Kaley,

The scene certainly does give a word picture of something similar we can expect at the resurrection at Jesus' Second Coming--the literal bringing to life of those who have died who will be raised to go to heaven. Such passages at I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Daniel 12:2, John 11:23, 24 and Isaiah 26:19 speak of that event.

While it may seem incredible to some that God can, in fact, raise those long dead, He has already shown He has the power to do exactly that. When Jesus died on the cross, there was an earthquake. At that time many long-dead righteous people were resurrected from their tombs. Matthew 27:31-33 says:

"At that moment (the moment of Jesus' death) the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. the earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke pene and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

I believe they were among the "host of captives" that Paul says went back with Jesus to heaven at the time of His ascention following His own resurrection. (Ephesians 4:8) So some folks just like us who once lived on planet Earth are already in heaven in the same sort of resurrected bodies God promises to all of His own. Seems Biblically speaking that nobody gets into heaven without their body--which is exactly why the Bible speaks of the resurrection as the "blessed hope" for God's faithful ones. Curiously, the resurrection of the body is also embedded in "The Apostles' Creed", an early statement and summary of Christian beliefs from the early ages. Not always in our time does this belief come through as clearly in much Christian teaching as the Bible actually portrays it.

I agree with you that Ezekiel's vision pictures more than simply something that is a fantasy or allegory. Resurrection of the bodies of God's people is real. It has happened already in the past with those long dead. It is prophecied to occur again planet wide in the not too distant future.

Thanks for taking a look and noting the broader implications of the prophecy.

Skip


Last edited by Skip Johnson; 09/24/07 03:51 PM.