Ezekiel 37 speaks of dead bodies being resurrected. He than goes on to say that God told him to take the stick (in Hebrew etzwhich can also mean wood, or tree) and to write upon it, For Judah and for the Children of Israel who are joined to him, i.e. For The Jews. He was told to take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the House of Israel who are joined unto him (37:16). He was then told to join them together and they were to one (37:17). Bystanders saw Ezekiel fulfill these symbolic actions and asked him what their meaning was? The reply was that Judahand Israel(the Lost Ten Tribes) are destined to be (37:19-21) gathered
together into the land of Israel and there re-united. They are to become one kingdom and one king shall rule over them (37:22). This King is referred to as David. He will be either a descendant of David or King David resurrected. The united Israelites shall keep the Law (37:24). God will dwell amongst them and the Tabernacle-Temple will be rebuilt (37:27-28).

We learn from this the two entities Judah and Joseph will remain separate from each other until the end times. Commentators saw the niceties of the Hebrew original in the above passage as indicating that: (a) The re-unification must take place initially through our own initiative. Ezekiel is told to take the sticks and write upon them and join them together in his own hands but then God makes them one in HIS hand (37:19). In the Last Days most of the nations of the world represented by Gog and Magog will rage war on the United Kingdom of Israel and be defeated (Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39).

God can do anything. At the end of time there will be a resurrection of the dead. Nevertheless the main point of our chapter on one level is not to teach us about resurrection about rather about the possibility of reviving both Judah and Joseph and their companions from the other tribes so that they re-unite. On another level the chapter can even be seen as talking about two separate events not necessarily connected in time or place. On one hand we have the principle that in the End of days at some point there will be a resurrection of the dead. In addition we have another (not necessarily connected) principle that Judah and Joseph will re-unite. Scripture is deliberately built in such a way as to be pertinent at several levels at one and the same time.

I personally consider this vision of the dead bones being revived and returning to Israel as representing the Lost Ten Tribes and this is how the vision is interpreted by Scripture itself in the following verses. Nevertheless there was a tradition that saw this vision as ALSO representing a real event that will take place. The legend (Rashi, Sanhedrin 92b) that when the Children of Israel were oppressed by the Egyptians a group of 200,000 from the Tribe of Ephraim attempted to go out of Egypt and conquer the land of Canaan. The Times had not yet come and they were all killed by the Philistines. Thirty years later Moses did succeed in bringing the whole of the Israelite nation out of Egypt. Those from Ephraim who had tried to go out too early and been slain are they whom Ezekiel foresaw being resurrected.  I would suggest an insight in light of this legend: Ephraim (Joseph and companions in general) has to be made aware of his identity before re-unification can take place. The pertinence of a revival to life in this regard may apply more to the Lost Ten Tribes.

At all events the vision of the dead bones being brought back to life is taken to show how the Children of Israel who were thought to be lost altogether will be revived and will re-unite with Judah. What will be and how it will be is not a field that we over duly occupy ourselves with. What interests us is anything that affirms the knowledge of where the Lost Ten tribes are today. This chapter of Ezekiel affirms the fact that the Lost Ten Tribes will be divided from Judah until the end times and then they will re-unite.

MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH was to be a descendant of Joseph from the Tribe of Ephraim. According to the Biblical Commentary known as the Malbim (1809-1879). MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH was to head the Lost Ten Tribes in the latter days in the period leading up to the return of the Lost Ten Tribes and their eventual re-unification with Judah. The MALBIM (Meir Leib ben Yechiel Michael [Weiser] 1809 1879) explained the 37th chapter of Ezekiel in a manner worth noting:

             "~And he took another stick, and he wrote upon it, these words: ~FOR JOSEPH, THE STICK OF EPHRAIM, AND FOR ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, HIS COMPANIONS~, representing Joseph who was the source of the tribe. From Joseph developed the Kingdom of Ephraim which began with Jeroboam, and therefore is termed , ~THE STICK OF EPHRAIM.

             ~AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL~, for unto him were joined all of Israel which belong to the Ten Tribes... Our Sacred Sages had a tradition that in the beginning (of the End Times) would arise a Messiah [i.e. Anointed Saviour] from the house of Joseph who will reign over the Ten Tribes. He will wage wars and all of Israel will be gathered together under his banner. [This will continue] until later on, a descendant of David will appear and he will reign over them....

             "A transformation will take place. The Ten Tribes and the stick of Joseph will draw themselves closer unto the stick of Judah, and this too, will be through the agency of a Prophet and by miracles".

<<NEITHER SHALL THEY BE DIVIDED INTO TWO KINGDOMS ANY MORE AT ALL>>: but until the end times they will have been so divided.

The rebuilding of the Temple and the re-unification of Judah and Joseph will cause many amongst the non-Israelite nations to believe in the God of Israel.  This to my mind is an important point. The non-Israelite nations will be brought to worship the One God through the Bible and through Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Israelites are better than other people. It is how God wants it.