Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice . . .
EXODUS 23:20–21
Margaret strengthened her already-firm hold on my shoulder, her grip like an anchor, keeping me in my chair. I was thankful for the protective cocoon she had built around us, for the winds had reached a howling pitch and the eerie black clouds continued to darken and swirl in the sky above. I swiveled in my chair again to peer up at Margaret, and I saw—Oh, my goodness!—I saw two faint outlines appear on either side of her . . . very tall, silver-robed male figures standing silently at attention.
“Whoa, Margaret!” I gasped, thoroughly shaken. “You brought reinforcements?” Even though the wind did not touch us, I still felt a chill go up my spine. Now I knew what she had meant earlier when she referred to me remaining “under our protective cover.”
My wide-eyed expression obviously translated my thoughts because Margaret nodded and gave me a serious little smile.
“They are mighty warriors, dear child, but do not be afraid. They were part of this next dream. At the command of the Holy One, they were there to provide assistance and guidance to you.”
I looked up at these mighty angels, and as I did, they both slowly nodded their heads in confirmation of Margaret’s words.
“Continue with your next dream, Jenn,” said Margaret, “and take comfort in our presence.”
I am sitting in the back pew of the darkened nave, the main aisle of a Gothic-style cathedral constructed of dark gray stone. I face the altar, and before it is the transept, a rectangular area that cuts perpendicular across the main aisle and gives a cathedral the shape of a cross. A brilliant white light, flashing like lightning, is emanating from the arched entrance of the chamber on the left side of the transept, and I can hear screams and terrible explosions coming from the chamber. Three figures in dark hooded robes run from this terrifying chamber. Two of them cross the main aisle and disappear into the dark, yawning void of the transept chamber on the right. The third comes to a halt in the middle of the transept, the altar behind him. He turns, looks directly at me, raises his arm, and with a grossly gnarled finger points at me and hisses, “Don’t you dare!” as if he is warning me not to come any nearer or to interfere. I am so frightened I feel as though I am going to faint, even though I am sitting down. The evil emanating from him is tangible. I want very badly to wake up, but something makes me stand up and move up the aisle in defiance of the hooded figure before me. This is in total opposition to my personality, which overwhelmingly prefers to avoid danger or confrontation. I am aware that what I really want to do is run the other way. The figure hisses again and then runs to join the other two. I continue after him, terrified, feeling as if I am being pushed from behind.
I enter the dark chamber and am immediately surrounded by the three hooded figures. As they tighten their circle around me, they growl and hiss and throw off their hoods. I am greatly dismayed to discover they are demons. They are horribly ugly, with thick green-and-yellow skin, and are intent on doing me great harm. I frantically try to think of ways to repel them, and the only thing that comes to mind is to recite the Twenty-Third Psalm. I begin to say it out loud, but only get through, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures . . .” At this point, I cannot remember any of the words that follow. I begin trying to wake myself up, because I know I am dreaming and that if I do not wake up, these demons are going to get hold of me. Suddenly, there is a whisper in my ear. “Say the Lord’s Prayer—you know this!”
So I begin to shout the words as the demons circle ever tighter around me. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name! Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!” Suddenly, with the words “thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” the demons stop their advance on me as if repelled by an invisible force field and completely change their appearance. The demons are gone, but instead, standing around me are three young adult men who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent. They look at me with shocked, confused, terrified expressions, and then run away from me deeper into the chamber. They are gone!
Feeling safe at last, I leave this chamber and go back to see what is going on in the brilliantly lit chamber on the left side of the aisle. As I approach the archway, I notice that the screams and sounds of explosions have stopped. It is eerily quiet. Also, the formerly brilliant white light is now very subdued and has a reddish cast to it. I enter the chamber and am dismayed by what I see. There are huge mounds of broken concrete and twisted steel everywhere. Clouds of smoke drift in the air. I do not see any people. As I slowly negotiate my way through the rubble, I realize I am not alone. Two very tall figures are walking by my side, as if escorting me. All I can see is their robes, silently sweeping the ground as they move along. I sense a quiet peace and reverence from them. Something catches my eye and I discover that I have come across a Bible, almost hidden in the debris. I pick it up and dust it off. As I look farther ahead, I also spy a small red book. I walk over to pick it up as well. It is a Quran. I dust it off and carry it along with the Bible. Farther on, I see something blue and gold half buried by a huge chunk of concrete. We carefully climb over to it and I pull it from the rubble. It is actually two items, a blue book with gold scrollwork on the front, and a type of stole that is also blue and has gold scrollwork matching the book. A sense tells me it is a copy of the Hebrew Torah and a vestment. I add these to the other two books I have found. Suddenly, up ahead in the midst of the debris, a small round table appears, covered with a white linen tablecloth. I think that it curiously resembles some kind of altar. I am led to this table by my quiet escorts. There I lay all the items I have retrieved from the rubble. The three of us stand there silently, waiting. Then from up above, way above us, comes a loud voice that is so incredibly sad that it cuts like a sword to the very depths of my soul. The voice says, “The demons are killing my children!” With that, I am released and finally awaken.
