Question:
I had a somewhat troubling dream last night. I was in a house, which appeared to be my home, but it was my home as it would be if I had been acting in a movie, not as it is in reality. There was quite a bit of dream before the only event I remember of the dream happened, one section of it involving a similar sequence to the one that actually stuck with me (which was very short, but seemed very significant), but has evoked a lot of thought from me this morning.
What happened was.. I got to a room, near the top of stairs on a second floor hallway, and looked in through the door. In this room earlier, a boy had been possessed or something. This time, when I looked in, there was a demon there. It was not visible, but it could be heard clearly through the open window giving off what should have been blood curdling roars and laughs. I tilted my head a little bit and laughed at it. That I had been so unfazed seemed to anger it, and it roared back, much louder than it had done before, strong gusts blowing the curtain and everything in the room about. I put my thumbs in my ears, stuck my tongue out, and razzed it. I then proceeded to laugh at it again, almost hysterically. It became irate, and I turned off to my left, and skipped away, whistling a lighthearted tune and shutting the door behind me.
As to why this dream was significant.. last night I was reading a webpage for some reason, no idea how I got there, and it pointed out that many of the founders of the U.S., while apparently Christians (maybe so, maybe no, I really can't say, but after this it seems that it might be doubtful), were also freemasons. This is no big deal, I had known this. I also read that masons pledge their loyalty to god in an oath, declaring that they have been in darkness and are now in light (which is why they probably were not actually Christian, this is close to signing away your soul, especially if you had been Christian before). I had also heard this before though, so no big surprise. I then read that the symbols on the back of american currency are all masonic in origin, which was again something I had heard before, although it had fallen from my awareness. Then came something that I had not heard, which was that these symbols were used in the worship of a demon named baphomet. This was followed shortly by a claim that the "God" that the masons dedicate their lives to in their pledge is not the God of the Jews (Elohim), but rather baphomet, his name given in a deliberate misnomer, and true identity hidden through lies to all but the highest order masons (which does actually make me wonder how the writer was aware of this fact). Oh, in a side note, he also said something that I had not heard before. I had always heard, and it seemed possible, that the god of Islam was the same as the God of Christianity. As such I always just grouped them with Mormons (apologies to you mormons who might happen to be reading this) or somesuch - believing in the same God as Christianity, but on a religion and set of beliefs that had no true basis. He pointed out that this was not possible as Islam's god did not have a son. As another possibly significant side note, out of curiosity I googled an image of the demon after reading all this. I do not remember exactly why I did it, but um. I have an incoherent thought here that I do not know how to give word to, so I shall move on.
I have had in the past, twice, dreams that seemed remarkably real, then I woke up the next day and found that they had actually come to pass (again, this is hard to be certain of, I suppose it's possible that it didn't, but I'm next to positive that this did happen). One of them I remember explicitly, the other I just remember having. This dream felt like those. While it doesn't seem it would happen, it felt.. significant, in the same way those had. Also, while I hadn't been the least bit scared in the dream, which made me extremely happy ("I will fear no evil, for thou art with me" - making this something of an affirmation), it did worry me a litle after waking up, though I could not figure out why. Gradually I remembered all the things I had read the night before and placed them in with the dream, but that was not what worried me. Well.. past the fact that american currency might have demonic symbols all over it, which almost makes me glad that I mostly use credit cards (degree of uncertainty present). I think what did worry me was that.. the only thing I could think of.. was that the window had been open. (There were a few other realizations that it seems like I had, but I don't think I remember them all) I don't really know how to interpret this. Could it mean that my faith is not solid, or .. I don't really know what it might have been. Or even if I really have any reason to worry.
Of course, I'm evaluating all this from the position that this dream was symbolic, which obviously is not necessarily true (this would be the third dream that I have considered to have significance, with the other two I have mentioned. I might have totally disregarded this one were it not for the other two as well, but I'm not sure..). So it could all be unimportant (the "As to why this dream... ...so I shall move on" paragraph was based on realizations that happened as a result of the dream, and therefore this statement is not applicable to it). I don't really know. But uh, anyway, any thoughts on all of this? I'm a little confused (as always) by it all.
Answer:
1) there is a lot of paranoia about Masons.
2) Dreams are dreams, if I counted the number of dreams in which I was tormented by demons or monsters it would number in the thousands.
3) You cannot sign away your soul, any more than you can sign away Bill Gates' fortune. It is not yours, you were bought with a price.
I will not go into your perceptions of Mormons and Masons and Islam, etc.
needless to say, you should probably take it as just a dream. If you actually are dealing with demons then, I would say to use scripture alone. But as some on this board do not believe in the demonic being active today, I will ask that this be left alone as a subject. If you want more on that, feel free to pm me.
However, it sounds like nothing more than a nightmare. I would also not reccomend reading on cults on the web. As to pagan symbols... they are all around us. The days and months names are pagan, as are so many things... but really, who cares? Paul said that an idol is nothing. The Psalms agree on this as well, and what are dollar bills compared to a statue of baal or zeus? (Other than the dollar itself is worshipped as fervently as either of those, symbolism aside)
Answer:
I'm with Bill, I think you're reading far too much into this dream. Dreams are funny things. In dreams our minds can solve problems, they can create situations in which a problem is dealt with that would otherwise be impossible to deal with in real life, and our minds can just create scenarios that entertain us and relax us as we sleep. The point of dreams, physiologically is to stimulate our minds during sleep so we stay mentally healthy. I'd say that your dream is nothing more than one of those three things. I don't think it has any bearing on your faith what so ever.
Answer:
Greater is he that is in me then in the world... by your dream from what I could understand of it, is that you are God's.. and no demons can afflict you no matter how loud they may roar, you skipped away and laughed as if it were nothing, I think God was showing you that, and to basically not worry. I believe God shows us things in our dreams and I also believe demons to be real but if we are Gods then they have no power over us.
Answer:
I agree with Bill and Chris. Dreams are dreams, and to try and translate their meaning is really taking them too far. Most of our dreams have no basis in reality. Do you take all of your other dreams as seriously as you do this one? There is too much irrational nonsense in dreams to take them seriously. I once dreamed that I could do whatever I wanted just by thinking about doing it, for example, lifting the roof off my house just by visualizing it. Does this mean that it's possible? Absolutely not.
Answer:
Originally Posted by spazmo Well.. past the fact that american currency might have demonic symbols all over it, which almost makes me glad that I mostly use credit cards (degree of uncertainty present).
Actually, credit cards are the mark of the beast, so by eschewing currency in favor of credit cards, you've only gotten yourself out of the frying pan and into the fire...
Just kidding.
But seriously, don't let fear get the better of you. There's something almost addictive about living in a world where you see demons in every shadow - I guess it makes your life seem significant and exciting and so forth - but as Christians we're called to live victoriously and "do not be anxious about anything" (Phil 4:6).
Incidentally, Jesus handled Roman currency, stamped with the likeness of the Emperor, who was worshiped as a God. It doesn't seem to have done Him any harm...