Old Dog V
A Dream(S)
Bob Neumann, 4.19.2001
There are times when you wonder and pray about something “seen” in THE MOST HOLY SPIRIT. Sometimes there are clear answers, and sometimes just bigger and better questions. About two weeks ago while in North Carolina i had a dream. In the past i had similar dreams but it has been awhile since i had any dream or vision this intense. Because it had no real message to “exhort” or “comfort” the congregation it just sat “in my gut” and rumbled. Last night it repeated itself and then expanded way beyond anything i expected or could have anticipated.
The dream simply started with me standing in the dark. By the time i got my “bearings” i realized i was ‘looking down’ and something(s) were climbing toward me. As this “awareness” came to me, so did the clearness of vision because i could see clearly in the dark. What was coming toward “my position” was nothing close to human and i ”knew” i could not let it get past “my position”.
In the past i have “defended” gates, walls, and even trenches. And i had been armed with assorted “weapons”. So at this point there was “nothing new”…..except a strong feeling of “desperation”. “Desperation” is not a term i want to use, but it was the closest i can find right now. (If anyone wants to “rebuke” my lack of “faith” or whatever, feel free to do so. I’ve kicked myself on that account too many times already.)
What i saw was waves upon waves silently sneaking up “the hill” either through me or past me…..and whoever else was “defending the high ground”. So in this “image” i was fighting against demonic warriors of various sizes and shapes. For some reason neither attacker nor defender was making any noise. Why exactly i have only a dim clue, even now. But it seemed for hour after hour i would come out of “the shadows” and dispatch an attacker and await the next. For some reason crawling or stepping over the carcasses of “dead demons” did not slow or warn them that there was an enemy close by. They just kept coming and coming and coming……
I guess my desperation was in the fact that i was aware i could not stop all that were coming up. As i was dispatching one, it’s fellows were getting by on either side. I knew that I was not alone, but that awareness kept coming up in my mind.
The dream ended with my awareness that “the dawn” was only minutes away. I woke up.
The reason i did not “write” this down even a week ago was because i did several things during this “battle” i had done before…in other times and places and simply did not include them in other narrations because it is not “seemly”. I had never….ever…..heard anyone describe what i had done…still do… whether they be CHRISTIAN.… PENTECOSTAL .… CHARISMATIC….MESSIANIC….or even NEW AGE.… If said demon comes with heavy spear or pike he ends up impaled on said spear or pike….if there is enough of it left, that is.… when not then it is just the head..…
The reason i mention it now is because i have learned something the last week or so. Something i will live with because it is me. Something that came together last night as the above dream repeated itself, blow by blow, demon by demon. But it did not end.… As i watched the sun rise on the horizon i knew “we” had made it through the night. A year ago i had a “song” i sent out called SON RISE…
That “song” came back into my spirit as i saw THE LIGHT PIERCE the darkness and i found myself turning my back to the carnage and going up the remainder of the “hill” or should i say “mountain”. At the center of the area on the top stood THE KING OF GLORY as from all around slowly walked “men” looking much as i felt…..tired, dirty, and just plain happy to be standing. How many….a hundred…maybe more….just too many for a casual count. There were many “familiar” faces. Faces i had seen before that may never have a name till we meet in HIS KINGDOM. And many ‘new’ faces. Except this time i had “feelings” that i knew them…met them…in the natural. I have mentioned this to “Harley” and “Trey”.… the three or four others i will speak to when next we meet. What is ”funny” was i had the “feeling” Harley was there on the mountain the first time when the dream ended before climbing the “mountain”.
For a few moments we all stood looking at THE KING dressed in ROYAL ARMOR standing QUIETLY. Suddenly He started walking quickly toward the circle of men and passed through about 5-6 “guys” over and i heard THAT VOICE CALL OUT “COME ON DOG!”….and i ran after HIM and HE was moving straight down the mountainside at a good clip. In a moment we passed all the corpses, including quite a few heads and torsos lifted up. I guessed HE felt the shudder in my spirit as i saw what i had done. But all i heard HIM SAY was “COME ON” as we made our way down slope.