My eyes were squeezed tightly closed as I finished the telling of this dream. It still felt so real, after all these years. I felt Margaret give my shoulder a comforting pat, and I knew she understood. Then she spoke.
“This was an important dream, Jennifer, because it contained prophecy of an event that changed the world you live in. I would like to hear about the thoughts and feelings you experienced when this prophecy was fulfilled. You talk for a bit. I’ll listen.”
I exhaled a long, slow, breath and began. “This dream, Margaret, was perhaps the most shocking dream I have ever had. I had this dream in November 2000, just before the Christmas holidays. My first recollection upon awakening was the knowledge that the voice I heard was God, and that he was grieving terribly. For several days I experienced residual feelings of fear and dread and could not shake the profound sadness of the voice at the end of my dream. Although my heart told me I had received a really important communication from heaven, I had no idea what it meant. So, I just left it up to God to reveal his message when he was ready. And oh, my, Margaret, he did reveal the meaning of my dream nearly one year later—in a big, and terrible, way.
“On the morning of September 11, 2001, I watched in horror along with the rest of the country as terrorists slammed their planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Thousands of innocent people were killed, and we later learned about the Islamic fundamentalist organization, Al Qaeda, that claimed responsibility for this horrific event.
“As I watched the damaged towers slowly fall into a heap of twisted steel, concrete rubble, and smoke, my dream returned to me with the force of a whirlwind, constricting my heart and stomach so much that I could barely breathe. “Oh my Father,” I wailed in stunned disbelief, “this is what you were showing me!” Needing to be with other believers, I called my church and learned they were already planning a special service that evening for people to come to mourn and to pray. I attended the service and wept with others as we prayed for those lost and for strength and guidance for our country. It was then that I began to understand the inconsolable grief I heard in my Father’s voice in my dream.”
“That was a terrible day, Jenn, for all of you and for us in heaven,” affirmed Margaret. “Many prayers from the Kingdom covered the earth that day. Please, continue with your thoughts.”
I kept going. “In the days following the tragedy, I watched as our nation and world came together in grief and prayer. A memorial service was held at Ground Zero. Representatives from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam were present together on the stage. As I watched the ceremony, listening to the heartfelt prayers for healing, my thoughts kept returning to the altar table in my dream where I laid the Christian Bible, the Islamic Quran, and the Hebrew Torah. And the voice, exclaiming with infinite sadness, ‘The demons are killing my children!’
“As I considered the meaning of these images, the still, small voice inside me suddenly said ‘children’ and ‘mercy.’ I took this to mean there is a tremendous need for healing to occur between the peoples represented by the books I placed on the table, and more important, healing in their relationship with God.”
“That was a wise assumption,” said Margaret. “God created human beings to be in relationship with him, and this relationship is a free-will choice each person must make. This is a crucial choice. With whom will you choose to be aligned—the God of Light or the Prince of Darkness? As the September eleventh tragedy and subsequent world events have demonstrated, a great number of people have chosen Darkness, resulting in the shedding of precious human blood, and, as you have experienced in your dream, this grieves God terribly.
“Now, child, let’s begin to look at the elements of your dream. Let’s start with the two chambers in the cathedral—one full of light and the other a dark void. What do you think that means?”
Immediately, I thought of our previous conversation. “Would that be another reminder about the ever-present war between the spiritual realms of Light and Darkness?”
“Good girl!” said Margaret. “You were paying attention. Now, consider your position as you sat in the back of the cathedral, watching the drama unfolding between the chambers. You were perfectly happy to just sit and watch, until you felt an unseen force prompt you to pursue the demon. Your unwillingness to take part in what was going on represented complacency, Jenn, an unfortunate trait of human nature. It is much easier to ignore the atrocities going on around you than to get involved. The unseen force that you felt pushing you up the aisle was actually our two warrior angel friends here. They knew that your active involvement as a believer was crucial to defeating the power Satan had over the events in your dream . . . and in the events of your daily life.”
Goose bumps, again. I felt a little ashamed about my own hesitance to get involved and had to admit that Margaret was right. It is much easier to say “There isn’t anything I can do about it,” than to take action. I privately decided I needed to work on that.
“Okay,” Margaret continued, saving me from any more guilty feelings. “I want to look at two more elements of your dream . . . the Lord’s Prayer and the Twenty-Third Psalm . . .”
“Oh, that was so strange, Margaret,” I broke in. “ For some weird reason I tried to say the Twenty-Third Psalm when I was so frightened by the demons. I would never think to do that if I was awake.”
“We’ll get to that in a minute, dear,” continued Margaret. “Let’s first talk about what happened when you said the Lord’s Prayer in your dream.”
“Well,” I said, “I am guessing that it was my warrior angels who urged me to say the Lord’s Prayer when I couldn’t remember the psalm, is that right?” I waited for an answer and got a small, affirming squeeze on my shoulder. I continued. “I actually didn’t get to say the whole prayer, because when I got to the part ‘thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’ everything changed and the demons went away. That was pretty awesome.”
