On 6th July, 1997, I was given two unusual dreams. One
dream was of two women. The first woman was blonde; the second was dark
haired. The dream conveyed that I had an affinity with the first, although
she was not physically attractive like the other one.
Meaning
God revealed that He was representing to me the two parts
of the Church which our ministry serves. The first woman represents the
Sabbatarians. The second, the charismatic Sunday-keeping part. He
illustrated the Sabbatarian sector of the church as a blonde woman because
she was more like me than the brunette. The brunette, however, I found more
attractive. (The dream was not erotic at all – for those who want to find
fault, or who might get the wrong impression.)
The Drab Sabbatarian Churches
In the first dream, I went into this large old open room
with wooden floorboards. There was no furniture. It was not an inviting
place. It was very plain and drab. I met a blonde woman. She was not
attractive, just rather plain looking. I became engaged in conversation with
her. She was sad. There were many other people in the room, but they were in
the background in this dream.
Apparently, I was looking for a place to rest. She told
me that the floor in the corners at the two ends of the room were rotten, so
not to go there lest the floor give way.
As we talked, I discovered that she was bereft after
losing her husband. She was lonely and emotionally distraught. I felt sorry
for this woman and hugged her to give her the emotional strength she needed.
However, the longer this embrace lasted, the more I realised that I was
being drawn into an adulterous relationship. I was married! I had to stop
this! It was wrong! I did. I told her that she could not rely upon me for
emotional support, but she had to look to God, read the Bible and pray to
Him for the strength she needed.
Meaning
This is an allegory of the Sabbatarian sector of the
Church. Some extremities are rotten and can't support people spiritually.
The main building is not appealing. It is drab. There is no joy there. Most
in the church have been separated from their spiritual Husband through the
lifeless, ritualistic teaching. It is as though He is no longer around!
Although I have compassion for these people, God is
telling me to beware deeper involvement with them. For they don’t want Him
fully in their lives. They look too much to men for leadership, instead of
to the Spirit.
If they look to me for spiritual support they are looking
in the wrong place. They must look to God, read the Bible (not follow their
teachers) and derive their strength from God in prayer.
Indeed, that is perhaps the most salient lesson
Sabbatarians need to learn – to stop looking to men and to follow the lead
of the Spirit in their lives. Only a minority of Sabbatarians understand
this spiritual aspect of our walk on earth. The majority are trapped by
lifeless teaching which denies the operation of the Holy Spirit, denies the
activity of supernatural spiritual gifts, operates on a very low level of
faith, and brings most of its subjects into bondage to men by so doing.
The Charismatic Church
The second dream involved another woman, physically quite
different from the first. This second woman was very attractive, and had a
big bust which she accentuated by what she was wearing. During the
conversation I asked her if she minded if I asked her a personal question.
She said "Go ahead." I asked her if her breasts were real or if they were
false. I suspected that they might have been implants, but she said they
were real. Surprisingly, she didn't mind me asking such a question; perhaps
she even felt flattered although she didn't show it openly. I did not
embrace this woman like I did the first one. We simply sat side by side
talking. I did not want to get involved in any illicit relationship with
her. Once again, however, the end of the conversation was the same as with
the first woman. I said to her that she couldn't look to me, she must look
to the Bible and pray to God.
These dreams were not erotic. The sexuality they
contained conveys a meaning in symbol.
Meaning
This is a pictorial analogy of our relationship with the
charismatic church, which is very conscious of the influence of God's power.
Like some women flaunt their physical form to have power over men,
Charismatics may tend to display God's power
rather openly to attract others. God does not want us to be drawn away by
the enticements that can border on being spiritually adulterous. Nor does He
want His power to be used with pride, like some like to show off their
bodies! There is nothing wrong with God's power, but it must be used
properly, not illicitly.
Through both dreams God is warning of the dangers of
being drawn away from Him by involvement with churches. Believers are not
here primarily to get involved in churches and their activities.
While both sectors of the Church – the Sabbatarians and
the Charismatics – have aspects of God’s truth, both need to learn from each
other. The drab Spirit-dead Sabbatarians need to welcome the moving of the
Holy Spirit in power in their meetings and stop looking to men for
leadership. The Charismatics should learn about the disciplined aspects of
Sabbath-keeping and stop flaunting the power of God.