KEYWORDS: children, singing, god, food, lord, adults

Children's Dream, The

David Berg

—MOMarch 7, 1977GP NO.582

—Or America's Nightmare?

1. WE WERE DRIVING A CAR IN THE U.S. from the East Coast, as though fleeing from something. I was trying to drive West when it seemed like the car was drawn by a magnet toward New York and I got on the wrong freeway toward New York. I didn't plan to go that way but it was like the car was drawn.

2. AS WE GOT NEAR the southern outskirts of New York, like near Elizabeth, New Jersey, I was amazed because everything was so quiet! There wasn't any traffic, no cars! We were the only car on the road! When we came to this little village, it was like we had come to a dead end.

3. THERE WAS THIS BIG BUILDING like a barn or equipment shed or warehouse surrounding a courtyard or toolyard and in it were lying all these twisted dead bodies of Negroes all covered with sores and flies and all contorted and faces distorted like they'd died in agony, and I was so amazed! There didn't seem to be anybody around that was alive!

4. THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN came this little band of children, Negro children, singing and marching toward us. They came in a sort of friendly fashion like they were curious about us since we seemed to be the only adults alive. They began to pick at our clothes like little beggars will do in some poor countries and asked if we had anything to eat, like they were hungry.

5. WE STARTED WALKING the other direction like we were trying to get away from them but they kept following along dancing and singing along behind us like they were sort of amused at our fear of them.

6. THEN SUDDENLY we were conscious there were other bands of children roving around looking for food and singing. Some were white and some were black and they were all singing like they were trying to encourage themselves because all the adults were dead and only the children were alive!

7. THERE WERE ONLY YOUNG teenagers and younger children, hardly any older teenagers at all, just young teenagers and younger. But they were sticking together trying to survive, roving all around searching for food. They were friendly toward us and happy, and they seemed to think we should go with them and try to help find food.

8. THEY WERE HAPPY AND SINGING like they were trying to be happy and not worry, even like they were trying to help us, like we all had to stick together now to try to survive. But there were no other adults anywhere—all the adults were apparently dead and only the children were alive!

9. THEY KEPT SINGING THIS SONG‚ they were all singing it, different bands of them, like it was their theme song to encourage their hearts and their spirits that they needed to stick together. They were singing these words to the tune of the old German song, "Morgen, Morgen! One more day without you!": "Children‚ children! Da-da-da, da-da-da! Children, children! Da-da-da, da-da–da! Children, children!.."

10. I CAN'T REMEMBER ALL THE WORDS right now, but it was almost like a message of God to them, like God had given the song to them to encourage them. "Children, children! Da-da-da-da-da–da! Children, children!..." (David sings over and over the little tune.)

11. THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP GOING and trying and living and sticking together‚ like a message of God to them, and they were all singing it. I wish I could remember all the words, but I can't, but that's the way the tune went. There were all these roving bands of children walking along together arm-in–arm and hand-in-hand singing it. They weren't sad, they were happy and cheerful‚ trying to encourage each other like children sometimes do—happy and walking and singing together and looking for food.

12. THEN WE GOT ON THIS BIG HIGH TRESTLE of some kind—I don't know how to explain it, but like a railroad bridge. We were all trying to cross this deep ravine and we had to climb down the bridge down to the ground, and I was just terrified, it was so high! But the older children, the young teenagers said to me,

13. "DON'T WORRY, JUST CLIMB DOWN. Don't look and don't worry, just climb down." I was amazed at their courage and bravery and how they were so cheerful when it looked like everything was so impossible. It looked like everything was almost totally destroyed and there were no adults at all.

14. I DIDN'T SEE ONE LIVING ADULT, ONLY CHILDREN! But they were cheerful and happy and just sort of roaming around together trying to find food in all the wrecked grocery stores, restaurants, warehouses and places like that. They seemed to be perfectly confident that they could survive. I guess there was still plenty of food around in the stores & they didn't have to pay!

15. BUT THAT BIG HIGH TRESTLE or whatever it was just terrified me! They tried to encourage me, "Go ahead, climb down, don't worry!" So I started to climb down and I was so afraid I'd fall and I got so scared that I woke up!—And I really haven't been able to go back to sleep since then.

16. OH, IT WAS TERRIBLE, JUST LIKE A NIGHTMARE! But the children were so sweet, so encouraging, like they wanted to try to take care of these poor adults that didn't know what to do, so they invited us to go with them. I remember one time we found some food and they were all sharing it happily and singing and passing it around and pulling it apart. It was sort of like spaghetti.

17. BUT THEY WEREN'T WORRIED A BIT, and all singing this song. You could hear them singing it everywhere, almost like the voice of God trying to encourage them that He was with them and was going to take care of them, and that was their theme song—I can hear it yet! Like, "Children, children!.....—Don't you worry 'bout this! Children, children!.......—I have promised you bliss!" I wish I could remember the rest of the words. It has just been haunting me ever since!

18. IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYBODY IN AMERICA WAS DEAD EXCEPT THE CHILDREN! I just had the feeling that everybody in America was dead but the children! How could the Lord let everybody be killed but the children? How could the bombs differentiate? It was like it was after an atomic war or something.