When we hit the bottom we stopped and HE turned towards me. I realized HE WAS DRESSED in a olive green uniform with “knife-edge” creases. On HIS HEAD was an arab-like HEADCOVERING of the same OLIVE GREEN material with a circlet of material with heavy gold strands through it. HE PLACED a similar one on my head….no gold…and said “YOUR COVERING, IT’S GOING TO BE HOT”….and i remember my grandfathers telling me you never saluted an officer without your head covered. Why, i’m not sure because i have never been in the military.
At this point i realized i ”had changed” since the mountaintop. Now my head barely reached HIS SHOULDER and i was wearing the same old uniform i had worn in previous dreams/visions. And i was wearing a full combat harness. All i remember is i noticed something sparkling on HIS SHOULDERS and i wondered how many “STARS” would THE KING OF KING wear…..don’t ask me why such a question came to mind.… but it did.
Again we were moving, away from the MOUNTAIN crossing low rolling hills. THE KING began to run and i stayed right behind HIS LEFT SHOULDER. In the natural i could not run 2 minutes without passing out or whatever…..but we covered ground hard and fast. Eventually the hills ended and we entered “flatland” that was covered with sparse brown grass. The farther we ran the more desolate it looked. Suddenly HE STOPPED and we were at a place where the land dipped down and an area of sand and rock was before us. In this area were hundreds…maybe a few thousand people were waiting. Some were standing and milling around but most were sitting. The two things i noticed was that they were all wearing brand new shirts and trousers of the same material THE KING WORE….and each was “alone”….few were talking to others….all were just waiting and “killing time” till THE KING CAME…….…
These are my observations as i came to a stop….sucking wind. I also noticed that i was covered with dust and my mouth tasted like sand. It was then i also noticed i had two canteens one on each hip. I also noticed i had a “sidearm” on the right and a heavy “sheath” knife on the left. I thought that was funny because i had a “bowie” on the left “suspender” of the harness and “my” shortsword on my right lower leg. The hilt was sitting at mid thigh and i really wondered how HE HAD done that because the sheath was not what i have….it was “cool”….easy access with a “fast release” guard…..never saw anything like it.
In all this ”new revelation” of my wardrobe THE KING had spoken to the “crowd”…..and i had not heard a WORD…nor did i hear anything as HE BEGAN TO CALL OFF NAMES…i simply watched as person by person they all came up and HE HANDED each a ‘backpack/rucksack” to each. The first hundred or so seemed to get heavy packs. They got lighter as they went down the line. The reason i say this is that shortly after HE STARTED a young lady came to me and i was amazed i could hear her and she could hear me. I asked her what did she “need”. She pointed to my harness and i realized i had a small “alice” pack ridding the rear of my webbelt…..and i also noticed the front of my harness had changed. The harnesses i own are made to hold ten round “stripperclips”…..this held ten multiround magazines. I let it slide as i helped her get the pack on…and it was a good 20lbs. Her pack came with belly and chest belts so it could ride high and snug. She asked why mine hung low and her’s sat high. It was a good question. I hadn’t a clue.…
Please do not ask where HE GOT ALL THE PACKS!….minor detail.…
But what bothered me was that of this whole “crowd” maybe 30 asked me to help them.… and very few helped each other….that i noticed!!!!
I also noticed that as we got near the half way point these “people” had no problem with their packs….they had definitely gotten lighter. It was when i first noticed this fact the “games” began…….…
Well over half had their “bags” when a “female” came forward. Instead of just taking her backpack and moving on like everyone else had she dropped to her knees and shouted “oh thank you MY JESUS” raised her hands into the air and slowly….solemnly lowered her forehead to the ground. As her forehead smacked the ground i watched THE KING turn HIS HEAD toward me and HE TILTED HIS HEAD and gave me a “stage eye roll” that shouted to me…”GIVE IT A BREAK”….i was about to bust out laughing when HE GAVE me THAT LOOK and SHOOK A QUICK “NO” at me….so i shut up.…
But out of every 20-30 after this “performance” someone had to one up the preceding “theatrics”. It made me mad…that even now there were some who had to make a show when they had their 5 seconds….and stretched it into minutes.…
Enough about that for now…
But when the last had been given their “PACKS” HE motioned to me and i came up to HIS SIDE. HE SAID…”THIS IS MY PACK, CARRY IT FOR ME.” …and i looked over to see a huge black alicepack with frame. Very similar to what troops were carrying when they got off their planes in Saudi Arabia. As i went to grab a shoulder strap HE POINTED to a side sheath and i saw the butt end of a rifle. I immediately thought of my 30-30, but it was not….it was an AK-47. As i pulled it out of the sheath HE SIMPLY SAID “LOCK AND LOAD”….i smiled at the phrase and took a 30 round mag and set it and chambered a round and set the safety. I laid it on the ground and started to lift the pack. It was definitely a full kit…..and HE HELPED me set it on my alice pack and strap on. HE put the AK’s sling around my neck and put a head strap across my forehead. Then HE SAID….”WATCH YOUR BALANCE, DOG….TAKE THE REAR”.
