adulterous throughout the Old Testament — will one day be restored, with her past put behind her (clip 7).
Israel's Future King and Kingdom
Les points to promises of a future king and kingdom, showing the context in which Hosea's restoration prophecy will be fulfilled.
Two Days as Two Thousand Years
Les interprets 'after two days' as 2,000 years and says God is already reviving Israel through the modern return to the land.
The Third Day as the Millennium
Les explains the two days as the two thousand years since the cross and the third day as the coming Millennial Kingdom when Israel will be raised up nationally.
Israel Is the Speaker
Les identifies the pronouns in Hosea 6:1 as the nation of Israel, acknowledging that God has torn and smitten but will heal and bind up.
The Returning Messiah
Les compares Christ's ascension to General MacArthur's 'I shall return,' explaining that the Messiah is coming back to Israel.
Divine Chastisement and Healing
Les explains that torn/smitten refers to God's discipline of Israel and 'He will bind us up' promises future restoration.
The Kingdom Rule From Jerusalem
Les applies 'after two days' to Israel's modern revival and 'third day' to the Kingdom when Christ will be present, ruling from Jerusalem.
Hosea's Marriage as a Picture of Israel
Les uses the restoration of Hosea's unfaithful wife as a picture of Israel's future restoration after her adulterous past.
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.
Israel's opening words acknowledge divine tearing and smiting while expecting healing and binding up.
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.
The 'two days' and 'third day' are the heart of Les's interpretation of Israel's revival and Kingdom.
Hosea 6:3: Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Israel's future knowing of the LORD is tied to following on to know Him.
The nation of Israel. Les points out that the pronouns 'us' and 'we' in the verses are Israel speaking after God's discipline. They acknowledge that He has torn and smitten them, but they expect Him to heal and bind them up (clips 3, 5).
Les interprets 'two days' as two thousand years, based on Peter's statement that a day is as a thousand years to God. He applies these two thousand years to the time since Israel's rejection of Christ at the cross; 'the third day' is the coming Millennial Kingdom when Israel will live in His sight (clips 1, 2).
About Israel. He repeatedly identifies the passage's pronouns as the nation of Israel and places the prophecy in the context of Israel's future King, Kingdom, and restoration, not the Church (clips 3, 4, 5).
Watch the Teaching: Will God Restore the Kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6 Explained