Sapphire Princess Dream - Darren Hight

This prophecy comes out of a dream I had in May, 2002. In this dream I was on George Street in Dunedin heading towards the Octagon from the north. As I got near the Octagon I saw that one of the large buildings was moving in a strange manner. Though other buildings around it were not moving, this one was rocking side to side, translating sideways a little. I was intrigued by this and went closer to investigate. To my deep surprise I found that this building was actually the hindquarters of a large ship which was docked in a berth that reached into the city. The ship was so long that its bow reached to the harbour, and so large that its hindquarters looked like the large buildings that stood beside it. In the dream it was next to the 10 George Street building and was just as large.

At the time of the dream I sought the Lord for an interpretation, as the dream was quite striking. I felt the Lord did speak and wrote it out, giving it to a few people.

On the 30th of December 2004 the Otago Daily Times had an article on the arrival of the Sapphire Princess, the largest cruise liner to visit New Zealand. It houses 3800 people and is 18 stories high, but the graphic in the ODT caught my attention. To show the size of the ship the ODT had laid an image of the ship behind an image of the Octagon and the 10 George Street buildings! It was like looking at my dream in the newspaper! Of course I was encouraged to re-look at the dream and the prophecy.

In the prophecy I had at the time of the dream the main points were:

• In the dream the ship was synonymous with the city, both in where it lay berthed, and its size. The ship is a symbol of Dunedin City and relates to its past, and to its future purpose.
• Ships are a vehicle for import and export. Ships, or their equivalent, were the means by which the ancestors of the city, both Maori and European, came. During the gold rush in the 1870's Dunedin was the mercantile and economic capital of New Zealand, a vibrant hub city where ships would import miners and export gold. Thus a ship can be a symbol of mercantile prosperity and economic vitality, of new ventures and innovations.
• I was led to some correspondence between Burns and Cargill, founders of the city, where they share their hope that the city would be a centre God would use in evangelising other nations.

I believe that at the time the Lord was saying that his purpose for Dunedin was to be involved in spiritual trade and commerce, in importing and exporting to other nations for the Kingdom of God. I felt the Lord was saying that through this Dunedin would once again be a spiritually prosperous city, with a strong and healthy spiritual economy, having a sizeable capacity to advance the Kingdom of God. I believe that this is God's good purpose and his vision for Dunedin.

If the city is synonymous with a ship, then it follows that the city of Dunedin is built to influence places far beyond itself. The purpose of this city is to interact with the rest of the world. The Church in this city is part of a larger empire, the empire of the Kingdom of God. Our city is part of something bigger than ourselves, and will be used by God to effect many people in other nations.

The Sapphire Princess arrived in the Otago Harbour on the 31 December, 2004, and left that same evening. I felt that the visiting of the ship at the breaking of the start of 2005 was important. I believe the Lord is saying that from 2005 we will see an increase in spiritual import and export, of people coming to us from overseas, and us sending out people to other nations, of receiving things from other places in the world, and of giving to others also. I believe that we will see growth in Dunedin as it begins to fulfil its purpose more fully.

As I was reflecting on this, I came across a prophecy for New Zealand given by Rick Joyner in 2002. In it he says: "For New Zealanders, the world is their land of anointing, and because they are called to go forth, the fire that will burn in the churches at home will be related to their devotion to missions... As racial reconciliation proceeds in New Zealand, the church will prosper in all ways and spread good will all over the earth. Her greatest enemy is apathy. Her greatest strength is zeal" (Italics mine).

I believe the Lord is encouraging us to lay hold of and encourage international mission, to have strong vision in this area, and also that he will lead us in an increase in overseas contact.

© Darren Hight.

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