{Date of dream: January 13, 2005}

I was in a small car with an old friend from church that I had not seen in over a year. We were driving down a country road. It was a very narrow two-lane road. The road was icy, and we had to be very careful. As we were coming around a curve, she said to me that we were going to roll. I told her that there was no way. And we didn't. As we continued down the road I saw that she had a can of nuts in the car. She offered me some, but I would not touch them because they were dusty. I had to polish every one of them before I could eat them.

Next, on the side of the road, there were some cows. My friend then told me how she loved to watch baby cows run, and I agreed. These were the biggest cows I had ever seen in my life. Just as we were passing the cows, we saw lions on the side of the road. The lions were just as big as the cows. When one of the lions saw us as we passed, he began to climb over the fence. I told my friend that the lion was coming after us. She said, "No way". When I looked by, I could see the lion running after us full speed. I just knew that he could not catch us in a car. I told my friend to drive faster because the Lion was gaining on us. Just then I heard a tap on my window and it was the Lion. The next thing I know, we were being pulled over by the police, and we told them about the lion. I thought they were going to give us a ticket, but, instead, they gave us things to help us along our journey, like coffee and things. The police said that "these are to help you stay awake on your journey".

Our comments

Ice is frozen water. Therefore, driving on an icy road is, in a sense, equivalent to "walking on water". As we have said before, Girgashites are people with a spirit of earthliness who focus on what their minds can see. This makes them very reluctant to ever step out of the boat to "walk on water", so to speak. On the other hand, their antithesis, the prophets, are the people most willing to "walk on water" because of their bold spirit of kamikaze-type self-sacrifice and their readiness to allow their emotions to supersede their natural thinking. Therefore, the fact that the car was driving on an icy road means that the trip is a figure of the Church's latter-day move in the prophetic anointing.

The fact that the car was small means that the car was "apostolic" because, as we have said before, "smallness" is strongly related in Scripture to the apostolic anointing and to judgments. Therefore, this dream speaks of how the Church will finally begin to move under a prophetic anointing that will operate under a foundation of apostolic judgments rather than a foundation of blessings. As we shared in a previous word, the fact that it was a car, and not a motorcycle, also reinforces the "apostolic foundation" underneath the "prophetic drive".

The fact that the road was a "country road" speaks of wilderness isolation, which further reinforces the "apostolic foundation", since the wilderness is the place where God sends us to expose us to His purifying judgments (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). The "narrowness" of the road is a prophetic figure of the "narrow gate", which, as we shared in a previous article, speaks of the filtering of all our desires through God's Will and judgments.

The sister who had the dream refers to her friend as an "old" friend. Even though she is referring to how long she has known this friend, it was the Holy Spirit's way of referring to the Girgashite tendencies in this friend because, as we have shared before, the Girgashites are the people most bound by time, methodologies, and old traditions.

The fact that the sister who had the dream had not seen her friend in over a year speaks of how her friend had been trapped in a "past era" of earthly methodologies, so to speak. The fact that the friend appears with the sister after over a year speaks of how she is finally making the transition from that past era and coming to grips with the "new thing" that God is doing in these latter days. The friend, therefore, represents a Church in transition from Girgashite traditions into the prophetic anointing: 

"¹⁸Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. ¹⁹Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-19)

The "curve" was the first trial of the friend's faith during their prophetic drive over the frozen water. The friend's fear of the car "rolling over" points to the concept of "circle" or "roundness", which, as we have shared before, speaks of God's purifying judgments that remove imperfections. Therefore, when the friend said, "We are going to roll over", it was a prophetic way of saying, "We are going to be condemned by God if we continue in this prophetic drive".

Many people who are trapped in the Church's Girgashite traditions and methodologies are afraid to move in the freedom of the prophetic anointing because they feel that it will lead to a church that is "out of control". As we have said before, Scripture shows that moving in the prophetic implies doing and saying certain things that seem "weird" or "crazy" to the Girgashites who believe in a more "down-to-earth", less "fanatical" "gospel".

