News has been spreading recently from underground believers in the Middle East that an extraordinary happened in the region of Gaza. Right in the heart of the most conflicted territory on the planet, Jesus appeared in a dream to over 200 men in the same night. Many of these men have now opened to their heart to the Lord and our turning from Islam to faith in Christ. 

I have to admit that when I first heard this I was a little skeptical only because of the vast amount of false information being spread across the internet these day. Info that can unfortunately can include supposed “good news.” However, the sources involved in this story suggested this was a real incident worthy of our absolute celebration and awe. And it hit me even harder because I found out about it  only a day or two after feeling very specifically led to pray for salvation to hit people in that region of the world.

On top of that, something else happened that week that made me laugh and reminded me of the purpose of Elisha’s Riddle. Our readers will know that we don’t shy away from the reality that God can speak through the most unlikely places, including movies and pop culture. While artists and creators can tap into some dark stuff in their creative work, they have a spiritual antenna that also picks up on divine revelation. With that said, the week before the news came out about this amazing event where tons of people received a dream with the same Person in it, I came across the trailer for a new film about a man who starts appearing people’s dreams all over the place. (In fact, I just did an editorial pause to see what day this film was released and it was the SAME DAY the news broke about the dreams in Gaza!)

It’s no coincidence that a movie about one man appearing in people’s dreams was globally released the same day this story of the true God-Man, Jesus Christ, appeared in 200 people’s dreams in one evening. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, God is continually speaking even in unexpected “parables” such as Hollywood films. Now I’m not hear to vouch for this particular movie (though perhaps it will have some kind of important message), I only want to say that this communicates something very significant on the heart of God. In the days ahead, there will be many more miracles like this where people find themselves dreaming of Jesus and this will open up doors for believers to minister to them in powerful ways. 

The Muslim people are particularly known to pray for dreams and visions and I believe this is what opens them up to receive from the Lord in this way. Prayer has a way of opening up the heart to take in more of heaven, and I think God meets their prayers because of this. However, this kind of thing is going to be happening across all cultures and faiths in the days ahead. According to the prophetic scripture in Joel 2, the reality of dreams and visions play a significant role in the world as God releases his Spirit across the world. (And for this reason, we will be doing a deeper exploration of dreams and visions with Elisha’s Riddle in 2024. Details coming soon…)

Now it’s important to remember that there was a Christian ministry on the ground already serving these men who had the dreams. Many of the men were fathers who lost their sons in the Israel-Hamas War. This ministry has been feeding them and bringing support in other practical ways. Therefore, when they had the dreams, they knew they could come to these Christians to talk about it.

That aspect of the story is absolutely central. Dreams and visions are wonderful things to pray for and embrace; however, as amazing as supernatural encounters are, the real power comes in the church being ready to love on those who are experiencing the supernatural. In other words, supernatural encounters need to be matched with hands-on ministry that is ready and willing to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and cheer the lonely and bereaved. This is something that God is also going to be increasing through his willing body in the days to come. 

Now that ties in with one of the other reasons I believed this story was real. Several years ago I had the privilege of baptizing a young Muslim who came to Christ after they were having dreams about Jesus. This opportunity to speak to them about their dream had a similar connection to what just happened in Gaza. This individual specifically came to speak with me because someone in my church had provided shelter for them after having to leave an abusive situation in their home. They were welcomed as family (and still are to this day), and that kind of love led to the opportunity to talk more openly and seriously about Jesus. The dreams were just the icing on the cake. 

In the same way, God is getting ready to release supernatural divine appointments like never before and he wants his people ready to showcase radical love to those we will find ourselves ministering to. These are the kinds of things we’ve been talking about at the Almond Branch over the past few weeks with our new Advance Course (which we’re hoping to have the videos for that ready very soon). The Lord is calling us to have boldness and wisdom as opportunities come to share with people about the Kingdom and Love of God.

Get ready! There is much more to come.

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Cover Image: Rockets Fired in Gaza | Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash