The following dream occurred Saturday morning, April 23rd. It has an added significance for me because these are the days (Apr 21 – May 2) when we commemorate Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration in the garden of Ridván, in Baghdad, 1863.

In the dream I was sent back in time to witness the declaration of Christ’s mission. Not from the point of view of this world, however, but from the next.

Accordingly, other than the strange, sourceless light and the orange-tinted landscape, Christ was not known by the name Jesus, but David. He was a heroic figure, with a commanding presence and a long, gleaming sword. He came before the Israelites to summon them to His kingdom, at the temple in Jerusalem.

It was a Greek sort of temple, with angled roof and several white columns in front; it was entirely of stone. He went to the roof of this temple, and in an over-powering voice that all could hear called out:

“I am the Man of God!”

As He said this, a massive stone pillar fell from the sky and crashed into the roof of the temple – not destroying it, but fitting into a socket there. As it landed, the impact caused an earthquake to shake the countryside. The power of His declaration brought the city to its knees, and many fell trembling.

Then He declared: “I bring the Law of God!”

Again, a pillar fell, this time connecting to the top of the previous one. There was another earthquake, shaking the entire city to its foundations.

While this was happening, I was on the ground near the temple. I had fallen to my knees and was weeping, crying out, “I understand! I understand! I finally understand!” A feeling of utter comprehension swept through me. I’m not sure exactly what I understood, but it was like seeing for the first time something that had always been in front me, but I never recognized. I think it had to do with realizing the majesty of Christ’s power and station.

David followed these declarations with three others that I can no longer remember. In the dream I repeated them to myself several times, trying to memorize them because they seemed so important. They ran along the lines of: “To reveal the Way of God!”, “To bring you to the House of God!”, “For such is the Will of God!” Each declaration was punctuated by a pillar and an earthquake – bringing the mighty low before His command. The pillars were of different colors, though I can’t remember the order exactly now; something like: blue, yellow, red, green and orange.

Once He made His declarations, He descended from the temple to face the tribes of Israel. They were amassed as an army to destroy Him. He charged forward with His sword, effortlessly dispatching the soldiers two and three at a time with His silvery sword, shining as if bathed in moonlight. The dignity of His bearing was like a granite promontory over which so many powerless waves were breaking.

As He defeated the soldiers, the archangel Michael appeared from behind Him, glowing with a golden light, His sword shining like polished gold. Michael’s swing removed the soldiers tens and hundreds at a time. Each time Christ would repulse an assault, Michael would appear to lend His assistance.

As this was happening, a great, golden dragon appeared from behind Michael. Part of the creature was white, while the wings were solid gold. It had a shape and head that was almost half dragon, half dog – similar to the dragons of Chinese mythology. On thinking about it more, I think it was something like a huge, slender lion.

The lion was powerful beyond measure¹, and decimated the army, thousands at a stroke. In fact, the whole of the battle lasted less than a minute before the army was completely destroyed. There was nothing left of the force that had arrayed itself against Christ.

In the end He turned to the remaining tribes. These instantly dropped to their knee and pledged fealty. At this Christ nodded, pointing His sword into the distance, indicating that they were instantly to begin their march toward the Kingdom of God.

Interpretation

Some of the elements of this dream make sense to me, based on past reading that I have done. It has been a while since I read about these things – I hadn’t been thinking of them recently – but I recognize the features.

I know from reading the Bible that Christ was called the son of David, and has been referred to as the spiritual return of David.