“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
- Acts 2:17
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- Joel 2:28
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
- Genesis 20:6
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
- Genesis 28:12
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
- Genesis 37:5
“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- Genesis 40:8
Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.
- Genesis 41:12
he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
- Numbers 12:6-8
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”
- 1 Samuel 28:5-7
So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
- Jeremiah 27:9
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.
- Daniel 2:1
Boilerplate
I’m Harold Dykstra. I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story. My time is well spent. A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel. I did not know she was an angel at the time. The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone. And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy. She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others. She changed my life.
In her leaving, she said someone would come. I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived. While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.
This Week’s Question
Last week, Babs modeled sexy lingerie that got my attention. She used the ruse that it was the only thing she had that was red, and thus what she would wear on Pentecost Sunday. As it was, Willie took her shopping for not just a red dress, but also for a wedding gown. No, I have not popped the question, but I thought we should take the thing that will cost the most and take the most time in the queue. Last I heard, they had narrowed down their list, but they decided to ask a couple more people to help: Catherine ver Waarloosd for a youthful opinion and Gwen Quinn who seemed to know half the designers in the country. It turned out that she does due to Baldwyn Apple getting requests for a variety of fantasy nights at the brothel. But if they get the thing ordered with a projected due date, that starts my window.
This week, she was not in a good mood. She had a dream that disturbed her, a dream from her past.
I said, “Babs, let’s go up to your sitting room to have our Bible study. I thought we would discuss dreams tonight. Let’s mix up the location a bit. We had one on the back porch that was unplanned, but this will let you know how well your sitting room will work when you have visitors.”
Babs said, “And how do you know that I have not had a big hunk come up to my room when you weren’t looking?”
I replied, “The only person I have seen go up the stairs other than family is Joe Parker, who is almost like family and is in elementary school.”
Babs huffed, “You take all the fun out of it.”
I said a little prayer, if for no other reason to calm Babs down a bit.
Babs asked, “Can I tell you my dream?”
I sighed, “If you must. Is it a naughty dream?”
Babs said, “Very.”
I suggested, “Avoid the intricate details, and when you talk about doing the things married people do in their bedroom, call it bedroom gymnastics. I have sensitive ears.”
Babs nodded, “I’ll just say b.g. The dream starts with this young pretty woman bumping into her neighbor from across the hall. He is handsome, but she gets tongue-tied every time she meets him. He always smiles, but he never says anything. She almost gets up the nerve, but the landlady comes by, an old woman in a wheelchair, being pushed by a bodybuilder nurse. She goes into her apartment and gets angry with herself for not starting a conversation. Then she daydreams about what might happen, a casual kiss, a hug, a caress, and maybe b.g., but just a hint.”
“Then, it’s the next day and she is walking by a beautiful brook, fast running water over river washed stones. She looks at the brook and sees something shining. It’s a ring. She sees that the ring fits. When she tries it on, she feels better, stronger, more confident. She takes the ring off and starts walking back to her apartment building, but she sees a young man fishing. She thinks that if she can talk to the fisherman, she can talk to the man across the hall. She walks up to the fisherman, and she puts the ring on. The man sets down his fishing gear and starts taking off her clothing and b.g. She gets sand in the ring and she takes it off to clean it. When the two see that they are both naked, they rush to get their clothing on. She thinks about what happened on the way back to the apartments and when she sees the pool boy, she tries it again just to make sure. The same thing happens. And as soon as the ring comes off, there is embarrassment. She runs up the stairs, but the neighbor across the hall is not at home.”
“The next day, it is a business day. She is the secretary in a law firm and the five partners treat her like dirt. Then, they have a meeting together and she is there to take notes and type up the minutes. They are abusive to her on one hand and ignoring that she is there on the other. She puts the ring on. All six of them b.g. and she is the honored center of attention. She manages to get dressed and walks out of the room. Then she takes the ring off and walks back into the room to find five naked men not having a clue what just happened. She puts the ring on and takes it off. She demands a double salary, a private office, and most of all, respect. If not, she has photos, and they all know she can do it again and again. She already had the contract typed. They gladly sign.”
“Then, she goes to her apartment and as she fumbles with the keys, her neighbor walks up. She quickly puts on the ring and b.g. all over her apartment. She takes the ring off, and not being embarrassed, he asked how it happened. She showed him the ring, and he says that they do not need the ring, so more b.g.”
“The next day, they go to the brook, and she puts the ring back in the brook where she found it. They have this feeling that someone will find it soon, so they hide in the bushes. But they are disappointed when the landlady, with a hunched back, and hardly able to stand… She notices the ring and her nurse gets it and finds that it is a perfect fit for her. She then stands up. The hunch is gone. She has vigor in her body and wordlessly, she starts to undress the nurse, and b.g.
The young woman and her boyfriend sneak up to her room to continue b.g.
But then you see the old landlady in her bedroom and the doctor is asking why her vital signs are so much better. She simply puts the ring back on, and the nurse starts to laugh. The doctor is now enchanted, and she has b.g. with both the doctor and nurse. And that is the end of the dream.
I huffed, “Is that a dream or a porn film you were in?”
Babs looked at the floor. “Both. I had the dream, I risked my own money to make it using the production company that I had interest in. I did the screen writing since it was my dream. I was director, producer, everything. And it was a blockbuster. I also got every award I could get, in the USA and several from overseas award groups. But I never went to the award shows. I disappeared instead. That’s why they want me back, but this came in a dream, a very naughty dream. How could I reproduce that, and besides, I played the part of the old landlady, and I got the best supporting actress award too. But I cast myself in that role. I was already thinking I was too old.”
