In the vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14, God revealed to the priest Ezekiel the state of His people Israel, who were defeated and lived in captivity in Babylon. God not only revealed in the vision of the valley of dry bones the state of Israel, but God also revealed the future of Israel. Because by prophecying, the dry bones became alive and became an exceeding great army. That was God’s will for His people and that’s still God’s will for His people; the Church that is in a dry state today. How can the dry state of the Church be changed? How can the dry bones come alive again, so that the Church becomes an exceeding great army again?
The vision of the valley of dry bones
The hand of the Lord was upon me (Ezekiel), 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 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.
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 you 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 (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
When the hand of the Lord carried Ezekiel out in the Spirit of the Lord and was set down in the midst of the valley, which was full of dry bones, and passed by them round about, it must not have been a pleasant sight. The state of the dry bones and the future were not very hopeful.
However, when God asked Ezekiel if the bones could live, Ezekiel didn’t answer from his carnal mind and natural reasoning and didn’t say that it was impossible, but Ezekiel answered from his faith in the Almighty God and said, that God knew it.
The fear of the Lord and the faith in God were present in Ezekiel, which he showed by his answer. Because of Ezekiel’s faith in God, God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones and to call them to live.
By faith, Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones
Ezekiel’s life was yielded to God and he trusted God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and because of that Ezekiel obeyed God and did what God commanded him to prophecy.
In the natural realm and for the carnal eye it seemed foolish and impossible for something that is dead to be made alive. But not in the spiritual realm and for the spiritual eye. Because everything is possible with God and to those, who believe in God (Read also: ‘Have faith in God‘).
By faith in God and his submission and obedience to God and by speaking the words of God, Ezekiel prophesied upon the dry bones in the valley. When Ezekiel prophesied, there was a noise and a shaking and the bones came together, bone to his bone. The sinews and the flesh came upon the bones and skin covered them above. However, there was no breath (spirit) in them yet.
By faith, Ezekiel prophesied to the Spirit
God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy again, but this time not to the bones, but to the Spirit. Ezekiel obeyed the words of God and prophesied as the Lord had commanded him. And so the Spirit came from the four winds and entered in them and they came alive and stood upon their feet and became an exceeding great army.
Ezekiel no longer saw a valley full of dry bones, but Ezekiel saw an exceeding great army of the Lord.
The restoration of the nation, the tabernacle, and the people
The vision of the dry bones that came alive not only referred to the restoration of the carnal people of Israel, as a nation, which came to pass, but the vision of the dry bones that came alive also referred to the restoration of the tabernacle (temple), which was destroyed, in the natural and spiritual realm, and to the restoration of fallen man.
Because on the Day of Pentecost, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house, and through the Word, the promise of the Father: the Holy Spirit came and entered into man, whereby the spirit was raised from the dead, from the spiritual grave, and the new creation was created, who together would be the Body of Christ; the Church (Read also: ‘The eighth day, the day of the new creation‘).
The tabernacle was restored and became the church
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the Lord that doeth this (Amos 9:11-12).
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:15-18).
And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:7-8)
The destroyed tabernacle in the Old Covenant and the congregation of carnal people of God was restored in the New Covenant, by faith in Jesus Christ and regeneration in Him, and became the Body of Christ; the Church, the congregation of spiritual people of God.
God fulfilled His promise to His people, by not only redeeming His people and by bringing His people from Babylonian exile back into the land of Israel, but also by redeeming His people and bringing His people from spiritual exile of the kingdom of darkness back into the Kingdom of God, through Jesus Christ.
The state of the Church
Unfortunately, we see that history repeats itself in the New Covenant. Although the people of God began in the Spirit, they have returned to the flesh and have become carnal. They have left the words of God and compromised with the world and are spiritually dead. In the spiritual realm, they have become the dry bones in the valley, where the life of God, through His Spirit, is no longer in them, but instead death reigns.
Just like the apostate carnal people of Israel turned away from God and became disobedient to His words and did evil before the Lord, many churches have followed the same path and have become infidels, unbelievers, full of pride, arrogance, hypocrisy, and sins; sexual uncleanness, (spiritual) adultery, idolatry, divorce, lies, etc.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (Matthew 23:27-28)
Many churches don’t have the Holy Spirit and have left the Word and have rejected the wisdom and knowledge of God. They have gone their own way and have allowed and adopted the wisdom, knowledge, doctrines, philosophies, and methods of the world, whereby they have put their trust in the world and relied on their own carnal mind, ability, and strength.
Although they confess with their mouth Jesus Christ as their Lord and say they trust God, their actions and their way of life speak otherwise.
