We might easily miss or misunderstand insights into unfolding Bible prophecies as a result of:
1. Lack of an understanding of the broader set of prophetic insights;
2. Assumptions that these prophecies are given in a time-linear manner;
3. Bible versions that may not accurately translate pivotal words and challenging concepts; and
4. Our inclination to ‘spiritualize’ challenging concepts, e.g., based on traditions or our personal religious experiences.
These challenges can be overcome through persistent prayer, diligent study, and deeper meditation on The Lord’s multi-millennial strategic plan for humanity, including His overarching strategic goal and objectives revealed therein. Also, an understanding of strategic word choice is helpful, as well as carefully researching threads of similar (like-minded) references to specific concepts throughout The Bible.
In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul admonished Timothy to ‘rightly divide The Word of Truth’. Imagine the many ways in which Biblical Truths can be divided and parsed (e.g., as related to the historical timeline and respective ages; the evolving drip, drip, manner in which prophecies were given; the ebb and flow of cultures over millennia; the spiritual versus the physical dimensions; the earthly versus eternal foci; the pre- versus post-Christ ages; etc., etc.!) Perhaps more than any other aspect of Bible study, understanding unfolding Bible prophecies, demands deftness in how we select and apply such parameters in our effort to ‘rightly divide, in order to comprehend The Word of Truth’. Add to this challenge, the ever persistent workings of devilish spirits to throw fiery darts that thwart our understanding of Scripture, in favor of their twisted advertisements.
Tip: Though it is somewhat awkward to read, the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) is a helpful resource to perceive core meanings of challenging concepts and key words.
As the latest war in Israel sharply focuses world attention on Israel and the Palestinian question, many Christians may be ‘boning-up’ on what The Bible says or intuits on this and related matters. It is abundantly clear that The Lord’s core objective is to regather ALL Jews, worldwide, to the expanded land He promised to give to Abraham’s and his descendants through Jacob – from the Nile, to the Euphrates rivers. The reasons, and the strategic and tactical approaches to achieve this objective, warrant careful study. The relatively sudden establishment of the modern nation of Israel in May 1948, clearly signaled a major step toward achievement of this core objective. But many prophecies conflate this ‘earthly objective’, with The Lord’s ‘eternal objective’ for a major remnant of Jacob’s descendants. Ezekiel 37 is one of many chapters that appears to do this. Let’s take a closer look.
The Book of Ezekiel, written between 593 to 571 BC, is the third longest prophetic book in the Old Testament. The two longest O.T. prophetic books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, were written before the Babylonian invasion of Judah, and the resulting enslavement of many Judeans. Ezekiel’s book was written during his time as a captive in Babylon. Of these three books, Jeremiah comes the closes to having a relatively clear, time-linear focus. The Books of Isaiah and Ezekiel appear to bounce quite a bit between prophecies about mortal life on this planet, and immortal life (of all people who will have ever lived) on the new, eternal Earth. This bouncing around might be because The Lord shares from His exceptionally high and lofty eternal perspective. So we should be well prepared when we encounter prophecies that cover His unimaginable (for us) span of eternity past, historical past, (then) current times, and post-historical (eternal) plans! Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 include examples of such. Understanding such
e-x-p-a-n-s-i-v-e prophecies demands that we …put on The Mind of Christ.
As a child, I heard many sermons on the core aspect of Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones, a vision that signified Jews worldwide (from ancient Israel and Judah) who were then exiled from the promised land. Many of those sermons focused on The Lord forming ‘a single Jewish nation’ (v. 22), reversing what He had predicted in 1 Kings 11, and achieved in 1 Kings 12. On May 14, 1948, Israel was finally reconstituted as a nation, and this prophecy became a historical fact. However, before the word, nation, is mentioned in v. 22, v. 10 mentions the precusory reason why ‘these bones shall live’, namely:
…to form ‘an exceedingly great army!’ 1
Verse 11 of this prophecy refers this as 'the whole house of Israel'. Note, it does not say the nation of Israel, implying an undisclosed distinction. Since all of the modern nation of Israel is clearly not a military force, in part, this prophecy logically includes the Israel Defense Force (IDF), which was established on May 26, 1948, 12 days after the reconstitution of the state of Israel! Recall, establishing an army was also a key reason why The Lord dispatched Moses to Egypt to secure the release of the Hebrew slaves. He knew the Hebrews would encounter fierce resistance from the Amorites and Canaanites who had occupied the promised land for untold centuries! (Genesis 15:13-16) In May 1948, Jews who settled in Palestine at the end of World War II, faced a similar scenario. And since then, Israel has been involved in 18 major wars or significant conflicts, requiring what Ezekiel ‘foresaw’, ‘an exceedingly great army!
Verses 5- 6 say these bones …shall live, and shall know The Lord. Since this is a clear reference to The Millennial Reign age, this part of the prophecy clearly signifies all Jews worldwide during that age will know The Lord as the Jewish Messiah. Moreover, during that age, ALL PEOPLES the world over will know Him as The Lord God Almighty, but not necessarily as The Messiah.
But now, 76 years after May 14, 1948, Israel remains principally a secular nation, and most Jews worldwide are also largely secular, and remain outside of Israel. Thus, most of this chapter spans from that date, to the end of the 5th age of history, The Millennial Reign age, when most post-apocalypse Jews, and their descendants, will embrace Jesus as Messiah and The Lord God. Verses 24-25 predict, at that time, King David (who will return with The Lord as one of his immortal, glorified saints) will rule over all post-apocalypse Jews from all over the world, and their descendants, in a greatly expanded Israel. 2
In verses 25 – 28, the words, forever and forevermore, are used 4 times. At first glance, they seem to refer to the new, eternal Earth, not to The Millennial Reign age on this current version of Earth. However, the YLT version reveals the literal words in the Hebrew text are, to the age, not forever or forevermore, in eternity! I intuit this literal phrase might possibly signify, ‘until forever’, i.e., until the forever age begins, at the end of the post-Millennial Reign age. During The Millennial Reign age, post-apocalypse Jews will embrace Jesus as Messiah, and will begin to fulfill The Lord’s prophecy given to Moses in Exodus 19:6. Somehow, they will continue to fulfill this role …forever, as immortal saints in the New Jerusalem, on the new, eternal Earth. 3 They and/or their descendants will likely be a major contingent of the saints mentioned in Revelation 20:7-10, in the post-Millennial Reign age. 3
In closing, ponder with me … what might Ezekiel have thought when, in the vision, he heard that David (the l-o-n-g dead second king of Israel), would be king, AGAIN?!
More importantly, dear Reader, what do you think??
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1 Three times in history, Jews returned to the promised land. During the first (the exodus) and third (May 1948) times, The Lord moved them to form an army, to recapture the land! Judean exiles who returned from Babylon did not form an army in Judah, because the Persian Empire (that succeeded the Babylonian Empire) played a role in ensuring their protection, and general stability across the new empire.
2 I say ‘most’ because The Lord promises to weed out (kill?) those who will pridefully not embrace Him as The Lord God, Messiah. (See: Zephaniah 3:8-12 and Zechariah 12:10-14. David will do in Israel, what we Gentile immortal saints will do across the post-apocalypse Gentile world – implement The Lord’s ‘iron rod rule of righteousness.’ For more, see: Luke 19:11-27. For much more on The Millennial Reign, see: Millennial Reign (Series).
3 See: Human History Ages (Series), Preparing Priestly People (Poem), and Consider the New Jerusalem in What If? (Subsequent Creations).
