Atlanta, Georgia, USA
I’ve never had such a vivid and realistic dream. I was somewhere in the United States, walking down a quiet residential street with trees lining each side of the road. It was a fine sunny day and people were going about their business. Children were riding bikes, people walking dogs, and mothers pushing strollers. But when I looked up I saw the most terrible sight – a huge swirling wall of destruction bearing down upon the town. It was a twister of massive proportions with wide destructive base that ripped at the ground and caused the heart to panic as the debris of broken buildings, trees and vehicles could be seen swirling within its hungry bowels. We were clearly within its path and it was virtually upon us.
…a twister of massive proportions with wide destructive base that ripped at the ground and caused the heart to panic as the debris of broken buildings, trees and vehicles could be seen swirling within its hungry bowels.
Immediately I attempted to draw people’s attention to it, yelling to passers by at the top of my voice, trying to warn them to take cover. But most people continued on with their activities, oblivious to the danger. Those who did look up indicated that they couldn’t actually see anything at all and shrugged off my concerns as they resumed their activities. In a blind panic I gathered up the few people who did believe me, and we took refuge in the basement of a nearby building just as the destruction hit.
I woke with a start, my heart pounding, feeling as if I had just actually just been there in that town in the USA. But it was the middle of the night in Australia, and all was quiet in the house. As vivid and unusual as that dream was, I may have been tempted just to dismiss it as meaningless, except for what happened the following week.
I woke with a start, my heart pounding, feeling as if I had just actually just been there in that town in the USA. But it was the middle of the night in Australia, and all was quiet in the house.
An Australian friend of mine was temporarily living in the United States and had been completing a one year internship as a youth worker with a church in Michigan. I called him on the phone just for a chat, and during the course of the conversation, told him about the dream I’d had. He grew silent on the other end of the phone and I knew that this was somehow significant. After a brief pause, he reported that he had actually had the same identical dream, right down to the detailed description of the street. Such a shared experience could not be coincidental. Plus I could not help but see the obvious biblical symbolism contained within the dream: Impending judgement, a spiritually blind population going about their business, a lone prophet sounding the discordant (and much ignored) call to salvation and a saved remnant.
The significance of the dream was clear… but what did all of this mean for me? Did God want me to go to America? Was I to become a prophetic preacher to warn the nation about impending destruction? Would I ultimately be ignored with only a faithful remnant believe my message? I had none of the answers… but I have an undeniable conviction that I would soon be going to America.
I think it’s significant that most of the ministry opportunities that the Lord has brought my way have come as a result of things that I’ve written. That was certainly the case with my involvement in Africa, and it would prove to be the case with America as well. I’d been publishing some things online about home fellowships and had posted some comments on someone else’s website which prompted a brother from Atlanta to contact me. We soon formed a friendship and eventually were exchanging emails almost every day. Then sometimes phone calls replaced emails and eventually an invitation was extended to me to visit America on my next trip abroad. On my next trip to Africa I purchased an ‘around the world’ ticket, and included a two week stopover in Atlanta on my way home to Australia.
Having grown up watching American TV, it was a fascinating experience to be introduced to normal American family life and to partake of the famous southern hospitality. It was also a blessing to see how warmly Australians are received by Americans. Historically America has much in common with Australia. Both countries are of comparable size geographically and were initially formed from similar ethnic roots. Both countries inherited much of their political, religious and social values from England and fought side by side in all of the world’s major conflicts, although their respective paths towards political autonomy from their colonial roots have been quite different.
Other significant differences exist as well: Whilst America was founded on principles of freedom, Australia was initially established as a penal colony for convicts who were brought to the remote island-continent against their will… mostly for petty crimes. It wasn’t until 1901 that the vision for independent nationhood was finally realised and officially established – by a vote, rather than a war of independence. Consequently Australians tend to have a deeply ingrained distrust of institutional authority and tend to be less patriotic, whereas the American mindset appears to be almost fanatically patriotic by comparison. Most Australians tend to view America as the over-achieving older brother who perhaps takes himself a bit too seriously, but who nevertheless deserves respect due of his extraordinary achievements. And Americans tend to view Australians as a kind of lovable larrikin whose company they enjoy, but don’t completely understand. This lovable larrikin was epitomized by Paul Hogan’s character in the movie, Crocodile Dundee, and this love for Australians was certainly still evident to me during my first trip to America.
I was invited to be interviewed by a Christian radio station in Atlanta and was initially told that the interview would go for around 30 minutes, interspersed with music and news items. But an hour later I was still on the air and the producer later admitted off-air that he wanted to make the session go longer because he really loved my Australian accent. I also got opportunities to speak in churches and schools and was received warmly wherever I went.
There were no tornadoes in Atlanta during my visit. But I could not help but feel a sense of uneasiness that there are unseen forces at work in the United States, ripping their destructive paths through communities in ways that many people remain oblivious to. By the time those destructive forces have run their course, perhaps only a faithful and discerning minority will be left untouched. Whilst I make no claim to be an expert in anything to do with the United States, I am left with that uneasy sense that the combined consequences of affluence, unbelief, a trust in worldly weapons for security, spiritual complacency and misplaced hope in the actions of political leaders, leave America very vulnerable and exposed in ways that even most Christians are yet to fully comprehend.
Footnote:
More than 15 years have passed since writing this account of my first trip to the United States. Today events in America seem to suggest that massive storm clouds are currently brewing over the country. I cannot recall a time of greater social division, evidenced by intense political polarisation over Donald Trump’s Presidency, the commercial media which seems intent upon continually fanning the flames of rage, discontent and fear (much of it based upon fake and inaccurate reporting) and the ever growing racial tensions associated with the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement. It appears to this Australian that there is now a whole generation of younger Americans who are so agitated that they don’t grasp the importance of the vital role that their nation plays in the world, or what the tragic consequences would be for themselves and the world if America is weakened through continual division and unrest.
The world famous evangelist, Dr Billy Graham once said, “If God doesn’t judge America then He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.” And it’s true that America’s sins are great. But just as God was willing to spare Sodom if a righteous man could be found within it, God’s patience for America and His love for His faithful ones has preserved it until now. America needs our prayers more now than ever. There is a rumbling in the heavens and the storm clouds are forming.
