Masada wasn’t the possession of the Israeli soldiers alone. It belonged to the nation.”
“So then Israel had to return to Masada?”
“Yes, and it would happen in the early 1960s. The resurrected nation would return to its ancient grave to excavate it. After two thousand years it would be uncovered.”
“So Israel was opening up its own grave . . . as were the men of the vision.”
“The leader of the ancient Israelis on Masada was a military commander. The man who led Israel’s return to Masada was also a military commander. His name was Yigael Yadin. He had been a general in the newborn Israeli army, its head of operations in 1948, the war of its birth, and after that its chief of staff.
“So the commander of Israel’s last army would be linked to Masada’s loss and the nation’s end. But the man who led Israel back to Masada would command its first army and be linked to the nation’s resurrection. In fact Yadin had been hailed as the architect of Israel’s War of Independence, the war that brought Israel back from the dead. 2 And as Masada’s last leader was central in the end of Israel’s army, Yadin would be instrumental in the resurrection of that army. He would be credited as the creator of Israel’s standing and reserve military forces, its resurrected army.”
“So the one who was central in the nation’s resurrection would be the one to uncover its grave.”
“It could be said that he was born to uncover it. His original last name was Sukenik. His father was Eliezer Sukenik . . . ”
“The man who uncovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
“Yes. And now his son was about to uncover another ancient mystery.
“So in the mid-1960s Yadin led thousands of volunteers from Israel and around the world back to the desert fortress. Central in that expedition was the Israeli army. The military provided Yadin with equipment, support, and men to help with the excavation. The modern Israeli soldiers represented the resurrection of the ancient Israeli soldiers . . . and they were now returning to their ancient graves to open them up. They had no idea that hidden in the sands of Masada was a mystery that had been waiting for two thousand years to be uncovered. It was buried in the mountain’s ancient synagogue. And the one who uncovered it was also an Israeli soldier.”
“What was it?”
“The word of God . . . parchments of Scripture, the most prominent of these being a prophecy . . . from the Book of Ezekiel.”
“What was the prophecy?”
“It came in a vision.” The Oracle then began reciting the word hidden for two thousand years on the desert mountain:
“The hand of the LORD . . . set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.” 3
“The valley of dry bones! The prophecy of Israel’s resurrection!”
The Oracle continued:
“And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’” 4
“So hidden in the nation’s grave was the prophecy of its resurrection!”
“Yes,” said the Oracle, who then continued reciting the words of the ancient vision:
“So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone . . . and flesh came upon them. . . . And breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. . . . “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel . . . ’”’” 5
“And that’s exactly what they were doing,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“They were opening up their own graves. And as they did, they uncovered the prophecy hidden in their graves prophesying that God would cause their graves to be opened!”
“Yes,” said the Oracle, “and the prophecy had been waiting there for ages just for that moment. From ancient times through the fall of Rome, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the voyages of Columbus, the rise and fall of empires, the persecutions, the Holocaust, two world wars, the modern age . . . it had been there all the time . . . waiting.
“So when the Jewish people were led captive into the nations, when it looked as if they would be wiped off the face of