This is a guest post from Dr. Ibrahim Barsoum - a lifelong friend of the family and someone who I've looked up to as a role model for several years.  In this post, he shares a memory of a vivid dream he had several years ago. I am not one who ususally puts too much weight on dreams or their interpretations, but this one seems clear.  Take a look for yourself and see what you think. And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

I had this dream several years ago.  At this point, I can’t even remember when it was.  But it was so vivid that it stayed in my memory till this present moment. I thought I’ll share it with others so that we can all learn from it.

I saw in my dream a big cage where an atrocious monster was inside of it. His face was very ugly and he looked agitated. Outside his cage was another ugly creature but dressed in white. The second creature was surrounded by a fence that prevented him from going outside of it. Then I saw a person who came close to the creature who is dressed in white, and when the person came too close, the creature grabbed his arm violently and gave it to the monster.

The monster grabbed the person’s arm and shredded it with his hands and left his arm bleeding and broken in pieces. It was a very ugly picture that made me wake up from the dream.

Then I wondered what the dream meant and what does it represent.  This is the interpretation that came to my mind.

The monster is the devil who is like a roaring lion who wants to devour God’s children (see 1 Peter 5:8) but he is enchained by Christ and cannot reach God’s children. The other creature is also the devil who is dressed in white, presenting us sin in an appealing way to make us fall in its snares.

The person who came close to the white creature is God’s child who falls into the devil’s temptation and gives himself to it. Once the person fall in the net, the devil grabs his arm (life) and tears it apart and it is then so difficult to repair his arm (life) as it is broken and bleeding.

I felt that this dream was a warning to me and to others not to get close to the trap that the devil puts in our way to tempt us to make us fall in his snares, where it will be very difficult to get out and regain our life.

Also, I learned that the devil has no power over me unless I, by my own free will; submit to his temptations and fall in his trap. I then remembered what Christ has said:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have life to the full” (John 10:10)

Discussion:  Do you have a story or an experience in your personal life that relates to this dream?