I asked, “But you used some magic to get the hunch?”
Babs waved a hand, “Sure, I was never seen with the hump when I stood up. It was a prop. But, Harold, I cast myself as the dried-up old woman.”
I snickered, “Who turned into the princess in the end. You were not too old for that role.”
Babs huffed, “Are you trying to get me to go back into the business? That is not going to happen. I know Jesus now.”
I held out a hand and she took it. “Babs, let’s look at who has dreams in the Bible, maybe not all of them, but enough. I think that dream came from God in some kind of way so that you would leave the industry, or let’s say God let Satan put that dream into your head in that God does not tempt. Then, you leave the industry and hide. God gives you dreams of me and young Babs. Then the dreams stop after you have accepted Jesus, and the young Babs left. She is still here, but not visible. But what is the main object that is the thread through your dream? The ring. And maybe God is telling you that when the right type of ring is put on your finger, you will not be too old. You will be just right. Babs, you have nothing to fear unless I kick the bucket before I find the right time to pop the question.”
Babs said, “Why would God go to all this trouble if you do not pop the question? And Gwen Quinn has a designer coming in next week. We decided she was the best considering what I want. It will be months away, but not the usual 6 to 10 months, maybe on the six months end. Embellishments take extra time, and I want simple. Elegant, but not a lot of bling.”
I laughed, “It sounds like you have given it a lot of thought.”
Babs huffed, “No, Gwen Quinn is the expert. She gave me a lecture that included every option, every extra, everything. So, teach me, Harold, or I will show you what I have on under this dress.”
I asked, “Do you have more naughty lingerie on?”
Babs blushed, “Maybe I have nothing on, Harold. Can you take the chance?”
“Okay,” I said as I flipped my Bible open. “Let’s get started.” Babs chuckled. I was not going to call her bluff. “The word ‘dream’ is in nearly one hundred Bible verses, from Genesis to Jude.”
Babs asked, “Not Revelation?”
I said, “That was mostly John’s vision. And to clarify, in Acts 2, Peter quotes Joel 2:28. Young people will prophesy. Old men will dream dreams and young men will have visions. You had a dream that I think came from God, but you can decide whether you are old enough. You are about ten years younger than I am, so you are young to me. So maybe you had a vision. The next time you tell that story, and I hope you never do to, you know, people, you had a vision.”
Babs snickered, “Yes, my sweet man. Now where is the book with the most dreams?”
I shrugged, “Let’s start at the beginning. Nearly a third of the verses with dream in the verse come from Genesis. And not all the people are in Abraham’s family. The first is in Genesis 20, Abimelech is warned by God in a dream that Abraham’s sister is also his wife. In Genesis 28, we have the dream of Jacob’s Ladder, or as the NIV says, a staircase with angels going up and down. In Genesis 31, we have Jacob and his father-in-law Laban having dreams, as Jacob and Laban try to cheat each other. Then in Genesis 37, we have Joseph having dreams. That is part of how the brothers got so angry with him, but he ends up as a slave to Potiphar. Joseph is wronged by Potiphar’s wife and Joseph goes to prison. He interprets the dream of the cupbearer and the baker. The baker is killed, and the cupbearer forgets Joseph until Pharoah has dreams that disturb him two years later. Only Joseph can interpret the dreams.”
I continued, “When Miriam and Aaron had their little rebellion in Numbers 12, God speaks to them. Most people either have visions or dreams, but Moses is special. God talks to him face to face. God is a spirit, but God and Moses just talk to each other. The Midianites dream in Judges 7 and that gives Gideon the courage to go ahead with the attack. Then Saul inquires of the medium only after God would not speak to him in 1 Samuel 28.”
Babs said, “So far, we have more people who are not believers having these dreams than we do members of Abraham’s family. And a lot of those dreams have a purpose to forward God’s plan.”
I nodded, “We could keep going. We are not halfway through all dreams. Nearly another third are in Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar having a couple of dreams that Daniel interpreted. Then Daniel has a dream and the narrative starts saying visions after that.”
Babs scrunched her nose and asked, “Did Daniel get younger?”
I shook my head, “No, but I missed the dreams in Jeremiah. They are important. You never hear what they say, but Jeremiah is instructed to tell the people not to listen because they are false prophets. So, God is not the only one that can have people dream a dream. Your dream you told was a naughty one, but God used that dream to have you leave your profession. Then God sent you dreams to find out about who God was and the compulsion you had to find me, since I had taught you through those dreams.”
Babs said, “So, how do I know I am listening to the right dreams?”
I smiled, “You read the Bible. You ask me or the pastor. Go to the Bible study guides and commentaries. Do not just think you have a new revelation. Then you could lead people astray just like the false prophets of Jeremiah’s time.”
Babs gasped, “And I have heard some television people say that they have heard from God in a vision and then it simply made no sense, or it was against what I have in my heart.”
I nodded, “Yes, Babs, I think we have some pastors that say things the wrong way, but they have a good heart. But we also have those that have a different agenda, and they may be getting their dreams from Satan, and it might sound good enough to turn people away from the Bible and God. So, the Bible is our divine revelation, and we can test what we hear by the Word of God.”
“Thank you, Harold, and by the way, I have a slip underneath, so you would not have seen anything. I was afraid the slip would start showing.” Babs laughed.
Credits
All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife. We would talk about anything and everything. And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.
While some of this would have never come from my wife’s lips, she often told me her dreams in mind-numbing detail, taking almost an hour to tell all the details. But no really naughty stuff. Most of her dreams had the imagery like you have in the Biblical dreams.
And my joke is applicable here. Young men see visions and old men dream dreams. Why the difference? The old man is taking a nap.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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