With that HE JOGGED to the front and started a brisk pace. As the end of the column swung by i stepped in.
From this point on i did not see MY KING till we stopped at the foot of the mountain. And this is where this whole dream becomes PROPHETIC…if not worse.… You Decide.
We were keeping a good pace and covering ground well. But i immediately “discerned” something. This crowd was not marching…they were trying to “walk fast”. Few had their “packs” on well…many were carrying them on one shoulder strap. Just after starting i could hear someone begin to sing…”i love you LORD, and i lift my voice…” many began to sing but after two or three choruses it died out…then a different voice began another song and it too died. After about 3 or 4 more attempts silence took over. The column figured out that this was not a Sunday stroll in the park.
I also noticed early on the pushing and jostling going on as the “faster” passed the “slower”. By the time we got to the beginning of the foothills the “column” was spreading out and thinning out. And i was now with a group of over a 100 stragglers that were mumbling and “sucking wind”. Up ahead i saw a commotion in the “main ” body and i watched the column “part”. By the time we got there was a large group just standing. On the ground was a young woman and i could hear her crying huge sobs. I looked at the “crowd” around and behind her. Many were falling to the ground in a mixture of pain and exhaustion. Ahead of me i saw the last of “the column” crest a hill….and were gone from site. I took a deep breath and pulled a canteen from it’s cover and bent over. That was a mistake because the pack shifted and i had to do a squat to keep from falling. I must have made a ‘sound’ or two because the girl looked up and i saw it was the one who had first asked for help.
I poured a little water in my hand and wiped some of the dust off her face and put the canteen to her lips. After a swallow or two i took it away and recapped it. I struggled from the squat and came to a standing position. Few were still standing….i knew many had already given up.
It was then i got mad… and the feeling of “desperation” i had came back….real bad.
In all this time i had not opened my mouth…. “Okay everyone….get to your feet….you ain’t through yet!”…..i shouted to be heard. I know everyone heard me because of the sobs and groans were all around me… and then i started.…
“SO THIS IS THE ARMY OF GOD! THE CHOSEN GENERATION! “
“ALL OF YOU GOT YOUR PRETTY NEW UNIFORMS AND CUTE LITTLE DITTY BAGS!”
”SO HERE WE ARE….ME AND YOU DOUBLE PORTIONED, SUPER ANOINTED, PRIESTS AND KINGS OF THE MOST HIGH GOD……”
“I SAID GET TO YOUR FEET….SO GET UP NOW!”
At that many slowly got to their feet staring at the ground. As more stood the others joined them. My ”friend”, the little girl as i thought of her, was struggling to stand and no one was helping her. I reached out and pulled her up.
I glared at all near her…”YOU GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AN ARMY, A UNIT THAT WORKS TOGETHER….HELPS EACH OTHER BECAUSE EACH OF YOU IS IMPORTANT TO EACH OTHER.…”
As i looked at the so many blank faces around me and shook my head. I turned and walked about five paces away and with my back to the stragglers i lifted my hands to the heavens and “prayed”….shouting as loudly
“OH FATHER, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME! WHEN YOU PUT ME WITH THE SHEEP THEY AT LEAST FOLLOWED THE MASTER. BUT HERE YOU GIVE ME A BUNCH OF THIRD DAY, SONS OF THUNDER, PROPHETS AND APOSTLES ALL HAPPY AS CAN BE WHEN THEY GOT THERE MANTLES, GIFTS, AND WHATEVER. NO ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS MARCHING OFF TO WAR, ABBA. THE KING IS MARCHING AND THEY ARE ALL THERE WATCHING ME COMPLAIN TO YOU. GIVE ME STRENGTH, LORD, AND GIVE IT TO ME FAST.”
