The Last Days Pt.3 (The Bones)

 “One of the reasons that I don’t speak Spanish so well is because from the moment I learned English, I spoke nothing but English, especially to my parents. When they were preparing to get their citizenship to the USA, I would help them with their questions because it was such a miracle, especially of what they endured, not only to raise Ten kids, but to become citizens of the country they loved. My dad, from when he was young, would come to America to work for his aunt, doing odd jobs of working the fields, cleaning, cooking and just what he could do to get by, but mainly to support his family. My parents left most of us in Mexico while they came here to find a home, work and have a start, before bringing us to the American dream. My parents never took government aid, and we all slept in a garage, while they worked minimum wage jobs, saving to get us our own home. With the help of people like Roberta, Kathy, Connie and most importantly God, they were able to fulfill their dreams of making a better life for their kids, having my parent's "dry bones," of being lost in a foreign country, become alive in the blessing of God, here in America.

Ezekiel Thirty Six and Seven, Thirty-Eight and Thirty-Nine, Forty Thru Forty-Eight are the most misinterpreted and incorrectly taught chapters when it comes to eschatology and “end times” prophecy. This chapter will deal with Thirty-Six and Thirty-Seven, but also give a preview of Forty thru Forty-Eight. The most popular teaching of Chapter Thirty-Seven is that it is referring to Israel becoming a nation in Nineteen Forty Eight, leading to misinterpreting "End Times" teaching and also what Jesus taught in Luke Twenty-One, Twenty-Nine, 

“And He told them a parable: “LOOK AT THE FIG TREE, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT PASS AWAY until all has taken place.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

First and foremost, Israel is NEVER EVER, in the Bible compared to a fig tree, so to say this relates to Israel becoming a nation and then say that within Eighty years, (what most believe is a generation) that Jesus will come back within this time frame is wrong exegesis. Israel throughout the Bible is referred to as an olive tree or branch, so taking a fig tree and inserting Israel into its meaning is not thoughtful, Berean like study of God’s word. The dry bones of which Ezekiel is referring to when studied in context and also a part of chapter Thirty Six, show us what God is saying. 

Let’s look at what Ezekiel says, who by the way was in Babylon, towards the end of Israel's captivity, when he wrote this, starting in Chapter Thirty-Six Eight, 

“But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ‭(ESV‬‬) 

Ezekiel is prophesying of Israel’s return from exile and how they will again be fruitful, but we can’t stop there, for this is talking of Jesus, Pentecost, and eventually, the new Jerusalem and restoration of Eden. Wait what? This is what you’re probably thinking, but let’s continue in verse Twenty-Two, 

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great Name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate My holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND A NEW SPIRIT I WILL PUT WITHIN YOU. And I will REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (ESV)(EMPHASIS ADDED) 

It’s important when studying the word of God to use the word of God to help interpret the word. We can’t put our spin on it or take it out of context to fit an eschatological view point or our denominational view. What Ezekiel was talking about was that God was not only going to bring the people of God back together again, but that He was going to put His Spirit into the people and remove the hearts of stone. Remember Israel was in captivity for whoring themselves to idols and other god’s and not trusting or staying faithful to God. (Their captivity was for not obeying the Seventy Sabbaths of the land, but it all was driven for their love of other god’s, taking their focus off of God, and not worshipping Yahweh.) 

I think of my own walk and rebellion to God and how I was like them, that my neck was stiff and my heart cold and hard like stone before knowing Jesus. I still sin and I am a work in progress. As Paul says, "we are God's workmanship," but I now know that Jesus has put His Spirit in me. The other thing that I believe Ezekiel is referring to, especially as it pertains to Ezekiel Thirty-Seven, is about the resurrection and our new heavenly body. This teaching was not known to the people of Ezekiel’s day and only after Jesus' death and resurrection was this message taught. Paul reminds us in First Corinthians Fifteen, 

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a Man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” (ESV)

Jesus told the disciples that He had to go in order for the Helper, the Spirit, to come? When did this happen? When Israel returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple? NO! Remember when Jesus came, the religious leaders and the people were not expecting Him and or believed He was the Messiah to come. The Holy Spirit didn’t come until the day of Pentecost and all the people from every nation throughout the known world had come to Jerusalem to worship and celebrate, when Peter gave his famous sermon as recorded in Acts Two. 