They may seem spiritual by the way they speak, pray and behave themselves in church and in front of people, but in reality, they are carnal and only act this way due to selfish reasons and to be exalted and honored by people.
They say they believe in Jesus Christ; the Word, but they live as enemies of the Word.
In order to condone their actions and sins, they very subtly twist the words of God and turn the truth of God into lies, just like their father; the devil, and preach a false gospel and false worship.
The sad thing is, that due to a lack of knowledge of God’s Word, many (carnal) Christians let their words mislead them and persuade them and as a result, they follow their example and sin and/or habitually keep sinning, instead of following the example of Jesus Christ and His words and repent and remove the sins from their lives. Because of this false gospel, many people are led to the abyss (Read also: Many pastors are leading the sheep into the abyss)
God’s Word is settled forever
For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven (Psalms 119:89)
God has established His law in the heavens and the earth and His Word is settled forever. In the Old Covenant, God made His will known to His carnal people, by giving His law, which He wrote on tablets of stone, 50 days after Passover. In the New Covenant, God made His will known by the Holy Spirit, by writing His will and law in the minds and on the hearts of the new creations, who are the Church, 50 days after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Read also: ‘What happened 50 days after Passover?‘ and ‘Why did God write His law on tablets of stone?‘).
Every church should listen and yield to God and obey His words and law of the Kingdom of God, instead of changing God’s laws of God’s Kingdom and adjusting them to the will, feelings, and emotions of the carnal man; the old creation, so that they can live like the world, the unbelievers, who don’t know God.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever (Isaiah 40:8)
It’s not about what the church decides, it’s about what God has decided in His Word.
Many say they have a relationship with Jesus Christ, while in reality they have a relationship with themselves and follow their own will, feelings, and the carnal mind and do what pleases them, instead of what pleases Jesus Christ and honor and exalt Jesus Christ and the Father through their lives.
Many churches may seem to be prosperous and alive for the carnal eye, but to God and for the spiritual eye they are dead.
They live in darkness instead of the Light and don’t save the souls of people out of darkness and don’t teach them about the things of the Kingdom of God and don’t feed them and raise them in the will of God, so that they spiritually mature into the image of Jesus Christ and walk and act like Him.
No, instead, they are conformed to the world, by allowing and adopting the wisdom, knowledge, and opinions of the world.
Instead of believing God’s Word and preaching Gods Word, and living Gods Word, and taking a stand on God’s Word and keep standing on God’s Word, many are misled, influenced, and persuaded by the spirit of this world and follow the way of the world and live like the world
And so the gospel has been watered down and is no longer the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God, that saves souls from the darkness, but the gospel has become a manmade gospel; a gospel of the preacher or the prophet that promotes the preacher and prophet, and is the power of the soulish man, that is focused on acceptance, carnal prosperity, and success in the world and an increase of revenue of the church. Instead of saving souls from the darkness, they lead the souls into darkness.
In many churches, Jesus Christ; the Word is no longer the foundation, but the words and opinions, and experiences of the soulish (motivational) preachers have become the foundation (Read also: ‘Not my opinion, but Your opinion‘ and ‘The church built upon the opinion of man‘).
And so the words of Jesus Christ, which are spirit and life are no longer preached and the spiritual man is no longer fed, but the words of the preachers are preached, which are carnal and carry the death and feed the carnal man. As a result, the carnal man stays alive and death reigns and sin abounds.
Many rather compromise and bow down to the world and be disobedient to God and disconnected from God, than stay faithful to God and His Word and experience hardships and persecution.
Let the dry bones come alive!
It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63)
But as long as Jesus has not returned yet, and as long as people still live on this earth, it’s not too late to hear God’s Word and repent and return to Him.
The words of Jesus, which are spirit and life, are still so powerful that they still bring forth life.
It doesn’t matter how dry and dead the state of a church is, God can change every state and can make everything that is dead alive, by His Spirit and His Word.
If the churches listen to the words of God and awake to righteousness and repent and submit to Jesus Christ; the Word and the people become born again in Christ and crucify their flesh and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, then the dry bones will come alive and the churches become the sanctuaries of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
The churches shall revive in Christ by the Holy Spirit and shall be redeemed from their spiritual captivity from the kingdom of darkness, and will have His Spirit, whereby they become so powerful, that in the Name of Jesus; the authority of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, everything that is dead will come alive and many souls, who live in fear in darkness, will be saved and be made whole and be reconciled with God and be equipped by the Word, so that they get to know the will of God and walk in His will and together become an exceeding great army that represents, preach and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
