An unusual dream

In 1984 while I was still living in America, I had a dream which was very unusual, very strong, overwhelming, not like any dream I had ever had, before or since. I knew down deep that this dream had come from God, and was prophetic.

I dreamed that I was driving a car, and pulled off to the side of the road. I was facing a hill, and beyond the hill was a city. Then a flock of flying creatures so numerous, they looked like a cloud, appeared in the distance over the city and flew in our direction, away from the city, and passed over in the sky above me.

This is the sketch I copied to my journal in 1987 (color added later)

These creatures were sort of a yellow ochre color and resembled prehistoric flying reptiles with no feathers. This flock was very high in the sky and yet I could see the creatures in vivid detail in the sunlight which was off to the side as if the sun were low in the sky.

This flock was immediately followed by an identical flock of the same color and flying in the same direction, away from the city.

Then a third flock appeared over the city and flew towards us in the same direction as the first two. This flock was different in color, darker, in red and blue. This flock flew much closer to the earth than the first two, and a few of the creatures actually brushed against my car as they flew past.

After this third flock passed by, a multitude of people from all nations appeared on the road. They walked out of the city in the same direction as the flying creatures had gone, in a silent procession which passed by the car.

As they walked by, I noticed among them a group of Japanese men who were clergy, and were wearing liturgical vestments of white robes with green stoles. I left the car and joined the procession, walking along with these men. I felt I belonged in the procession, and particularly with this group of men.

Then I awoke, grabbed a pencil and recorded a description of the dream along with a sketch. In 1987 I copied the description and sketch to my journal so it would be preserved.

What does the dream mean? I can only guess, and I've come up with possible solutions over the years which I later dismissed. But, I suspect that the dream has finally been fulfilled. Three years after the dream, I moved to Japan. Twenty seven years after the dream, I left the church which I had attended with my family, and joined the Catholic Church in Japan by myself -- after being a Protestant all my life.

What about the three flocks of flying creatures with the third flock actually brushing my car? Well, five months before I joined the Catholic Church, I endured that horrible earthquake in Japan, that was centered up north in Fukushima. I actually thought I would die as the world around me rocked violently for what seemed an eternity. There had been only two other quakes that came close to that magnitude in Japan during all the years I had lived here, one in Kobe and one in Niigata, but neither of them were close enough to have a great effect on me; I only witnessed the devastation on TV from a distance. This third quake was different from the other two, much more powerful, and it shook me up. Could those three flocks of flying creatures have signified these three quakes with the third one happening just before I left my Protestant Church to join the Catholic Church? I don't know, but it sure fits.