The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4387

My Hi-lite:   Ezekiel 37:1  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,
2  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.
3  And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5  Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6  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.
7  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.
8  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.
9  Then said he unto me, 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.
10  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.
11  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.

Before we get to the dry bones please read the following background material.

Our Father has a simple method of drawing very colorful and impressively graphic pictures in our mind's eye so that we can SEE a visual representation of things which are unseen, invisible, i.e. spiritual. In fact the Apostle Paul explains this in Romans 1:20:

Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

If you understand what the symbols represent in an analogy then that which is being taught will be made very simple and easy to understand by the imagery etched in your mind. The proverb "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true, and it is a well documented and established fact that people remember far more of what they SEE than what they hear or read, even if what they SEE is only in their mind's eye, i.e. a picture which they have mentally created! God knows that, of course, which is exactly why the Holy Spirit gives us so many simple pictures, models, and plays to see and watch in His Word.

However, if you do not understand what the symbols represent, you will then scratch your head in wonderment and declare that which has been made so simple to be confusing, complex and mysterious, which is the way many folks describe the plain and simple Word of God.

Are you familiar with what God's elect, His watchmen, will be doing in the last days? Yes, they will be teaching His Word, but there also comes a time when they are to be delivered up.

Here it is in Christ's own words as recorded in the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 13:9
But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

[10] And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

How is this proclaiming of the gospel among ALL NATIONS going to be accomplished? Is man going to do it, or is God going to do it? Here is your answer:

[11] But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Has there ever been anything like it before? Yes there has! Remember what happened on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter 2? Let's go there because this is important to understanding Ezekiel 37.

Acts 2:1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

[2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

[3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

[4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now, as these men of God were speaking "the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11), which by the way every person present out of every nation present clearly heard spoken in his own language, some were making false accusations against them of being drunk, etc. But Peter stood up and said "No, these men are not drunk. This is an example of what will happen in the last days (which we just read about in Mark 13)."

Then Peter quoted His documentation from the book of the prophet Joel. In other words, Peter spoke in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord GOD", "here's what the Word of God says."

Acts 2:16
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

And they now understand the "visions" Ezekiel saw too, including the highly polished spectrum metal circular whirling vehicle which came out of the north sky, let down its landing gear, and landed right in front of him!

They also understand the dreams of Daniel, etc., even king Nebuchadnezzar's dreams! And the Word of God is being taught chapter by chapter and line by line by those sons and daughters, the "children of the prophets" (Acts 3:25).

But as we just read, there will come a time when the "WIND" comes rushing from heaven and the Holy Spirit is poured out on HIS servants and HIS handmaidens and they shall prophesy, to that WIND!

Here it is:

Acts 2:18
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

[19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Here Ezekiel was carried out "in the spirit of the LORD" in the same manner as was the apostle John in Rev. 1:10 (see note in Companion Bible), for what we are about to read is "end time" prophecy. Ezekiel was carried out and then set down (which also means "to dwell") in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. Can you PICTURE this in your mind? Can you see Ezekiel (picture yourself if you are a watchman) standing in a huge valley (actually it's a "plain" in Hebrew) surrounded by skeletons, "bones"! Ezekiel has got to be thinking, "I don't imagine I'm here for a fun vacation."

Notice that if you are a servant of the LORD, an appointed watchman, and He has a job for you to do, He can easily just take you by the hand and set you to work in the midst of the field!Or He could carry you to your job in the belly of big fish, like Jonah. Attitude can be important, you know.

We are going to be given some more details of this dismal scene, but first let's jump ahead to verse 11 and learn right away what these "bones" symbolize:

Ezekiel 37:11
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:

Here's a good question, "Why use "bones" to represent "people" when we can clearly SEE people?" Because the bones represent a characteristic, a condition, of the people. You see, though they are "physically alive" and walking around, let's say Times Square, the people of the whole house of Israel are "spiritually dead", a condition of the soul which you can't SEE with your flesh eyes. But you can see a valley full of dead bones, can't you?

Let's continue. So far we have learned that Ezekiel, who is a type of God's elect in the final generation, was sent by God to dwell among his people, the spiritually dead house of Israel, in the last days just before the restoration of the Millennium which we have been discussing in these last few chapters. We are actually going to SEE how that restoration begins and how God uses the ministry of the watchman to help bring it about. Again, let there be no doubt, lest any man should boast, it is the Lord GOD who does the restoring, not man. This chapter will document that!

[2] 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.