With that i turned around and few eyes stayed on me more than a few seconds. I knew i had to get them moving.
”OKAY PEOPLE. WE HAVE A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER AND WE HAD BETTER START NOW. FORM RANKS…”
Obviously some had watched some TV or Movies because some tried to look like they were trying…
“ARMIES MARCH FOR A REASON, PEOPLE, IT IS SIMPLY TO MOVE AS MANY PEOPLE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. THE REASON IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PURPOSE. I FOLLOW MY KING BECAUSE HE SAID…”FOLLOW ME”.
I AM A SOLDIER. MY ONLY REASON IS TO OBEY MY KING. I DON’T NEED ANY MORE THAN THAT. IF YOU WANT TO CATCH UP AND JOIN HIM FOLLOW ME AND I WILL GET YOU THERE. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE GIVEN UP, JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY.”
I started a simple cadence….LEFT…LEFT…LEFT…LEFT RIGHT LEFT…..it took a good 100 yards before most were in step. I silently prayed that i did not have to “hay foot/straw foot” because they did not know right from left….and ABBA had to have heard that one. So i picked up the cadence and they kept pace. When i started to sing about “Jody” we were making good progress and i yelled “LET’S PICK IT UP” and started a slow jog. We kept it up for a couple of minutes and we came across a small group of stragglers. I immediately called off a slower cadence and the unit slowed and kept marching as i stopped and told the stragglers to form at the back. After a few minutes they got the cadence and the step and i jogged to the front. Again i picked up the pace and after a good half mile started into a jog. Once every now and then i took it to a solid double time for 2-3 minutes then slowed to a jog and then back to a fast march. I sang about the Girl who wore a yellow ribbon, and SHOO FLY….of Company C. Waltzing Matilda and Marching to Pretoria….and just about every boy scout song i could dredge up. March….jog…run…..until we ran into another group of stragglers. 10-20-30 at a time….each time i would fall back and get them in formation and as soon as they “got it” we would go to jog and then run till the next group.
At one point we came to the top of a hill and we saw the “column” and the mountain.
I could hear the “buzz” in the ranks as they saw HIS MOUNTAIN. A few started to break ranks to catch up. I immediately shouted.…
“I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN ARMY….PEOPLE!!!”
Those that broke ranks stopped and ”fell” back into their lines.…
”AN ARMY IS A UNIT, NOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. ANYONE WANT RUN TO CATCH UP, GO AHEAD. WE ARE A GOOD 2 MILES BEHIND. IF WE KEEP DISCIPLINE WE WILL CATCH UP, AND WE WILL DO IT AS A UNIT. NO ONE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND UNLESS THEY WANT TO QUIT NOW.”
I purposefully kept a fast march pace for a good five minutes and it was obvious we were catching up. Again we went to a jog and then to double time for no more than 2 minutes. We went to a slow jog and after five minutes went back to a march. I was sucking wind and so was everyone else, but we were only a mile away. After 2 more short double times we closed the gap to a couple hundred yards. I took them to a fast march till our front rank came to their rear rank. I do not know why but i swung around the left flank and began to jog. In a minute or two i could see the front and MY KING. And i again called cadence..… left…left…left, right, left… until i came even to MY KING. And slowed to HIS PACE.
A few minutes later we came to the “foot of the MOUNTAIN” and THE KING STOPPED.
I was wheezing and cramping when HE came to an outcropping of rock that looked familiar. I think we have sat there before.
I looked back and there were now two separate groups standing…gasping… HE REACHED OVER and UNBUCKLED the pack and set it on the ground.
I slung the AK over my shoulder as i watched HIM open the pack. Out of it HE TOOK a sandwich….like a subway footling and a bottle of water and handed them to on in the first unit. HE TURNED TO ME AND SAID “COME ON, DOG” and i started to do the same. It took a little time but we eventually had everyone sitting and eating and drinking. I took my canteen and passed it to HIM….not sure why…we just pulled a few tons of food and water out of that alice pack and at the time i didn’t bat an eye about it. Again i heard HIM SAY “COME ON DOG” and i followed HIM to the rock where HE SAT down. HE DRANK from the canteen and passed it back to me. I drained it in three swallows.
