Several nights ago, I had an interesting dream that is calling believers to reexamine our spiritual foundations. It came in the form of a parable with a lot of prophetic symbolism that I’ve seen consistently in other dreams from years past. I believe this parable in the night is revealing how old belief systems, man-made doctrines, and cultish practices need to be stripped away from our thinking if we are to rightly tune our hearts and minds to God’s standard of truth.
In the dream, I first had a brief impression of the Quran. Then the scene changed, and an old college friend of mine brought me his violin as he wanted to play again. (In real life, I used to play violin professionally.) But he hadn’t played for quite a while, and it wasn’t in tune anymore. I could see the lower two strings dangling off the board and knew it needed some work. So, I began to clean it up and thought it just needed a bit of adjustment and retuning. But as I handed it back to him, I saw that it had actually gone through a massive overhaul. In the dream, I had a brief vision of the actual work that needed to be done to reset this instrument.
I saw that it had been caked in old paint that had to be peeled away along with all the old frets. The entire neck board had been stripped in order to bring the instrument back to life. All the old had to be removed to get it down to the bare wood. (I initially wondered why there would be frets since this was a violin.) It was clear that the instrument had been totally refurbished.
I handed it back to my friend, who was anxious to try it. It was then that I noticed that he was playing it more like a guitar than a violin. And not just any guitar, but a Middle Eastern stringed instrument, as I noted its unusual shape and the elevated headstock (at the end of the fretboard). As he started to play, it was evident that simply tuning it hadn’t been enough. The place where he formed the chords with his fingers was really small and restrictive. Plus, the strings lifted off the end of the neck board to the elevated headstock. His fingers were forced to be lifted off the board to even try and form the chords to play.
I then realized that in order for him to even play correctly, the top bar on the fretboard, where the strings had been initially set, had to be moved. I actually had to reset the bar in order for him to play correctly. (End of dream.)
I believe this dream is illustrating what it’s going to take to “reset the bar” for what it actually means to be a Christ-follower and have a viable witness on the earth. The violin/guitar represents our voice and testimony. (Being a violinist, the Lord has often used this imagery in my dreams to draw attention to one’s “voice.”) The Quran sets the context in addressing the foundations of our faith and our witness to the world – what we actually believe and how we testify to those beliefs.
My old friend represents a generation that has established a faulty spiritual foundation on man-made doctrines, false ideologies, and counterfeit belief systems. We have actually lost our witness due to lack of use, as well as failing to stay in tune with God’s standard for truth and righteousness. These faulty mindsets and worldly beliefs have to be stripped away in order to get back to the original foundation of the Word. The bar needs to be reset for what it means to be righteous and holy if we want to be in tune with what God is speaking.
I believe this has to do with the core doctrines of faith. It’s not going to be enough to just get a few strings in tune – like getting baptized in the Spirit or having an encounter – but going back to the core essentials of sound doctrine. What is the gospel – can you explain it? Who is Jesus – really? What is the Kingdom – here and now or sometime in the future? What is our true mission – why are we here? These essentials of our faith will actually determine whether or not we are in tune with God’s heart and ways – and have anything worthwhile to offer the lost.
An interesting detail is that violins don’t have frets. You have to know exactly where to place your fingers in order to play in tune. This only happens through consistent ear training and practice. Where a guitarist simply puts their fingers inside a preset bar to play in tune, a violinist has to train their ear to know exactly where to put their fingers so they play in tune. I believe this indicates that in resetting this bar, God requires us to fine-tune our spiritual ears through consistent practice and application, and not just something predetermined by others.
The reference to the Quran at the beginning, and then seeing the Middle Eastern guitar, alerts us to false religions that are gaining a foothold, as well as belief systems that are highly restrictive due to man-made rules (represented by the bars/frets). Not only has our culture embraced counterfeit ideologies, but we have also opened the door to religious spirits and demonic influence that are robbing us of our identity, purpose, and spiritual authority.
I also noted that the headstock was elevated, rising unnaturally higher than the fretboard. This isn’t standard for guitars and suggests how these religious spirits and cultish leaders wrongly elevate themselves from the Body, causing their followers to lose their grounding (fingers forced to come off the foundation).
I believe the overall message is that the Lord is alerting us to this danger of infiltration from man-made religious cults, mindsets, and beliefs, and calling us back to the foundations of our faith. It’s not enough to simply try and correct wrong practices, address ungodly character, or getting filled with the Holy Spirit. We have to reset the bar for what it actually means to be a true follower of Christ based on the whole of Scripture. We must fine-tune our hearing through the Word of God as our standard for life and conduct. And we have to practice these things on a daily basis and apply them personally if we want to be fully in tune with God and His Body.
