a The common grounds on which the enemy gains access are: a Unforgiveness a Rebellion a Witchcraft a Generational curses a Wrong confession a Extreme jealousy, envy, and rage a Strongholds a p.o.r.nographic nightmares may indicate a multi-stranded stronghold which manifests and operates as l.u.s.t.
a Spirit-sensitive counseling is suggested for nightmare and p.o.r.nographic dream sufferers.
a G.o.d uses adversity to refine us.
a Dreams may appear weird because G.o.d uses parables to communicate to us.
a Jesus is the best communicator the world has ever known because He employs parables using everyday realities to speak to every person at their level and on their wavelength.
a G.o.d uses metaphors because: a They create a more memorable message.
a They are more readily heard.
a They stimulate reflection and action.
a They readily convey vision.
a They refocus the familiar in a new light.
a They bypa.s.s the heart"s self-protective mechanisms.
Endnotes 1. F. Sofo, Human Resource Development (Woodslane, Warriewood, NSW. Australia, 1999).
2. T.L. Brink, "Metaphor as data in the study of organizations," Journal of Management Inquiry (1993) 2.4, 366-371.
3. M. Broussine and R. Vince, "Working with metaphor towards organizational change," Organizational Development: Metaphoric explorations (London: Pitman Publishing, 1996).
4. W Bennis, "The four competencies of leadership," Training & Development Journal (1984), 38.8, 14-19.
Chapter Five.
Are All Dreams From G.o.d? (Part 2).
By Adrian Beale.
Because of the nature of some of their dreams, many people think that G.o.d is not the author of all dreams. The authors believe that G.o.d speaks to us through every dream, but is He the author of every dream? Yes and No. The vast majority of our dreams are G.o.d speaking directly to us. However, the Scriptures also seem to indicate that the enemy has an ability to provide visionary experiences, and we ourselves are able to influence what G.o.d reveals through our dreams.
Dreams From the Enemy Consider the enemy for a moment. When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, the devil was able to manifest a vision of the future. The Bible records, "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time" (Luke 4:5).
Note that the devil was able in some way to provide a vision of future kingdoms. Who led Jesus into this situation to be tempted? G.o.da"the Spirita"did (see Luke 4:1). G.o.d was always in control. He knew the enemy"s abilities and allowed it. Who auth.o.r.ed the vision? On one level, the devil did, but on a far superior level, G.o.d did because He had foreknowledge of the devil"s plan, permitted it, and used it in accordance with His will and purpose. We must always remember that the enemy can only do what G.o.d permits. For this reason, we should not be too quick to ignore or discredit any dream on the grounds that "It is not from G.o.d."
Biased Dreams It also appears that G.o.d will reveal the agendas on our hearts through our dreams. This seems to be the essence of G.o.d"s communication through Jeremiah, For thus says the Lord of hosts, the G.o.d of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed (Jeremiah 29:8).
It may be that this text does not refer so much to a "self-generated" dream, but rather that it is potentially explained by another Scripture, Therefore speak to them, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord G.o.d: *Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the mult.i.tude of his idols"" (Ezekiel 14:4).
This says that if we come to G.o.d with preconceived plans (our idols), then G.o.d will answer us (in this case, in a dream) according to that which is in our hearts. G.o.d causes the dreamer to dream a dream that reveals the idolatry within the heart. In terms of G.o.d"s statement to Jeremiah, these are the dreams "you cause to be dreamed. "
The dream is a message from G.o.d to show dreamers the states of their hearts and is designed to bring them back to G.o.d. This is why Ezekiel continues to say, "that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart. . . " (Ezek. 14:5).
Balaam Balaam went through a similar situation. He was initially told not to go with the messengers of Balak the king of Moab who wanted him to curse Israel (see Num. 22:12). However, when the next envoy came to Balaam with the promise of greater reward, we find G.o.d apparently changing his mind and telling Balaam to go with them (see Num. 22:20). In the morning, as Balaam sets out on his journey to Balak"s camp, we find out that G.o.d is angry with Balaam (see Num. 22:22). Why? Balaam was going against the purposes and command of G.o.d by going with Balak"s men.
How can that be the case when the Bible records that it was G.o.d who told Balaam to go the second time? "And G.o.d came to Balaam at night and said to him, *If the men come to call you, rise and go with them. . ." " (Num. 22:20). G.o.d spoke to Balaam what he wanted to hear. In Balaam"s case, it was his greed that allowed his heart to be seduced. Similarly, G.o.d will speak to us in dreams that our hearts "cause us" to dream because of the idolatry there.
