I had a dream last night which I am recording here in my blog. This is unusual for me. Dreams are rather private by nature. Their symbols are usually personal and contextual. While this dream is no exception (it was given to me as an individual call to faith), the imagery is so biblical and the message feels so pertinent to our day, that I felt others might find something in it worth contemplating. In any case, writing the vision down gives me an opportunity to preach to myself. It is a message the Spirit knows I need to hear.
The dream was set in the midst of a great wilderness covered by sand dunes. Perhaps it was near the ocean, or maybe it was further inland, I do not know. I found myself standing on a dune near a mother and her child. The woman and her young one were sheltered underneath the withered roots of some very large and ancient trees. It looked as if the trees themselves had died long ago, but these roots were left exposed, arching over the sand, making the skeleton of what could be a canopy if some cloth were thrown over their tops.
As I looked out toward the horizon, an enormous tsunami, or avalanche or landslide of sand began rolling toward us. I could not comprehend the height of the wave or imagine the destruction it would leave in its wake. I tried to run, but failed to get much traction in the sand. I called to the mother, imploring her to pick up her child up and run with me. She replied quietly, “Stay here, in this shelter with us. The ancient ones told us this place will be safe from all destruction.” Looking across the landscape, I could not see how this place could possibly be spared. It appeared no higher than other ground. It was not set apart by any natural boundary. The open roots overhead could not possibly offer protection- but running was futile. The only hope I could find was faith in the ancient wisdom.
The dream ended before I could see the wave roar past, but in my heart I knew we would be safe because I heard the words “Exodus 8” ring in my ears several times before the dream ended. This morning I jumped up to read the text, eager to see if it made any sense of the dream. The eighth chapter of Exodus recounts three plagues which God brought upon Egypt through Moses - frogs, flies and gnats. The magicians of Egypt were able to duplicate the first plague, but not the flies or the gnats. The magicians were reduced to telling Pharaoh the plagues came “from the finger of God” and they begged their king to ask Moses to pray for them. The Israelites, however, were untouched by the plagues. There were no frogs or flies or gnats in the land of Goshen, though no natural boundary separated the Hebrews land from the rest of Egypt. It was only the “finger of God”, the jealous love of the Almighty, which kept their land safe.
I have a friend, a Jewish rabbi, who believes in Jesus as Messiah. He once explained to me that the plagues in the book of Revelation mirror the plagues brought upon Egypt. And like the plagues of Exodus, they are meant to demarcate the people of God from those who bow down to the beast. The bowls of wrath are not meant for the faithful! What a relief that is!
Of course this does not mean the end times will be easy for God’s people. On the contrary, the wrath of Satan will be fierce. Swords will pierce our hearts, as they did Mary’s. But they Lord will provide for us, as He provided for the woman in Revelation 12. In fact, I believe the woman in my dream is the woman from Revelation - a symbol of Mary, and Israel and the Church. The child, of course, is Jesus. And our “safe place” is the instruction of the prophets. If we remain standing on the promises of scripture, we will not be shaken, though the dragon rages in his fury. Here is the passage from Revelation.
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.
Even now, there are tsunamis on the horizon. Perhaps we will live to see the beast. We cannot escape these events. They are foretold. We may shake in our sandals as the Israelites did watching the plagues unfold, but we have the advantage of their wisdom. We know the end of their story, and so we can rest assured in our own. The skies will be rolled back, like the sea before the Israelites. Our Savior will come riding on His white horse, and call us up to the clouds with Him. He will be our God and we will live in His light forever. Amen.