When the dreamer trusted that they would not roll over, she was affirming her understanding that prophetic freedom does not necessarily lead to a body of believers who go "out of control". Fellow believer, to move in the prophetic, you need to be willing to "let go" and "lose control" so that the Spirit may take over. Man hates to "lose control", which is the reason why he generally prefers not to "walk on water".

The can speaks of "containers", which speaks of "methods of containment". Nuts are fruits with a kernel enclosed in a hard shell, which once again speaks of "methods of containment". As we have said before, teachers are the people designed by God to create methods of containment, but, when teachers stray from God's Spirit, they become Girgashites whose methods suppress the freedom of the Spirit. This explains why the nuts were "dusty", since "dust" speaks of "earth", and the Girgashites are inherently "earthly".

When the dreamer refused the dusty nuts, she was rejecting the Girgashite methodologies that suppress the prophetic move of the Spirit. The "polishing of the nuts" speaks of what Godly methods are designed to do: they are designed to polish and perfect believers, not to repress their spirit nature.

From all of this, it is evident that the friend is a teacher, and she is acting as a figure of the teaching ministry in the Church, while the dreamer represents those who are daring to move in the prophetic anointing.

A close study of passages such as 1 Samuel 6:10-16 reveals that cows are related to the two female ministries, i.e.- pastors and teachers. As we shared before, cows are also specifically related to "dancing" in Scripture, meaning that they are most directly related to the pastoral ministry, since pastors have a God-given predisposition to "dance for" (i.e.- to please) others. When pastors stray from God's will, they tend to become Canaanites. Canaanites like to suppress the judgments of the mind, which leads to emotional overflows that are not inhibited by a sober, judging mind.

Therefore, when the friend specifically declares that she loves to see "baby cows run", she is declaring that she is currently willing to accept a free "run" or "flow" of emotions, as long as that flow is "controllable", since baby cows are more manageable than adult cows. Since cows are female, this also means that the friend is willing to see this controllable flow of emotions, as long as it is under the covering of the "female" pastoral ministry. In other words, the friend believes in a pastoral flow of emotions in believers -- which is soul-oriented because of its "female" nature -- but not in a true prophetic flow of emotions -- which is spirit-oriented because of its "male" nature.

This is a prophetic figure of how a great deal believers who have been trapped in Girgashite traditions have been willing to allow for greater "emotional" freedom in the Church, as long as it is "manageable", and as long as it has a pastoral orientation, meaning that the "emotional" freedom is geared towards "soothing" and "relaxing" the believer instead of serving as a channel for true spiritual growth. Girgashites become concerned when they see believers grow in their spiritual authority because they see that growth as a challenge to their already-established methodologies and hierarchies. As we have said before, Girgashites and prophets do not get along, and prophets are seen by Girgashites as a threat to the tranquility of the status quo.

The fact that the cows were huge speaks of how the pastoral ministry has become lord and master over the Church. The cows' size, therefore, speaks of the pastoral matriarchy. Tallness or "largeness", when associated with God's enemies, refers to the Amorite spirit (Amos 2:9). As we have said before, Amorites long to establish earthly kingdoms and to make themselves lords over others.

As we have said before, "lions" in Scripture are a figure of God making judgments. Therefore, the lions that appeared in the dream speak of how God will release believers into the Church who will come to challenge the cows' domination (i.e.- the pastoral matriarchy) inside the Church (Isaiah 31:4). As we have said before, pastors (due to their Canaanite influence) have a nasty habit of shielding believers from the "pain" of God's judgments. Therefore, God is sending lions into the Church in these latter days to fulfill Amos 3:12 and to end the pastoral era of judgment hating. In the dream, the lions were just as big as the cows, meaning that these lions will not be intimidated by the current size and authority of the pastoral ministry inside the Church.

