SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING NEW (3)

(This is the concluding part of a personal testimony that was prompted by the Facebook page that I launched about a month ago. We will pick it up where the previous part stopped. To read the first part of the article, click here. To read the second part, click here.)

In this night vision I saw what looked like a small television screen. On the screen was the shadowy outline of and inverted human bust, the part of the body that appears in a passport photograph. (Of course I am building up to the reason for putting up my Facebook page and this might ring a bell in the minds of those who are familiar with the medium. It calls to mind the bust outline that appears in the profile of a Facebook subscriber that has not uploaded a profile picture.) As I looked on in the dream, the image on the screen gradually became clearer until I could see it distinctly and upright. It was the image of Evangelist Mike Bamiloye, founder and executive president of the Mount Zion Faith Ministries International, a famous Nigerian film and drama ministry.

As I noted earlier, I did not fully understand the implication of this dream when I first had it about fourteen years ago. But I had discerned and observed in an article I wrote a few years latter that the screen I saw was indicative of the Internet. Moreover, I noted that if God wants to speak to us He would use a language or symbol that we would understand or that He has an interpreter for, except He does not intend for us to understand, which is possible. This is the case with the character I eventually made out on the screen.

To bear out exactly what I mean here, we will consider a biblical prophecy: “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not” (Jeremiah 31:15). As any good Bible student knows, this was fulfilled at the time of Christ’s birth when Herod commanded the killing of all babies two years and below in his bid to get rid of Him who was “born king of the Jews.” The point is, it was not literally “Rahel” – or more accurately, Rachel (see Matthew 2:18) – that was weeping at that time in Ramah. But Rachel, being a matriarch of Israel, was symbolically used to represent those Jewish mothers whose children fell by the sword of Herod’s men. In other words, my seeing Mike Bamiloye in that dream was symbolic. I believe that the electronic medium of his ministry (in its more universally recognized form) and the blackness of his person are the key attributes to be noted as regards a future scenario that was being predicted.

As implied earlier, I did not even relate these things to myself when I first had the dream and later shared my perception of it in the said article. But after obediently moving to Ibadan, my understanding was quickened and I could see how the dream had actually been notifying me (fourteen years ago) of my Internet writing ministry, and more specifically its presence on Facebook. The symbolism of the dream is made even more impressive by the fact that drama and writing are inherently artistic operations (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Moreover, my slowness in recognizing the personal significance of the dream was also reflected in the fact that the image I saw on the screen initially appeared hazy and inverted and only become vivid and upright as I looked on.

This latter association of my ministry with the dream was apparently confirmed by something interesting that happened while at Ibadan. I discovered a good wireless Internet service at a hilltop hotel that afforded an atmosphere and panorama that was very conducive to my work. It was at this divinely provided place, through my daily visits, that I made great progress in my Internet ministry. I had arrived and set about my work one beautiful morning when someone sauntered in to also work on his laptop. Guess who it was? None other than the renowned Mike Bamiloye that I had seen in my dream!

It was as if the dew of Heaven was falling around me! I was awed by the whole episode. He had evidently come to do some urgent work in the hotel, which gives me reason to believe that the whole thing was divinely programmed for a witness and my encouragement. As a confirmation of the association of the dream with my new Facebook ministry, I was led to revisit Bob Carson’s little book, FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY, where he cited an impressive rendition of a Scripture verse that had been hanging before me about that time: “Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10, Living Bible). Amen! I was struck.

So here I am, running with the vision, trusting the Lord to continue to give grace and strength, make provision and fulfill His whole purpose. “For without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Brothers and sisters, pray for me.

God bless you always.

In the King’s Service,

David Olagoke Olawoyin.