Fan, The

Dad
May 27, 2003

—MOIn a Palace in North Africa, May 22, 1975GP NO.626

1. IT HAPPENED JUST AS I WAS GOING TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT. You know how burdened I was about Islam, and why we are here in this dark land. I don't know whether it was a dream or vision. I think I was still awake, but I was just in that borderline state—half awake, half asleep, but it was just as clear as anything, like I was seeing it in reality.

2. RIGHT OVER THERE IN THE CORNER OF THE BEDROOM WAS THIS BIG ORNAMENTAL LADY'S FAN hanging blades down, one of those folding hand fans you spread out like a peacock's tail. It was unfolded and spread out and hanging downward and waving gently back and forth—very ornamental, very beautiful, even a little bit feathery, sort of like a peacock's tail—fascinating!

3. THE COLOURS WERE BROWN AND GOLD, a gold background with brown designs—brown on gold. The brown designs were like flowery spines down each blade of the fan, long spine-shaped designs down each blade of the fan.

4. THE SILVER HANDLE WAS SHAPED LIKE A SILVER CRESCENT MOON, very very bright shiny silver like a mirror. I don't know whether it was a reflection in this mirror-like silver, or whether it was like a window and I could actually see through it, but I had the impression it was like a mirror and I was seeing something reflected.

5. WHAT I WAS SEEING REFLECTED WERE THE BEAUTIFUL WAVING TREE-TOPS, beautiful waving bending feathery treetops blowing in the breeze like those treetops outside the front window. I don't know why, but for some reason it was so beautiful to see those treetops, they were so pretty—almost like the love of God reassuring me, and it was so comforting I went right to sleep.

6. THE WAVING TREES WERE SO SOOTHING AND COMFORTING it was almost like they petted me to sleep. I just watched them blow and blow as they were waving in the breeze like beautiful fingers, like a woman's lovely hands and fingers waving, and I was getting the message: "Don't worry—see My beautiful creation? It's all under My control." Now I see something else:

7. THOSE TREETOPS WERE LIKE FANS, GOD'S OWN CREATED FANS, BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT! They pointed upward toward the Lord and they were soothing and comforting‚ just so beautiful—I just can't tell you how beautiful they were!

8. THE HANDLE IS THE PART YOU CONTROL THE FAN WITH. In other words, the real controller is God, and He was showing me through the handle who is really in control: ("Whose fan is in His hand!"—Mt.3:12; Jer.15:7; Isa.41:16; Jer.51:2.) But the beautiful evil fan was pointing downward and really looked dark and sinister!—I didn't like it at all and it was sort of mechanical.

9. THE FAN ITSELF WAS A FABRICATION OF MAN—MAN'S IMITATION. It was like an imitation of the real thing.—The blades of the fan were not really natural creations but were manmade with all these strange evil designs, and they didn't point upward—they pointed downward! That means that the breeze they created would have blown downward, also an evil sign.

10. THE BLADES OF THE FAN WERE DIRECTING DOWNWARD AND BLOWING DOWNWARD TOWARD THE EARTH—TOWARD HELL! It moved back and forth so slowly but so ominously, like the slow-moving pendulum of a big old grandfather clock. At first it kind of scared me! I saw it over there in the corner so clearly, and ooh‚ it gave me the willies!

11. IT'S LIKE THAT CARVED DESIGN ATOP THE WARDROBE THAT LOOKS LIKE A DEMON FACE WITH TWO EYES! I saw that in the dark the other night and it almost scared me, with those two holes like eyes shining through!

12. THE FAN SEEMED SINISTER, OMINOUS, EVIL, COLD AND RELENTLESS! It was like there was nothing I could have done to stop it, and it was going to keep on blowing its evil winds downward!

13. THAT'S WHY I WAS SO RELIEVED TO SEE THROUGH THAT BRIGHT SHINY HANDLE—the handle of control—that glimpse of those beautiful beautiful airy feathery branches, the treetops blowing in God's wind! It was almost like they were talking to me, nodding and smiling and blowing and comforting and waving at me like a woman's beautiful hands—"Don't worry, everything's all right, God's in control!"

14. IT WAS ALMOST AS THOUGH THAT EVIL FAN REPRESENTED A FALSE RELIGION THAT WAS BLOWING PEOPLE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! But in spite of that, God's pure true heavenly religion can be seen through the handle with His trees pointing upward toward Heaven and blowing men's minds toward Heaven with their heavenly breezes!

15. IN SPITE OF THAT BEING AN EVIL FAN, GOD WAS STILL IN CONTROL.—Which must mean that God even controls the false religions of the world! In other words, they're for some purpose and they're under His control‚ even if it's to blow the unbelievers downward toward Hell!

16. HE'LL ONLY LET THEM GO SO FAR, and they can't do any more than He lets them. It was so encouraging and comforting‚ though I didn't even understand it‚ but I was so comforted I went to sleep! It was just like a message from the Lord not to worry.

17. THIS BIG DOWN-POINTING FAN WAS SO OMINOUS and seemed to me so irresistible, but through the handle I could see God was still in control. I love to look out that window when I'm teaching and see the Lord's beautiful trees!

18. ALL THOSE PEOPLE WITH ALL THOSE TANGLED LINES ARE ALL STILL SEARCHING, but they haven't found anything yet. (See "The Tangled Lines", No.625.) It seemed like that girl knew her line was all tangled up, that she was all messed up and knew she needed help‚ but all the rest of them seemed pretty confident they were going to catch something.

19. IT WAS ALMOST LIKE SHE'D GIVEN UP HOPELESSLY and despaired of catching anything until I came along and helped her‚ and she promptly fell in love with me! It kind of reminds me of the way Saud grabbed me the other night.—It was like she was thinking: "All this love going around!—I want to get my share!"

20. IT SEEMS SOMEWHAT INCONGRUOUS AND CONTRADICTORY THAT GOD SHOULD BE IN CONTROL OF THE FALSE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, but instantly the Scripture came to me in 2Thess.2:10-12: "Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved ... for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth!" God therefore both originates and controls even all false religions!—And if you want to say they're of the Devil, that's merely because he's God's instrument.

21. BUT WE‚ GOD'S KINGDOM, ARE LIKE HIS OWN MIRACULOUS CREATION, HIS LOVELY LACEY FAN OF TREE LIMBS WAVING GENTLY IN LOVE AND POINTING INVITINGLY THE WAY TO HEAVEN! We, His leafy arms, are to continually be like Joyce Kilmer's beautiful poem, "Trees":

22. I KNOW THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE

A poem lovely as a tree!

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the Earth's sweet flowing breast.

A tree who looks at God all day

And shows with leafy arms His way!

23. A TREE WHO MAY IN SUMMER WEAR

A nest of robins in her hair,

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree!

24. ARE YOU ONE OF HIS BEAUTIFUL BECKONING BRANCHES CONTINUALLY POINTING THE WAY TO GOD ALL DAY THAT OTHERS MAY FIND HIM? Wave them the way to Heaven with grace and beauty and love, gently, ever so gently stirred by the breezes of His Spirit, to lure them from the fans and winds of the pit contrived by the Enemy for those who will not heed the truth!