Chapter 13 ~ Dreams, The Promise I Doubt the Most

Five Million Dollar Dream

I received dreams from the Lord in 2015 predicting the parting of the head pastor from my former church.  The contents of these dreams were concerning as he left the church without notice.  As I mentioned before on January 4th, 2022, that happened.  The head pastor died unexpectedly. 

With that alarming development, I will recount the two dreams I had of the head pastor in December 2019.  These dreams came not by my asking or seeking information from the Lord as I had let that subject lay fallow. Why again (after many years) was I being updated via these dreams regarding a subject I would rather forget?   But God’s timing is interesting and unbeknownst to me at this moment. 

If you recall, in the Keeper of the Wardrobe dream: Keeper of The Wardrobe – Believe Miracles Are for Today (believemiraclesr42day.com)

I saw a date range of December 3-6.  These dreams occurred during that timeframe.  The first was the Five Million Dollar dream.

In the dream, I was reviewing a savings account worth five million dollars.  The account belonged to the head pastor.  I thought in dream him to be wealthier than I imagined.  As I contemplated the brief dream upon waking, I surmised the money was not as important as the meaning of the numbers.  So, let’s look at what the numbers mean according to “The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Dreams You Dream” by Ira Milligan.

Five means to serve.  A hundred indicates fullness.  In turn, from Ira: “Thousand is a unit of measurement like ten and hundred and refers to “maturity.””  So, if we put the numbers together: 

5 (service) x 100 (fullness) x 1000 (maturity) equals 500,000. 

To get to 5,000,000, we multiply 500,000 by 10.  Ten meaning to determine whether to accept or reject something (measured in the balance).  Ten is also the number of years the church prayer assignment lasted, not to mention the 10:10 phenomena that has persisted since 2007.  I believe the meaning of five million to represent the head pastor has met full mature service to God.  I surmise the Lord was telling me that the head pastor was ready for retirement.

As I mentioned before, I was taken back by the size of the account (and not that it is any of my business), but I asked what God thought.  He answered with 2 scriptures: Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. (James 5:2). 

And “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.”  (Isaiah 30:1). 

Both of these scripture addresses note the name of the head pastor by them in my bible with a date of 2008.  It was June 2008 when the Lord started revealing the head pastor’s financial sins to me as recorded in My Sister’s Walk with God (pages 289-301).    

Are You Ready?

This is the second dream that occurred in the same date sequence of December 3-6, 2019, when I received the Five Million Dollar dream.  I call this dream, “Are You Ready?”. 

I found myself seated in front of the head pastor and his advisor (either legal or financial).  The advisor said to the head pastor: “Are you ready to do this?”  The intent of the question was to see if the head pastor was prepared to go ahead with some event or action.  I wasn’t seen by the men though I was right in front of them, facing them.  I was a witness.  This is a reference to prophecy- me still seeing what is being planned yet they don’t see me - I’m forgotten.  At the end of the dream, I received three scripture addresses:

Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs.  For now, you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go.  There you shall be delivered; here the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.  (Micah 4:10).

We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.  (Isaiah 26:18).

Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.”  (Ezekiel 34:20).

I believe the Lord was showing me the head pastor has sought advice about his eminent departure or something important to the Lord, that I sense is coming quickly.  It is interesting to note that all three verses I received in prayer were previously given to me after a prior dream regarding the head pastor’s finances in 2009.  The dream was titled the Four-Part Dream (about the finances of the church) and is referenced on page 297 of My Sister’s Walk with God.

A New Veneer Dream

A final dream on this subject, I have sought to forget and minimize its meaning as a nonsensical dream.  But the Lord has forcefully brought it back into focus and has instructed me to include it in this document.  So, with hesitation but obedience I will record the painful dream. 

The dream occurred in 2014 as I started becoming weak in the knees according to Ezekiel 21:7: And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.

The first scene of the dream found me and other believers sitting in my former church.  While I sat, I recognized that the sanctuary was filled with visiting investment type businesspeople. Subsequently, I was leading the same crowd of believers to view a presentation that we were waiting for.  We were parked in an outdoor theater similar to an old-time drive-in. 

The final scene of the dream disturbed me the most.  I met the head pastor at a Costco and as we walked through the store, I discovered myself in a wheelchair.  I knew I could walk but was forced to wheel myself next to the pastor.  As we came upon the furniture department, he stopped at a table with fancy gadgetry in the center of the table.  He was fixated on the table though I reminded him that he already had a similar table.  He wanted a newer fancier version. 

The head pastor explained to me that he had much more cash to spend because they had refinanced and also changed the way employees were paid.  I kept hearing the word “Veneer”.  The painting (veneer) on the wood table was newer.  He was obsessed.  Upon waking I heard “Liquid assets and blood money”. 

Of course, I took this dream to prayer upon waking.  There were four scripture addresses that the Lord gave which helped me interpret the dream post haste.   

For thus has the Lord said to me: ‘Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees.”  (Isaiah 21:6).

Therefore, I said, ‘Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; do not labor to comfort me because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.’  (Isaiah 22:4).

Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  (James 5:4).

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  (Psalm 23:5).

As for the interpretation, let me first start with the definition of the word I heard in the dream “Veneer”.  From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, I believe this description to be applicable: “Veneer - to conceal (something, such as a defect of character) under a superficial and deceptive attractiveness”.  I believe this word to be the crux of the dream.  And the table is a reference to communion, as in a communion table.  In other words, the head pastor wanted a new look to ‘communion’ with our Lord or a new veneer for the outside world.

Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” disturbed me.  Perhaps I was naïve to think that the head pastor was not my enemy though many verses I received from the Lord called him my enemy.

The meaning of Costco is important to note and wasn’t revealed to me at the time.  It took twelve years for me to finally realize why Costco was the location in this dream.  Follow me now, Costco was the place where Bahia (my precious female dog) was stolen thirty years ago.  The story is recounted in my first book under the Dog Years Chapter, Bahia’s Miraculous Return pages 21-22.  Costco was the place where something precious was stolen from me and a place of great sorrow.  In this dream, my strength (also a thing most precious to me) was taken because of the prayer assignment to a man who had gone astray.  That is what the symbol of Costco means to me…a place where something beloved to me was pilfered.  But on the other hand, Costco laid the groundwork for a miracle, Bahia was miraculously returned to us!

I have confidence in the entirety of the dream being summed up by that one word, veneer.  I will explain why.  First, in the opening scene the church is dotted with people from the outside world.  Investment people who have an ‘interest’ in the church.  This interest is financial, so the head pastor must make the church look as appealing (a newer fancier veneer) as possible to attract investors.  You say, “Investors to a church”?  Yes.  Unfortunately, in 2008 the Lord revealed to me another reason (among others) why He was so angry with this pastor.  “Debt has defiled the temple” were God’s words. 

Debt Has Defiled the Temple ~ Money Changers 

How has debt defiled the church?  When I asked God, He spoke.  “Debentures.”  I discovered a debenture is an unsecured bond based upon the good name or reputation of an individual or organization.  A debenture is a type of debt instrument unsecured by collateral. Since debentures have no collateral backing, debentures must rely on the creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer for support.

The day the Lord revealed debentures in 2008 was the same day it was confirmed by a church Board member whom I visited that wanted prayer.  Of course, he was shocked that I knew, and that God was not pleased.    Apparently, debt still defiled the temple in 2014 and was noted in the New Veneer dream that they had refinanced. 

In addition, they also changed the way employees were paid.  Is that not troubling when you recall the scripture the Lord gave after the dream?  Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  (James 5:4).

This brings me to a recent acknowledgement of another refinancing that was confirmed by a friend.  As I began writing this section of the book, we talked.  In the spring of 2020, she had just been laid off from her job at the same church organization after 13 years.  They told her that they were ‘restructuring’.  Hence, the Lord continues to be displeased with the workings of this so-called church.

Revelation 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

Hosea 12:8 And Ephraim said, ‘Surely, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’

The issue has not been dealt with.  The restructuring goes hand in hand with what God said upon me waking from the New Veneer dream.  I heard “Liquid assets and blood money”.  The term blood money refers to family members that were involved, as well.  Perhaps he needed to liquify assets to help family (his blood)?

The second scene of the dream with me leading the believers to a place of waiting (for a presentation) is explained by the scriptures given.  For thus has the Lord said to me: ‘Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees.’  (Isaiah 21:6).  I am that watchman who must declare what she sees.  I believe we were waiting (and still am waiting) for the presentation (fulfillment) of what the Lord has said is coming to the church.

And now, the painful part.  Me, wheeling myself next to the head pastor in a wheelchair is upsetting.  I was getting weak when I had the dream in 2014, but nowhere close to how weak I am currently.  I truly would need a wheelchair to get around a Costco.  So, was this dream predicting my future physical decline or was there something more to it?

I believe it was both.  If you recall the Oozing Wound dream:  Oozing Wound Dream ~ Pink Highlighter Miracle – Believe Miracles Are for Today (believemiraclesr42day.com)

I reiterate, “The wound belonged to a man I used to know.  It was his wound.  I was afflicted because of him.”  In my prayer journal next to this dream, I wrote: “I am handicapped because of him (the head pastor).  My walk is hindered; I feel crippled.  I am a sign.  As You heal the church and head pastor, You will heal me?”  Then, a scripture address Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.  Has He said, and will He not do?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

A final validation that I have understood correctly came in the form of a phone conversation.  Not a conversation that I had, but one that I overheard my husband having.  The day I typed the New Veneer dream into this manuscript, I finished and headed to take a nap.  My husband just happened to be on the phone discussing wheelchairs at my former church.  Yep!  He is on the security team at the church, and someone called to discuss a medical situation that had occurred.  Funny thing is that I have never heard him speak of wheelchairs ever before, this was the first and only time! 

Was that God giving me a nod of approval for being obedient to include this dream in this book?  Yes, I trust there are no coincidences when you walk with the Lord.  Just believe.