This is how we’ve come to read Ezekiel 37:
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of Western Christianity; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, let us appoint a task force and see.” Then he said to me, “Gather your finest communicators and dress in your finest suits and give a riveting talk to them about the need for spiritual awakening and revival. And say to them, O dry bones, hear my opinion and all the things I’ve learned in leading my church.”
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, my preacher-man will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And his riveting talks and books (complete with leader’s guides) 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 and my preacher-man has done this.”
So I opined as I was commanded. And as I opined, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and a large gathering of people bought tickets, and books, and t-shirts, and filled the massive church buildings. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no emotions in them. Then he said to me, “Gather one of the finest worship teams ever assembled. And encourage them, son of man, and say to the worship team, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O worship team, and breathe on these slain with your fog machines and laser shows, that they may start getting excited and show some emotion.” So I opined as he commanded me, and they got all emotional and weepy, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army decked out with Christian t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of western Christianity. Behold, they say, ‘Our churches are shrinking, our tithes are dwindling, our political influence is waning.’ Therefore opine, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will fill your pews, and make you rich, and keep you comfortable, and have the culture bow to your opinions. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I put you on the cover of magazines, and give you television stations, and you have a seat at the White House, O my people. And I will put a Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will make America great again. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:1-14 ESV tweaked a little to fit our plans for revival)
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Photo source: here
Wow!