I have always had a vivid imagination and when I was a child that imagination led me to have regular dreams. Many were enjoyable and once awake I often tried to get back to sleep in a vain attempt to continue the dream. As I have grown older, the frequency of dreams has decreased considerably so my spirit was pricked recently when I had two dreams in the same night.
A Dream or Nightmare?
The first dream was quite a harrowing scene, which was fortunately all contained within the dream and not real life! I am not particularly accustomed to nightmares as most my dreams have been on ‘nice’ themes. It began with my stirring (within the dream) and hearing noise downstairs (not literal, all within the dream). This I found quite believable for when a child I was a very light sleeper meaning even the slightest noise in the house caused great fear within me and on several occasions I was utterly convinced an intruder was in the house. In this dream, I went downstairs to investigate the noises and to my horror found a man (who was unidentified to me throughout) standing at the kitchen sink chopping up babies. Even though I stood there behind him, he was not aware of my presence. Whilst disturbed by what I witnessed I was strangely not scared. It was as if I was a silent witness into another realm. I turned away and when I looked back the same man was now attacking adult bodies, people I both know and love facing the same fate as those babies.
At this point, the dream seemed to end, I awoke, went to the toilet and on returning to my bed lay awake for a few minutes and found myself asking God what this disturbing scene I had witnessed was all about as I got a sense immediately it needed some discernment. I then heard God say that these scenes I had witnessed in the dream were to do with a coming storm. I got a sense that God was revealing this to the church that it might be prepared for what is to come so that when it comes it will not be a shock. More on that later.
During the next phase of sleep the second dream commenced and this time I was in the car stuck in a traffic jam on a slip-road coming off an unidentified motorway. Eventually some people up ahead started to abandon their cars and set off on foot. I decided to follow their lead and left my car. Upon reaching the top of the slip road I became aware I might not have locked the car. For some reason it was too late to go back, I had to just keep following the others and hope the doors had been locked. Once at the top of the junction the greater vision available showed the delay to be quite minor and those cars that were formally trapped were now moving. Within the dream I was not able to go back to the car and there the dream ended with my stirring to the new day.
Interpreting the Dreams
On waking up I got an immediate sense the two dreams were linked, although how was not immediately clear. I also knew it was significant I had had dreams given I cannot remember the last time I had one. Now before I go on, I should say there is still a degree of discernment going on here. I am sharing these dreams now for they may speak to others. For now this is what I believe God to be saying through these dreams:
The two are linked. It matters that both the man in the first and the motorway in the second dream were unidentified because the focus is not them. We already know from the Bible that there are coming days of greater evil in this world. That evil is already around (as per the babies scene which I believe to be referring to abortion, the reality of which is hidden from the public), but that evil will become far more obvious than it currently is. We won’t be able to miss or avoid it and God’s people will not be immune from the effects and results of it (perhaps this will be euthanasia, or even forced euthanasia for those deemed not ‘worthy’ of continued life.). For as long as it is only the unborn that are chopped up many can (and do) ignore it for the great crime that it is. Sadly many in the church have been too complicit in failing to speak out against abortion and take a stand for life. The church’s abject silence on these crucial issues of our day is deafening. When (as seen later in the first dream), the same horrific end is met by people we know and love it is impossible to pretend to ignore the evil.
The second dream is referring to sticking with God despite immediate adversity, despite other options appearing initially easier, better or more sensible. We need to remember that our job is not to follow the crowd, not to go along with the world but to do what is right by God. If we just blindly follow the goats they will lead us into destructive pits from which there is no exit. In the dream as I looked back at the road and saw the traffic jam was easing, I had already decided to abandon the car and now there was no way back. When we decide to make rash decisions without consideration for what is right by God we only see our folly afterwards. Life outside the pit is better, but by then we will have made our decision and embarked on a path which there is no way off. We have to understand that God sees and knows so much more about what is to come than we ever could. It is always best to trust in God even if it seems in the short term going our own way might have been easier.
We know also from the Bible that when the day of judgement comes there will be great wailing and gnashing of teeth of those regretting their rejection of God when they had a chance to follow Him. Opting to chase instant gratification seemed to be the best option at the time (as it does now with so many people), but in doing so they set themselves up against God. Could it be that this dream has something to do with choosing our path now carefully so as to avoid what may appear reasonable now, but that ultimately leads to destruction?
A Call to Wake Up
There is much evil in our society at present and yet many people do not (or will not) see it, including many in the church. Abortion is something that is largely hidden from the public. Most of the public are not aware of the horrific reality of it. However, if our friends and family members were killed in the same brutal way an abortion is carried out, or even if abortion was done in the public square would we be able to turn such a blind eye to it? Could it be the first dream is talking about waking up and seeing evil around us now for what it is? Could it be that God is calling us to rise up against evil and be set apart as a holy people? Could it be that God is knocking at the door of the church asking if anyone is there? Could it be that God is calling us to a greater awakening and deeper level of spiritual engagement with Him?
Preparing for the Battle Ahead
I wrote a year ago at the turn of 2017 I believed God had set aside this year as a year of reprieve. This would be a year where the church would be given a chance to recharge its batteries ahead of a new season of spiritual warfare in the following years. Now many (including myself) might suggest that word was either misheard, misinterpreted or made up for 2017 has not been a quiet year on the spiritual front at all. However, when considering this word in review as we we enter the twilight of 2017, whilst there has been a lot of news this year, the ‘big events’ all happened in 2016. Every major election this year has had a fairly predictable outcome with little change in regime.
If these dreams mean that the intensity of the spiritual warfare is about to dramatically increase, then it might well be that as we look back on 2017 in years to come we might very well say it was indeed a year of reprieve. As ever, our jobs as followers of Christ is first to examine our hearts and ensure we are walking fully with the Lord. Second, to ensure we are filled with the Holy Spirit who will help us discern events and guide us through the mist of deception and third that we preach the whole and unfiltered gospel at every opportunity.
The Road Ahead
There are many evil things bubbling under the surface of our society and when they explode we could face as Christians the greatest challenge to our faith that we have ever faced. The road ahead is an uncertain one, but for believers it is one with the certainty of the hope that there is in Jesus Christ. We must be sure to use this time God has allotted to get ready for whatever is coming next and always remember that when the next phase of the war commences we should have no fear for the battle belongs to the Lord.
As noted in this article, the suggestions as to what these dreams mean are just that. If you have an alternative interpretation, then I would be pleased to hear from you – let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
