Ezekiel 37 prophesies that the whole house of Israel—pictured as dry bones scattered among the nations—will be revived and brought back to the land of Israel.
The vision is a symbolic picture of Israel's centuries-long dispersion among the Gentile nations, where they appear to have no hope and are as good as dead in graves. Les teaches that the physical return of Israel to the homeland in recent decades is the beginning of this prophecy, though the nation is still spiritually dead because the breath has not yet entered it.
Ezekiel 37:11 — This verse explicitly tells the meaning of the vision: the dry bones are the whole house of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:12 — This verse records God's promise to open Israel's graves and bring them into the land of Israel.
The passage opens with the hand of the LORD carrying Ezekiel out in the Spirit and setting him down in a valley that is full of bones, and the bones are very dry (Ezekiel 37:1–2). God asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3), and Ezekiel prophesies as commanded. As he prophesies, “there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone” (Ezekiel 37:7). Then the sinews and flesh came up, and skin covered them, “but there was no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:8). After Ezekiel prophesies to the breath, “the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). God then explains the vision: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11). Israel's complaint is quoted: “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ezekiel 37:11). God's answer is a promise: “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” (Ezekiel 37:12). Verse 14 adds, “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land.”
Les teaches that Ezekiel 37 is “just simply a symbolic picture”—the valley full of dry bones is not a literal graveyard but a picture of the whole house of Israel. He emphasizes God's explicit identification: “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11). For Les, the dry bones represent Israel scattered among the Gentile nations, “out of the land of promise” for thousands of years, without a temple, priesthood, or altar, appearing to have no hope of ever becoming a viable nation again. The “graves” God promises to open are the Gentile habitations where Israel has been dispersed. Les connects the prophecy directly to what he sees today: Israel has been brought back to the land in recent decades—he says “as we've been seeing now for the last 48 years”—and he calls this “only precursory of course to that which is to follow.” He also points out that although the nation has come back physically, “the breath hasn't been breathed into them”—Israel is still spiritually dead, and the full fulfillment of the prophecy remains future.
The Bible itself gives the interpretive key: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11). Les builds on that by explaining that the bones being “very dry” means Israel has been out of the land a long time, dispersed among the Gentile nations. He emphasizes that it is a vision—a symbolic picture, not literal bones coming to life. The bones coming together “bone to his bone” is part of that picture of Israel being reassembled as a nation.
Les explains that Israel out of the land “is a nothing.” While dispersed among the Gentiles, Israel has no temple, no priesthood, and no altar, and is “hopelessly out of touch with God.” That is why, in Les's reading, God refers to their habitations in the Gentile areas as “graves.” When Ezekiel 37:12 says, “I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves,” Les understands it as God bringing Israel up out of the nations and back into the land.
Les teaches that the prophecy is already beginning to be fulfilled physically. He points to Israel's return to its homeland “as we've been seeing now for the last 48 years” and says the bones coming together pictures that return. But he also notes that “the breath hasn't been breathed into them” yet—Israel is still spiritually dead. So, in Les's teaching, the physical restoration has begun, but the complete fulfillment remains future; the current return is “only precursory of course to that which is to follow.”
Ezekiel 37 Explained: Israel's Dry Bones Prophecy Fulfilled?
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
Israel Coming Back from the Dead
Les identifies Ezekiel 37 as the chapter to think of when Israel comes back from the dead, explaining that the dry bones picture the nation returning to its homeland after being away from temple worship and blinded.
The Whole House of Israel in Graves
Les explains that the bones are the whole house of Israel, dispersed among the Gentile nations with no human hope, and that God promises to open their graves and restore them.
Only Precursory to What Follows
Les teaches that the return of the dispersed of Israel to the land in our own time is the beginning of Ezekiel 37, but it is only precursory to a greater fulfillment that is still future.
A Symbolic Vision
Les stresses that the valley of dry bones is a vision—a symbolic picture God is showing, not a literal or physical event.
Israel Out of the Land Is Nothing
Les explains that Israel scattered among the Gentiles is without temple, priesthood, and altar, and that God calls those Gentile habitations graves from which He will bring Israel out.
Back in the Land but Still No Breath
Les says the nation has been coming back out of dispersion for decades, but the breath has not yet been breathed into them—Israel is still spiritually dead until the future full fulfillment.
The Bones Coming Together
Les narrates the vision sequence where the very dry bones come together bone to his bone with no muscle yet, providing the context for the prophecy of Israel's restoration.
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,
This verse opens the vision and places Ezekiel in a valley full of bones, which are later identified as the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:7: 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.
This verse shows the first stage of the vision, where the dry bones come together bone to bone.
Ezekiel 37:10: 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.
This verse completes the vision with the breath entering the restored bodies, making them live.
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.
This verse is the key interpretive statement: the dry bones represent the whole house of Israel in a state of hopelessness.
Ezekiel 37:12: 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.
This verse records God's promise to open Israel's graves and bring them back to the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:14: 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.
This verse promises that God will put His spirit in Israel and place them in their own land, showing the future completed restoration.
Les teaches that it is not literal; the valley of dry bones is a vision and a symbolic picture. The bones represent the whole house of Israel scattered among the Gentile nations.
Only in part. Les sees Israel's physical return to the homeland in recent decades as the beginning of the prophecy, but the breath has not yet entered them—Israel is still spiritually dead, so the complete fulfillment is future.
According to Les, the graves are the Gentile nations where Israel is scattered. Out of the land, Israel has no temple, no priesthood, and no altar, and is hopelessly out of touch with God.
Yes. In Ezekiel 37:11, God explicitly says, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” Les emphasizes this and notes that it means all of Israel.
Watch the Teaching: Ezekiel 37 Explained: Israel's Dry Bones Prophecy Fulfilled?