If, as some interpret, these words symbolize a universal resurrection, why specify, ‘And I will bring you into the land of Israel,’ when the dead will rise from their burial sites worldwide? Moreover, when He proclaims, ‘I will bring you out of your graves, and I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall be made alive,’ He promises to settle them in their land so that, upon their revival in Israel, they can recognize that He, the Lord, has indeed fulfilled His promises. Those interpreting this as a general resurrection connect the apparently doubtful expression ‘these bones are the whole house of Israel’ to the resurrection of the saints, as noted by the apostle in Revelation: ‘Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection; over such the second death has no power’ (Rev. 20:6), implying that there exists one resurrection for the saints and another for the wicked. This is further supported by Psalm 1, which states that the wicked shall not stand in judgment nor among the righteous (Psalm 1:5). According to this view, the land of Israel promised to the resurrected is the land referred to in the beatitude: ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5), and ‘I will dwell in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living’ (Psalm 114:8). Thus, proponents of the general resurrection contend. Those with this interpretation should not reproach us for seemingly denying the concept of resurrection, as we offer an alternative understanding of this passage. We recognize that in Holy Scriptures, there are far more compelling affirmations, free from ambiguity, such as from Job: ‘Even after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God’ (Job 19:26) and from Daniel: ‘Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt’ (Dan. 12:2). In the Gospel, it is instructed: ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell’ (Matthew 10:28). Apostle Paul reassures that He will revitalize your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you (Rom. 8:11) and many other affirmations. Therefore, it is evident that we do not deny resurrection; rather, we suggest that this passage does not pertain to it but is an allegorical prophecy regarding the restoration of the people of Israel, who faced captivity in Babylon. Furthermore, denying that a general resurrection is intended here does not lend support to heretics. An image of resurrection would not be employed simply to illustrate the restoration of the Israelites if resurrection itself were not accepted as a truth, as no one speaks of the unknown regarding what isn’t held to be real. Thus, we interpret that just as it may seem implausible for a future resurrection to be promised to bones long dead and parched, it will indeed occur; similarly, the regeneration of the people of Israel—carried away and scattered—will also come to pass, as it is written: ‘I, the Lord, have declared it and will fulfill My word.’ In preceding prophecies about the former state of Israel’s mountains, the Lord conveys, ‘I will turn to you, and you shall be cultivated and sown, and I will multiply these upon you, all the house of Israel’ (Ezekiel 36:9-10). Again, the restored house of Israel, once barren, will flourish like a garden of delight; the desolate cities will be fortified, and Israel shall multiply like a flock, reinforcing the prophetic imagery, now articulated through the metaphor of dry bones lacking vitality. This fulfills the Gospel assertion that ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’ (Matt. 19:26). They shall be raised from their graves—liberated from the tombs of captivity and the bonds of Babylonian oppression. Yet, as previously noted, those from the Jewish perspective argue that these events materialized during Zerubbabel’s time when there was significant upheaval as the Babylonian kingdom transitioned to the Medes and Persians, or they await the coming of their promised Messiah. In contrast, we assert that the fulfillment occurred post the crucifixion of our Savior and continues daily, especially evident in those who, like Lazarus (John 11), bound by sin’s shrouds, awaken at the Lord’s call to truly embody the house of Israel, once desolate and devoid of hope for salvation; but when the spirit of grace descends upon them, and the Lord extends His hand, they rise from the depths of despair and, once having pleaded, ‘Lord God, You know,’ emerge to hear: ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matthew 14:31).
THEOSIS