The "God's Dream" Scheme

A New Warning

“I have heard what the prophets said,
that prophesy lies in My name, saying,
I have dreamed, I have dreamed.”
(Jeremiah 23:25) 
 

(Read Warren B. Smith's booklet HERE)

 “…because the term ‘God’s Dream’ has no biblical justification
and is clearly a New Age device,
we must ask the obvious question—
“How did the New Age concept of
“God’s Dream” ever enter the church?”
~Warren B. Smith[1] 

Many years ago our friend and research partner Warren B. Smith alerted us to the phrase “God’s Dream” as it was being used by New Age leaders who were envisioning a utopian new world order on planet earth. These planetary dreamers were issuing a futuristic “dream” narrative for a global reign of peace on earth. Some taught that by “envisioning” an idyllic future humanity could make it happen – i.e., a mass consciousness-raising.

A few years later Warren Smith was dismayed to discover that evangelical leaders were using this same “God’s dream” terminology, especially as they worked on a nearly identical agenda of restoring paradisiac conditions on earth.[2] Some Christians were even preaching that a return to the Garden of Eden was possible via aggressively taking religious and political dominion over seven “spheres” or “mountains” of culture.[3] Warren Smith has recently described it like this:

“The concept of ‘God’s Dream’ has been cleverly designed to bring everyone in the world and the church into spiritual alignment—into ‘spiritual formation’—into a ‘Oneness’ with the coming false Christ.”[4]

In other words, these two large amorphous spiritual groups—New Agers and evangelicals—who theologically are supposed to be totally contrary to each other, are working on a similar scheme using the exact same motif. Worse, both have a “God’s Dream” narrative that includes a messianic figure or spiritual “presence” ruling and reigning over the planet. Thus it is important to note what these groups don’t say. If one follows their plans to the logical conclusion we discover that their common utopian dream can only be accomplished through totalitarian schemes to gain control over mankind.

In some cases the two group’s dream narratives actually intersect. One of the best examples of this is Thomas Berry’s landmark 1988 book the dream of the earth in which he elevated the earth to deity status. The god of his dream was Planet Earth (often referred to as Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess). In a 2008 Herescope post titled “Earth: The Old Story, The New Story” we explained Berry’s influence upon the new “framing story” being popularized by Emergent leader Brian McLaren. We wrote:

This idea of creating a "New Story" for the planet is not a new one. McLaren has simply repackaged for a postmodern neoevangelical audience. The "New Story" is credited to Thomas Berry's concept of "Earth Spirituality," which is totally steeped in occult doctrines. A review of Berry's works posted online shows how thoroughly Brian McLaren borrowed from Berry…. 

Thomas Berry proposed that a new cosmology story, based on an evolutionary view of human nature and an emergent view of the universe, could create a new vision or "dream" for humanity's collective salvation…. 

Thomas Berry proposed "fundamentally changing our governance systems," which included reconceiving the "basic institutions of government, religion, education, and business,... from which a genuine Earth Jurisprudence might eventually emerge."[5]

Berry-inspired charts depicting the earth as a deity.*

God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme 
Warren B. Smith has recently come out with a new online booklet titled God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme. His booklet builds upon a compilation of years of research on this “God’s Dream” narrative. New research included in his article definitively connects the concept of “God’s Dream’ to the old occult Theosophists who spawned the New Age Movement. He begins his article with the following overview:

Google the term “God’s Dream,” and you will immediately find countless references on Christian websites to this popular spiritual term. An ever-increasing number of Christian authors, pastors, youth leaders, evangelists, bloggers, musicians, and everyday believers are using the term “God’s Dream” as if it has some sound scriptural basis. It doesn’t. Keep looking, and you will find that the concept of “God’s Dream” is also presented by a wide variety of New Age leaders, authors, gurus, bloggers, and false Christs. Most Christians using the concept of “God’s Dream” are unaware it is an overlapping New Age term that can be traced at least as far back as the early 1900s where it was referenced in two New Age magazines published for those interested in the occult teachings of Theosophy and the coming of a false Christ named Maitreya. “God’s Dream” was the title of a poem that prefaced an article about practical theosophy in a 1904 issue of New Century Path magazine.” “God’s Dream” also appeared in an article about reincarnation in a 1916 issue of The Theosophical Path magazine. The latter read:

We shall think then that this Earth and all her bright companions in the vast space are but drops of joy solidified, and the intense wonder and beauty of God’s dream.[6] 

