“I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves.” That God is going to raise people from the dead is clearly set forth in a number of verses in the Old Testament and Gospels (cp. Job 19:25-27; Ps. 49:15; 71:20; Isa. 26:19; 66:14; Ezek. 37:12-14; Dan. 12:2, 13; Hos. 13:14; Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31; 14:14; John 5:28-29). Then, after the day of Pentecost, it is set forth again in the Epistles and book of Revelation (Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:20-22, 42-49, 52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-15).

There will be two resurrections in the future: the first resurrection (the resurrection of the righteous people), and the second resurrection, (the resurrection of the unrighteous people (Dan. 12:2; Luke 14:14; John 5:29, Acts 24:15). These two resurrections will be separated by 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1-6, 13). The fact that in this section of Ezekiel God speaks of bringing the resurrected people “into the land of Israel” shows us that the resurrection being portrayed here in Ezekiel is the first resurrection, the “Resurrection of the Righteous.”

Many Christians do not believe in a literal Millennial Kingdom where Christ reigns as king on earth and Israel is restored. but these verses argue strongly that Christ does reign as king on earth and Israel is restored (cp. Ezek. 48:1-29). God keeps His promises, and He promised the Promised Land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God told Abraham that he and his descendants would get the land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15-17; 15:7, 18; 17:8). He told it to Isaac (Gen. 26:3). He told it to Jacob (Gen. 28:13; 35:12; 48:4). Then over and over He told Israel about the promise or that He would give them the land (cp. Exod. 6:4, 8; 12:25; 13:5, 11; Lev. 14:34; 20:24; 23:10; 25:2). The Eternal City described in Revelation 21-22 is not the land of Israel. Some people say that God gave the land he promised to Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, during the reigns of David and Solomon, but when God was speaking with those three men God said he would give the land “to you,” to them, not just their descendants (Gen. 13:15; 17:8; 26:3; 28:13; and 35:12). God will keep those promises and give the land to them when they are raised from the dead (cp. Ezek. 37:11-14).

[For more on the two resurrections, see commentary on Acts 24:15.]