Sunday, July 24, 2011, 7:25 a.m. – I woke this morning from a dream. The song, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” was playing in my mind when I awoke. I thought that particularly odd, but then I thought, perhaps, the song went with the dream somehow, so I inquired of the Lord. When I got out to the living room, I noticed right away that my song book, which was sitting on the keyboard, was opened to the song, “In That Day.” So, that song began playing in my mind. I thought, perhaps, that was only because I had seen it before me, yet, as I began to read the passage of scripture for today, which was the song of Mary, from Luke’s gospel, I began to see the connection, and realized that it must have been divine intervention that had me turn to that exact page in the song book last evening.
Note: The names used in this recording of the dream are not the people’s real names. Yet, I believe the Lord gave me these specific names to use for a reason. The characters are Joe and Carol. Joe means: “the average joe; an ordinary man” (MW Dictionary). Carol means: “song; hymn.” Both of these names fit perfectly with this story and with the song, “In That Day,” and with Mary’s Song in Luke 1, which was my passage of scripture for my QT today.
THE DREAM: Joe was watching the movie, “The Stand,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stand) which is based off of a Stephen King novel by that same title (not recommended viewing). The movie is a twisted, yet perhaps accurate in many respects, depiction of the time of tribulation. It begins with a massive plague that wipes out much of the population on the earth. The people who survive the plague gather together into two basic groups – good and evil. The evil is depicted very explicitly with an antichrist figure, who plays the part very well. There are several places in the movie that are extremely sexual and obsessively evil, which depicts Satan well. I saw this many years ago when I was allowing myself to watch movies like this, although I would look away during the truly evil and/or sexual parts. I wish I had never seen the movie.
Anyway, in the dream, Joe was watching this movie. He had seen it several times. His wife, Carol, saw him watching the movie, and she confronted him about it. He said something to the effect that he just forgot those sexual scenes were in the movie, even though he had seen the movie several times, as noted. Yet, as he was talking with his wife Carol, he never once looked away from the TV screen. He just kept watching the movie.
So, Carol got angry with him, and told him that he should know not to watch that movie. She questioned him as to why he was still watching it, even after being confronted. There was a comment he made to her that indicated something to the effect that he thought it was no big deal. Carol responded to him by saying something about how attitudes such as his, where people don’t deal with real life issues, tear apart many marriages. END
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 1:39-56:
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
My Understanding: The dream ended with Joe still watching the movie, not even looking at his wife, not heeding her counsel, and with his wife Carol angry with him. This said to me that what the Lord was depicting to me here, in this allegorical form, is not something in the past, but it is something in the present that is happening now. Joe is representative of mankind; every day, ordinary mankind, in general, both male and female.
The name “Carol” means song. There are three songs that are a part of this writing today. The first is “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The second one is, “In That Day,” which is based off of Isaiah 12 (a song), and the third is the Song of Mary, as recorded in the gospel of Luke. I believe all three songs have a specific message and that the three songs all connect in some fashion. Carol was giving a warning to Joe. These three songs also give a warning.
Joe was watching a movie, which had a star-studded cast. He was watching and was engrossed in a fantasy world (a star). This was his idol. It was more important to him than his marriage relationship to Carol. The movie was based off of a novel (fantasy), yet had some basis in reality, in that it loosely portrayed the time of tribulation. God won out in the end and Satan lost. That was the best part of the movie. Yet, the movie was filled with evil and with sexually explicit material, and Joe was allowing his eyes, mind and heart to be caught up in that world while ignoring his real world and his wife, who was very concerned about him. I believe Joe describes many people today, in particular in America, who are not only caught up in a fantasy world, but who believe everything they see and hear on TV or in the news as though it is real, when it may just be fantasy made to look real, while ignoring the realities around them. They are caught up in a sin-sick society to where they easily, like I admit that I also did previously, allowed a “little poop” in their/my “brownie.” I thought the entertainment value of the movie would override any objectionable material or that somehow I could just block out or overlook the bad stuff for the sake of entertainment.
