North
This is the place / direction of the Lord and also the place from which judgment comes on the land as seen in:
- Leviticus 1:11- sacrifice is on the north side of the altar. Priests often face north in the Old Testament which is a symbol of the direction of God.
- Deuteronomy 2:3 – turn to the inheritance God gives you – it is spiritual
- Psalm 75:6 and 7 says ‘north’ by implication
- For exaltation comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He puts down one and exalts another.
- Zechariah 6:8 regarding horse drawn chariots which are symbolic of ministry “…See those who go to the north country have given rest to my Spirit in the north country.”
- Isaiah 14:13
- Ezekiel 40:46 in 46:19 and 20 we see that God (true north), has the priests boil the trespass offering at the extreme western end.
Judgment on the land: The enemies of Israel attacked from the North as a geographic necessity. To have North mentioned in a dream may also imply impending judgment, chastisement from the Lord. To know this one must look to the context of the dream.
- Jeremiah 1:13-16 “And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have abandoned Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. “
- Ezekiel 26:7 “For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army.”
- That the bible is clear on these invasions as being agents of God’s will in the first instance (even though they exceeded it) and were also punished – shows that God is sovereign even over political will.
East – The glory of the Lord comes from the east – Ezekiel 43:1 – 5 The glory of the Lord filled the temple (that’s His true ekklēsia in this age).
West – The sun sets in the west, bringing night / darkness. This is sometimes a symbol in dreams. The sea (Mediterranean) was also to the west of the land. Biblical symbolism has the sea as the place where the beast arises from and also the vast multitudes of ethnos or nations as yet unsaved. The sea is generally seen as the world.
South – this is the direction of Egypt from “the land”. Since land in dreams represents Kingdom spiritual living, any mention of South in dreams indicates worldliness or the fallen nature. Often dreams depict a believer travelling south, often on a dusty or clay road which is not straight and narrow. These things together symbolise abandoning the Way of Christ.
I will add more to the cardinal points in time.
