This is a dream I had and its interpretation follows.
I was a boy about ten years old playing in the snow with other boys my age. We decided to go play in the woods, which was forbidden. We all ran toward the forest and climbed through the fence intended to keep us out. As soon as we entered the forest it became dark. We hadn’t gotten very far when the Keeper of the Forest realized our presence and began chasing us. He was very tall and strong and had armor like a samurai warrior. His breast plate and shoulder armor glowed red, and he was evil.
We all scattered; me and another boy climbed trees. Then we saw the glow of torches coming through the woods. The minions of the Keeper were coming, and they brought with them the Keeper’s lion. The lion killed the boy in the other tree along with three others and threw their bodies to the ground in a pile. I jumped down and watched as the lion attacked a fifth boy. But the lion assumed the image of a young tiger, no bigger than the boy. The boy smiled as he played and wrestled with the tiger. He smiled as the tiger pinned him against the ground. And he smiled as the young tiger sunk its teeth into the back of the young boy’s neck.
At that moment I became my adult self but I was held captive by the enemy, unable to fight or prevent what would come next. My son, Noah, came to my side. Though he’s only two years old, he was four or five in the dream. The lion, returning to its true form, eyed my son and devastaion seized me. Unable to help in any way, I said to Noah, “Son, I know you’re just a little boy, but you need to kill this lion.”
I woke and was troubled by the dream and immediately prayed for the interpretation. This is what God gave me:
The snow represents what is good and pure.
The fence represents the boundaries God has put in our lives. We all know what they are and where they are, but we have free will to cross them if we choose.
The dark forest represents that hidden place of secret sin. God knows the place but what we do there is often unconfessed to others.
The Keeper of the Forest is Satan and his minions are demons.
The lion in this dream represents sin and, probably more specifically, hidden, habitual sin.
The young tiger was a deception; it made the sin appear attractive and fun, but it brought bondage and eventually death. The smiling boy was blinded to the deadliness of his own sin.
The fact that they were boys reminds us that Satan is targeting our children. We rarely think of him as an active force in this world, but that too is a deception. We’re even less likely to consider that children are some of his favorite targets.
We all commit sin, and many of us are trapped in sin cycles; we are in bondage. It may be anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, alcoholism, same-sex attractions or, in the case of most of us men, some form of lust or pornography. This is another reason why the dream revolved around boys. Pornography is an addictive epidemic that can bind God’s chosen leaders and render them ineffective.
And then the dream turns and points directly at parents. How can we fight on our childrens’ behalf or even help them battle these things if we ourselves are in bondage? Which of us ever wants to have to say to our child, “I know you’re just a little boy, but you need to kill this lion before it kills you. But I can’t help you.”
Provoking Iron 