Discrediting G.o.d It is really important that we do not move too quickly to discredit the source and, therefore, the veracity of our dreams. Let me give you a couple of examples. While I was working in a teaching role at a Christian rehabilitation program, one of my students had a dream that he was injecting his own neck with a syringe. Now this was something that he had never done in real life. On similar occasions other Christian teachers had told me that, "G.o.d would never remind a person of where they"ve come from." They would try to further discredit the dream by saying, "That"s sick; that"s from the enemy!" But on this occasion, I simply asked the dreamer, "Are you seeking a quick fix here? For this is the interpretation of your dream." As I asked this question, you could see the conviction of the Holy Spirit on the person"s face as his heart was revealed. That student did not want to fully embrace Christianity, but was undergoing the program with an ulterior motive, and G.o.d revealed the motivation of the heart.
Another example that is not uncommon is when a married man or woman may dream of having s.e.x with someone other than their partner. Don"t be too quick to write these dreams off because of the pangs of guilt. This is particularly important if there is no s.e.xual arousal in the dream. (s.e.xual arousal generally indicates a l.u.s.t or temptation issue is involved.) Sure enough, in the natural, this does not sound like a work of G.o.d. However, when we consider that one of the metaphors for s.e.xual intimacy is "union" with another, and if we understand that kissing may be interpreted as "embracing" or "seduction," we learn not to write off these messages so quickly. So, a man being kissed by a woman in black may be G.o.d saying we are being seduced by death! And we need to consider the name of the person (if that person is known to us) kissing us in the dream. Being kissed by "Linda," for example, may say that we are embracing the enemy. Linda means "one who comes with wisdom," but its German root lindi means "serpent" or "snake-like." These are serious warnings that we would be wise to heed.
Dreams: The Product of Brain Chemistry or Conditioning?
Some may even believe that dreams are merely the product of brain chemistry or conditioning. If that is the case, how would you explain two people getting exactly the same dream? Honestly, what are the chances? Yet this has been recorded on several occasions, but I will cite only two readily-available and doc.u.mented accounts to confirm my point.
Firstly, in Reinhard Bonnke"s book, Even Greater, Reinhard details the story of how he and his brother, Jurgen, had the same dream, though thousands of miles apart and living very different lives. The dream showed Jurgen crossing a suspension bridge and falling into an abyss. After this dream, Jurgen asked G.o.d to confirm that it was indeed a warning from Him by verifying it in some way through his brother. When Reinhard wrote to Jurgen detailing exactly the same dream, the witness of the two dreams led Jurgen to receive Christ as his personal Savior!1 Secondly, in the book, India: One Act of Kindness, by Brendan McCauley, G.o.d gave two sistersa"Bini and Beena Thampya"the same dream of the Second Coming of Christ on the same night to encourage them and their family in their dedication to the Lord"s work in India.2 If you want to feed your faith, both of these booksa"which are present-day accounts of the Acts of the Apostlesa"are well worth the investment.
Take Them All Seriously Finally, if we believe that G.o.d is only the author of some dreams, and if we discredit the weird ones as either from the enemy or as figments of our own imagination, we have become like those who rule out unpalatable pa.s.sages of Scripture as uninspired. I like that dream, but I don"t like that one. So all the nice dreams are from G.o.d, and all the othersa"corrective and disciplinary onesa"are from the enemy. When we pick and choose which dreams are inspired and which are not, we close ourselves off from the full counsel of G.o.d. The ultimate consequence of this is spiritual insensitivity, leading to an imbalanced and powerless Christian walk.
Rather than ignoring them, we are to realize that dreams are dealing with real heart issues. Consider how much of the problem of our heart"s insensitivity or bias is addressed when we begin to see that G.o.d is communicating through all dreams and start to take them all seriously.
Summary: Chapter Five.
a G.o.d speaks through every dream.
a G.o.d, the devil, and our own hearts influence the dreams we dream.
a Beware of idols in your heart because G.o.d will answer you according to your idols.
a G.o.d responded to Balaam"s inquiry with what he wanted to hear.
a Go slow in discrediting dreams on the basis of their apparent source.
a Two people having exactly the same dream may answer the question of whether brain chemistry or conditioning are responsible for our dreams.
a Don"t pick and choose which dreams are inspired.
a Take all dreams seriously.
Endnotes 1. Reinhard Bonnke, Even Greater (Orlando: Full Flame LLC, 2004).
