The Valley of Dry Bones: Ezekiel’s Prophetic Vision
Introduction
In Ezekiel chapter 37 we are introduced to a unique vision that the prophet Ezekiel was given by God, which is not yet fully understood by many professing believers today. This teacher has noted that some have been instructed that the dry bones prophecy of Ezekiel 37 only has to do with a future literal National Israel, consisting of believing Jews, who will at some future time be gathered together in Israel when, according to their belief, Jesus will return to establish a physical Millennial Kingdom on this earth, headquartered in literal physical Jerusalem. This is not only an incorrect understanding, it is, in fact, a lie!
The Ezekiel prophecy is in reality not only a marvelous picture of the resurrection of the soul upon salvation, but also points to the fulfillment of the believer’s salvation, the resurrection of each believer’s body on the last day. There is a wonderful connection of the first and second resurrections by the language used in Ezekiel.
The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones
Let us now read the account in full as translated from the original Hebrew by the King James translators to see what is being said along with God’s explanation of what the vision means.
Ezekiel 37:1-10, “¶The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which [was] full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, [there were] very many in the open valley; and, lo, [they were] very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. ¶Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. ¶So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but [there was] no breath in them.¶ Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the LordGOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.“
The Vision Explained
Ezekiel 37:11-14, “¶Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the LORD.“
Looking Closer for Understanding
We need to review the sequence of events to provide us with a context. The first thing that should be understood is that given this is a vision obtained via the prophet Ezekiel having been ‘carried out in the spirit of the LORD‘. So we can clearly see that this is a “spiritual” event that would unfold before him. It is not a literal event, but a prophetic spiritual event, and hence it must be viewed as a parable, as is the case with other spiritual events found in the Bible. We are also provided with insights from God to help us interpret this parable, but even then, the true meaning can be missed if the words are taken at only face value (in only a literal sense).
That said, we see that Ezekiel is placed in a valley of dry bones. The remains of the many dead are not only dead peoples’ bones, they are dry bones, “very dry” bones. God asked Ezekiel if the bones could “live”, and Ezekiel rightly replied, “O Lord GOD, thou knowest.“
We next read that Ezekiel is commanded by God to “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” The Word of God is the Gospel of Salvation through The Person and Work of the LORDJesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and His Words are Life as we read in John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.” So Ezekiel took upon the role of serving as a “preacher”, faithfully proclaiming the Word of God to a spiritually dead world (which has been the case ever since the Fall of Adam). Looking around the world today you can see billions of walking dead, although they are all physically alive, the vast majority are spiritually dead. Then there are those who are indeed physically dead, but who died as believers (although their souls are in Heaven already 2 Corinthians 5:8 ), who constitute the true Eternal Israel of God who are awaiting the Resurrection of their physical bodies to be reunited with their souls as Glorified spiritual bodies on the last day when Jesus returns from Heaven on the clouds of Glory (surrounded by His Saints).
Remember what we are told in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, “¶Now thanks [be] unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one [we are] the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who [is] sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.“
The next thing we read is that God tells Ezekiel to proclaim His Word, “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.”
Then Ezekiel did as he was commanded and he proclaimed those words and there was a great shaking and the bodies reassembled and were physically complete, “but [there was] no breath in them.” The bodies were still physically dead bodies. So then God said to Ezekiel, “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” We next read that again Ezekiel did as he was commanded by God and “the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.“
God’s Explanation
God next explains to Ezekiel that these bones represent the bones of His people, “The whole house of Israel.” We read in Ezekiel 37:11-24 “…these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. So God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the LORD.“
National Israel in Ezekiel’s day certainly appeared to be totally doomed in despair being in bondage. They thought their hope was gone and that they had been cut off forever. And we know for a fact that National Israel was indeed temporally “revived“, and restored to its own land after the awful seventy years in captivity as we read in Ezra 9:9, “For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”
Nonetheless, that revival of National Israel was established by God for the purpose of serving as an earthly precedent “Sign” and “Type” for the future spiritual revival of the Eternal Israel of God, the Church of Jesus Christ, that will be both eternal and heavenly. And the earthly restoration of National Israel was absolutely necessary in order to herald the birth of The LORD Jesus Christ in Bethlehem at the time appointed, as was precisely prophesied in Daniel Chapter 9.
However, there are many professing Christians and theologians who claim that God still has a special plan and place for National Israel in a future great awakening, in some type of New Dispensation (and which is being widely taught in many “Christian” churches today).
So then, was God only referring to the National Israel of the Old Testament being prepared for some future earthly kingdom on this sin cursed earth ?, or, rather, is God talking about a future revival of a combination of a remnant taken from National Israel saved by Grace, along with the Gentiles similarly saved by Grace from out of the entire world, primarily during the New Testament era prepared to live forever in the New Jerusalem in “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.“(2 Peter 3:13)? All of which we been done in accordance with God’s Will through the Person and Work of The Son of God, Jesus Christ, by His Atoning Sacrifice for sin.
It can only be the latter! There are NOT two different dispensations, there is only One Dispensation! There is only ONE Gospel of Grace, which spans all of history and applies to both Jew and Gentile alike (the remnant of sinful mankind saved by Grace alone through faith), and it has always been the case and will always be the case right up until Judgment Day.