“It was awesome, Jenn. These holy words broke the spell the power of Darkness had over those young men, freeing them. This is a powerful message. To establish the will of God on earth is one of the most important things human beings can do for themselves, because in doing so, the power of the Enemy is broken, allowing healing and restoration to occur. It is the Divine will of the Father that all of his beloved are restored to him.”
I nodded slowly as I listened to this insight. This amazing angel was helping me see so much deeper into the meaning of this dream.
“Now, dear girl,” Margaret continued. “Let’s talk about the Twenty-Third Psalm. God had a specific reason for placing this into your dream, and the answer is buried in the words of the psalm itself. Listen carefully to verse five: ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.’ ”
I sat, stunned, as Margaret let this sink in. Images from my dream flashed before my eyes . . . the demons, the altar table, the books . . .
“Oh, Margaret,” I asked breathlessly, “God was trying to tell me something important about that altar table, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, he was, child,” answered Margaret, “and it’s a message you were very close to understanding on your own. A few minutes ago, you mentioned you assumed the three books placed on the table in your dream represented people, and that there was a need for healing in their relationships with one another and with God. Those books did represent people, Jenn . . . not just peoples of the faiths represented by the three books, but all people. God set his table with the cup of salvation, and invites all children to join him there—to soak in his anointing of love, healing, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Isn’t that beautiful? God offers this table because he is not only a God of judgment. He is a God of grace. In his unfathomable mercy, he provides a way for those lost to Darkness to be restored to him. And that way is Jesus, the ever-present, overflowing cup of salvation. Do you remember Jesus’ message for you when we discussed your personal encounter with him? ‘No darkness is too dark, no circumstance is too dire for me to walk into with my Light and free you.’ What a comforting message that is for a world suffering from violence and terror.”
“Wow, Margaret,” I said. “That is beautifully said, and is a lot to absorb!”
“I’m going to give you a little bit more to absorb, dear, because there is a serious warning about God’s table. If you remove yourselves from the table because of hatred and violence toward one another, you fall prey to Satan and the power of Darkness. God grieves terribly about the destruction and death unleashed by his enemy, and his judgment will be fierce upon those who insist on remaining under Satan’s power.”
Yep, that’s a serious warning, all right, I thought.
“There is so much more to this dream than I realized, Margaret,” I said, “and it seems to keep revealing new truths over the years. I had a mind-blowing revelation about this dream ten years after the September eleventh attack.”
“Oh?” said Margaret mysteriously. “Tell me.”
“Well,” I replied, “this revelation occurred on September 10, 2011—just one day shy of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. I was once again in Maine and took the local newspaper down to the beach to read about the preparations for the next day’s memorial ceremonies. I turned to the religion section and was stunned by the photograph printed on the first page. It was a picture of an open Bible fused into metal, found by a New York firefighter in the rubble of the fallen Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
“I was so overcome by what I saw in front of me. I had always considered the Bible and other books found in the rubble to be important symbols in my dream. But what God showed me that day on the beach was that the Bible in my dream wasn’t just a symbol. It was real. There in front of me, printed in the newspaper, was a photograph of a Bible, fused in a heart-shaped shard of metal actually found in the rubble. And I’ll bet that heart shape meant that God loves us—like a little love note from him. That just amazed me, Margaret!”
“Did you bother to look to see what the scripture said on the exposed pages of that Bible?” Margaret asked,
“Uh, no,” I replied. “I didn’t think to do that. Why?”
Margaret laughed softly. “If you had looked closely, Jennifer, you would have seen that God left a message for humanity in the aftermath of the terror attack. The Bible was open to Matthew chapter five, where Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. This page contains Jesus’ teaching on the Law of Retaliation, and the Law of Love. He states: ‘You have heard that it was said “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.’
“This is a clear message to extend the love and mercy of God to those who are the most difficult to love. You have a responsibility to pray for those who hurt you and for those who have become lost in the Darkness, so that their hearts might be changed and that they will repent and accept the mercy and salvation so freely offered. This is a very difficult concept for humanity to grasp, but it is of utmost importance. The truth as Jesus spoke it two thousand years ago remains truth today. You mentioned, Jenn, that your dream keeps revealing truth, and you are right. Prophecy speaks through the ages.”
Okay. I was blown away again. “Margaret, you have taught me so much that my head is spinning,” I said. “I have a much clearer picture of what God was teaching me in this dream. It is imperative that we no longer ‘sit in the back of the cathedral,’ watching and doing nothing about the events going on in our world. As children of God and heirs to his Kingdom, we need to come together and be prayerfully active to bring his love and mercy to all peoples of the world. By doing so, the power of his love will destroy the hold that the Enemy has over our lives. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
“I am proud of you, Jennifer.” Margaret said fondly. “And I love how your heart pursues and embraces the revelations God sends you in your dreams. As we leave our discussion of this prophetic dream, hear God’s whisper of invitation to you:
“I have prepared a special place for you at my table, precious one, where you and any you invite can rest in my eternal promise of mercy, love, and salvation. Beware of embracing hatred, because it will remove you from my table and from my protection. That, my love, would cause me unbearable sorrow.”
Oh. Those beautiful words nearly broke my heart.