Does God DREAM?
The phrase “God’s dream” is interesting in itself. Sometimes the two words are divided in the text, such as these examples: 

"Like Joseph, God's put a dream in the heart of many Christians who have spent years being prepared for strategic influence in society. There are hundred-million dollar deals-in-the-making, righteous officials trying to get elected, musicians waiting to be discovered, books that need to be published, and scientific discoveries about to happen...[7] 

“And you’ll have the opportunity to partner together to see a dream so big on God’s heart come to pass before our eyes.”[8] 

So how do we “partner together” to dream a dream with God? Is this even possible? A dream by definition is not reality, nor is it rational. It is unreal and irrational. A dream is images that pass through the mind during sleep. Or it can be a vision, reverie, daydream, aspiration, fancy, or imagination while awake. A dream is not sober-minded, but an altered state of mind.[9]

The “God’s Dream” narrative implies that God dreams and that He is dreaming new things. This esoteric idea sculpts an archetypal image of God as irrational, incapacitated, unreal or mystical. But this characterization does not fit with the attributes of God in Scripture. He is all powerful, all knowing, all sufficient, ever present, unchangeable, etc.[10] God Himself has purposed everything in its time. He alone knows and directs His own will, as He has stated:

“For the LORD of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it?”
(Isaiah 14:27a) 

“…yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass;
I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
(Isaiah 46:11b)  

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isaiah 55:8-9)  

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man,
but the Spirit of God.”
(1 Cor 2:9-11, based on Isaiah 64:9) 

The “God’s Dream” metaphor implies that God has a new revelation superseding the revelation of Jesus Christ. Yet there are no new revelations (Rev. 1:1). The Apostle Paul wrote that he was preaching “the mystery of Christ” which is “now revealed” – “the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Read Ephesians 3.)

Evangelical proponents of the “God’s Dream” narrative will point to prophetic dreams in Scripture to justify their motif. But these are dreams in the finite mind of men. God’s mind is infinite and our frail human brains are incapable of comprehending it. Scripture includes many warnings about false dreams and visions (see, for example, Deuteronomy 13:1-5). So just because someone “dreams” a thing doesn’t make it real, nor is it necessarily reality, nor does a dream guarantee it will come to pass. Nor can it be said that dreams are of God. Many who have had nightmares are relieved to wake and realize it was “only a dream”!

We do not enact God’s supposed “dreams” by making them physical reality. But in the evangelical world during this past generation many church leaders were trained to employ visualization techniques by creating mental visions of an idyllic future.[11] They were taught that they could dream big and make it happen. These “dream” teachings came out of the occult world. This is interconnected with the “prosperity” message that one could become healthy and wealthy simply by naming it and claiming it. Sadly, most of these people who dreamed big ended up with big disappointments.

A now-classic example of “God’s Dream” gone bad is Bruce Wilkinson, who attempted to implement this dream in Africa over a decade ago. Bruce had been closely aligned with many of the big-name “God’s Dream” promoters in the evangelical world, including Rick Warren and Robert Schuller, and he had been trained in the ideology and methodology of implementing that dream at a global level. We documented the ensuing disaster in a Dec. 23, 2005 Herescope article by Professor Johan Malan titled “Wilkinson’s Dream for Africa is Shattered.”[12]

The Truth:
This doesn’t mean that people can’t dream of a better life or hope for good things. Nor does it mean that you can’t set a goal and take steps to achieve it. These are natural, normal human ambitions and, when inspired by obedience to God’s Word and according to God’s will, our dreams can bear fruit. Yet the “God’s Dream” teachers seize on this natural human desire and take it to a mystical level – and a global level.

In sum, the god of their imagination is sleeping and dreaming, and he needs your help to awaken and achieve his planetary goals. A scary thought indeed.

In his latest booklet Warren Smith warns Christians about being seduced by the “God’s Dream” narrative:

The true Jesus Christ warned that spiritual deception—not a “God’s Dream” Peace Plan—will precede His return (Matthew 24:3-8). The prophet Daniel stated that Antichrist’s Peace Plan will seem wonderful because it will “destroy wonderfully” (Daniel 8:24)—and “by peace shall destroy many” (Daniel 8:25). The apostle Paul warned about a “peace and safety” that will precede “sudden destruction” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). We are living in treacherous times. The Bible warns us repeatedly not to be deceived. 

