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The Premillennial Prophecy of Hosea
One of the most compelling aspects of premillennialism is its ability to weave together the prophecies of the Old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament into a unified, consistent narrative of the future. Far from being a patchwork of disconnected predictions, the Bible’s message offers a clear and cohesive vision of what lies ahead. While major prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah often take center stage in this discussion, the prophet Hosea offers a profound yet underappreciated glimpse into Israel’s future—a future marked by exile, repentance, and ultimate restoration. Hosea’s message may be lesser-known, but it holds vital insights into God’s plan for His people in the latter days. The Context of Hosea 3 Hosea 3 starts with a command to Hosea: “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress” (v. 1). Although some scholars think this refers to a different…
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Hosea’s Kindergarten Disaster and the Bloodshed of Jezreel
The names of the children of the prophet Hosea surely raised eyebrows in the Hebrew kindergartens of ancient Israel. God told Hosea to name the first child Jezreel, which means “May God sow” or “God will scatter.” The name could either be a blessing or a curse depending on how one looked at it. Furthermore, the Jezreel valley was notoriously known as a location of much fighting and bloodshed (1 Samuel 29:1-2 Samuel 2:8, 1 Kings 21:1, 2 Kings 9:24ff). One child with a strange symbolic name was not enough. Hosea’s second child was given the name Lo-Ruhamah, meaning “Not loved” or “Unloved.” Can you imagine the awkwardness during roll call when that name came up? “Is ‘unloved’ here?” For Hosea’s third child, God told Hosea name him Lo-Ammi, which means “Not my people.” Each of these names were rather shocking to the Israelites. Most importantly, they were symbolic names…