The  Messiah’s Secret – Visions and Dreams                                                         

A Prophet to a Nation
Christian Mary Whitehouse spoke out against the permissive society in England in the sixties and seventies. Rev Gerald Moate said at her funeral service said "Her achievements and failures, her prophetic vision and personal limitations have been well documented.” Mary campaigned to ‘Clean up TV.’ The 9pm watershed to protect children from adult material on TV. The watershed was introduced as a direct result of Mary Whitehouses' campaign.

The prophet Ezekiel

 Ezekiel’s name means “God will strengthen” He was strengthened by God to be a sign to Israel. Ezekiel found the hardest part of being given a prophetical vision was speaking it out, any prophecy is open to scrutiny as a result it won’t be necessarily be acted upon. Ezekiel 12: 11.                                                                                                     

Ezekiel’s visions at Chebar in 593 BC were powerful as they showed the glory of God and spoke of judgment.  

The interpretation: God resided in the temple, but because Israel was a rebellious people God would leave his temple.                                                                                           

Ralf Alexander in his book ‘Ezekiel’ “The Mosaic covenant was a conditional covenant. If the nation of Israel obeyed the stipulations of this treaty, she would appropriate the blessings of Yahweh, which were intimately connected to the possession of the land of Canaan and its fruitfulness. On the contrary, if the people disobeyed this law, they would experience the cursing of God which would be manifested by their expulsion from Canaan and the desolation of the land.” Deuteronomy 27: 28.

The false prophets who had hardened their hearts could not hear what God was saying so we read they spoke from their own human spirit. 
They said that there was no call for alarm in their day. Ezekiel 13: 3                                                                                                                                         

Ralph Alexander in his book ‘Ezekiel’ wrote, “There were those who spoke against Ezekiel’s visions through a proverbial saying that was circulating Jerusalem at the time which declared: “The days are prolonged and every vision failed” this judgment was in the distant future” Ezekiel 12: 21

Ezekiel again heard from God, he was instructed to go and shut himself in his house where God would not allow him to leave the house and speak with anyone, unless God himself gave the words for Ezekiel to speak.

“But the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people; ²⁶ and I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’; he that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.” Ezekiel 3: 24-27.                                                                                                           Ezekiel’s dumbness was a sign to Israel   

In Chapter 24 the people asked him for the meaning of the visions. Ezekiel was given the words to speak, “Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.” Ezekiel 24: 21.                                                                   

 Seven years later in 586 BC the prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s temple. God released Ezekiel from saying nothing. His message changed to one of hope and restoration of Israel.

A sign to Israel    

Zechariah the father of John the Baptist while at the hour of prayer in the temple saw in a vision an angel who spoke to him, telling him that God had heard his prayer for a child and they would have a son who they must call John. Zechariah could not speak afterwards. His speech returned after John’s birth when he announced his name. This was sign to draw attention to John’s ministry of bringing people to repentance in preparation for the coming in of God’s kingdom.                                                                                                   

Another sign   

Jesus’ miracles and healing were signs that God was calling the nation to see what God was doing.  

In our Gospel reading Mark 7: 24-37 Jesus demonstrated that he was more than just a prophet. He released unconditionally the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment and the demon possessed daughter of the Canaanite woman by the power and grace of God.  

At Pentecost the fulfilment of the prophet Joel’s prophecy. 
 “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”        

During my Reader training I was linked with St John Baxenden for a year. The Lord confirmed to the fellowship at St John's that they were moving in the right direction when a well respected member of the fellowship was given a vision. It was of a bridge linking the church with the community.

As I understood it was a vision to encourage them. The Lord was upholding and developing the ministry between the church and the local community.

Christians are given a vision that brings them to faith like Paul on the Damascus Road. 

Mrs Paris saw a vision of Jesus at work. 
On our way home after a meeting Mrs Paris the wife of one of the Wardens at Christ Church Walmersley shared with me her vision of Jesus. Many years before while at work Jesus stood at the side of her sewing machine in front of her. She said it happened so quickly and in a moment he was gone. This dear lady so quiet and gentle, unassuming and sincere in her faith, she had a wonderful experience and her faith took on substance. 

John the Apostle's Revelation. 
John the Apostles' visions on the Isle of Patmos. In Chapter 4 he described God's throne giving similar descriptions of the living creatures in Ezekiel's account, but John does not see any wheels. He saw the door was open and there are 24 elders around the throne worshipping the Lord our God.

In chapter 7 the Lamb is on the throne surrounded by thousands of Saints wearing white robes and holding palms all praising God and the Lamb.

John’s vision is a message of assurance that reveals that heaven’s door is open to all believers. Our future is assured in Christ that whatever our circumstances we are to keep looking forward to our eternal life in Christ. 

Dreams. 
Joseph in the Hebrew Scriptures was given dreams from God and he also had the interpretation of dreams. Joseph shared his dream with his brothers, "Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf." His brothers were not pleased they like Joseph knew the interpretation, "Are you indeed to reign over us." 
Joseph had another dream and he told his brothers his dream, "Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." His brothers dismissed his dream. Joseph's dreams were prophetic and they came to their fulfilment when he became governor of Egypt and his family came to Egypt in the famine and came before him seeking grain. Genesis 37: 5-11. 42: 6. 

Another kind of dream 
The famous words of Martin Luther King, ‘I have a dream today.' 51 years ago on the 28^th August 1963.                                                                                                                                               

Mahalia Jackson shouted from the crowd, “Tell them about the dream Martin.”  

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” Isaiah 40: 4. 

"This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.   

With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." 

Martin Luther King like all prophets have a difficult path to follow and we know that he saw his dream realised in 1964. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968. But Martin Luther King will go down in history as a man who had a dream fulfilled.

The prophet’s calling to speak out in the face of opposition is indeed a hard path to follow. The harder the message to give the more important the message and we have the assurance that God will strengthen his prophet and his word will not return empty. Be patient and trust in the Lord.