God indicated that this would be the case many Old Testament passages like Malachi 1:11, “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.” This point was also expounded upon in Romans 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.“
The people of God, for which physical National Israel previously served as a “Type” was always intended to be superseded in “Substance” by the spiritual Eternal Israel that has, is, and will be all those who are “born again” by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit “quickens” (makes alive) and truly “revives” the believer, and makes that otherwise completely dead soul to “Live” forever with Jesus Christ, our LORD God and Savior!
Being Born Again?
Everyone who lives, or has ever lived or will ever live is “spiritually” dead in trespasses and sins. There for to have “newness of life“, a person has to be born again, not physically, but spiritually! Jesus made this clear in John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” and in John 3:7, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Then God expanded on this point in 1 Peter 1:3, “¶Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” and later in 1 Peter 1:23, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.“
The Holy Spirit, Likened to the Wind, Is The Breath of Eternal Life
Looking back again at Ezekiel 37:9&10, we saw where God told Ezekiel to “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Does this not match precisely with what Jesus said in John 3:7&8, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
To prophesy is to preach the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ. And we also know that Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“
We also read in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (and please read Romans 6:5-23 to see the full context and meaning).
The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus Provides Another Metaphor
The resurrection from the dead of the man named Lazarus is another interesting Historical Parable in that it is a real historical account that also has a spiritual implication. The account is quite detailed as we find it in John 11:1-44,
“¶Now a certain [man] was sick, [named]Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was [that] Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. ¶ When Jesus heard [that], he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. ¶ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to [his] disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. ¶[His] disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? ¶ Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. ¶Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. ¶Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. ¶Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.¶Then when Jesus came, he found that he had [lain] in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. ¶Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat [still] in the house.Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give [it] thee.¶Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ¶Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.¶Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ¶She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. ¶And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard [that], she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. ¶Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ¶When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. ¶Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! ¶And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? ¶Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been [dead ]four days. ¶Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said [it], that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.“
This historical parable was orchestrated by God to establish Jesus’s Authority as the Son of God, Who had the power to resurrect and bring life to the dead. Lazarus served as a “Type” of all believers, who are dead in trespasses and sins just like the dry bones. Every human being who has ever lived though “physically alive” was by nature “spiritually dead” because of the Fall of Adam. Remember that Lazarus was not “asleep”, but he was truly “dead”, having been in the tomb for four days, and his body was expected at that point to be only a rotting copse that “stinketh“. Jesus spoke loudly, and called Lazarus by name to come forth, and Lazarus arose from the dead in the grave. Note that in this resurrection model, Lazarus could not have heard anything because he was “dead”. However, Jesus empowered Lazarus to “hear” when He called Lazarus to “come forth“. We can also see how this fits in perfect harmony with what Jesus taught in both John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” and John 6:65, “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” Jesus was showing us that salvation is All of God. Salvation is of the Lord! (Jonah 2:9).
Note also the harmony with what we find in Psalm 65:4, “Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, [even] of thy holy temple.“
An Exceeding Great Army
The last words of Ezekiel’s vision were “an exceeding great army”. When Jesus returns on the Clouds of Glory on the Last Day, Judgment Day, Jesus will be accompanied by all of His Saints who had physically died but their souls went to Heaven. We know this directly in 1 Thessalonians 3:13, “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” Also in 1 Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
Remember also what we find in the clearly Messianic verses of Zechariah 14:4&5, where the verses end by declaring that on Judgment Day, Jesus will come with all of His saints with Him, “and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.”
But there are many other clear statements like Jude 1:14&15, regarding Judgment Day “…Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.“). Finally, in similar fashion, we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, we read, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.“
For more on this please see: “The Believers (The “Saints”) Will Be With Jesus in Bringing Judgment on Judgment Day!”
Conclusion
In John 5:25, Jesus made extremely clear the following, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.“
Jesus was not talking about restoring National Israel to life, but rather all those comprising the eternal Israel who would believe on him and truly “hear” the voice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Himself.
But then a few verses later, Jesus speaks of the “physically dead” in John 5:28&29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.“ Please review this post, “The Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye“.
God speaks of all those who are in the grave who, upon “hearing the voice” of the son of God, will come forth just like the army of revived dead bodies having the breath of life breathed into them after “hearing” the words of God prophesied to them exactly as foretold in Ezekiels vision that we read about in Ezekiel Chapter 37. On the other hand, those who are resurrected from the dead who had not earlier been granted the “ears to hear” the Gospel call, will be under Judgment unto damnation.
Remember what we are told by God by the hand of the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 4:7, “Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” The Apostle Paul was referring back to Psalm 95:7&8, “For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness:“
And let us all remember what God The Father said to the Apostles Peter, James, and John on The Mount of Transfiguration, in Matthew 17:5, “¶While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.“
One more thing…When we look at the last few verses of Luke 16 we see the parable of the rich man in Hell crying out to Abraham (while holding Lazarus) in Heaven to send messengers to his brothers who haven’t died yet so that they could be warned to repent and avoid Hell, we read the following: “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he (the rich man in Hell) said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he (Abraham) said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” The one rose from the dead was not just Lazarus, it was The LORD Jesus Christ! And then we are reminded again of Matthew 17:5, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”!!!
God has set a “certain day”, Judgment Day, when His people would enter into that eternal rest. It is the Gospel Dispensation. Not the “rest” provided in a temporal “Type”, but that which is provided in reality for eternity.
2 Corinthians 6:2, “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)“
The reality, and not the “Type”, will manifest itself when Jesus returns on Judgment Day.
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Tags: Bible, ezekiel, God, Jesus, pentecost
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