A REIGN OF BEASTS WEBCOMIC EPISODE 01 · Commentary by Anderson Carman
“I was attacked by a bear. I woke up.”
I have kept a dream journal on and off again over the last 4 years. That was my entry on January 9, 2020.
I am struck by the fact that while asleep my dreams are as vivid as the light of day, but upon waking they fade rapidly like salt in water. I can just barely make out the individual grains as they fall to the bottom of my memory but eventually they disintegrate into nothingness. The practice of writing down dreams the instant I awake can help preserve them.
This week I reread some entries in my journal to find the one about being attacked by a bear. It makes me laugh a bit because it is so simple and yet so terrifying.
I am fascinated and a little scared of dreams. We do not know what they are or where they come from. Some dreams are filled with bizarre imagery and grotesque creatures. Mine tend to be unnerving in a different way. My dreams tend to be firmly set in reality until suddenly something terrible happens, like being attacked by a bear. Occasionally I will have a dream with bizarre creatures like one time when an alligator-ladybug monster tried to attack me.
But none of my dreams compare in complexity or terror to the accounts in Daniel. The dream in Daniel 7 is described as leaving him troubled. Most of us have had a bad dream and can relate to the panic. The fear, potentially for your life, and then suddenly, safety in bed, in reality. But I wonder what purpose my dreams have.
After researching the dreams recorded in the Bible I am confident that dreams have a purpose. I am less confident in their purpose in my life, but I think that the dream of the Midianite from Judges 7:13-14 is a wonderful illustration of how God turns a nonsensical nightmare into a victory for Israel.
When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”
This dream about bread resulted in a complete defeat of the Midians and their allies. Though I am not sure what the specific purpose of my dreams are, I suppose they might result in an army being defeated… by a bear.
A REIGN OF BEASTS is our comic adaptation of Daniel 7 illustrated by Anderson Carman. Now Available.
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