Monster slayer.

Monster  slaying.

 This dream is one of the re-peat dreams. The re-peat dreams have a slightly different story. But they all have similarities.

1. Sequence of events.   2. People involved.   3. Location.   4. Outcome, and 5. Meaning.  I cannot say I understand all of them, neither do I understand the timing.

The visit

 It all starts with my wife and I visiting some people who live far out in the countryside.  I do not know these people, or anyone else in the dreams, except for my wife, Jovanna.  As we are visiting these very kind and gentle people, the older guy asked me if I wanted to shoot some bears?

 I looked at him and ask the word “bears”?

“Yes, there are so many bears around here, it is very unsafe to go outside. Even going to your car is dangerous.”

So, I said “yes, I’ll do that with you.”

 So out the door we went. He had an old beat-up, pick-up truck, with cattle racks on the sides of it. In the bed of the truck, was a machine gun mounted on a pedestal.  It was very convincing to be a lethal combination.  He gets in the driver’s seat and I am instructed to stand in the bed with this machine gun and blow away every bear in sight.

 As we backed out of the yard, there were three enormous bears that came from somewhere, and attacked the truck. Needles to say I gunned them down in fast order.  The driver said, He was very experienced in driving this thing, all I had to do was be trigger-happy and do not back down no matter what. So off we went. I was to discover that he was extremely good at driving in this combat style truck. He seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. When to slow down and draw something out of the brush, or to speed up because I could not shoot them fast enough, when they came in waves. This went on for several miles.

The change.

 The farther we went the bigger the bears got.  Then they were no longer bears, they were monsters of every sort. Fierce and powerful. I understood in this dream, they were demonic creatures.  Then came the wart-Hogs. They too were spiritual, of very enormous size, and even more aggressive!

Then they came from all sides at once! Every fiendish creature, wart-hogs, and dark shadowy creatures with no description. The driver was amazing! He would go speeding off the road, into some field. And there he would circle, swerve, and turn in all direction, as he maneuvered the truck to avoid the attackers and give me time to blow them away.

Once back on the road again, he stopped and got out. He looked at me and said” Man! You don’t quit!”

To which I replied in a humorous note “what’s my options?.”

He got back in the truck and we continued on. At one place, there was a clear open field on both sides of the road. There was a fence following the road. And in that fence, there was a thick growth of weeds, trees, vines, and various brush.

This overgrown fence line made a blind spot in the road.  It was hard to see through, and I knew something could come charging out of the blind fence and be on top of us faster than I could respond. Immediately, the driver slowed to a crawl. he understood what I was thinking, and his slowing down was a warning.  Sure enough, I saw vaguely through the brush, some sort of super giant something slowly moving behind the fence. I started firing before it ever broke out of the brush line. It came on us fast and close. It was a nightmarish size, demonic wart-hog. The drive took off very quickly and avoided a near collision with this creature. I kept firing at near point blank, as it charged us from behind the truck. Trying to catch up with us.  It eventually went down, right there in the road, right behind us.  I spun the gun around to face forward again, just in time to take out another shadowy creature that was intent on ambushing us.  I thought “how long can this go on! “.   when we got past the shadowy creature, the driver stuck his hand out the window and gave me the thumbs up.  We continued on for a short while without incident.

The decision

 Then we came to a fork in the road, where there was another truck very similar to ours sitting at the fork waiting for us. There were two guys in the back with a machine gun identical to mine. They both looked very rough and tough. They reminded me of bikers.

 We pulled up beside them and everyone got out, except me. I stayed at the gun. They introduced themselves, and were well mannered.  There seemed to be a kindred spirit between us. The two gunners said,” so this is the guy you were telling us about?”

 My driver friend said “yes, I’m very impressed with him.”

 the gunner said, “well, if he made it this far, he’s gotta be good.”

The other drive said, “he aint no coward for sure, but is he willing to keep going?”

My driver friend said “I think so, but I never told him what’s ahead.”

This got my attention! I asked “what’s ahead?”

My driver said “everything we have faced so far is just a warm up, for what is ahead. It was the small stuff, to see what you were made of. I think you’ll do just fine. But if you want to go back, we can. You really don’t have to keep going. “

One of the gunners spoke up, “we totally understand if you want to go back. We don’t have to do this. you have already proven yourself. But what’s ahead is going to get very ugly. We are only here as your back-up. You can’t do this next step on your own, and we can’t do this without you. But if you decide to press on, remember, it’s going to get worse than anything you have ever faced. We are there for you, but the decision is yours.”