It is because of the spiritual famine (no bread of life) and the spiritual drought (no living water) of these last days:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

[13] In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

Ezekiel 37:3
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

[4] Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

[5] Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

Ezekiel 37:6
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 Ezekiel did exactly as he was commanded by God, without question or argument. Teach, teach, teach!

Let see what results there are.

[7] 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.

[8] 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.

Let's do a current day reality check ourselves. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, consider now the whole house of Israel. As His watchman, look now out over the valley of the dry bones and consider how many, out of the many, many dry bones (vs. 2), have the "breath" in them! How are we doing? Consider all the true teaching of God's elect, His watchmen, from 24 hour satellite, to internet, to radio, to local Bible studies, to one on one encounters! Have the majority of the whole house of Israel been "sealed" with the living Word of God?

Do you know how many out of the whole house of Israel will be sealed before the 6th Trump sounds and the archangel Michael, who is "holding back" Satan and his angels, casts them out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and the devil himself appears on earth, in person, claiming to be the Messiah? Not very many. Thus saith the Word of God:

Let's read verse 8 again  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.

Rev. 7:1
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

[2] And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Things change rapidly when this happens, for the great apostasy spoken of by Paul in 2 Thes. 2 takes place and the whole world, with the exception of God's very elect, will bow and worship antichrist as if he were God. Satan will claim that he is the Messiah returned and he will perform miracles in the sight of men to show that he really is! It will be overwhelmingly convincing! However, as it is documented in Rev. 9:5, his personal appearance has been shortened to five months. So Flight 666 departing from heaven and arriving on earth has been delayed due to ground work in the bone yard by the watchmen!

Rev. 7:3
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Let's return to Ezekiel chapter 37, verse 9, where now these "four winds" are brought into the picture of Ezekiel's ministry. Why? Because when they are released and antichrist and his angels are here, the example set forth in Acts chapter 2, of the prophecy quoted from Joel in Acts 2:18 (above), takes place and the "WIND" the Holy Spirit of God, will "breath" and proclaim the gospel through His servants and His handmaidens upon the slain.

Ezekiel 37:9
Then said he unto me, 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.

[10] 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.

Ezekiel 37:11
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.

[12] 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.

[13] 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,

[14] 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.

Have you ever given any thought to how it is that Christians sing in their hymnals about and say prayers unto "the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" and then turn right around and refer to them as Jews! Think about this. None of those three were Jews, for Judah was a son of Jacob (see chart below). Do you know that the words Hebrew, Israelite, and Judah (Jew) are NOT synonymous terms. God's appointed watchmen, those who have eaten the Scroll, the Word of God, and digested it in their bellies, do know the difference. In fact, they are instructed to educate their people about those differences and so it is a very important "end times" job of the watchmen.

Let's read about it.

Ezekiel 37:15
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

[16] Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

There is something so extremely important that our Father wants His watchman to continually teach it, all their lives! What is it?

It is the fact that the house of Judah IS NOT the house of Israel! They are split into two houses! Judah, along with their allotment of Levites and many from the tribe of Benjamin, comprise the "House of Judah", while Joseph, of whom the tribe of Ephraim was the largest, along with the rest of the 10 northern tribes comprise the other house, the "House of Israel". There are two houses, two sticks, NOT ONE!

Here is why this is so important:

If you do not understand these two houses, then you are not a watchman unto the house of Israel, for you know not who to watch over. Furthermore, if you do not understand who these two houses are, then you cannot possibly understand Bible prophecy! Here's the test question, "Can you show someone where the United States of America, which has many times more Bibles in the land than people, is mentioned in God's Word?" You should not only be able to do that, but as a watchman you are commanded to show the two sticks to the dry bones! That's what this section of the 37th chapter of Ezekiel is all about!

So here's what you do: You say to one of these bone heads when you encounter them, "Don't move, I'll be right back." Then go over to the nearest tree and rip off two small limbs... wait a minute! Check and make sure this action is not in violation of one the 57,002 environmental regulations in your township. Next, take a permanent black Sharpie and write "Judah" on one of the sticks, hand it to skeleton man*, and say, "Hold this up in your left hand a minute." Take the other stick and write "Joseph" on it and tell your sinew challenged friend to hold this up in his right hand.

Now say to him/her, "Are you holding one stick or two sticks?" If he says, "Wow man, I don't know", that means you are in a really arid section of town where the bones are becoming petrified, i.e. getting stoned. Just say "Ok dude" and go repeat this process perhaps in the suburbs somewhere. (This is a fairly close analogy to the teaching job of a watchman.)