Carol gave warning to Joe, and Carol means “song,” so the three songs are giving warning to mankind, in general, I believe, in today’s culture. The first, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” sounds really good, until you look at it in reality. If we put our hope and faith in a fantasy world, we will get exactly what we “wished” for, i.e. the judgment of God. All the signs of the end of the age were right before Joe’s eyes, but he totally missed it, because he was deceived. He didn’t see the truth that was coming through loud and clear through all the lies (fantasy). And, that is true of our world today, too. There are many lies being told via politicians, actors (same thing), news stories, et al, and yet most Americans accept them as reality and don’t see the truth of what is really going on right before their eyes.
Stephen King’s book was just like that. It was fantasy for the purpose of entertainment, yet the reality is that what it depicted, i.e. a time of great tribulation when Satan rules, is coming, yet most people just kind of slough that off, thinking it doesn’t apply to them. They continue to take a whole world of evil into their minds, without any thought for God or for his warnings, and if they are Christians, then they are doing this right in front of God, in his face. Jesus Christ is the husband (spouse) of the church just as Carol (song) was the spouse of Joe (average every day human being). And Joe completely ignored his wife. Many Christians are doing just that. They are completely ignoring our Lord and his warnings.
The second song, “In That Day,” is basically Isaiah 12, a song, put to music. Isaiah 12 is a song of rejoicing by the remnant who survives the judgment of God on his people, because of God’s deliverance and salvation. This song may have had a prior fulfillment, yet it is also prophetic of the time of tribulation when the remnant, who survives God’s judgment, will praise the Lord for his salvation and deliverance. God was/is angry with his people because of their idolatry and spiritual adultery (depicted in the dream). He had warned them again and again. They had seen God’s judgment on his people before, or they knew of that judgment through history’s records, yet it did not faze them. They still continued to do as they pleased, and they paraded their idols right in God’s face. He sent his prophets to them time and time again to call them to repentance, yet they refused. So, he had to bring judgment upon them. And, he will do this again. I believe he is presently angry with his church here in the USA because of the idolatry and spiritual adultery of his people and because of their refusal to hear and heed his warnings and refusal to repent of their ways.
The third song, which is the song of Mary in today’s scripture passage, describes how God has mercy on those who fear him, but he will use his arm (strength; power) to scatter those who are proud in their inmost thoughts (represented by Joe). He will bring down rulers from their thrones, but he will lift up the humble. He will fill the truly hungry (spiritually) with good things (his spiritual blessings and salvation), but he will send the rich (the selfish and greedy) away empty (without hope of salvation). Some people might say that this is Old Testament and that we are now under grace. But the same message is all through the New Testament, especially in the books of James, First John and Revelation. Repentance and obedience to God are essential for salvation, yet many false teachers would have you believe otherwise. God is warning his people again and again that they must repent. They must be humble, turn from their wicked ways, and they must obey God’s commands or face judgment. There are no guarantees that any of us might survive such a judgment, so we should heed God’s warnings (represented by Carol) today while we still have breath.
I believe that the Bible prophesies, as represented by the passage in Isaiah 12, that following the judgment of God on his people, his anger will turn away and he will restore the remnant to a right relationship with him. That is what the song, “In That Day,” is about. So, there is hope for the repentant, the humble of heart, and for those who truly fear God by turning from their sins and by taking God seriously in obeying his commands and heeding his warnings. We serve a merciful God, yet he is also a God of justice. Don’t play around. If you are like Joe and you are ignoring your Lord while living in your fantasy world, then I pray that you will get your heart right with Jesus today. A day of judgment is coming!
In That Day / An Original Work / May 21, 2011
Based off of Isaiah 12
In that day you will say: “I will praise You, Lord.
I know You were angry; anger’s turned away.
God is my salvation; I’ll trust; not afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, my strength; the Lord, Lord, my song;
He is my salvation; Lord, my comforter.”
With joy you’ll draw water from salvation’s wells.
In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on His holy name; make Him known today.
Proclaim: He’s exalted. Tell what He has done.
Sing, for He is glorious; make this known to all.
Shout aloud; sing for joy, people of Zion;
Great is the Holy One, who among us dwells.”
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Link to Song
1 comment:
Amen!
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