I asked “how often do you guys do this?’

Their response was. “Very seldom, and not often enough. It’s hard to find someone qualified. But when we do, its time to go forward.”

Me. “if the decision is mine, I say we keep going”.

They all gave me that look of acceptance, and the driver said “I told you so”.

 We got you covered.

We drove for a while with no further events. I wondered what was going on. then the driver stopped, got out and said,” there is an empty span between these two worlds, we are in that span. We are about to enter the next one, so be ready.” He got back in the truck and we continued on quickly, with no events happening for some time.

 Finally, the driver slowed way down, and again I took this to be warning. But nothing was happening that I could see that would warrant the change in speed.  I hadn’t noticed the truck behind us was gone.

  We came to a very short bridge. It was wooden, with no side rails of any kind. The ground beneath the little bridge dropped off straight down on both sides, and very very deep. If you were afraid of heights, this is not the bridge you wanted to be on. the driver came to a complete stop, paused, and started moving very slowly. Somehow, I knew this was going to be really bad.  Just as we came onto the little bridge, from my left, there came such a creature as I had never seen. It was bigger than big, standing on the floor of that enormous gorge, and with giant muscular arms and claws was trying to grab me. It made me tremble. It was just a few feet away. It eyes were black and evil. It smelled like rotting flesh. I kept ducking and shooting. The diver had come to a stop on the bridge!   My mind was racing! WHY DID THE DRIVER STOP! GET OFF THIS BRIDGE! GIVE ME SOME SPACE!

 I never took my finger off the trigger. With each deathly grab it made at me, I blew that limb off with the machine gun. Then it would have another arm/claw in its place and try again.  Then I heard another machine gun from somewhere on my right.  I didn’t have time to look there, but just kept this up with the hideous creature on my left. After what seemed like forever, the creature went down. It was fatally wounded, and fell with a thunderous fall on the ground far below! I was still shaking.

I looked over to my right, to see what had been going on there. Much to my horror, that whole gorge was full of all kinds of creatures we had been seeing the whole trip. they were all dead and filled the gorge! I was so occupied, I never noticed them!

And there, on the edge of that crevasse, was the other gunners. They had been covering me the whole time! the word “we got you covered,” took on a whole new meaning!

When I thought I was taking on the whole battle by myself, I never suspected my battles was nothing compared to what was going on, just out of view!

They waved at me, but I was to stunned to wave back. All I could do was try to stop shaking.

We started off again, and very soon, they were behind us again. I really liked these fearless guys! I’m so glad they were there!

The back door to hell.

 We came to a place where the ground before us, once again, fell away very steep. The road had come to an end and we could go no farther. The bottom of that region, was thickly covered with odd shaped trees and brush. They all looked they had been through a fire or war zone.  Down at the bottom of this region, and at the far right, there was a large opening of a cave. This was the back door to hell. Both drivers left the road, and pulled up about hundred feet apart, facing forward toward the deep valley before us. It was obvious, this was an attack position. But an attack from what? It was so quiet. I didn’t have long to wait, to find out! Coming out of that cave, and out of that valley, at full speed, was every thing hell could throw at us! Demons, monsters, spirits, wart-hogs the size of barns. Shadowy creatures, disembodied spirits, the dammed, satyrs, mythical creatures, and abominations.  They came in waves and hoards. I was no longer aware of what the back-up guys were doing. I could hear their machine gun firing nonstop. They were hitting things so close to me, it sounded like they were shooting at me.  you cannot be distracted when in such a close combat.  They were fighting their own battles and I was fighting mine.

I kept the gun almost spinning in a circle. Everything was point blank. Sometimes I was boring holes through them just to hit what was behind them. Meanwhile the drivers kept both trucks move wildly. They knew every move to make and did so with perfect timing. Eventually we had to back away from the edge of the valley, there were so many dead creatures, we couldn’t maneuver.  the dead were pilled higher than our war machines. This went on for some time. I only occasionally got a glimpse of the other gunners. I couldn’t help them, and they couldn’t help me. With all the deafening sounds of creatures attacking, machine gun fire, screams of the wounded, engines roaring and sickening gasp and groans. There was no way of humanly hearing the other gunners, except for their firing.  even if they had been close.  After a very long time, the attack came to a sudden stop. The silence was strange.  I asked the driver “what happened? Where did they go?”  he answered “we won.”

