Prophet Bowl?

This was forwarded to me by my pastor, who is generally skeptical about prophecies, though he believes it does happen. I don't make any claims about its validity, but even if you don't believe in prophecies, this should be entertaining. And if you do, take this and examine it in prayer if you think it's worthwhile. Enjoy.

In a message dated 2/3/02 6:01:18 PM, NEHarvestPrayer writes:
Something to puzzle on during the Super Bowl. On April 23, 1996, I woke up early with a very vivid dream. Since this is not a common occurrence for me (and because Sue and I had fallen asleep praying for direction about our future) I ran downstairs and wrote the whole thing out in my journal. Frankly, it didn't make a lot of sense to me then, but it was so vivid and so unusual that I've puzzled over it quite a bit over the past five and a half years. It could have been nothing more than the results of an over active imagination or a bad anchovy on my pizza the night before. However, if it does have any divine meaning, I wonder what YOU think it might mean.

In the dream, I was in a bowling alley with extremely slippery lanes. Throughout the entire dream I was having the hardest time just getting into the right lane, let alone keeping my balance. Someone turned on a TV set. A "pregame" show was on. I thought it was for the Super Bowl, but nobody in the dream actually said that. However, instead of talking about football, they were talking about revival. The first commentator said, "Most Americans don't even realize that revival has already broken out all over the world." Then he specifically mentioned Korea, Great Britain, and a few other places which I think included Africa, Latin America (Argentina) and Canada. The second commentator said, "Yes, most Americans are not even aware that revival has already begun in other places around the world - but soon they will be!"

Then he showed a special feature on one player. He was wearing a New England Patriots' uniform. His number was 23, but somehow also 32. The idea was that, even though nobody would have expected it, this guy was the key to the game. The piece concluded with, "Watch out for number 2/3/2. He's ready to explode." In the dream, it was somehow obvious to all of us watching TV that the commentators were right about their prediction and we wondered if this was a rerun of the pre-game show AFTER the game was over. The show concluded with the first commentator saying, "That's all for today, folks. Coming up next: the Patriots' game." In the dream, I looked at the clock in the bowling alley and it read '2:28:30.' In my mind I thought that meant that the game started in 1:30 minutes." Then I woke up. I looked at the real clock. It was 5:23. I ran downstairs, wrote down the dream and I've been puzzling on it ever since. What do you think it means? (I'll give you my attempt at an interpretation AFTER the game.)

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In a message dated 2/3/02 10:21:18 PM, NEHarvestPrayer writes:
Okay, now that the game is over and I don't feel like a complete idiot, let me tell you the whole story. In early October, the NFL announced that the Super Bowl would be pushed back one week because of the lost week following September 11. That put the Super Bowl in February for the first time in history-2/3/2 to be exact. My 15-year-old son, Jordan and I were in the car when we heard the announcement on the radio. Suddenly, I remembered the dream. I repeated it to Jordan and then said, "Wouldn't that be something if God was giving us the heads up that the Patriots winning the Super Bowl would be an indicator of major spiritual awakening about to break out in America--maybe even in New England."

Now understand, at that time the Patriots were 1-3. Their All-pro quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, was nearly killed and lost for most of the season in a freak injury and their All-Pro wide receiver, Terry Glenn, had just been suspended for the season. A quick-thinking Jordan said something like, "If God is telling you the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl, we should put a bet on them." (He's a smart kid, huh?) I merely replied that if it really was from God, I'm sure he didn't tell us so we could bet on it." (Although at Danny Sheridan's 10,000 to 1 odds, it was tempting.) A skeptical Jordan and his barely believing Dad agreed to watch and wait.

Well, as you now know, the Patriots went on a 11-3 tear, winning the AFC East Championship. The dream took on a new life in our household. On January 1, I put in the first page of my Journal for the New Year. I began to ask God what it all meant. On January 2, I focused on praying about the meaning of the slippery bowling alleys. The next day (1/3) the headline at the top of the Boston Globe Sports page read, "Bowling Allies in Foxborough" (the city where the Patriots play their home games.) The article was about Patriots Tom Brady and Lawyer Milloy being allies in the Pro Bowl. But God had my full attention. I suspect that the awakening, or our role in it, has something to do with contending with slippery allies. Later that morning, as I was driving to Lexington Christian Academy to speak in their chapel, it occurred to me (I am not pinning any of my very fallible interpretations on God) that the time on clock on the wall in the bowling alley--2:28:30-could be the scripture reference Joel 2:28-30, which begins, "In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." I watched the January after a week long fast and a three-day prayer retreat in Cambridge, MA (more on that in some other email.) The game took place during the four hours of the only significant snowfall in Boston so far all winter. The Patriots won the game on a bizarre replay reversal of a fumble by their quarterback-Tom Brady. The next morning, as I sat in church, it occurred to me that the game might have had two meanings. 1) That God was reversing His judgments against New England, and, 2) He was covering New England in His mercy (the snow.) Later, our senior Pastor's wife reminded me that the major prayer emphasis of the 30,000 who gathered for "The Call New England" on 9/22 was that God would reverse His judgments against New England and cover us with His mercy. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but it is my opinion that God already has (or is about to) initiate a major spiritual awakening everyone in America will be aware of soon. Since this is what Northeast Harvest prayer is all about, it would behoove us all to pray.

I'd love to hear your insight into it all.