The first event has to do with the return of the Jews to the holy land and the restoring of the Glory of God to the land and people of Israel, as depicted by the assembling and clothing of the dry bones, the breathing of life into the bones, and the raising of them from the dead.

The second event has to do with bringing together the members of the Body of Christ, of the elect (both Jewish and Gentile), of the true saints, of the holy remnant. They will be brought together out of the many "kingdoms" (denominations) among which they have been dispersed.

They will be linked together, strengthened with "muscle and flesh," and adorned with the beauty of holiness. Then they will be raised from the dead (literally) and brought into their land in the sense of the fullness of the spiritual rest of God, and into the land of Israel literally.

The resurrected holy remnant is an army that will fall on the wicked of the earth with Divine ferocity. The coming of the army of Christ is described in the second chapter of Joel, the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah, the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, and several other chapters.

The two events of which we are speaking are as follows: (1) the gathering and glorifying of natural Israel, first as a strong nation (which has commenced already), and second as an integral, spiritual part of the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem; and (2) the bringing together of the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, into a Church without spot or wrinkle and the raising of the perfected Church as a powerful army that will destroy Satan and all wickedness out of the earth.

The spiritual army of victorious saints will destroy the spiritual adversary (Revelation 12:11) and later the natural enemy (Micah 5:8; Revelation 19:19,20).

Each of the two events has four aspects that are to be accomplished:

Restructuring what has been dead and scattered.

Breathing resurrection life into what has been restructured.

Bringing the restructured army into the land of Israel.

Bringing into oneness what has been divided.

Let us begin with the natural dimension of Israel—the physical Jews and the land of Israel.

The gathering and covering of the dead bones is a graphic picture of the "second exodus" of the Jews, which has begun in our day. It is our point of view that the nation of Israel, although surrounded with hostile neighbors, will, for a season, prevail and continue to grow in power and size. The land of Israel will be managed well and will be able to support the immigrants who are returning from Europe and other areas.

God's hand is on the Jews. Woe to the nations that fight against Israel! They will be destroyed. Israel is God's nation among the nations of the earth and God will defend it.

God has called the Jews to serve Him in righteousness and prayer. They are not as yet fulfilling their role as God's priests. Therefore they will continue to suffer.

To be continued.