The drivers backed away from the top of the hill we had been holding, and off to my left was the other gunners.  Nobody moved. We stayed there in readiness.  I don’t know how long we stayed there. It was long enough to view the horrible carnage before us.  It was very sickening.  I had stopped shaking outwardly, but inwardly I was still very nervous.

A Turn of events.

 Without saying anything to each other, both trucks took off towards the road.  once we reached the road, we headed back the way we came. We kept going at a medium speed, and had no encounters. It seemed like we had gone farther than we came out. We drove back through those earlier battles, the little bridge, the others.  Finally, we came to the fork in the road again. We both kept moving, they went their way, and we went ours, without saying anything to each other.  I was a little sadden by this, for I hoped to visit these heroes of the faith once again. They had my full respect and my heart.

            Eventually, the driver stopped at a little side road that we had passed by much earlier. He called for me to get into the cab. I jumped out of the back, but was a little hesitant to leave the gun still mounted there. I got into the cab and he took off. We were on that little road. It was a different direction from which we had come. And we were nowhere near the house.  I asked “where we going?.”

The driver said, we are at the last leg of your journey.  When we get up here a little way, I’ll drop you off, and you will have to finish the rest of the journey by yourself, on foot.  If you follow that little road, it will take you all the way back to the house. You wife will be there and so will we. We’ll be waiting for you. But you must make the journey by yourself.  Its not very far at all. But it won’t be easy.”

Almost Home.

            He let me out at another very tiny dirt road. It branched out to the right. I was told to take the gun from the back, I would need it. After doing so, the driver turned around and went back the way we had come.

 This so-called road was nothing more than a wide dirt path.  Lots of brush and small trees on both sides. It was a perfect place to get ambushed. I didn’t like it.

 I hadn’t gone very far when I came upon an old vintage step-van, parked off the path, sitting at an angle, very rusted and grown over. I tried the doors; they were not working. The inside was empty and gutted.

Passing on about 50 ft. further, I came to a little bridge. I hadn’t forgotten the other little bridge, and felt very uneasy about this one. It wasn’t anything like the other one, but something was wrong. I paused and looked over everything before moving. I saw nothing. After I had crossed the little foot bridge, I heard something moving up ahead, on the right beyond the brush. but still I saw nothing. The longer I stood there searching for what ever it was, the more uneasy I became.

 I returned back to the old van. Again, I tried the door. It was still stuck, but now I had a lot more motivation. I managed to get the rusted door open and knew it would provide very little of anything. I was still Standing outside the van, when a monstrous wart-hog came charging out of the brush, headed for the foot bridge, and was coming for me. I raised the gun, and fired, but it was a dry shot. There was no ammunition!  NOW we got issues!

            As the monster reached the bridge, there was a loud sounding off of a machine gun! The monster didn’t make it across the little bridge! Praise God! I ran forward and looked down the draw, where the sound had come from. There were my two gunner friends! Waving at me! I waved back with great enthusiasm!

 I ran past the old van, around behind it, darted up the footpath, that led to where the gunners were, and came breathlessly to where they had been. They were gone! This was the very spot! There was empty casing everywhere. And one of those ammo clips that never ran dry, was laying there waiting for me!  I remembered their words,” we got you covered”! AND THEY DID! Oh, how I wanted to see them again! But apparently, I wasn’t supposed to.  So, putting the clip into the gun, I retraced my steps back to the foot bridge where the monster still lay. Going past it, I started once again for home. I knew I wasn’t done yet.  In these dreams, I never reached the house. I had the impression it wasn’t very far in distance, but there would be a lot of battles still waiting. God was on my side! The two “back-up” guys would be there when I needed it, and my gun had the endless ammo clip in it.

Conclusion.

It is my understanding there could more than one application of what these dreams mean. So, I’m taking it at “dream value”.  Only time will explain the real meaning. Meanwhile, it’s up to the reader to make those decision for themselves.

It seems there are several things that repeated themselves in this and other similar dreams.

Wart-hogs, little bridges, escalating battles, back-ups, my wife waiting for me at the house. You have to go it alone. Your almost home. Defeated devils of every sort. And uncanny circumstances. Point blank battles, surprise attacks from unexpected directions. And maxing me out to the utter most! And those two guys that always show up just in time.