There is nothing in Scripture to even hint at, much less substantiate, the concept of “God’s Dream.” God doesn’t dream in any way, shape, or form. The “old men” prophesied by Joel to “dream dreams” in the last days are not today’s New Age and Christian leaders dreaming “God’s Dream.” Rather, “God’s Dream” is a spiritual device that is in the process of shifting everything toward a New Age/New Spirituality/New World Religion.[13]



Endnotes: 
1. Warren B. Smith, God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme, (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2018) https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=28521 
2. We wrote two Herescope posts about this topic at the time we were jointly researching this issue with Warren Smith: “God’s Dream? A Kingdom Building Dream,’ July 17, 2008 http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/07/gods-dream.html; and a sequel “God’s Dream = PEACE: A Global Kingdom Dream,” August 4, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/08/gods-dream-peace.html. See also:Reinventing Jesus Christ - http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/f/reinventing-jesus-christ.pdf and the Book Chapter Updates, particularly the Chapter 10 Update:

http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/reinventing-jesus-christ-chapter-updates.html

3. Read “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” Herescope, Feb. 9, 2008 and notice the opening quote: http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/02/gospel-of-kingdom.html 
4. Smith, God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme, Ibid. 
5. Read “Earth: The Old Story, The New Story,” May 29, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/05/earth-old-story-new-story.html 
6. Smith, God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme, Ibid. 
7. This is in the opening quote in the Herescope post of Feb. 9, 2008 titled “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” describing the rise of Dominionism in the church. It is attributed to Shawn Bolz, "The Promises of God are Finding Substance Right Now," Promo piece for TheCauseUSA's Mountain Mandate Conference Feb. 7-9, TheElijahList, 1/24/08 [bold in original, color emphasis added] http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/6097 
8. Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network, “Forward,” August 8, 2012, emphasis added. HAPN has espoused strong Dominionist intentions. This message is attributed to Jon & Jolene Hamill, Lamplighter Ministries, “8-8-12 DAVID’S TENT DC PRAYER BEGINS.” This newsletter described a prayer event scheduled for Washington, D.C. A “Third Great Awakening” where “God will tabernacle with us.” See “David’s Tent DC,” http://apprising.org/2012/09/03/davids-tent-dc/. We also did a series of 3 posts on this topic in July and August 2011: “Divorcing Baal,” http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/07/divorcing-baal.html, “Divorcing Baal for Dominion,” http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/07/divorcing-baal-for-dominion.html, and “The Baal Covenant” http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/08/baal-covenant.html. 
9. In this section of the article I am indebted to the late Pastor Larry DeBruyn for raising the question "Does God dream?" Before he passed away we had a lively discussion about the Jungian aspects of the God's Dream metaphor and contrasted it with biblical truth. See our article: “Altered States: A Different Gate” by Sarah Leslie and Pastor Larry DeBruyn, Herescope, April 28, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/04/altered-states-different-gate.html 
10. An easy-to read chart of God’s attributes can be found here: https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/ogiwa.cfm. 
11. Read our article “Rick Warren & Vision Casting,” Oct. 12, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/rick-warren-vision-casting.html and also “Popular neoevangelical terms – What do they really mean?” Oct. 13, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/popular-neoevangelical-terms-what-do.html 
12. If you really want to understand what these evangelical leaders mean by “God’s Dream,” read this post in its entirety: http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/12/wilkinsons-dream-for-africa-is.html. We also wrote of our concern about “Bruce Wilkinson’s ‘morality lite’” on January 11, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/bruce-wilkinsons-morality-lite.html 
13. Smith, God’s Dream: Satan’s Ultimate Scheme, Ibid., Italics added.

*These charts are from our own personal research files. They were used in the state of Iowa to promote global education for students. The story of how we came upon these charts and what they mean is recorded by Berit Kjos at her website: http://www.crossroad.to/charts/new-story.htm  

Herescope

New Directions

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!”
(Romans 10:15b)

On September 15, 2005 the first Herescope post went up. Steve Muse, who at that time headed Eastern Regional Watch Ministries (ERWM), Sue Conway, my husband Lynn and I, sat around my computer screen in our office as Steve showed us how to set up a blog. Steve was convinced that blogging was a useful new technological way to communicate Gospel truth, and to especially warn about error in real-time. The four of us had just returned from a Discernment Ministries conference in Bowling Green, Ohio, where we had learned about the many new heresies coming into the church. We knew that the errors of our time were serious and growing, and the warnings needed to get out quickly.

