Symbolism in Prophecy -- Ezk 37

[Carlos]

I would like to present an example in understanding fulfillment of prophecy. What I discuss is what my eyes see, not what I have been taught by books or others.

Ezekiel 37 is a fascinating chapter which we all are familiar with because of the ‘stick of Joseph’ prophecy, which we believe to be fulfilled. I would like to focus on the resurrection verses preceding the stick of Joseph. These verses are commonly accepted as a description of the actual resurrection of the house of Israel (DC138:43). I view them as the physical restoration of the house of Israel on earth, something which has and is occurring as the gospel covers the earth. Ezk 37 is a great example of the Lords symbolic language as he teaches and prophecies spiritual truths and realities with very temporal imagery.

Ezk 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. (The bones represent people who do not have the life of the gospel. They are heathen.)
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. (The word of the Lord is prophecy, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.)
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. (Notice that they have the appearance of life because they have taken the form of men. The gospel of Christ (prophecy) has brought organization to these people, yet they lack life…the living gospel)
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. (The four winds are called upon to bring life into these people. I will explain what these 4 winds may be. Hint Rev 7)
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. (Terrible as an army with banners? DC5:14)
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, (These people, risen Israel, know from where they came and by which power they were lifted up.)
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.

Background:
The apostate church of Christ was driven into the wilderness, without priesthood, temples, ordinances, or gospel clarity. But it did find unity in scriptures, the glue which held the apostate church intact for centuries. The church fled into the wilderness under these conditions and flourished among the heathen. Those destined to accept Christ are the house of Israel. These verses in Ezk 37 describe a heathen Israel (dry bones) who receive the incomplete gospel of Christ from the wilderness church (organized bodies without life) and finally receive ‘life’ as they embrace the fullness of the gospel.

DC5:14 this is “the beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out of the wilderness—clear as the moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners”.

What is it that Ezekiel prophesied which gave them life? The 4 winds which give life (and death) to the Lord’s chosen. Consider the 4 winds of 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.

DC77: 8 Q. What are we to understand by the four angels, spoken of in the 7th chapter and 1st verse of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that they are four angels sent forth from God, to whom is given power over the four parts of the earth, to save life and to destroy; these are they who have the everlasting gospel to commit to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; having power to shut up the heavens, to seal up unto life, or to cast down to the regions of darkness.

The key phrases are “have the everlasting gospel” and “seal up unto life”. These two clearly tie the power of the angels to priesthood power. How are men sealed up unto life? Through covenants, namely, baptism, endowment, eternal marriage, and priesthood. The four covenants performed in the temples which seal men to their God and give them everlasting life. Those who reject all the covenants are cast down to the regions of darkness…destroyed eternally.

(As a side note, I consider this to be a 6th seal event which has and is occurring. It follows the events of the 6th seal (Rev 6) which symbolically describe the restoration of the gospel and realignment of God’s institutions. The 144,000 represent all those of the church of the firstborn (sealed in the temple). They have been called and performing the work of gathering Israel since 1830.)

So, we see that the Lord has used very graphic imagery (bones, sinews, flesh) to describe the restoration of Israel…heathen who are recipients of God’s word and covenants. Let me show you another example of even more graphic imagery depicting what has just been discussed, only in reverse!

DC29: 17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.
18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;
19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;
20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.

This is graphic desolation which befalls only the wicked, destined to become a valley of dry bones. Only this time we are about to enter the time of millennial rest. A time when wicked (dry bones) will be cleansed by wars (beasts and fowl will devour the bones).

God is great at using symbolic imagery to drive home spiritual realities, and hide prophecies from plain view. They are everywhere, just waiting for the pondering student to find them.

[pjbrownie]

I've always appreciated this symbolism and interpretation. The realization about this scripture is not just about scriptures, but about the Houses of Israel being joined in one spiritual faith and one political nation during the Millennium. After all of the doom and gloom Ezekiel was commanded to tell the elders of Judah, this a bright message to a beleaguered prophet living at the time of the apostasy of his people.

I take a small amount of issue with your interpretation of the 144,000. Their special duty is the labor among the House of Israel (12,000 for each tribe). The missionary work, the vast lions-share, especially before the 1970's, was dedicated to the Gentiles. The special role of the 144,000 is to gather out the lost of Israel, which are sealed during the sixth seal, but actually preach during the seventh seal, as Joseph Smith has stated in D&C 77. Joseph Smith in the History of the Church 5:326 also suggested they would be part of the sacrifice in the newly built temple in Jerusalem and that even some may be resurrected to do the work.