Over six years ago I viewed an internet sermon given by a preacher of a huge megachurch in Florida. His sermon was entitled, “The Valley of Dry Bones” and was his exposition and explanation of the 37th chapter of Ezekiel. He called this passage a parable. He is not alone in that appraisal. I have heard many preachers and Bible teachers refer to that passage as a parable. It is NOT a parable at all, but a prophecy, a prophecy yet to be fulfilled. It is a blow-by-blow account and description of how God is someday going to resurrect ALL the dead Israelites of ages past and return them to their ancient homeland in the land of Israel. This prophecy was NOT fulfilled in 1948 when Israel became a sovereign nation and some FEW Jews returned to the land of Israel. If these deluded preachers would only let God say what He says, they wouldn’t be so susceptible to Satan’s blinding power.
God says in the passage (Ezekiel 37:1-14) “Thus says 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” – yes, FROM THEIR GRAVES! (See Ezekiel 37:12). This passage is NOT speaking of living Jews returning to Israel from various countries around the globe following the close of the Second World War. It is speaking of ALL the dead descendants of Abraham being brought back to physical life and returned to their ancient homeland.
The millions of Jews incinerated in the ovens of Dachau and Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Belsen will be resurrected to mortal temporary physical existence along with all the other dead Israelites of centuries past and returned to Israel. There they will live and prosper and be properly instructed in the truths of God and granted lengthy lifespans that will give them time to hear, accept and walk in God’s statutes and judgments. See Zechariah chapters 10, 12 and 13 and Isaiah chapter 65.
In Isaiah 65:20 God reveals to us that after Jesus Christ returns to earth and sets up His kingdom if some human dies at the age of a hundred it will be as though they died in their childhood! Human life will once again be expanded to the ages of early man – hundreds and hundreds of years! After that the Gentile dead of ages past will be resurrected from China, and Japan, and Babylon, and every other nation. They, too will be granted long lives. Then they, too, will be given their FIRST opportunity to be granted God’s Holy Spirit, forgiven all their past sins – including the sin of idolatry – and redeemed to enjoy immortality and eternal life with those of us already redeemed and possessing God’s Spirit! See Zechariah 2:10-13 and Habakkuk 2:14. To say God is fair is a gross understatement. God is most worthy of our daily adoration and worship.
Notice carefully the detailed information God gives the reader in Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel says, “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 (signifying these are the skeletal remains of people who have been dead a very long, long time). And he said unto me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ (God is asking his prophet if he thinks God has the power to resurrect and return to life great numbers of folks who have been dead for many centuries). And I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.'” (Verses 1 through 4, Ezekiel 37). Ezekiel as much as says, “O Lord, you are the Almighty God. Nothing is too hard for you!”
“Again he said unto me, ‘Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God unto these bones, behold I will cause breath to enter into you, AND YOU SHALL LIVE!” (Ezekiel 37:4-5).
God now describes a resurrection to mortal, physical existence – not the type of resurrection spoken of by Paul in I Corinthians 15:35-44, which will be a resurrection to immortality and a spirit body. Notice, “And I will lay sinews (muscle) upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know (then – at that time) that I am the Lord (not Baal, not Dagon, not Molech)” (verse 6).
Now notice, God is having his prophet Ezekiel do the actual resurrecting of these long dead Israelites: “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.” (verses 7 and 8). Ezekiel watches as these bones come together, forming complete skeletons and then complete corpses. But still they remain without life – just dead bodies lying all over the valley, hundreds, thousands, even hundreds of thousands of them.
“Then said he (God) unto me, ‘Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” (verse 9). “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” (verse 10). Not just thousands, but hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. But, take note, God has used this human servant to perform the resurrecting of these long dead Israelites just as He used Elijah and Elisha and Paul and Peter to raise the dead. The overcoming, faithful servants of the Lord of all ages will also be used in a similar fashion. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also (raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, etc.), and greater works than these shall he do…” (See John 14:12). Jesus only raised three: Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow of Nain and Lazarus. God’s immortal redeemed once human servants will be utilized by Him to raise BILLIONS!
God clearly declares the “valley of dry bones” account is NOT a parable, flatly stating, “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!” (Ezekiel 37:12). Not one single solitary Jew, or Israelite, was resurrected from the dead and returned to Israel in 1948 – not a one!
“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 you shall live (eternally), and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:13-14). God help you to understand.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley