Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?

The Christian walk is a daily battle between the flesh and the spirit and like any battle, it is full of sneak attacks, covert operations and constantly evolving tactics. In order to win the daily battles (as we know the war has already been won) we have to expect the unexpected and be on the lookout for anything that looks, sounds or even "smells" different.

What I'm talking about are church fads... trends that invade the body of Christ and if left unchecked could draw people away from a relevant walk with our Saviour. The bible refers to these as "winds of doctrines" (Eph 4:14) If we look back, we can see some winds that have taken hold of believers at some level. The contemporary service, the move to rename churches and make them "cooler", the "Purpose-Driven Church" fad and so on have all had their day. Actually the "cool" church fad seems to be still going strong. As a graphic designer, I continually run across churches that want a new logo to communicate how "modern" they are and how it should avoid traditional images such as crosses, doves etc. 

It is a another fad however, that has me concerned and that is the "dream interpretation" fad. Over the last decade or so there has been a concerted effort to evangelize and to experience Christian growth through the interpretation of dreams. You can find scores of sites, books and even ministries that deal in little else but what dreaming of a freshly baked loaf of bread means... (which apparently varies from "interpreter" to "interpreter"). Before you get your back up, I am all for any genuine move of the Spirit of Yahweh and I am looking forward to the time when, as it states in Joel 2:28-29;

   "And it shall come to pass afterward

      That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

      Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

      Your old men shall dream dreams,

      Your young men shall see visions.

      And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

      I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

If this recent interest in dreams and interpretations is in fact the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy, then I praise the Father for His work, however what I see happening lately does not seem to match up with any recorded occurrence in the Word of God regarding dreams and interpretations. According to the prophecy above it seems clear that the dreams and visions being granted will be for the purposes of evangelizing the world, which does not seem to be the result in the current phenomena. 

In the Bible, almost all instances where dreams were given by Yahweh had these common elements:

1) The dream was clearly not a "normal" dream. It was often unsettling, even scary to the dreamer but definitely left a strong impression.

2) There is no account whereby a man or woman of God was called to interpret a dream for another believer... only to unbelievers.
3) The dream always glorified Yahweh as Sovereign.

When an occurrence of a dream doesn't fit that model, I would encourage caution. Dream interpretation has been in wide use in the occult and the new age movement for ages and for good reason. It frankly is very appealing... to wake up knowing whether to take that promotion or whether uncle Joe will be coming for Thanksgiving is a real stress reliever. Unfortunately that desire is the same spirit that has been at work since the tower of Babel, the desire to replace a quiet submission to the Word and will of God and somehow take the reigns up ourselves. It is dangerously close to the whole psychic phenomena and simply attaching a "Christian" name to it does not change it's intention and source. Seriously, the flesh does not want to wait for the Father to work out a situation to His liking when it can simply call up "brother Dave" and get an immediate "fortune" and then walk it out ourselves. This is what the pagans do and it concerns me.

If you have had a dream that you strongly suspect is from the Father, ask Him for the interpretation. As the famous dreamer Joseph said, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" If the dream was a message to you and yours from heaven, then the biblical model suggests that the meaning will be given to you from heaven. Once received, if the interpretation does not glorify Yahweh and seems somehow to go against Scripture then it should be discarded. There were instances in the Old Testament (Ezekiel and Jeremiah) where false prophets were deceiving the people with false dreams. Believers know that any tool Yahweh uses, will be counterfeited by the enemy, so be on guard.

As the times ahead become more uncertain, the pull to get instant guidance will also increase. However, we have a more sure Word that the Holy Spirit will help us into all truth but it will require a child-like faith that does not need to know all of the fine details (another common theme with the modern interpretation fad).

Update...

I had stopped writing this blog to wait for the following day. During my devotional the next morning I ran across several passages that seemed to really speak to this issue and the possible spirit that drives this phenomenon.

Ezekiel 13:2-3 - “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’” Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets,who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

Ezekiel 13:6-9 - They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.” he Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD. “My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies;

Ezekiel 13:17 - “Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their ownheart;

And then finally, another verse that was brought to my attention.

1 Thess 5:21-22 - Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

In closing, I am not against genuine moves of the Holy Spirit. I am a believer in divine dreams and again, I look forward to an immense outpouring of the Spirit in which the people of Yahweh will dream, see visions and prophecy and turn many to Him but this current trend does not seem to be 100% a move of the Father. Be cautious and seek a deeper understanding. 

Blessings

Where is MacGyver Now?