            I can see this dream applying to many saints. We all have our battles to fight, and our decisions to make. We can take heart! It isn’t a time to turn back: its time to rejoice! God gives us the victory, and no one can take us out of our fathers hand!

The things that stand out to me the most are:

1. “we got you covered. “They were always there. always on time. never making a show of themselves. Always knew what I was doing and what I was going to be needing.  Never advertised themselves.

2. The old and sweet couple with whom we visited, seemed like lambs, but were lions at heart. They knew a whole lot more than what they were willing to admit.

3. Those humble drivers who believed in me, more than I believed in myself. And were utterly amazing at what they did! They were full of encouragement.

4. The devil and his followers are always on the prowl to see whom they may devour, but they have all been defeated. They will always be intimidating and fierce. But that is their tactic to try and get you to run. If you run, they will be everything they pretended to be.

5. One with God is a majority. If God is with you, then you have everything you need.

6. God isn’t looking for big, tough, brave warriors! He’s looking for normal people who are willing to believe in him for the outcome!

7. God is our refuge and strength! We dare not trust in ourselves. if we are faithful to him, he will be faithful to us!

8. Life is not a fairy tale. we do not write our own stories or the outcome.  Life is not easy, and not everyone lives happily ever after. We dare not: put on the armor, just because WE want to! God has to give us a calling to do it, or we can’t do it at all.

9. Not everyone is a gunner. God uses drivers, “back-ups” that keep you covered, housewives that stand by the stuff, and little children also! Each one is very important.

10. the future and its challenges, can be terrifying. The battles won’t be easy. The opposition will be intimidating. Turning back won’t be an option. These are all promises that will be fulfilled! Not just a warning or a might be.

11. God will never abandon you. He will never leave you alone. The unseen hand of God and his grace, are many times surer, than the promises of trouble.!  Or the enemies’ threats and attacks.

12. when in the heat of the battle, remember: just because you don’t see your “back-up” doesn’t mean they are not working at full force in your defense! They are there! even when you saw them take a different road than yours! They are waiting for you up ahead!

It would be natural for anyone to assume some self-appointed part in this dream. Perhaps they might think there is some glory to gloat over or brag about, if they did this or that. But when the flame of fear engulfs you, the horror of the battle overcomes you, the doubts of the outcome steal your courage.  The weakness of your strength robs you of your faith and the regrets of your past undermine your confidence. Then you are defeated! Its better to be faithful at the helm, then to be a casualty in the sea!

When the men return from the battle, you see in them the strength and the confidence they found in God. They wear the victor’s badge of courage! But what about you?  Did you fall on the floor of the truck and cowered and shook when things got scary or uncertain? Is that how you want your story to end? Did somebody have to take your place? While you hide and cried?  The wild eyes of fear, the stammering of the distraught, the weakness of the feeble minded,  Is a shame you will never live down. It will follow you in the generations to come. You will never again stand in the ranks of the men, but be pushed aside and laughed at by the children, pitied by the women. And why is all this shame and woe? You trusted in yourself! You took the lead in the battle in your own strength! When you should have let God lead the battle!  It’s better to be faithful in a humble position, than to fail in an exalted one!

There are many proud, who seek to be seen and recognized. Their idea is to please others, to be accepted. But God hates pride.  All their showmanship and gas lighting, will be waiting for them at judgment.  At the judgment of God, they would trade the whole universe to be the little “nobody,” who stayed true to God, and was given a majestic entrance into the eternal kingdom of God. They sold their soul for men’s applause, but in hell, they lost it all!

 You can be assured; any fanciful ideas of recognition, that feeds your pride, will disappear and leave you a helpless blob of failure. Perhaps it will be THEN, you see, if the lord doesn’t build the house, then the labors will be in vain! You will severely wish you had let God take the lead in your life! Perhaps THEN you will see the importance of wrapping yourself in full surrender to him, and let him be your confidence, your shield, your strength, and your reward!

Men are not appointed to places of high visibility, because they know how to conquer!  But God sets them in his places of his choosing, because they know how to surrender to him, and do his bidding! That is the secret!

I do not know the outcome of all of this, or why those re-occurring dreams keep coming. I’m gaining a lot of insights from these dreams. Sometimes daily. But as of yet, I do not see the full picture of why. Until then, I will faithfully abide in the vine!  EXCEPT YE ABIDE IN THE VINE, YE CAN DO NOTHING! And I have set my course to abide in that vine! Amen! I greatly welcome your company every day!