In the quiet after seven days, a dream comes in the night. It is not a peaceful vision; it begins with the sea in chaos, a great wind stirring "up all its waves." From the very heart of this turmoil, a figure ascends, "something like the figure of a man." This man does not walk on the water, he rises from it and is "flying among the clouds of heaven." His power is immediate and absolute. Everything his gaze falls upon "trembled," and his voice causes all who hear it to melt, "as wax melts when it feels the fire." It is a vision of cosmic authority and terrifying power, setting the stage for a confrontation that will involve the whole world.

Reflections

The vision reveals a divine figure, later identified as the "Son," who is kept "for many ages" by the Most High. His nature is a profound mystery; he rises from the sea, a place of chaos, yet flies among the clouds, a place of heaven. His authority is inherent, not derived from the tools of men. When an "innumerable multitude" gathers to fight him, "he didn't raise his hand or hold a spear or any weapon of war." His victory comes from his very being: "a wave of fire," a "breath of flame," and a "storm of sparks" shoot from his mouth. This awesome display is later explained as the power of "the Law," suggesting that divine judgment is not arbitrary violence but the inevitable, consuming consequence of opposing the very standard of righteousness.

This dream holds up a mirror to the human experience, showing two starkly different responses to the divine. The first is a global, hostile coalition. These multitudes are "sorely afraid, yet they dared to fight," a chilling portrait of humanity's tendency to resist the very power that defines existence. Their fate is total annihilation, leaving behind nothing "except the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke." The second response is that of the "peaceful" crowd. They are not conquerors; they are the called. They are a realistic gathering of the faithful: "Some were rejoicing and some were sad, some were even tied up." Theirs is not a sanitized, perfect holiness, but a complex, real community being drawn together by the Son.

For the one watching, the dreamer, the experience is one of "great fear." The application of this vision is not found in trying to predict the future, but in how one lives in the present. The angel offers this comfort: protection is for "those who have works and faith in the most mighty one." The dreamer himself is commended, not for his political savvy or strength, but because he has "abandoned" his "own affairs" and "occupied" himself with God's "Law." Personal integration, then, means a deliberate turning from worldly anxieties to the pursuit of divine wisdom, understanding that this is the only true refuge in a world of chaos.