Prophetic word for today
Lion under cover
First posted: October 21, 2004
E-mailed: October 5, 2004
Word received by: Lauretta Weir
Dream:
I was walking on a hill by my doctor's office; his name was Valentine; the street was 25th street. Across from me sitting under a tree was a huge lion, male, the king of beasts. He just watched me approaching him. As I had started up, I saw something, but could not make it out; yet, I was not afraid and did not feel fear on my uphill stroll, but, about half way up that block, I could see him clearly. Then, I began to feel some trepidation at my predicament. Do I run? Is he hungry, or has he eaten? And, will he catch me if I do make a run for it? And, if I do, do I climb a tree? Can he climb too? Then I thought of going in a house to escape, but what house? Who is in that house? And on, and on, and on I thought, yet my feet kept walking until I was past him. I had not taken my eyes off him, nor he off me, turning that big head and face, just watching me, not making a sound.... then I woke up.
Our comments
As I began to read this dream, I perceived that the lion was not satan, but rather a prophetic figure of God Himself. The Monday just prior to receiving this e-mail (October 4, 2004), another brother from the group and I were studying on Nathanael, whom the Lord Jesus saw under the fig tree:
"47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee" (John 1:47-48)
Nathanael represents a faithful prophetic remnant that, as a child, was placed under the fig tree of human coverings, but is now being called out from under the fig tree to have a direct relationship with God. The lion in the dream represents the prophetic remnant that has been sitting under the shadow of human structures but is starting to come out to execute God's purifying judgments in His Church and throughout the Earth.
"7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:7-8)
[Notice how man tried to cover himself with fig leaves after sinning. Fig leaves represent the religiosity that man often uses to pretend that he is right with God. Notice, however, that religiosity is not enough to meet God face-to-face. Our God is a Holy and Righteous God, and He is a God of judgments. No religiosity will ever change His righteous nature.]
Sister Lauretta saw this lion as she walked by her doctor's office, whose name is Valentine. "Valentine's Day" is a day that celebrates
"soul friendship and communion". The Church has become a social club where people go to have
soul communion and friendship, instead of being a place where people have encounters with God's
Spirit. The lion in the dream has until now been under the shadow of a soul-oriented Church that hates judgments and prefers human mercy, but the Lion of Judah is about to come out from under that shadow to execute God's purifying
judgments, just as the Lord God appeared in the garden of Eden to judge man
after he tried to hide behind religiosity.
The tree and the hill were on 25th street. 25 is 5 times 5, and the number "5" in Scripture represents "grace to serve". The number 30 in Scripture represents the age when a person reaches full maturity (the Lord began His public ministry at age 30). 30 is 5 times 6, and the number "6" in Scripture represents "human weakness". Putting all of this together, the fact that the lion was on 25th street means that the Church is rejoicing in the grace God has given her (5 times 5), but has been unwilling to mature to the point where it also understands her human weakness and her need to depend upon God's Spirit (5 times 6). This unwillingness has prevented the lion from being manifesting, but God is beginning to manifest this lion, whether Canaanite pastors want it or not:
"Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd
taketh out of the mouth of the
lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch." (Amos 3:12)
[The bed and the couch represent the spirit of religious conformity, where people lie down to live out a mediocre Christianity that emphasizes grace and blessings, in an attempt to flee from the judgment-executing Lion --- God.]
The hill in the dream represents the "ground-swell" of support
that has sustained the pastoral matriarchy until now. The fact that sister
Lauretta was walking by her doctor's office represents the fact that the Church has for centuries acted as a hospital instead of acting as a military camp. Military camps do have hospitals to treat the wounded, but the primary purpose of setting up a military camp is not to have a hospital, but to house warriors that go out to
battle and conquer land. Instead of allowing God's judgments to form spiritual conquerors, pastors have focused solely on "soothing" and "comforting". This is why God says the following through the prophet Jeremiah:
"For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of
vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Go up into Gilead, and take
balm, O virgin, the daughter of
Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many
medicines; for thou shalt not be cured." (Jeremiah 46:11)
When the Lord refers to the "daughter of Egypt" in the verse above, He
is referring to a Body of believers that have been saved from the world (i.e.-
Egypt) when they were born-again but who have gone back to Egypt in their
hearts.
"38This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 40Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 41And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands." (Acts 7:38-41)
In Scripture, Egypt represents the Girgashite spirit of human traditions. Why? Because the word "Girgashite" means "clay dweller", and Pharaohs were the ultimate "clay dwellers", choosing to have their tombs dwell in pyramids of dust for eternity. In our articles we have pointed out that Girgashite spirit is a spirit of emotional dryness, and Egypt is a hot and dry land famous for its sand. For many centuries, Egypt maintained a structure of religious traditions and political Pharaoh leadership that shows how the Egyptians valued human methods and traditions, and Girgashites love methods. All of this explains why Egypt represents the Girgashite spirit of human traditions (there are 3 types of Girgashite spirits; Egypt is the type that focuses on traditions).
Just as God repudiated the Israelites whose bodies came out of Egypt, but whose hearts remained there, He has repudiated a Body of believers that has hardened its heart and is unwilling to repent.
"And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and
given her a bill of
divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also." (Jeremiah 3:7-8)
Just as He repudiated Saul, God has repudiated this body of believers, and God is about to raise up a prophetic remnant, who like David, will come out of the shadows to fulfill God's purposes on Earth:
"4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." (Revelation 5:4-5)