The Dry Bones in Ezekiel’s vision are coming to life before our very eyes!

The Dry Bones in Ezekiel’s vision are coming to life before our very eyes!

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.

And shall put... Also when God restores Israel nationally, He will renew them spiritually. He will put His Spirit in Israel. The breath of life the corpses received symbolized the Holy Spirit, promised in Israel’s New Covenant (cf. Eze. 36:24-28).

place you in... Your own land—the promised land of Israel.

then shall ye know... Then—when all this is fulfilled you (all Israel) will know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it. All this remains to be completely fulfilled. Of course it is now beginning to be fulfilled and a sufficient number of Jews have already gone back to their land to make a nation; they have had a nation since A.D. 1948. The prophecy will continue in fulfillment until the whole house of Israel is gathered back at the second coming of Christ to the earth. It is said that about 10,000 Jews or Israelites a month are returning to their own land. Israel is becoming a greater nation every year, but the complete fulfillment of these predictions will not be until the Millennium. The predictions of Eze. 34:11-31; Eze. 36:1-38; Eze. 37:1-28 and many other chapters remain to be fulfilled in the future.

Throughout Scripture, God told His prophets that He will regather, restore, and establish the Jewish people to their promised homeland in Israel.

Jeremiah, Isaiah, Zechariah, and Ezekiel all prophesied that the Jews would be regathered to Israel far in the future—even after the Romans exiled most of them to the four corners of the earth almost 2,000 years ago.
In particular, many believe Ezekiel’s prophecy in chapter 37 of his book is unfolding before our eyes.
In fact, May, 14 2019 the state of Israel will celebrate its 71st anniversary (according to the Gregorian calendar) since it became a modern state on May 14, 1948.

The Israelites residing in Israel today are not the fulfillment of this prophecy. But it will be fulfilled when God regathers believing Israelites to the land (Jer. 31:33; Jer. 33:14-16), when Christ returns to establish His kingdom (cf. Mat. 24:30-31).

A Nation in Need of Restoration

During the time of Yeshua (Jesus), the Jewish people survived as second-class citizens in the Holy Land, enduring much hardship.

More tragically, after the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, most of the Jews were dispersed to the four corners of the earth. Only a small percentage remained in the Holy Land over the centuries.

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.

then He said... Then—when the vision is completed, the interpretation was given so that there would be no misunderstanding of the true meaning.

these bone are... The vision concerns Israel, not dead churches or Gentiles, as often taught. These bones are the whole house of Israel, not dried up churches.

they say, our... Three things Israel said:

1. Our bones are dried.

2. Our hope is lost.

3. We are cut off.
That certainly describes what so many Jewish people have been feeling for centuries, after enduring social, economic, and political restrictions, deportations, ghettos, persecutions, pogroms, and eventually the mass extermination of more than one-half of all living Jews (6 million) during the Holocaust.

And that is the utter despair that God shows Ezekiel.
First, God takes Ezekiel by the Spirit to a valley where His glory once resided, just as God's glory once resided in Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 3:27)
As shown above, God takes the prophet again to a valley. However, this time, he sees piles of dried up bones, which God identifies as the House of Israel.

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

And he said... This vividly illustrates the promise of Eze. 36:1-38. God had just announced that Israel will be restored to her land in blessing under the leadership of David her king. However, this seemed remote in light of Israel’s present condition. She was “dead” as a nation — deprived of her land, her king, and her temple. She had been divided and dispersed for so long that unification and restoration seemed impossible. So God gave two signs (Eze. 37:1-14 and Eze. 37:15-28) to Ezekiel to illustrate the fact of restoration and confirm the promises just made.

But God knows that they will live!
God declares that although He will punish Israel for their sins, He will never destroy them completely (Jeremiah 30:11). Instead, He alone will be the one to restore Israel:
"I will build you and you will be rebuilt." (Jeremiah 31:4)
"I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth." (Jeremiah 31:8)
"I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn." (Jeremiah 31:9)

So, God tells Ezekiel:

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: (Ezekiel 37:4–5)

ye dry bones... Israel is here symbolized under the figure of a valley of dry bones being brought back to life in the bodies of a great army of men. It pictures scattered Israel being brought back from the nations and living again as a nation themselves, in their own land, as explained in Eze. 37:11-28.

God then directed Ezekiel to prophesy to these bones. The content of his message was God’s promised restoration:

I will cause... I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. “Breath” (rûaḥ) could also be translated “wind” or “spirit.” In Eze. 37:14 the same word is translated “Spirit.”

God's Spirit Arises

God is so good and merciful to His people that Ezekiel prophesies an end-time spiritual awakening for them!

Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23)

Then God repeated the blessings to be bestowed on the people in the land. They will have an eternal inheritance there and David… will be their prince. God’s covenant of peace (cf. Eze. 36:15; Isa. 54:10) will be established with them, and His presence will remain with them forever (in contrast with the departing of His glory, Ezek. 9-11). The visible reminder of God’s presence will be His sanctuary, His dwelling place.

so shall they... Then again God added, I will be their God, and they will be My people (cf. Eze. 11:20; Eze. 14:11; Eze. 36:28; Eze. 37:23). These promises anticipate the detailed plans for God’s new sanctuary (chaps. 40-43). This literal structure will serve as a visual object lesson to Israel and the nations of God’s presence in the midst of His people.

“. . . I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” (Zechariah 13:7–9)

Yet, not all the Jewish people in Israel will survive the last days. God will bring one-third of them through the Refiner’s Fire as they come to know their Messiah of Israel, God in the flesh.

Today, there are about 20,000 Jewish Believers in Israel, which means that more than 99% of the Jewish people in Israel do not know their Messiah Yeshua.

The good news is that the spiritual awakening has begun!

We do know that one day God will bring them all home.  And we know He will continue bringing spiritual awakening to His Chosen People because He promised it through His prophets.