A Dream Within A Dream

Do you dream much? They say that we all go through dream stages when we sleep. So when people say they never dream, they really do. They just don’t remember it. The dream stage of sleep is called R.E.M. That stands for rapid eye movement, which is what we have when we dream. There’s a rock group called R.E.M., and they sang a song called “I don’t sleep, I dream.” I guess that would really be a hallucination. I’ve always been bothered by realistic nightmares. Some people think dreams can predict the future, but I think they just visualize what’s going on in our subconscious minds. But in Old Testament times, when you had a dream, it could predict the future, and it could be from God. Back then, when we didn’t have the Bible, God spoke to people in many ways, and dreams were a common way. God even said in Numbers 12:6 “When a prophet of The Lord is among you…I speak to him in dreams.” And so He did. Quite a bit. He talked to Abimelech in a dream. He appeared to Solomon in a dream, and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for a discerning heart to govern his people and God granted him his wish. All in a dream. Joseph had a dream that predicted his future leadership, and Jacob saw his stairway to heaven in a dream. Even in the New Testament, the angel of The Lord came to Joseph in a dream three different times. To tell him that Mary would give birth to Jesus, to tell him to go to Egypt to escape from Herod, then to tell him when it was safe to return. Dreams can be good or bad, but have you ever noticed they’re never uninteresting or boring? I believe that our life will seem like a dream when we get to Heaven. Something that lasted just for a little while, and then we awaken to know we are safe and home at last. Nothing bad can happen anymore. What a relief. It was all only a dream, a momentary passing through on our way to reality. Perhaps Edgar Allan Poe was right when he said, “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” Sweet dreams, everyone.