Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-12-06
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are interested. The text is Joel II, 2S:
81 viii pour out my spirit upon all
flesh. Your old men shall dream
3. dreams, your young men shall see
visions"
In this photograph of the millenni-
um the dream is lifted into great con-
spiculty. You may say Of a dream
that II IS nocturnal fantasia, or that
1t is the absurd combination OF waking
thoughts. and with slur OF intoua-
ton you may say, 1T is only
Dream" but God has honored the
dream by making 1t the avenue through
which again aud again he has marched
upon the human soul, decided the fate
OF nations. and changed the course Of
the worlds history. God appeared in
dream to Abimelech, warning him
against an unlawful marriage; in a
dream to Jacob. announcing. by the
ladder set against the sky full of an.
gels. the communication between earth
and heaven; In a dream 20 Joseph,
foretelllng his coming power under
the figure OF all the sheaves of the
harvest bowling down to bis sheaf; to
the chief butler, foretelling his dislm-
prisonment: 10 the chief baker, an
nouncing his decapitation; to Pharaoh,
showing him first the seven plenty
years and then the seven famine
struck years, under the figure Of the
seven lean cows devouring the seven
fat cows; TO Solomon. giving him the
choice between wisdom and riches and
honor; TO a warrior, under the figure
OF a barley cake shifting down a tent,
encouraging Gideon in his battle
against the Midianites; TO Nebuchad-
neZzar, under the figure of a broken
image and n hewp down tree, foretell-
ing the overthrow of his power; to
Joseph, of the New Testament, an
nouncing the birth of Christ in his
own household, and again bidding him
hy from Herodlc prosecutions; to Pr
late's wife, warning him not to become
complicated With the judicial over
throw of Christ.
We all admit that God in ancient
times and under Bible dlspensatIon adj
dressed the people through dreams.
The question now is, does God appear
In our day and reveal himself through
dreams? That Is the question every
body asks. and that question will
try TO answer You ask me If | be-
lieve In dreams My answer is, i do.
but oil i have TO say will be under
five heads.
Bible Sufficient Guide
Remark the First.-The Scriptures are
so full OF revelation from God that IL
we get no communication from him In
dreams we ought, nevertheless, 10 be
satisfied.
With twenty guidebooks to tell you
how to get to New York or Pittsburg
or London or Glasgow or Manchester
do you want night vision to tell you
how to make the journey? We have
In this Scripture full direction in re-
gard TO the Journey OF this life and
how to get to the celestial city. and
with this grand guidebook. this mag
nificent directory. we ought to be salts
fed l have more faith In n decision
10 which ! come when | am wide
awake than when am sound asleep.
i have noticed that those who give a
great deal OF their time TO studying
dreams get their brains added. They
are very. anxious to remember what
they dreamed about the first night they
slept In new house. IL In their dream
they take the hand OF a corpse. they
are going to die. If they dream Of q
garden. IL means n sepulcher. IL some
thing turns out according TO a night
vision. they say. well. / am not sur
prised; dreamed It." IL IL turns out
different from the night vision, they
say. well. dreams so by contraries."
In their efforts TO put their dreams into
rhythm they put their waking thoughts
into discord. Now, the Bible is so full
OF revelation that we ought TO be salts
he'd IL we get no further revelation.
Sound sleep received great honor
when Adam slept so extraordinarily
that the surgical lncision which gave
him Eve did not wake him. but there Is
no such need for extraordinary sum-
Der now. and he who catches an Eve
must needs be wide awakei No need
or such dream as Jacob had, with a
ladder against the sky, when ten thou
sand times IL has been demonstrated
that earth and heaven are in communi-
cation. No such dream needed as that
which was given to Abimelech. warn
Ing him aga inst an unla wful marriage,
when we have the records OF the coun-
" clerks office. No need OF such a
dream as was given TO Pharaoh about
the seven years of famine. for now the
seasons march In regular procession
and steamer and rail train carry bread
stuffs to every famine struck nation.
No need or a dream like that which
encouraged Gideon, for all through
Christendom IL is announced and ac-
knowiedged and demonstrated that
righteousness sooner or later will get
the victory.
III there should come about crisis In
your life Upon which the Bible does
not seem to be sufficiently specific, go
TO God In prayer. and you will get es-
pecfai direction. have more faith
nlnety-nine times out OF hundred In
directions given you with the Bible In
your lap and your thoughts uplifted In
prayer to God than In all the informa-
tion you Will get unconscious on your
pillow.
can very easily understand why the
Babylon'ans and the Egyptians. with
no Bible. should put so much stress on
dreams. and the Chinese In their holy
DOCK, Chow King, should think their
emperor gets his directions through
dreams from God, and that Homer
should think that all dreams came from
love. and that in ancient times dreams
were classified into a science, but why
do You and put so much stress upon
dreams when we have a supernal book
or Infinite wisdom on all subjects?
Why should we harry ourselves with
dreams? Why should Eddystone and
barneSat lighthouses question a sum-
mer FREELY?
Proof OF Immortality.
Remark the Second-All dreams have
an important meaning. They prove
that the soul Is comparatively indie
pendent OF the body. The eyes are
closed. the senses are dull, the entire
BODY goes into lethargy which in all
languages is used as a type OF death,
and then the soul spreads Its wing and
never SleeDS IT lonpS tha A+Ico+io