2. Brendan McCauley, India: One Act of Kindness (Oklahoma City: Tate Publishing, 2004).
Chapter Six.
Visions.
By Adam F. Thompson.
Step Into It and Grow.
I have learned over the years that walking in the Spirit and moving in the prophetic is something in which we grow. Why is that relevant in a book on dreams and visions? To understand, we need to reconsider G.o.d"s message through Joel. He says, . . . I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28).
This pa.s.sage points out that there is a link between prophecy and dreams and visions. In reality, dreams and visions are a vehicle to bring us into the prophetic. That is not to say that we are all prophets in the five-fold ministry sense of the word (see Eph. 4:11). However, dreams and visions are one of the primary ways in which G.o.d communicates to His prophets. This is confirmed as G.o.d says through Moses, " . . .If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream" (Num. 12:6).
Therefore, in pouring out His Spirit, G.o.d has equipped all of us with the ability to prophesy. That should get us excited and expectant. Just as G.o.d told Israel to begin to possess the land inhabited by the enemy as they moved from the wilderness into the Promised Land, so G.o.d tells us to spiritually step into what He has for us today (see Deut. 2:24, 31). As with Israel, G.o.d is encouraging us to begin possessing what belongs to us, because without the understanding that it is ours, we lack the faith to step into it.
Having been stirred to move in the spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, we need to understand that G.o.d doesn"t just wave a wand and give us them overnight. It is a gradual thing. There will be times when we make mistakes. When I first started moving in the prophetic, I became discouraged if I made an error. I thought that perhaps I had misunderstood G.o.d and that He didn"t really want me to move in the gifts. However, I have discovered that it doesn"t matter if we make mistakes. The Lord will help us to grow while learning from our mistakes. This is one of the reasons why the Bible sets forth that we are to judge prophecya"including the interpretation of a dreama"(see 1 John 4:1) and also explains the need for the schools of the prophets during the ministry of Elijah (see 2 Kings 2).
Sensitivity Required A person might have a powerful spiritual gift of seeing in the Spirit as a seer (one who has visions), prophesying, or even interpreting dreams, but it is another thing to have the sensitivity of heart to know if, when, and how to deliver what that person is shown. The prophetic is as much about knowing what to do with what G.o.d shows you as it is about having the discernment of heart to receive what He shows you. At times, G.o.d will simply give people spiritual insight so that they can pray for those to whom the revelation relates, often without those it concerns knowing it. We always need to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to match the gift, because although our hearts may be zealous, the Holy Spirit helps us to be effective.
Getting visions is common among prophetic people or those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit and moving in spiritual gifts. A vision can come either while we are awake or when we are asleep. Often visions come and we are not even aware that we have received one. I personally have found that two of our most receptive times to receive visions are just before we fall asleep or, conversely, just as we are stirring to consciousness, but not yet awake. At these times, because of our insensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, we are p.r.o.ne to miss what G.o.d is saying, as ". . .the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of G.o.d, for they are foolishness to him" (1 Cor. 2:14a).
As explained earlier, a vision is a revelation straight to the human spirit, a deposit from G.o.d injected into our spirits that interrupts soulish or conscious activity. However, without spiritual discernment, our natural inclination is to dismiss and ignore such revelations as vacant meanderings of our own mind.
I often get visions when I pray for people. It is very much like having a dream while being awake. These visions are mostly metaphoric or symbolic in nature. However, they can also be literal. When G.o.d gives me the interpretation of the vision, much like He would a dream, and I speak it out, it becomes a powerful prophecy in the lives of those with whom I am praying.
I remember once praying for a young man, and as I prayed, G.o.d gave me a vision of him working at a tire business. In the vision, he was working at a blue bench, and in front of him was a windowsill which had a potted plant on it. I saw him looking out the window dreaming about the desires of his heart. As I described the scene, he told me that I had described his workplace with incredible detail. He said he actually did look out the window and daydream about the things he wanted. The vision and prophecy that went with it encouraged him in the Lord and revealed that G.o.d cared about him individually and had a plan for his life.
Joel"s prophecy says that "youryoung men shall have visions" (Joel 2:28). From the material presented in this book, it should be evident that this means that G.o.d has made a way for every believer to operate in this spiritual gift today, just as Jesus did. When Jesus was introduced to Nathaniel, He said, "Behold,, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit" (John 1:47). There"s a depth revealed in this declaration, not evident to those who did not know Nathaniel personally. An Israelite with deceit would have been a fleshly man, a Jacob, or a grabber. Nathaniel, on the other hand, is a very devout Jewa"an apparent rarity in Jesus" day. Therefore, he naturally responded by asking, "How do You know me?" to which Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" (John. 1:48).
Now it was obvious that Jesus was not there physically to see Nathaniel under the fig tree. I believe that Jesus had a vision and had seen in the Spirit that Nathaniel was alone by the fig tree prior to Philip calling him. Sometimes the metaphoric and literal natures of visions run simultaneously, as they do here. When Jesus saw Nathaniel by the fig tree, where I believe he was praying, He was provided with a metaphor of him being a true Israelite because the fig tree represents Israel, and his act of praying was a literal confirmation of that metaphor. Jesus" vision was the faith-generating foundation to the power of this encounter. In revealing Nathaniel"s heart, it opened him to see Jesus as the Son of G.o.d.
Vision Leading to Renewal Recently while waiting upon G.o.d when I was ministering in India, I received a vision of a pergola that was half covered (an outside wooden structure with only half a roof). Immediately I sensed G.o.d saying to me, "What do you see?" So I said, "I see a half-covered pergola." In my spirit He said, "Half of My people here are not under My covering. Half are still serving the G.o.ds of their fathers. They are serving two masters." Instantly a Scripture came into my spirit. It was, I will also destroy the idols, and cause the images to cease from Noph; there shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt; I will put fear in the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 30:13).
I knew that G.o.d was asking me to preach about pending judgment on the nation of India, particularly warning Christians against walking a dual path. Those under Christ would be protected, whereas those living a syncretized lifestyle would receive judgment. As you can imagine, this was not a message that was going to tickle ears, but because I have vowed to preach what He gives me, regardless of politics and the fear of people, I shared this message in several meetings in and around Pithapuram. Sure enough, some people walked out of those gatherings, but in every church where I preached this message, 20-30 percent of the congregation came forward to rededicate their lives to Christ! At one church of around 300 people, the pastor"s daughter came forward, repented, and rededicated her life to Christ. Can I suggest that for her to do that would have taken true Holy Spirit conviction because of the politics and cultural influences involved? Visions are an extremely powerful vehicle of communication from G.o.d to which everyone needs to be open and attuned.
Hunger to Hear and Do the Will of G.o.d The question you may be asking yourself is, "How can I experience visions?" Well, it is simple! Visions are just one of the ways G.o.d"s Word is communicated to us when we earnestly desire to hear and fulfill G.o.d"s will. G.o.d uses visions from cover to cover of the Bible to communicate with humankind. He used a vision to speak to Abram, "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. . . " (Gen. 15:1). And He used visions in giving the apostle John the Book of Revelation, ". . I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision" (Rev. 9:16b-17a).
Peter captures the hunger required as he speaks about the Old Testament prophets and their desire to know about the coming of Christ, . . . the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified . . .To them it was revealed . . (1 Peter 1:10-12a).
Notice that the nation"s "watchmen" (the prophets) hungered or, as the text puts it, "searched carefully" and that "it was revealed" to them as a result of that hunger. The fact that G.o.d brings revelation in response to our hunger to hear and fulfill G.o.d"s will can be seen as we consider a few Scriptures.
Beginning with Moses" words to Israel about the purpose of the wilderness wanderings, we read, And you shall remember that the Lord your G.o.d led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness. . . So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Here G.o.d wants us to see the parallel between physical hunger and its spiritual counterpart. Whilst not denying our physical need ("man shall not live by bread alone"), the emphasis is on understanding that our greatest need is spiritual food, " . . .but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:3).
How important is this? In case we miss it, as the Israelites did in the wilderness, Jesus comes to our rescue in the New Testament by restating these exact words in response to temptation to meet His physical hunger (see Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). Jesus graduates where Israel failed because He was hungrier for G.o.d"s Word than for physical food! Job brings us this same truth as he says, ". . .I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12).
By allowing Jesus to complete the picture for us in John"s Gospel (when speaking to His disciples about the Samaritan harvest), G.o.d links the fulfillment of His will with food. When Jesus" disciples requested that He eat, Jesus responded by saying, "I have food to eat of which you do not know" (John 4:32).
When they missed the point He was making, He spelled it out for them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34).
It is little wonder, in Jesus" encounter with the woman at the well (which precedes these verses), that so much was revealed to Him about her personal life. When we hunger to know G.o.d"s Word and fulfill His will with similar fervency, we can be sure He will communicate to us, and one of His main methods will be visions.
