Lesson # 9; Time

When we hear God speak to our hearts it is thrilling. The trial of waiting for the Word to come to pass can be painful though. I have known many saints who have abandoned God’s personal Word for them because of their frustration over waiting. We are not always given a time-line by God concerning prophecy. However, if we understand some things about how God has used symbolism in relation to time, it helps us to in gaining understanding. Much of the symbolism in the Bible is from dreams and visions. This happens in our own lives also. If you are given a dream concerning another person, it helps to be familiar with the symbolism that tells about timing, or about sequence of events.

I want to share a caution before proceeding; though it may seem helpful to think that the fulfillment of prophesies are for a time far off, this type of thinking is not always true. If a prophecy is sent to warn of an upcoming event, or to prepare you for something, you will not likely be ready when that prophecy comes to pass if you have not taken the content of God’s rhema word seriously. Thinking a Word is far off in its fulfillment is not wise in either case.

Let’s look at the symbolism that can indicate God’s time for His Word.

• God gives clues so we can interpret the weight and urgency of the Word
o Repetition – soon to come to pass; needs immediate attention. When the Lord gave Pharoh a dream, it came in two forms; seven cows, and seven heads of grain. After Joseph interpreted the dream he told Pharoh that when God repeats the matter, it has been firmly decided and will happen soon. (Gen 41:32)

o Dynamic, or moving symbolism – shows transition and change. When the Lord gave Ezekiel the vision of dry bones (Ez 37:1-14) the prophet saw change each time the Lord had him prophesy to the bones, until they lived. As a nation, the Lord foretold that they would be brought back to Israel where they once again would live.


o Static or still symbolism – Could be a waiting period. To use an example from my dreams, the Lord has used the symbol of a kitchen counter top to indicate counting time. The longer the counter top, the longer the time. It is not a transition, therefore a non-moving, static object is chosen.

o Vague or incomplete details – far off. When Daniel asked for the outcome of his vision about the end times, he was told “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.” (Dan 12:9). Though he had some information, it was not enough to bring understanding, and the vision seemed incomplete to him. If our dreams or vision seem unclear or incomplete, it is because we need to wait on God.

 Minute details – near. The closer you get to the destination, the more specific the details. It is like getting directions from a relative on how to get to their house in another state. First you are told the freeway to take, and the direction to travel in. But after the city and exit are given, you are told very specific details, like “turn right, turn left, yellow house on the right”, etc. A highway sign is for distance travel, but a street sign means you are near your destination. So as the time draws near for a prophecy to come to pass, God’s word will become more specific. He will “mark” the road for us. In Heb 12:1 we read that our race is marked out for us. In dreams the Lord has often put markers, which are events that, when they occur in my life, all that follows in my dream will come to pass. Not only will I know what I should do and when, but for what purpose.

To illustrate how God’s symbolism goes from less detail to more detail as the time draws nearer, let’s look at the vision in Daniel 12 compared to the similar vision in the book of Revelation. We will find that there is much more detail in Revelation, and that there is more shown (the vision is much longer). Though both visions were for the end times, the vision given to John is much closer to the end, naturally.

• Daniel has time of distress, deliverance of those whose names are written in the book, the resurrection of the saints, and 1290 days (@ 3 ½ years), angel raises both hands to heaven to swear by God about how much time is left (Dan 12:7)

• Rev 7:14 has the great tribulation (as does other books of the New Testament), deliverance from deception for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (17:8), the resurrection of the saints (Rev 20:4-5), 3 ½ yrs (Rev 12:14), angel raises his right hand to heaven to swear that there is no more delay, for during this time all things would be accomplished (Rev 10:6).

We often do not know the exact timing of a prophecy, but can be given a sense of urgency, or pressing of our spirit, when an important matter is coming upon us. This section on urgency talks about symbols that draw our attention to an important event about to happen, or that needs our intervention through prayer and/or action to prevent it.

Urgency

The symbolism is dynamic, lively – an example is a wave seen as large, or swiftly moving. Waves have movement (dynamic) and force. If it is larger than life this indicates a spiritual element is involved.

Horses with riders - Have greater authority. Delayed action would be unwise. A man on a horse is greater than a person on his feet. Horses are swift (dynamic) yet not as forceful as a wave.

Purposes of an urgent message are prayer, preparation, and to be on our watch for our enemy. If you receive an urgent message it is best to find someone to join you in prayer, such as an intercessor’s group. If the thing shown in the dream never happens does that mean you had a pizza dream? No. It usually means that all your prayers were answered.

Non-urgent

Static (not lively) symbolism. Above I used the example of a counter-top, representing time.

Less details with the symbolism. More symbolic, with less understanding. We see that, in Revelation, the angel explained more to John about the beast. In Daniel, he had less explanation from the angel about the beast because it was not an urgent matter for him.

More markers. Unusual events or people which make no sense to you will appear in dreams and visions, to only make sense when the time comes for you to meet them/experience the event.

The purposes of non-urgent messages are to prepare our obedience, watch for the markers, pray for discernment (are the people in your dream promoting the kingdom of God, or against it?), and pray to know your role with these people (are they purposefully trying to do something wrong, or are they ignorantly making a mistake?). When you are informed about who the “players” are in your dream or vision, then you will pray and act correctly.

Not all prophecies have an element of time in them, yet I find that it is important to address this component. As mentioned in the beginning, it is frustrating to wait on God’s timing. Yet we can hold the Word of God in our heart and wait on the Lord for His timing. As one who prophesies, we should also pray for those we prophesy to so that they will have strength to endure the waiting period often attached to personal prophecies to try the heart.