Anyone old enough to remember the television series "MacGuyver", can recall the ingenuity of the main character (well okay... the technical writing staff). In one episode, MacGuyver fixed a leaky radiator (to make a fast get away) with a raw egg. I wanted for so long to try that myself but anytime I had a leaky radiator, fresh eggs just seemed to be oddly out of reach. Why am I mentioning this fun but forgettable show? Because I believe soon that the brand of ingenuity that made the show famous will need to become a part of believer's lives in the near future. I'm not necessarily saying you need to keep a carton of eggs in your car in case you are on the run or know how to build a sun-powered laser from a salad bowl, but I am saying that in the days to come, we may all need to get through each day by using what is available to us, to do what we had never thought possible. This applies to both our physical existence and the spiritual. Seeing what is coming ahead has caused in me a bit of an attitude shift when I look at various people groups. Where I used to have sympathy for the ultra poor and envy for the ultra-rich, I have almost flipped. Don't write me about the evils of envy... I'm exaggerating. There are people all around us who have had to make a life by scrounging, improvising and walking in a sort of forced humility. When things get very tough, they will be able to acclimate better than all others, particularly those who have become used to rinsing their toothbrush in Perrier and sending their personal assistant to shop for a new diamond-studded outfit for "poochie". The Western world is about to face a serious downgrade and we need to shift our focus away from putting on our Sunday suit and going to the church potluck, towards having a good sweatshirt and pair of hiking boots and be prepared to speak the Word of God at every opportunity, knowing that it will most often be opposed, even violently... in which case you might also want your MacGyver bandaids (crazy glue) and your lawyer on speed dial.

Of course, if you believe that the body of Christ is going to get whisked away in the rapture before any unpleasantness starts, then maybe just skip to the end of this blog. I however, grow more and more convinced that we are going to see at least some of the judgements of revelation. Depending on your view of scripture, it could be said that we have already experienced the first five seal judgements. The next is a major (probably global) earthquake and some serious "reorganization" of the heavenlies. If the world economy has not already collapsed and the one-world government has not already begun to crack down on all people, then this event will be the game changer.

I'm not suggesting a specific course of action to anyone. Before you paint me as a camouflage-wearing, automatic-rifle-toting, bunker-building believer, I'm not. I do recommend having a good supply of the basic life necessities on hand though. Even if the worst that you will have to endure is one of those extremely heavy snowfalls that seem to be commonplace now, you should have several days of food, water, and perhaps a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife like our friend MacGyver. I am more so suggesting that you prepare your mind and spirit for a whole paradigm shift and that you seek wisdom from Yahweh to know how to position yourself for your unique role in the end times. You were knit together in your mother's womb at this time in history and it is not by mistake. Get ready to be more useful for the King and more blessed than you have ever been. Get ready to be what you have never been, do what you have never done and experience what you have never experienced.

Blessings.

Have we Become Lost in the Mall?

My wife and I were imagining an earthly equivalent to the relationship Yahweh has with His children and we came upon the idea of a shopping mall. It is as if our Father loaded us up into the family car and drove us to the mall, with money in our pockets. On the way, He reminded us again about the rules. We were to stay together, avoid talking to strangers, go into only "Dad-Approved" stores and be on the lookout for Him to come get us when it was time to go home. He had even given us a written copy of the rules to take with us, a protective suit and a cell phone to call Him if we got into trouble.

That is a very loose analogy of what Yahweh had done when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the kids started to ignore the rules. Tempted by what their eyes saw, many wandered away from their brothers and sisters, into stores of questionable nature. Some took off the protective suit provided by their father to put on the latest sweater showcased under carefully placed spotlights in the store window. Some left their rule books in the food court and almost all, got so caught up in the sights and sounds that they became unconcerned with when their Father would return to take them home.

How often are we like that? Why do we let the world's shallow and deceptive messages draw us away from what is real, fulfilling and eternal? The peace that comes from an intimate walk with the Maker of the Universe cannot be matched by Madison Avenue or Hollywood. A new suit is no replacement for the cloak of zeal or the robe of righteousness. The latest pop song cannot feed our spirit the way a few lines of "Amazing Grace" can. An hour of prayer will do much more for us than an hour of "Dancing with the Stars".

Let us listen to Dad and walk every day remembering that all around us is a fake world designed by the father of lies as a tool to draw us away from all that our loving Father wants to give us. If we keep our focus and keep watching for His return then we will be invited into the splendour behind gates of pearl, with streets of gold, day without night, banquets, spotless robes and eternal love. 

Shalom