In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17)
Peter says something significant is happening on this particular day of Pentecost. In no uncertain terms, he suggests that what is taking place reflects that which was promised in prophecy.
What I find interesting is not just the prophesying, though I might come back to that in a future entry. I’m interested in the young men having visions and the old men dreaming dreams. What are the old and young seeing?
I’ve heard and read some look to this to be talking about dreaming and having visions about all manner of things. In the context of this occasion though, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that the dreams and visions have everything to do with the fulfilment of scripture. The realisation of the King and His Kingdom. The great anticipation towards the glorious and great day of the Lord.
Pentecost then is about the now and the yet to come. Now the outpouring of the Spirit is realised, yet to come is the full realisation of the glorious Day of the Lord. So young men have visions and old men dream dreams of the King and the Kingdom.
I wonder if those dreams and visions drive us today? Depending on where you’re coming from, people are content to keep those dreams and visions to material prosperity; the ‘success’ of a ministry in terms of growing attendance; the approval of peers; awards and titles; other things that locate dreams and visions in the immediate and not necessarily connected to the eternal purposes of God.
For example, Kingdom dreams and visions would be more about God’s shalom being experienced in all of life. Kingdom dreams and visions seeks justice in the land and righteousness in society. It’s preoccupied with seeing God’s rule experienced in every corner of life, which takes in the physical but goes far beyond that. It’s not limited to getting the car, the house and the bills paid. It’s about caring about the holistic welfare of our neighbour and building bridges to allow needs to be met.
It’s continuing the tradition of preparing the way for the Lord as John the Baptist did where we look to every mountain being made low and every valley exalted.
Even beginning to look at Kingdom dreams and visions in this way, stretches the idea of what church is about far beyond meetings in buildings at certain times in the week. The dreams are no longer just about packing a building with passive spectators showing up, singing up, paying up and shutting up. The visions become more about salt and light infiltrating and influencing every corner of our world with every member of the Body functioning as we should to display that.
The promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit allows us to see people of all ages engaging in the exciting anticipation of the Day of the Lord. Those days didn’t end with Pentecost – those days affect us as we live and breath today.
As they affect us we live in the hope of those dreams and visions being realised.
Oh for the eyes to see
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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