Dreams from my Father concerning the Church (Part Three)

This was a complex dream with three distinct parts.

In the first part, I dreamt that I was to build a town. This future town was in a desert place. I was being asked, most persistently and several times, what I would build first and where in the town would it be. 

I was equally certain, indeed adamant, that I would build a Church and a place of prayer. I was also certain that they would be in the centre of the town and that the other essential buildings, law courts, financial institutions (all the stuff one finds in the centre of towns) would be built later.

In the second part of the dream, I had started to build and as I cleared away the dust to build the foundations I discovered the foundations of an older church with a tiled floor. The foundations were sound, but some of the tiles needed attention and/or replacing with new ones. In my dream I was engaged  in this process.

Finally, I was told that God would be calling Evangelicals to account. Some individuals would find themselves called into God's Presence, by accident or illness, to account for their failure to evangelise. They would then be sent back to finish the job. Somehow, some evangelical churches would find themselves having to give the same account before being released back into His work. How this will come about, I have no idea.

My interpretation is as follows:

The town is the present state of Western civilisation. It needs re-building with the Church at the centre. It is in a desert place as it is Godless. The additional building for prayer is often a practical essential as many active churches can find it hard to provide proper places for continuous prayer.  This resonated with my vicar as we often have that difficulty.

Nevertheless, it also means that  continuous prayer needs to exist alongside the other proper activities of the Church.

When this is in place then the other institutions of the town can be built.

In the West, we tend to think that Law and Money can sort out everything. We are surprised when we discover the level of corruption inherent in our society. See also here.

The second part of the dream showed me that sound foundations for the Church already exist, to wit, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prophets and the Apostles. Ephesians 2:20.

Also, many mainstream denominations have sound statements of faith based on these foundations. For example, the Church of England needs to start enforcing the 39 Articles.

The tiles in the floor, are individuals who have been built into the church but may need repair or replacement (pruning again).

The third part of the dream is self-explanatory and somewhat disconcerting. It shows again how seriously God is taking the current state of His Church. He is already acting to renew His Church. He will take sovereign and miraculous action when it is needed.

This is not a picture of foundations in a desert place, but the ruins of Egglestone Abbey near my home town. I couldn't resist it.