When applied to God's people, tallness or largeness speaks of the evangelistic anointing. Therefore, these latter-day lions will also come with an evangelistic anointing to dethrone Amorite kings and establish the kingdom of God, both inside and outside His Church.

While the dreamer was unafraid of moving in the freedom of the prophetic (when she faced the curve), she showed her fear of God's apostolic judgments when she began to fear the Lion who was chasing them. This is a figure of how believers who willingly move in the prophetic anointing and reject the Girgashite methodologies of the Church have allowed the grace of the prophetic to cloud their understanding of God's judgments. As we have said before, 3 prophetic movements that have tried to usher in the latter-rain revival have failed in the last 40+ years because they have degraded into a "Canaanite search" for "blessings" from God instead of seeking God's righteousness and eternal purposes.

The dreamer was convinced that the Lion would not catch up to them. This is a figure of how those who move in the freedom of the prophetic sincerely believe that God's grace makes the Church immune to God's judgments. Judgment word is relegated to "Old Testament" times in a weak effort to assert that God somehow "changed" between chapter 4 of Malachi and chapter 1 of Matthew. It is as if the God who ordered Joshua to ruthlessly kill all the men, women, children, and animals of Jericho (Joshua 6:17-21) suddenly disappeared and turned into a "peace-loving", "conflict-hating" santa claus. God's nature is unchanging (James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), meaning that the Godly nature out of which the Jericho-massacre decree emanated is the same nature of the God Whom we worship today.

I know of a song sung in some congregations that is based on the following verse:

"The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name" (Exodus 15:3)

I remember a congregation where this song would be played frequently during praise and worship. The song has a military-march beat to it, which would make believers march in place as they sang the song. They would thrust their fists upward and forward in authoritative fashion as they sang that "Jehovah is a man of war". The service would become filled with an air of excitement, and people would start jumping up and down as the beat was quickened and the music became more intense. This was all fine and good; however, when I would personally share the Word with members from this congregation, they would get all fidgety and upset every time I began to speak of God's judgment sword. This shows that they really did not understand the meaning of the words they were singing!!! If God is not a warrior God who executes judgments with His logos sword, what exactly do these people think that Exodus 15:3 means? Do they actually think that the "man of war" that Exodus 15:3 speaks of is a God who goes to battle carrying cotton candy on one hand and a lollipop on the other? Come on, people! Wake up and smell the judgment coffee! Our God is a warrior God, a fearsome God Whom the New Testament describes as "consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29). If we really are "sons of God", we are to manifest that consuming-fire, warrior nature as well. Why? Because, as the saying goes, "like father, like son". How did the God who killed Ananias and Sapphira for telling a half-truth (in the New Testament -- Acts 5:1-11) suddenly turn into a jolly old grandfather who has nothing but caresses and candy for his little children? How did the God who killed Uzzah for merely putting his hand on the Ark to prevent it from falling to the ground (2 Samuel 6:6-7) suddenly become a non-judging, all-forgiving God who calls us to forgive even those who refuse to repent? The Church's inability to reconcile the "God of the Old Testament" with the "God of the New Testament" shows that the Church, as a whole, does not yet know God:

"⁵Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. ⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. ⁷As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. ⁸They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. ⁹And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. ¹⁰For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. ¹¹Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart." (Hosea 4:5-11)

I have heard preacher after preacher quote verse 6 above, and they always interpret it to mean that God's people miss out on their blessings because they are "uninformed". However, if you read the entire passage above, can you honestly conclude that that is what verse 6 is trying to say? Of course not!!! Notice how verse 9 speaks of God punishing the priest and the people in general, not because they were "uninformed", but because they have deliberately chosen to ignore His law (v6), which means ignoring His judgments. In other words, the "lack of knowledge" that God is referring to in verse 6 is the lack of knowledge concerning God's nature. People who don't truly know God become unaware of His judging nature, which makes them prime candidates for deception by priests who promote a "God" of "wine" blessings (v11) and sin-condoning "tolerance" (v8, 11). Those who long to truly know God become more and more aware of His righteous, judging Nature. To such believers, the God of the Old Testament does not look any different from the God of the New Testament. They can see that "both" are truly One and the Same.