Back to Ezekiel Thirty-Seven, which is a continuation of what God was telling Ezekiel of His coming restoration of His covenant, which is the New Covenant says, 

“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause BREATH TO ENTER YOU, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”” (ESV)(Emphasis added)

Before Jesus, man was still dead and lifeless and religion was no better, as it was more about tradition and making money for those in leadership than teaching the true word of God, and it’s sadly no different today. Read the Gospels and you see Jesus condemning the "teachers" of not teaching correctly, of misleading the people, and Him overturning tables, because they had turned His Father's house into a den of robbers.

Ezekiel continues in verse Fourteen, 

“And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (ESV) 

God is saying that He will put His Spirit in them and they shall live! This is not about Nineteen Forty Eight, because if you haven't noticed, Israel, the nation, doesn't accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, let alone that He was the Messiah. Now there are many Jews who have converted to Christianity. although some hold on to their traditions and a hope of a rebuilding of a literal temple. 

The nations gathering on the day of Pentecost, was what Ezekiel was referring to. Remember if you know your Old Testament, that when Israel came back from captivity, not all the nations returned from exile. Ezra lists the names from Judah, but the ten tribes were still in exile and did not return from captivity. Ezekiel Thirty-Seven, Twenty-One says, 

“then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.” (ESV)

What Ezekiel is referring to can be seen in Acts Two, which says: 

“Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN. And at THIS SOUND the MULTITUDE CAME TOGETHER, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (ESV)

I remember later in life as my Spanish had mainly vanished and many words today, even allude or confuse me, I started working in the warehouse. The guys all spoke Spanish, and it was neat as the words came back to me and, being able to hear them speak in foreign a language but my ears understanding the words being spoken. To hear someone speak and you understanding the words, even though they're foreigners, is magnified more with the Spirit of God, and what an awesome event that must have been at Pentecost.

Now the argument, of course, is what about the "literal" temple that Ezekiel talks about in Chapters Forty thru Forty-Eight, and he also refers to in Chapter Thirty-Seven? For the most popular eschatology view to fit, they need a literal temple to restore the “fig tree,” to have a literal millennium, to have a Seven year disappearance, otherwise it doesn’t work. 

Ezekiel Thirty Seven verse Twenty Six says,

“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an EVERLASTING COVENANT with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set MY SANCTUARY in their midst forevermore.” (ESV)(Emphasis Added)

To quote one of my favorite movies, The Breakfast Club, “In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions,” THE TEMPLE BEING TALKED ABOUT IS THE BODY OF GOD. (I will explain more about why a literal temple is not what Ezekiel chapters Forty thru Forty-Eight are about and all the holes in popular Eschatology teachings in the next part.) John, Paul, Peter wrote about it in the New Testament, and Jesus is the Temple, but let’s look at what scripture says, and not what man interjects to fit their eschatology.  

First Corinthians Three Sixteen, 

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (ESV)

First Corinthians Six Nineteen, 

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (ESV) 

Ephesians Two Nineteen, 

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the Cornerstone, in whom the WHOLE STRUCTURE, being joined together, grows into a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

First Peter Two Five, 

“As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a SPIRITUAL HOUSE, to be a HOLY PRIESTHOOD, to OFFER SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE to God THROUGH Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a Cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone!” (ESV)

"American" or "Western" Christians, have little or no concept of temple talk, because most teachers only teach a temple as it relates to Israel and the need for one to be built again so that all the prophecy lists can be checked off of to usher in the "secret vanishing" of the church for seven years. What we skip or not focus on enough, is the fact that because of Jesus, who is the NEW TEMPLE, we are also part of that temple, and temples of the Holy Spirit and we don't need a physical building that isn't scriptural.  

Of course, we cannot forget what Jesus said in John Two, 

“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking about the temple of His body. When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” (ESV)

The issue with a literal temple that many teach or say must happen before the end times or to fulfill Ezekiel’s word to fit all nicely into a little box with a bow is really putting themselves into a sticky situation of wrong biblical interpretation. What do I mean? If you have a literal temple, does that mean sacrifices? If so, then the writer of Hebrews is wrong and that book should be removed from the Bible. We can't be like the progressive church and only read the safe passages and those that allow us to live our lives how we want, instead of realizing that everything is for Jesus and because of Jesus.

Hebrews Seven Twenty Seven says, 

“He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this ONCE FOR ALL when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

Paul also stated in Romans Six of Jesus dying once and for all, 

“For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)

I used to listen to an old show back in the nineties called the Christian Jew hour, and the teacher was an old believer of Judaism and was now a believer in Jesus and his whole show was about sharing the gospel of Jesus and looking at scripture from a Jewish perspective, but also how it translated to faith in Jesus. No longer being bound to the Old Covenant or old regulations, but being free in Jesus alone. My point is that, what Ezekiel was writing was not about a restoration of a nation in Nineteen Forty Eight and a rebuilding of a literal temple and the dry bones and all coming back to the land, was about the resurrection of believers, the day of Pentecost and the body of Christ being the temple. 