19. IT REMINDS ME of the stories we heard about the homeless orphans in Russia after the Russian civil war, about the war orphans. They called them "wolf packs." I remember seeing pictures of them. Because so many adults had been killed, these homeless orphans were roaming the country in gangs to try to stay alive, stealing food like little gangs of beggar boys, pitiful!

20. BUT THEY WERE SO SAD, THOSE RUSSIAN BEGGAR BOYS! After the war when everything was in confusion and so much was destroyed and their parents were killed‚ they were just wandering around the country in gangs. I remember this Russian friend told us about it when we were in Miami—he showed us pictures of them.

21. BUT THESE BANDS OF CHILDREN IN DESTROYED AMERICA ALL SEEMED TO BE HAPPY and cheerful and sticking together and singing that song from the Lord to encourage each other! "Children, children"—it's funny, I can still remember the tune, it was really pretty!—And they didn't seem to be worried at all!

22. THEY WERE ALL FRIENDLY AND CHEERFUL and happy, just roaming around searching for food, which they seemed to be able to find pretty easily in all the old wrecked supermarkets and other places where food was stored. If that's all the people there were left, it wouldn't be hard to find plenty of canned food in all the supermarkets—and they didn't even have to pay for it!—and they were happy, not worried at all!

23. OH, BUT I'LL NEVER FORGET the sight of that courtyard with all those twisted dead bodies lying around covered with sores and flies in such horrible contorted positions, like they died writhing in agony. In that particular courtyard they must've been all Negro workers, and all were totally naked, like the clothes had been burned completely off them!—And only the children were left! "Children, children!—Da-da-da, da-da–da! Children, children!" That song was so beautiful! It still rings in my ears!

24. I DON'T KNOW WHY I was so terrified by that height!—It seemed like the children had lots more faith than I had! I was almost frozen with fear on that high thing, but they kept telling me to "Climb down, don't worry‚ you won't fall."

25. THEY HAD SO MUCH FAITH, were so cheerful and all sticking together roaming around in bands together, singing and eating, like all of a sudden the whole world belonged to them and everybody else was gone! Oh‚ I was so shook up! I was so glad I woke up! I was absolutely terrified by the height!

26. IT SEEMED LIKE THE CHILDREN HAD ALL THE FAITH, while I was just frozen with fright! Lord forgive me! But they were encouraging me to go ahead. But I was so thankful to wake up!—Oh, I was so thankful to wake up!—And so shook up! I haven't been able to go back to sleep since then, but I surely didn't want to wake you up!

27. THAT DREAM WAS SO VIVID, SO REAL! How could it only affect the adults and not the children? Well, the Lord said in Revelation 7 that He'd set His seal on our foreheads so that the plagues of the wicked wouldn't affect His children. Maybe that's the way it is going to be then.

28. MAYBE SOMEHOW HE'S GOING TO SAVE US WHILE HE DESTROYS OUR ENEMIES, maybe that's what it means. Well, it encouraged me anyway. But that was definitely America near New York City. If the Lord can do a mighty miracle like that, He certainly could do it here! I was wondering how He was going to save us while He kills them, if the mountain explodes and the volcano erupts!

29. BUT GOD COULD DO IT! I was thinking if there were an earthquake here we should run out on the balcony so the building doesn't topple onto us. In that picture I had before, all I saw were the streams of fire. It didn't seem like any earthquake had flattened the city. All I saw was the fire, and one stream definitely came from that Judge's town, the one that came through the barranco!

30. IT SHOWS YOU HOW GOD CAN TAKE CARE OF HIS CHILDREN!—Only the children remained!—Happy and unworried and singing, like they'd gotten this message from God not to worry. I was asking the Lord why He let all this happen to us, and He said,

31. "FOR A WITNESS TO THE WORLD!" It is going to be a witness to the whole world, think of that! So that means that not only our testimony but their punishment for rejecting it is going to be something the whole world will see, right? That's what God did to the Children of Israel:

32. HE DESTROYED ALL THE ADULTS EXCEPT CALEB AND JOSHUA, AND ONLY THEIR CHILDREN WERE LEFT! I kind of feel that the Lord wants us to watch their destruction. This is why I wanted to walk out along the main street and eat at the most popular cafe, to show I'm still here and they haven't got me yet!

33. THAT DEMON nearly scared the wits out of me, that maniac! But God's going to take care of him! I want to see it‚ I want to hear it—I want to either see him converted or destroyed! That first prophecy to me in Revelation 3 said God is going to make our enemies dust under our feet! If they got burned up they'd sure be dust and ashes!

34. THESE SIMPLE PEOPLE are really expecting God to do something. The enemies have now attacked me personally. Give him nightmares, Lord‚ don't even let him sleep! Not that I'm so good, Lord, but he's attacked Thy representative and Thy truth, so vindicate Thy truth, Lord! You can fix him! In Jesus name amen. (P.S. Just 3 x 7 days later came the great Tenerife air crash!)