Despite the dreamer's original thought, the Lion did catch up to the car. This is a prophetic figure of how God's judgments will catch up to the Church, whether she wants it or not. 

When the Lion caught up to them, He suddenly turned into police officers. This is a figure of how God's judging nature will be manifested through a remnant of believers who do know God, and who because of it, will emanate His judging Nature on Earth. Fellow believer, you and I are God's judges on Earth (Psalm 82:1-2). We are the army that is called to unleash the spiritual judgments of the book of Revelation on Earth (Revelation 19:11-14). The only requirement to be part of that army is to have a heart after His Kingdom and Righteousness, a heart that does not flee from God's judgments but rather goes after them (Ecclesiastes 10:2).

Our God is a God of purpose and restoration. His righteous judgments will not destroy us unless we go past the point of no return, and anyone who humbles his or her heart by asking God for judgments is definitely not beyond that point of no return. When He sees that we are workable, He will continue working us (John 15:2). Those who are mistakenly set in their ways (like Saul of Tarsus) are restored through judgments that break their pride (Acts 9:3-4). Those whose hearts have become defiantly set in their ways (like king Saul) are destroyed by His judgments (John 15:6).

God's judgments are fair. The Lord's desired intent in His judgments is to mold us into His likeness, not to destroy us. His judgments are designed to destroy the iniquity in us, not to destroy us. However, if a person deliberately chooses in his heart to make himself one with the iniquity, he will leave God no choice but to destroy him along with the iniquity.

The Church has been trained by the pastoral matriarchy to "expect the worst" every time God unleashes His purifying judgments. Most believers do not realize that God (in His love) exposes us to death-causing truth and judgments so that we may enter into eternal life. Our God is neither sadistic nor unfair. He never judges just to see us suffer, and He never judges us more harshly than we deserve.

Many people are afraid to ask God to send His judgments over their lives because they subconsciously think that He will somehow be "unable" to control Himself!! God's nature is inherently righteous. He will never do anything that goes beyond the boundaries of fairness. If we ask for His purifying judgments, we will get exactly what we need, nothing more, nothing less. God loves us, and He wants to mold us into His likeness. Most believers would be surprised to find out how God loves to hear us asking for His judgments over our lives:

"⁹The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. ¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ¹¹Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." (Psalm 19:9-11)

When you long for His judgments over your own life, you become a channel for His judgments that affect all the people and things around you. As you begin to unleash God's judgments (by explicitly pronouncing judgments and by implicitly making judgments through your very presence), you become a true agent of restoration on Earth.

When the police officers pulled the car over, the dreamer thought that they wanted to give them a ticket. Instead, they gave them coffee and other things to help them stay awake on their journey. Believers have been indoctrinated into thinking that God sends Lion-judgments for the mere purpose of punishing us (i.e.- "giving us tickets" and making us feel "ashamed"). However, His real intention is to "wake us up" to greater and mightier things.

A spiritually asleep person becomes entangled in earthly blessings and earthly goals. A person molded by God's judgments becomes aware of the spiritual things around him or her. Why? Because, as we have said before, God's spiritual judgments produce spiritual growth (Hebrews 12:4-13), which leads to maturity, which in turn leads to awareness. Consider, for example, how a very young boy needs to be supervised when he is playing near a busy street. Because of the child's lack of maturity, he is not aware of the dangers posed by oncoming cars. The child can become so focused on his little toy that he loses awareness of the dangers around him. It is OK to be a spiritual child for a while, but if we deliberately choose to stay immature because we hate the pain of God's judgments, it is not OK, and God will hold us accountable for it (Hosea 4:5-11).

Fellow believer, the Lion that is coming after you is not "evil". He is God, and He is Good, and He is out to make you grow.