Dream - The Church

Part I - Converting the church.

I dreamt that I was with my wife, and our friends converting an old meeting or conference center in the hills in San Francisco. The building was adjacent to large grassy fields; to its side was a ledge making small cliff where some ten feet above was a white house and an small rock garden. The rocks jetted up, white, like giant, opaque, quartz rocks.

I was standing on a wooden stage - the stage was unfinished, maybe made out of plywood and other rough construction material. My wife, and our friends COB and HC were bringing in flooring for the sanctuary. They were carrying an extremely long roll of linoleum. I saw that the roll was sagging in the middle and that it was very flexible, too flexible. I told my friends that we couldn’t use the roll because it was the type used in cheap apartment complexes and rip at the slightest stress on the roll. I imagined chairs being pushed around and knew that the flooring would not suffice. We laid out the roll on the floor and it ran just short of the length of the room so I sat wondering where the seam might best lie but gave up and we began the work of rebuilding the floor.

Looking over I noticed that the three were now removing concrete pavers [1] and tossing them into wheel barrows and were taking apart the flooring. Again I looked and I saw my wife hoeing up sod that was underneath the pavers - the sod was green and I was surprised by that. I moved behind the wall that backed the stage and began to remove fixtures in order to prepare to dismantle the stage. I looked over and noticed that CB, our current pastor, was looking at me both confused and concern for the seeming destruction that I was driving.

Up to this point I was not sure what would replace the old flooring but at that moment I told him that we could poor concrete. It was stronger, we would texture it, and add colors to it. The new floor would be stronger and more beautiful than the old one.

Part II - The white house next to the church

A tall minister[2] was up at the white house and this is when I noticed the giant rocks next to the house. I am not sure what he was doing - maybe preaching or other ministry type of work. He was up there for a purpose but I found myself concerned because he was so close to the ledge that served to separate the white-house from the meeting building. As he walked around I situated myself below him and prepared to catch him if he fell off the ledge.

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[1] - saw these on Craig’s List for free, dreams are fun that way.
[2] - the friend that GG and I visited during New Year

Dream - Abarim Mountains and Water

The Abarim mountains gave Moses a view of the promised land across the Jordan river. Here I dreamt that I was in these mountains (like Moses) and my family, my sister and brother-in-law from San Clemente and other close relatives, waited for me in the foothills.

I found myself swimming in the water. At first I thought it be like a river but as I swam in the water I was next to a concrete walk which seemed to me to be an aqueduct or other engineered flow.

I don’t remember how the dream ended. There might have been some action in the river or a chase began. The scenery is what I remembered most.

Dream - Carrier and Mountains

Main Dream: the ship

I am on a large carrier-ship. The flight-deck is wide an I can see the control tower in the distance. I am on the edge of the flight deck where - yes - there are mountains. I am sitting next to a pool and am waiting until the next day, the first day summer. My goal was to be in the pool at high-noon during because if I was in the pool at high noon on the first day of summer I would find “eternal calmness” a great blessing.

I sat there and watched the planes fly overhead and I noticed a pilot drop a large bundle of packages or presents and they laid there on the flight deck. I hurried down out of the mountain and hid the packages behind an invisible wall so that they would be safe; it was still during night. The pilot parachuted down and was greatly concerned about the packages but I showed him that they were safe and I that I concealed them with the magic wall. (The pilot was bemused because I could do magic and was of a different race [1] than the people of the ship.) The queen of the carrier ship sent scouts to look for me so I had to leave the mountain and dress as a sailor and enter the ship’s mess to hide.

Later that night after the search party was gone I returned to the mountains and again climbed up near the pool. Later the next day, the first day of summer, the morning was approaching noon. I was up higher in the mountain and sat next to the pool which looked like a naturally cut baptismal or other ceremonial pool. A search party was nearing me and they knew I was near. This time, though, I was safely higher in the mountains and did not need to fear miss the noontime moment. The hour drew near.

Smaller Dream: the forces

Later I dreamt of the ships forces meeting the forces of my nature and they were close to war. The queen’s army could not understand the different nature of the magical people and strange turrets and strange artifacts of my race.

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[1] I was a “pastamancer” for you KOL fans.

Dream - Train Wreck

Part I - The train wreck

I dreamt that I was driving my pickup in a pastoral valley. The sky overhead was foreboding: winds were picking up and lighting was getting ready to fly. The clouds were painted in dark grays and violets; a massive storm was afoot. I found myself racing in order to get ahead of a train riding the rails alongside the country road on which I sped. I found a turn and was relieved to be ahead of the train, feeling that I averted some disaster and the force that drove me to action was abated. I was wrong, because as I made a turn around the bend I found yet another train already wrecking. I feared the trains would collide. A helicopter like the ones used for the news or rescue was flying over the wreck. The storm picked up and some of the train or the winds caused the helicopter to crash. I pulled aside and searched the wreckage of the helicopter to find the pilot. I found him and was again relieved as the pilot of the helicopter could continue to monitor the train wreck and watch over accident as it unfolded. I then left the scene.

Part II - The house on the hill

I found myself on a ridge in the mountains or hills surrounding the valley. I approached an old mission-style house that might have once been a church or other meeting place. With the storm raging outside I entered the house on search for something. The inside of the house was nice: it contained rare antiques and other valuable items.