A Personal Hunger Rewarded Several years ago the Lord gave me a desire and a pa.s.sion to pray in the Holy Spirit for long periods of time. At the time, as the owner of an advertising agency, I had the opportunity to do just that. G.o.d allocated the time; two hours in the morning before work, two hours at lunch time and two hours in the evening praying in the Holy Spirit. I did that, six hours a day, five days a week for two years. As you can imagine, some people thought I had "lost it." But, as I walked and prayed, the Holy Spirit started to do things in my life. A lot of the issues and the flaws in my life and some of the major strongholds (like the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world and the l.u.s.t of the flesh) started to break off my life.
The Bible says, ". . .Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This is a universal truth. If you sow righteousness, you will reap righteousness. If you sow sin, you will reap sin. When it comes to sowing into prayer and having a pa.s.sion to seek G.o.d for periods of time, you will reap the rewards. G.o.d has also promised that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (see Heb. 11:6). My current ministry is testimony to the Lord"s faithfulness to honor His Word, for I have been blessed with visions, the gift of interpreting dreams, and the witness of seeing signs and wonders following the preaching of the Gospel.
The Anointing Breaks the Yoke While I was ministering in Pakistan recently, the Lord gave me a vision. I was looking out at the audience when the Lord showed me that a particular woman had pain a.s.sociated with one of her legs. Now this woman was wearing a long gown down to the ground, so that you could not see her legs with the naked eye. However, what I saw in the Spirit was some kind of infection on her leg. I declared what G.o.d was showing me and asked her through an interpreter whether she could confirm my words. Did she indeed have pain in that particular leg? When she confirmed what G.o.d had shown me, I then called her forward for prayer. I have found that when you are seeing in the Spirit and declare what you see, it builds faith in those involved. I prayed for healing of her leg and then continued ministering in the gifts and preaching the Word. I gave it no further thought. However, a week later I was again in the area where this gathering had been held, and the people were abuzz with excitement and expectancy because the woman had been healed of leprosy in her leg! All glory to G.o.d!
On the same trip I was on my way to catch the plane home and somewhat pressed for time. We called in at a particular pastor"s home to say a brief farewell. As we entered the home, there was an air of grief about the place because the pastor"s father had had a major heart attack and was lying on a bed on the floor. The family did not know whether their father would make it through the night. I offered to pray for him, and as I did, the Lord showed me the man on his feet and doing things with a smile on his face. I once again declared what the Lord had shown me and that this sickness was not unto death. About a week later, I was back home at my desk when I received a phone call from the pastor whose father had been on that deathbed. He was rejoicing because his father was up and about, smiling exactly as the Lord had shown me. Praise G.o.d!
Similarly, a couple of years ago, I visited a family to give G.o.d"s interpretation of a dream. As I sat with the husband and wife interpreting their dream, I received several visions. In one I saw a car at the front of their home with a man in it with a young lady. The Holy Spirit laid upon my heart that there was a s.e.x predator around their daughter. I asked about their daughter and if she was involved with a man who wasn"t a Christian. It turned out that this vision was literal. The couple was very concerned about their daughter. A relationship had developed which included parking outside their home prior to dropping her off at night.
As we were speaking, I had another vision of their daughter standing in a clothes shop with a man behind her. I wasn"t quite sure what it meant, so I described what I saw. This time the vision was a metaphor. The mother said that they were having considerable debate about their daughter"s choice of clothing. The daughter was wearing revealing clothes, which was a concern to her parents because she dressed in a way that would attract and cause men to stumble. There had been extensive disputes and arguments about her dress code. After our discussion, we prayed, and as I was prophesying into their lives, the Holy Spirit broke something very powerful over the family. The next night when the daughter came home, she told her mom that G.o.d had spoken to her. She wanted to apologize and get back to serving G.o.d. The daughter went on to say that her parents were right and that she wanted to change her life and do what G.o.d wanted her to do. The parents were in awe of what G.o.d had done in that one brief encounter when we prayed and broke the demonic yoke that was over their family. This is a great example of how visions release faith that enables people to powerfully receive from G.o.d and break the enemy"s yoke.