Steve proceeded to set up the blog and then asked, “What name should we give this blog?” We thought about it for a few minutes, then the logical answer came to my mind – Herescope! Herescope had been the name of a monthly column in a magazine my husband and I published during the mid-1990s called The Christian Conscience. Lynn had coined the term in late 1994 – it literally means “scoping out a heresy.” In our magazine’s monthly Herescope column we had published many articles warning about occult teachings, Promise Keepers, the Toronto “laughing” phenomena, and treacherous New Age teachings. The blog would be a continuation of that magazine column!

As we discussed the premise of the blog and how it would operate, we quickly realized that this was an immense task that would require a group effort. That very day we dubbed ourselves the “Discernment Research Group,” an ad hoc group of committed believers who had already been working together for many years researching, writing, speaking and publishing information about biblical discernment.

When we set up the Herescope blog we immediately realized it could also serve as an active outreach arm for Discernment Ministries. Lynn and I had served on the board of directors of Discernment Ministries since 2000, and we had already been working very closely with Jewel (van der Merwe) Grewe with conferences and writings since 1995. From its inception the Herescope blog blessed Discernment Ministries with much activity. In its early years I was frequently a guest on radio shows, and as a result our outreach spanned the globe. Those were the heady days as online discernment ministries (a term sometimes used as a reproach against us) were able to get out messages to warn believers about the rapidly emerging deceptions and errors of unbiblical teachings. We warned about popular movements that rocked the evangelical world: Rick Warren’s global Purpose Driven agenda; the leaders and methods trained by Leadership Network who spawned the Emergents and Neo-Calvinists; C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation and its dominion; Chuck Missler and Tom Horn and their Nephilim space aliens; and the false “Christ” voice that was speaking to both New Agers and evangelicals. In much of our writings we delved into the history of these movements so that believers could more fully understand the issues.

We sought to be above the fray – to not engage in the “ambulance chasing” of every new bad thing the well-known evangelical leaders were doing, but rather to patiently and from Scripture point out the error and contrast it with the truth. We discovered that our research format was feeding factual information and biblical truth to church people, ministers, and missionaries on the field. We received e-mails from all over the world thanking us for explaining the details about why some new teaching was not biblical. Many of our posts were republished on other blogs and even in printed publications. It was a particular blessing to realize our writings were reaching the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Larry DeBruyn passed away over the Christmas holidays, and because in recent years he had been such a major part of our ministry, we decided to step aside and take a break from our regular Herescope postings. It was time for all of us to pause, reassess, regroup, and pray for the Lord’s direction. During this time Discernment Ministries made the decision to return to its original calling and take a step away from the research. After much prayer, Lynn and I realized that we were also to go in a new direction, and so we submitted our resignations from the Discernment Ministries board of directors effective June 30^th.

We will continue to publish our Herescope blog as we move in this new direction. This is all in God’s plan and in His hands. We feel profoundly blessed to have worked so closely with Discernment Ministries all of these years and it is with both sadness and joy that we move on to the next phase of our calling in the Lord. Our mission continues to be the publishing of biblical discernment and apologetics research, including testimonies and devotionals, and in the days to come we will publish a testimony on Herescope of the history of how God set up the “Discernment Research Group.”

There will be many changes coming in the future as the Lord directs us. One thing readers will be blessed to know – Lord willing, we will be publishing more of Pastor Larry DeBruyn’s works, including the books and articles he had committed to us to finish before his death. Herescope readers will be kept apprised of these developments.

We are thankful for all of our many friends, research partners, pastors and prayer partners who have together worked with us over these past thirteen years to publish the Herescope blog. There have been 947 Herescope posts put up since 2005. It is with exceeding gratefulness that we can give God all of the glory for His faithful Word which sustained us. These 13 years were not without stress, but they have been filled with joy. Some of us continually battled health issues. We also lost key members of our Discernment Research Group who passed on to glory – including Pastor Ken Silva and Pastor Larry DeBruyn. Several of our dear prayer warriors also moved on to heaven where they will receive their reward.

May the Lord bless you all. We covet your prayers. You can communicate with us directly at Conscience Press, PO Box 1863, Hiram, OH 44234 or at herescope@gmail.com 

Sarah H. Leslie, editor

“And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times,
and strength of salvation:
the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
(Isaiah 33:6)