I had emptied the other with stragglers that got added to my “rear”. “Sorry, LORD.”, i began. AND HE SMILED.… “they’re good kids”, i began as i realized that they all were in their “late teens” or “early twenties”…..i realized i had missed something and i looked at HIM looking at me.
“WELL, DOG, I THINK WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT CANTEEN”.
I watched as HE REACHED into what had been an empty alicepack and pulled out a “hoagie” a good three foot long and handed it to me and pulled out one for HIMSELF. Next came a huge mug and a twin for HIMSELF. We touched mugs and i heard that WONDERFUL VOICE SAY “IF I REMEMBER RIGHT, YOU ENJOYED THAT THE LAST TIME WE SAT DOWN TOGETHER AND RELAXED”. With that i turned around to look what was behind me to see THE MOUNTAIN.… and i remembered the night before.
“EASY DOG,” HE LAUGHED. “YOUR FUN BEGINS ONCE YOU GET TO GOSHEN.”
As HE CHEWED on HIS hoagie i remembered a time with BLACK ARMOR and ANGELS in great numbers. And i looked out at the “troops” before us. And i remembered ..…
“CHILDREN GROW UP DOG, BUT PUTTING ON A UNIFORM AND CARRYING A PACK DOES NOT MAKE A SOLDIER.”
It was a weird feeling sitting and chewing with that sense of “desperation” still down their rumbling. I looked at MY KING and waited.
“IT IS WRITTEN THAT THERE IS A TIME AND A SEASON AND A PURPOSE TO ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN, CALEB. IT IS ALSO WRITTEN OF A TIME WHERE KINGS MAKE WAR. THAT TIME IS NOW.”
“YOU ALMOST LOST IT BACK THERE DOG.”
“i did loose it, LORD”, i replied.
“NOT HARDLY YOU OLD DOG, YOU DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD TO BRING THEM HERE. YOU GOT MAD. MAD AT EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAW WRONG. AND DID IT QUITE WELL IN FACT. YOU KEPT IT CLEAN FOR ONCE.”
I stopped and tried to remember exactly all that i had said. What i remember is written above. But it is not all….nor can i convey my tone or inflection which was not kindly.
While i sat looking at HIS CALMNESS i remembered once being called “vulgar” by a person. As in ”dirty” mouthed….or in that case what i wrote. Terms like “vulgar”, “vulgarity”, are of extremely negative connotation today.
“YOU ARE INDEED A VULGAR MAN, OLD DOG. WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIAN WOULD SIGN ”OLD DOG” TO HIS LETTERS?”
HE HAD my attention. I had studied Latin, i knew the origins of the term “vulgar” but was not sure where HE WAS GOING.
“I TOLD YOU TO BURN THE BONES OF THE ELITISTS AND THE VERY ELECT. THE HYPOCRITES AND THE THIEVES WHO ARE ENTRENCHED IN THEIR WHITEWASHED SEPULCHERS THAT CLAIM TO BE MY FATHER’S HOUSES.”
”MY FATHER’S HOUSE HAS MANY ROOMS, DOG. HE HAS BUT ONE HOUSE AND I AM BOTH THE FOUNDATION AND THE CORNERSTONES. THE TRUTH IS IN THE WALLS OF HIS HOUSE WHICH I HAVE BUILT. THE TRUTH IS THE FIRE THAT WILL BURN THEIR BONES. I GAVE YOU THE FIRE AND IT WILL NO LONGER STAY HIDDEN. SO I CHOSE TO USE YOU CALEB BECAUSE YOU ARE A VULGAR MAN. A MAN COMMON AND UNLIKE THE NIKOLAOTINS THAT POLLUTE MY CHURCH AND MY PEOPLE.
“YOU DID EVERYTHING FOR ONE PURPOSE, AND THAT WAS TO BRING UP THE REAR. IF YOU WERE NOT THERE HALF MY ARMY WOULD BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE LAND. YOU GOT IT DONE.”
The dream ended with me chewing the sandwich and pondering all that took place.
I’m still “chewing” olddog
Up Next: The Journey