Authentic: My Weird Dreams
I have a few recurring dreams that rotate when I am stressed. In one of them I am being hunted by the mob and I’m doing everything I can to escape. I usually start in whatever town we live in and always end up at my childhood home in Arkansas, with 1920s era gangsters running me down and shooting me in the back as I run out the door into the carport.
I’ve always wondered what the dream means. It probably has something to do with my fear of heights.
There are other times I’ll be in a conversation and think, “I’ve had this conversation before.” When I really think hard about it, there are times I’ll remember that it was in the real world with a different person. But there have been a few times that I realize my déjà vu was because I dreamed the conversation before it actually happened in real life.
I know it sounds weird. Maybe it’s never happened to you.
My explanation is that my memory of the dream is an amalgam of previous and current experiences and conversations that I then project into my memories. So my current context influences my memory of my dreams. I certainly don’t think I’m any sort of prophet that dreams things before they happen and then can present them as premonitions of future events.
But maybe God sometimes speaks to us in our dreams.
There are plenty of examples in Scripture of people who hear the voice of God in their dreams. From Joshua, Jacob, Abraham, and Joseph to the prophets, Mary, and John, dreams are given a whole lot more significance in the Bible than we tend to give them in the 21st Century United States.
Some of the dreams we see in the prophets are pretty weird. There are some, called “apocalyptic”, that, as the prophet describes what he saw in his dreams, are really difficult to navigate. They are full of fantastic creatures and strange happenings, but if we do the work to sort through the symbolism we can at least come to an idea of the general principles the dreams are trying to communicate.
One of those prophets is our Minor Prophet of the week, Zechariah. The first half of the book describes a series of dreams that give insight into the past, present, and future of the people of Israel as they returned from the Babylonian Exile around the year 520 BCE.
Zechariah and Haggai prophesied to the same people at about the same time, and gave similar messages, but Zechariah added quite a bit more about the future Kingdom and the Messiah than Haggai.
The dreams in the first half of the book focus on tracing the previous 70 years, how the people of Israel got themselves into exile, how the Persians took over the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and how the Israelites should stay faithful to their covenant responsibilities to worship and serve only God.
The second half of the book focuses on the Messianic King who would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, be rejected, pierced, and mourned, but would eventually rule in a restored Jerusalem and bring pure and righteous worship back to the Temple.
Ezekiel 10 describes the moment when the Spirit of the Lord, the actual presence of God, left the Temple as the people continually rejected Him and broke their covenant vows. Even when the 2nd Temple was finished by Zerubbabel, the Spirit of God did not return to the Temple.
But when the little boy Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, entered the Temple in Jerusalem over 500 years later, God’s presence finally returned. And when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, was rejected, pierced, and mourned, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah. And 50 days later, the Spirit of God came to dwell in the new Temple, the individual believer.
The Messianic King rules a restored people of God, and even though there are some prophecies we still look forward to, we worship him in righteousness and purity.
At the end of the Old Testament, the people demonstrated a heart turned toward God by rebuilding the Temple, re-establishing proper sacrifices, and staying faithful to their covenant responsibilities.
Today, we demonstrate a heart turned toward God by Loving Him with all our Hearts, Loving our neighbor as ourselves, and Making Disciples from among those in our influence.
Here’s a conversation starter for you and your kids:
What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had? Do you think there’s any significance to it?
What do you think it looks like for us to live with Jesus as our King?
I’ve always wondered what the dream means. It probably has something to do with my fear of heights.
There are other times I’ll be in a conversation and think, “I’ve had this conversation before.” When I really think hard about it, there are times I’ll remember that it was in the real world with a different person. But there have been a few times that I realize my déjà vu was because I dreamed the conversation before it actually happened in real life.
I know it sounds weird. Maybe it’s never happened to you.
My explanation is that my memory of the dream is an amalgam of previous and current experiences and conversations that I then project into my memories. So my current context influences my memory of my dreams. I certainly don’t think I’m any sort of prophet that dreams things before they happen and then can present them as premonitions of future events.
But maybe God sometimes speaks to us in our dreams.
There are plenty of examples in Scripture of people who hear the voice of God in their dreams. From Joshua, Jacob, Abraham, and Joseph to the prophets, Mary, and John, dreams are given a whole lot more significance in the Bible than we tend to give them in the 21st Century United States.
Some of the dreams we see in the prophets are pretty weird. There are some, called “apocalyptic”, that, as the prophet describes what he saw in his dreams, are really difficult to navigate. They are full of fantastic creatures and strange happenings, but if we do the work to sort through the symbolism we can at least come to an idea of the general principles the dreams are trying to communicate.
One of those prophets is our Minor Prophet of the week, Zechariah. The first half of the book describes a series of dreams that give insight into the past, present, and future of the people of Israel as they returned from the Babylonian Exile around the year 520 BCE.
Zechariah and Haggai prophesied to the same people at about the same time, and gave similar messages, but Zechariah added quite a bit more about the future Kingdom and the Messiah than Haggai.
The dreams in the first half of the book focus on tracing the previous 70 years, how the people of Israel got themselves into exile, how the Persians took over the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and how the Israelites should stay faithful to their covenant responsibilities to worship and serve only God.
The second half of the book focuses on the Messianic King who would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, be rejected, pierced, and mourned, but would eventually rule in a restored Jerusalem and bring pure and righteous worship back to the Temple.
Ezekiel 10 describes the moment when the Spirit of the Lord, the actual presence of God, left the Temple as the people continually rejected Him and broke their covenant vows. Even when the 2nd Temple was finished by Zerubbabel, the Spirit of God did not return to the Temple.
But when the little boy Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, entered the Temple in Jerusalem over 500 years later, God’s presence finally returned. And when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, was rejected, pierced, and mourned, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah. And 50 days later, the Spirit of God came to dwell in the new Temple, the individual believer.
The Messianic King rules a restored people of God, and even though there are some prophecies we still look forward to, we worship him in righteousness and purity.
At the end of the Old Testament, the people demonstrated a heart turned toward God by rebuilding the Temple, re-establishing proper sacrifices, and staying faithful to their covenant responsibilities.
Today, we demonstrate a heart turned toward God by Loving Him with all our Hearts, Loving our neighbor as ourselves, and Making Disciples from among those in our influence.
Here’s a conversation starter for you and your kids:
What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had? Do you think there’s any significance to it?
What do you think it looks like for us to live with Jesus as our King?
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