I believe that this is the way that G.o.d wants us to minister. There is nothing like being led by the Holy Spirit. It is just like Jesus with the woman at the well (see John 4). He knew that she had had five husbands, and it opened her up to receive what Jesus was saying to her and led her to gather the townsfolk, which set the scene so that revival could break out. If we claim to know Jesus, the Bible says we will walk the way He walked (see 1 John 2:6). And Jesus walked in this way. He was the prophet of all prophets. He did not need any promotion. He did not need any publicists. The power of the Holy Spirit was His herald, drawing crowds through signs and wonders. Visions are a major key for the Holy Spirit to prepare the ground, open people, and build faith for that which is to follow. Even now you may be receiving things in the Spirit, but not understand them. G.o.d could be revealing to you the future plans of the enemy operating in the second heaven (the spiritual realm) so that you can prepare for spiritual warfare, or He could be showing you the third heaven (where He dwells) and its storehouse of miracles. These spiritual downloads empower us to "call things that are not as though they are" (Rom 4:17) and see them manifest into the natural realm. I trust the few experiences I have related here will inspire you to step out with what you receive.
Deception Revealed As mentioned earlier, sometimes we receive visions when we are falling asleep. You know that time when you are not fully asleep, but in that zone just before falling asleep. Someone may be reading this right now and saying, "Yes, I get that!" Well, at one of those times I had a vision, a vivid vision of the Mona Lisa. It was so vivid and real that it quickly brought me back to consciousness. I came to myself thinking, Why did I have a vision of the Mona Lisa? I told my wife about it and the next day began some research on the Mona Lisa. However, it took about eight months for true understanding to be revealed. At times, G.o.d doesn"t give the interpretation of a dream or vision straight away. I found out that this famous painting has been a.s.sociated with mystery and intrigue. The experts are not sure why she was painted or if she was even a real person. The consensus of opinion was that she was not an upright woman. Apparently, in 16th century Italy, if a woman wore her hair down, she was cla.s.sed as a "loose" woman. However, eight months after I had the vision, the National Research Council of Canada announced that new 3-D imagery technology had revealed that the subject of the painting originally had her hair up in a bun.1 After all this time, it was finally settled that she was a woman of high moral standing. In terms of a metaphor, the Mona Lisa signifies mystery and deception.
Now, to carry this thought a little farther, if we get a dream or vision about a woman, it can represent the Church. If we see the woman as a businesswoman, it can represent the Church becoming a marketplace. G.o.d revealed to me that the vision of the Mona Lisa is a metaphor of what the Church has become in the world"s eyes. While the true Church of G.o.d is a woman of high stature and moral reputation (see Eph. 5:27), the enemy has painted the Church to look like a woman of low moral standing. The media particularly takes great pleasure in exposing any loss of her virtue.
When the movie The Da Vinci Code was released, it came with its worldwide platform of media hype and promotion. Even 6 to 12 months after the movie, the marketing paraphernalia still filled the stores. Though merely a novel, Dan Brown"s book had some advocates believing it to be a true story. The enemy gained ground from it because those living in darkness want to believe the lie and quell their troubled consciences. But when the dust settles, like the painting that was a pivotal part of the novel, like the picture painted of the Church by the devil, and like the movie taken from Dan Brown"s novel, all we"ve seen is deception.
When G.o.d doesn"t immediately provide an interpretation for a dream or vision, like the Mona Lisa vision, it may be that He has a deeper revelation to bring (see John 11:6, 25). It may also be that G.o.d uses the timing of the interpretation to develop patience (see James 1:3), create greater faith (see Heb. 11:910), or profoundly strengthen the inner self by causing us to wait upon G.o.d with greater desire (see Isa. 40:31). Sometimes one dream or vision may not give enough of the message for it to be firmly interpreted. In this case, further revelationsa"in visions and dreamsa"will give direction to the interpretation.
Finally, it is possible that the delay between the revelation and its interpretation is designed to prevent human effort from sabotaging G.o.d"s purpose. Whatever the reason, whenever we receive a dream or vision, we should always wait upon the Holy Spirit to provide the interpretation. However, if one is not immediately forthcoming, we can rest a.s.sured G.o.d will always bring forth an answer to the genuine enquirer in His time and with our best interests at heart.
Summary: Chapter Six.
a According to Acts 2:17, dreams and visions bring us into the realm of the prophetic.
a We grow in the prophetic, learning from our mistakes.
a The prophetic is as much about knowing what to do with what G.o.d shows us as it is about having the discernment of heart to receive what He shows us.
a Two very receptive times to receive visions are, firstly, just when we are falling asleep, and secondly, just as we are stirring from sleep.
a Metaphoric and literal elements can be combined in dreams and visions.
a Visions are just one of the ways G.o.d"s Word is communicated to us when we earnestly desire to hear and fulfill G.o.d"s will.
a We are to hunger for G.o.d"s Word and the fulfillment of His will more than we do for our natural sustenance.