If the argument becomes, the sacrifices are needed as a memorial, to give the people a visual of what happened on the cross, then why not have them read the New Testament? There are plenty of Jewish believers in Christ that have come to saving knowledge with just the Gospel. Read Acts and the Letters of Paul, Peter and John and you can see that. The other thing with a literal temple is what about the "GLORY" passages that are attributed to Jesus and how the New Testament writers reference these passages in their writings? People will say yes, the Glory will return during the millennium and that is when the Shekinah glory returns. If that is true, then people are stretching their eschatology to fit their denomination and not seeing what God is saying. Isaiah Forty says, 

"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (ESV) 

This is quoted in Luke Three Six.

Isaiah Sixty One says, 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (ESV)

This again speaks of Jesus and Him being the temple and we being a temple of the Holy Spirit and of God. 

Ezekiel, in Thirty Seven Twenty Six, actually quotes Leviticus Twenty Six Eleven. First Ezekiel says, 

"I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (ESV)

Leviticus says, 

"I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be My people." (ESV)

And you may think, so what that Ezekiel quotes Leviticus, but this is also what Paul quotes in Second Corinthians Six Sixteen that says: 

"What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (ESV)

The reason all this matters is that Paul is writing to the Corinthians and again, if you study your word, you will see that the Corinthians were Gentiles. What Paul basically has done is linked Leviticus and Ezekiel to the gentiles, again confirming that God's word and what all of this means, is that we are all equal in God's eyes, if we repent and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is also a reference to the New Jerusalem and Jesus dwelling with His people forever, again with no literal, physical temple, because if we look at Revelation Twenty-One, it says:

"And I SAW NO TEMPLE in the city, for ITS TEMPLE IS THE LORD GOD the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for THE GLORY OF OF GOD gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (ESV)(Emphasis Added)

One last note of why Ezekiel Thirty Six and Thirty-Seven are not about Israel's return from exile or even Nineteen Forty-Eight is what is said in Two verses. Let's look at them, first Ezekiel Thirty Six Twenty Eight B, 

"you shall be My people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you." (ESV)

Ezekiel Thirty Seven Twenty Three says: 

"They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I WILL SAVE THEM FROM ALL THE BACKSLIDINGS IN WHICH THEY HAVE SINNED, and WILL CLEANSE THEM; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God." (ESV)

This gets quoted in Matthew One Twenty One, which says,

"She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He WILL SAVE His people FROM THEIR SINS." (ESV)

Many will say okay, what's all the big deal and why does it matter, but again returning to my point of studying the word of God and not just listening and blindly following the popular beliefs that are being taught. 

There are only TWO VERSES in the Old Testament that deal with salvation referring to an internal sin problem, and those are the Two mentioned above that get quoted by Matthew. Psalm One Hundred Thirty verse Eight also is a bridge of these verses, 

“O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (ESV)

This didn't happen when Israel returned from captivity, and it surely didn't happen in Nineteen Forty-Eight. Ezekiel Thirty Six and Thirty Seven is about the New Testament era, the work of Christ, and then when we get to Pentecost, we see the body of Christ and the temple made up of His people. There is no other explanation without putting our own spin on what God's word is teaching. OF course, we also know that when Jesus restores Eden, the writer of Revelation says there is no temple, and that Jesus is the temple. 

The dry bones coming to life and the Two sticks being joined together with Jesus, for Jesus, as He is the only glory we will ever need. The only sacrifice and the only temple needed, and nothing built by man to fill an ideology.

I know I am a sinner who has not always been a follower or hearer of the Word of God. I know I used to listen to the popular versions of the word, because in a way I wanted to escape to a better land and be a part of this group that would be whisked away like we were when we came to America. The problems we encountered here were nothing with what we could have encountered in Mexico, but only God knows. I am thankful that I have been allowed to have my eyes and ears opened, to become a citizen of heaven and only because and thru Jesus. 

My bones are awake, my flesh is coming alive, and the Spirit of God is moving. We are to be making disciples and sharing the Good News to other dry bones, not because a generation has come and gone, or because they too can disappear, because that’s not scriptural, but because we don't know when our last breath will be and the harvest is ripe! Do you hear the rattling?” Jose Barajas