A woman was present in the house and came to meet me. I found myself distrusting her as she was somewhat old, refined, but also subtly dangerous, perhaps adulterous. She seemed to be one to trap visitors in a web of sorts. This day she was very concerned about saving an artifact of great value. This was the same object I was searching for. The caretaker also seemed anxious to save the artifact and she helped me find it. I am not sure what it was but it was very valuable - we found it in what appeared to be the entrance to a small bell tower. Even though the lady was in imminent danger from the storm she chose not to leave the house even though I could have helped.

Dreams

Dreams are interesting events. Normally I do not remember dreams and I do not usually take time to record them. Here are a few dreams that I had recently.

The first one is two-part: the first scene regards a train wreck and the second a house overlooking the valley. The second is a fantastical dream about a mountain, a carrier-ship, and magic. Third is a dream where I played for the briefest time a little of the life of Moses. Forth, is a dream about laying flooring and rebuilding something old into something new.

These dreams cover about the last two or so weeks. I hope you enjoy the read.

/s/ B. /

Early Text ...

Polycarp. Who was that guy?

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/polycarp.html

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/polycarp-lake.html

Hello. Interesting writings from one of the apostolic fathers. The site is interesting but be aware of what you read: these are early texts an include gnostic and the heretical NT apocrypha here among early chuch writing.

/s/ B. /
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My friend noted this on the canon of the bible for an interesting essay on why the Bible is what we call Bible.

Still on the Numbers kick . . .

Ever read a passage that is just . . . strange?

Jewish tradition holds that there are four laws in the Torah that do not make much sense and Numbers 19 describes one of those. First find an incredibly rare red cow, kill it, sprinkle people with it’s ashes to make them clean . . .

Moo! Moo!!

Jewish Heritage Online Magazine does an exposition on this chapter which makes some interesting points and adds some interesting cultural context about the Israelite tribe moving about in the desert. Things like this: dead things can curse (or even possess someone) was common belief in the pagan world–and we know how much the Israelites like to graft pagan religions, the red cow was a mechanism to address and adapt these belief patterns. That’s an interesting statement about God using the current cultural for his own means (like the NT using Tartarus as a synonym for hell). The article says the red cow may be for penitence for their earlier sin of the golden calf or that the story is “reflection of the tension between body and soul.”

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

There’s our cow in the new testament, by golly, so there is yet more to this. Matthew Henry (c. 1700) wrote the following notes on this chapter that do well to help understand the spiritual significance of the chapter including the rite and rules around using the ashes to clean people contaminated by death.

Verses 1-10 The heifer was to be wholly burned. This typified the painful sufferings of our Lord Jesus, both in soul and body, as a sacrifice made by fire, to satisfy God's justice for man's sin. These ashes are said to be laid up as a purification for sin, because, though they were only to purify from ceremonial uncleanness, yet they were a type of that purification for sin which our Lord Jesus made by his death. The blood of Christ is laid up for us in the word and sacraments, as a fountain of merit, to which by faith we may have constant recourse, for cleansing our consciences.

Verses 11-22 Why did the law make a corpse a defiling thing? Because death is the wages of sin, which entered into the world by it, and reigns by the power of it. The law could not conquer death, nor abolish it, as the gospel does, by bringing life and immortality to light, and so introducing a better hope. As the ashes of the heifer signified the merit of Christ, so the running water signified the power and grace of the blessed Spirit, who is compared to rivers of living water; and it is by his work that the righteousness of Christ is applied to us for our cleansing. Those who promise themselves benefit by the righteousness of Christ, while they submit not to the grace and influence of the Holy Spirit, do but deceive themselves; we cannot be purified by the ashes, otherwise than in the running water. What use could there be in these appointments, if they do not refer to the doctrines concerning the sacrifice of Christ? But comparing them with the New Testament, the knowledge to be got from them is evident. The true state of fallen man is shown in these institutions. Here we learn the defiling nature of sin, and are warned to avoid evil communications.

What is Hebrews teaching?

One of the most important points in Hebrews is that Jesus is the superior priest and superior atonement for our sin. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our18 consciences from dead works to worship the living God” it proclaims.

Isn’t is amazing that something so long ago before finds it’s meaning fulfilled in Christ? The insufficiency of the Levitical priesthood (remember the priest would become ceremonially unclean) and the inadequacy of the ritual cleaning (Christ’s sacrifice is final) is found here.

Other interesting notes:
        •        Only sacrifice where the blood is also burnt in the sacrifice.
        •        The priest gets transfered uncleanliness from the sacrifice for an evening–Wesley notes that this shows the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood and why the high priest, Aaron, does not perform this ritual.
        •        Cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet are used in cleansing ceremony of a leper all which have significance.

Boring Commentaries:
        •        http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/
        •        http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0419.htm
        •        http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkenum19.htm

Also interesting Jewish takes:
        •        http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/introduction.htm
        •        http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/red_heifer_contents.htm
        •        http://www.jhom.com/topics/color/heifer.htm

(Wiki-pedia notes the tradition that “only nine red heifers were actually slaughtered in the period extending from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple” due it it’s “absolute rarity.”)

By the bye, the four traditional paradoxes are:
        •        The ritual of the red heifer (Numbers 19)
        •        The requirement of a man to marry the widow of his childless brother (Deut. 25:5-10)
        •        The injunction against wearing garments woven of different threads (Deut. 22:11)
        •        The sending of the goat into the wilderness to Azazel (Lev. 16).
        (grafted from the JHOM article)

moo! Moo!! Hebrews 9:13-14