Anyway, you've got the picture in your mind concerning the TWO sticks, not one stick, right?

*Note: Gender cannot be readily determined by looking at a skeleton. Gender is a thing of the flesh. So doesn't that make you wonder why all the prehistoric skeletons they discover are always called "men", you know, Neanderthal Man, Pilton Man, etc. Maybe those who made the discoveries were totally wrong and it was really Neanderthal Woman they found! Women just aren't treated equally with men in the theory of evolution.

For the less theatrical among us, there is another way to use "sticks" to demonstrate that which God wants His watchmen to continually educate the dry bones about, and that is simply to write on and hold up the two branches on the Family Tree, one for Judah and one for Joseph.

Here it is:

Now you know why... Ezekiel 37:16! By the way, the star of the House of Israel has 5 points on it. "5" in Biblical numerics means "grace", as in "God shed His grace on thee!" (See appendix 10 in the Companion Bible for the significance of numbers in scriptures.)

Let's continue with verse 17 where God now tells Ezekiel that once the two sticks have been shown to be two separate sticks, demonstrate that they will be joined together and become just one stick. This is prophecy and will happen at the restoration in the Millennium, which begins at the 7th Trump, the return of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 37:17
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

[18] And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

That is because they are two separate houses right now."

[19] Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

Ezekiel 37:20
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

In our last study we learned that there is something very important that our Father wants His watchman to continually teach, all their lives! And that something is who the lost tribes of the House of Israel really are. They are NOT the same as the house of Judah. They are TWO separate sticks, even two separate "branches" of the family tree. It so clearly written in God's Word that Judah was only one of the twelve sons of Israel (the name God gave to Jacob), so that while all Jews (of the tribe of Judah) are Israelites, the majority of Israelites are NOT Jews.

It also clearly written and should be common knowledge among Christians that following Solomon's reign over the whole house of Israel (all 12 tribes) that the kingdom was split into TWO separate houses, the northern 10 tribes retaining their name as the House of Israel and southern Judah along with Benjamin becoming known as the House of Judah. Anyone who has a Bible with maps in the appendix can find a map showing these two separate houses. So how is it that so many people think that the little nation in the Middle East is the whole house of Israel? Let's just say it is a case of mistaken ID (Ignorance and Deception).

We have read many times already in this incredible Book of Ezekiel that both the house of Israel, i.e. the 10 northern tribes, and later the southern house of Judah, were to be taken captive and scattered among the nations, and so they were. God's Word always comes to pass exactly as it is written. Even the early apostles knew where the tribes were scattered. Have you ever noticed that the apostle James addresses his book specifically to those twelve tribes which were already scattered abroad? What postal address did he use? You should know.

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Did you also know that the apostle Paul made it a point to tell us (twice) that he was not of Judah, but that he was a Benjamite, from the tribe of Benjamin. Here is Paul writing in Romans:

Romans 11:1
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Philip. 3:5
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

We also learned in our last study that God was going to gather His lost children from among those nations and bring them into a land of their own. And so He did.

Ezekiel 37:21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

[22] And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

Rev. 7:4
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

[5] Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

[6] Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

[7] Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

[8] Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

Ezekiel 37:23
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.

[24] And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Luke 1:32
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

[33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Continuing with what Jeremiah wrote:

Jeremiah 23:56
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Ezekiel 37:25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

[26] Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

`owlam, o-lawm', Hebrew 5769; or olam, o-lawm'; from Hebrew 5956 (`alam); properly concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practical) eternity; frequent adverb (especially with prepositional prefix) always :- alway (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end). Compare Hebrew 5331 (netsach), Hebrew 5703 (`ad).

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

aionios, ahee-o'-nee-os, Greek 166; from Greek 165 (aion); perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well) :- eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began).

Ezekiel 37:27
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Rev. 21:2
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

[3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Ezekiel 48:35
It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

Ezekiel 37:28
And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

1.) God promised He would gather His people from among the nations and bring them into their own land, where they dwell even now. Do you know where they are?

2.) God promised to restore both the house of Israel and the house of Judah into one stick during the Millennium and His sanctuary will be among them, even the Millennial Temple, and Jesus Christ will reign as King and Shepherd over all forevermore.

3.) God Himself will come (at the end of the Millennium) and He Himself will tabernacle with His children forevermore.

In our next few studies we will preview the final scenes on earth just before the 7th Trump sounds and then we will move on to the "Millennium chapters" beginning with chapter 40 to the end.

(Hang in there. We're getting there! LOL)