Dreams & how to interpret them
Genesis 40:8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
The average person spends at least a third of their life sleeping and six years of that dreaming. There are many types of dreams including the “pizza dream”, sex dreams, nightmares and spiritual transportation's. Dreams are ways that people process information, deal with stress, struggles, problem solve and receive guidance from a divine source.
However,dreams remain one of the most controversial subjects Christians must deal with today. Some people simply say, “I never dream.” Others emphatically state, “I never pay attention to dreams. They’re nonsense.” And we often hear someone say, “I had a weird dream last night!” Paul said that God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (see 1 Cor. 1:27). Yet others seem to obtain valuable in-sight from meditating upon their dreams. They claim dreams are a dependable source of guidance and information for their lives.
Which group is right? Should we pay attention to dreams or simply ignore them as just so much junk mail? The Bible gives us a direct answer to this question: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17). That’s God’s promise—and by the way, one does not have to be an old man to dream. Young men and women dream, too! God is talking about our “old man,” as in our carnal nature.
The Scriptures contain numerous dreams; if they were removed, a large portion of the Bible would be missing. Without them, a large measure of God’s guidance for the Church is also missing—including personal instructions for every individual.
Everyone has dreams, but they’re sometimes like the morning fog; they quickly evaporate. If we do not make a deliberate effort to capture them, they simply vanish. By the time we get our morning coffee, they’re usually forgotten. Very few are vivid enough to automatically burn themselves into our consciousness. For those who believe they don’t dream at all, you need to ask God for dreams and then to pay close attention each morning for His answer. In the Bible, James said we receive not because we ask not, and Paul admonished us to seek God’s gifts (see James 4:2; 1 Cor. 14:1). Dreams are indeed a gift from God. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them...Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." (1 Cor. 12:4-11).
Job 33:14- 16 "For God speaketh once or twice, and one seeth it not. In dreams and visions of the night, when sleep falleth upon men, and they sleep upon their beds, Then he opens the ears of men, even by their corrections, which had sealed..." In this Scripture passage, Elihu states that God gives us sealed instructions in the form of dreams. Because these messages are sealed (within parables), we seldom recognize them as being from God
God has used dreams to communicate with His people from the beginning. He doesn’t change, so He has not changed, and will not change the way He speaks to us.
- It was during a dream that God revealed to Abraham the history of the descendants he would have and the 400 year Egyptian captivity. (Genesis 15)
- God warned Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was actually Abraham’s wife. (Genesis 20)
- Jacob was visited by God in a dream in which God told him he would inherit a huge amount of land. (Genesis 28)
- Jacob had a dream as he lay on the ground with a stone for a pillow in which he saw a ladder ascending up to heaven with angels going up and down. (Genesis 28)
- Joseph dreamed he would someday rule over all his brothers and even his father. (Genesis 37) Later, in chapter 41, Joseph correctly interprets the Pharaoh's dream.
- Daniel understood the interpretation of dreams and was able to escape death by explaining to Nebuchadnezzar the dream he had and the unfolding of the king's future.(Daniel 2)
In the New Testament, Jesus' step-father Joseph was told to accept Mary as his wife because the child she was having was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was also warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape Pharaoh’s slaughter of the baby boys, and the Magi who had come guided by the star also were warned in a dream not to return by way of Jerusalem to tell Herod the whereabouts of Jesus. Pontius Pilate’s wife had a dream about Jesus before his trial, and sent Pilate a message telling him, “Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream, because of him.” (Matthew 27:19)
God has and does use dreams to communicate with people. From the Patriarchs to the Prophets, to the Apostles and early church God has used dreams to communicate to His people.
There is, however, no Biblical mandate for a ministry of dream interpretation. There are a couple of instances where God gave the interpretation to someone but there is no ministry of dream interpretation. Joseph, when he was in prison was given the interpretation to some peoples dreams, but there is no record he became the official dream interpreter. Instead he became the Pharaoh’s second in command. Daniel was given the interpretation to a dream but he never was considered a dream interpreter, but instead he was a prophet, and Paul was given a dream to go to Macedonia but he was never an official dream interpreter. In fact he went to his ministry team and shared with them the dream, and together they interpreted the dream as God telling them to go to Macedonia.
So before you go run off and follow another Christian fad, that distracts you from the real purposes of God in your life, consider these things concerning dream interpretation.
- Not all dreams are from God. Just because you had a dream does not mean it is from God or that it even needs interpreted. You must learn how to discern the difference between late night pizza dreams and God dreams. When God gives a dream, it is accompanied by a strong sense of His presence.
- Some dreams come from your subconscious. When there is something that is bothering you emotionally or in your thinking, many times it manifests as a dream to help you work through it. An example of this is when a friend went through divorce and was separated for a short time from his kids. He kept having dreams that his daughter was dying or had died. He would literally weep while he was dreaming. This was his hearts way of expressing the feelings he was having about missing them and mourning the loss of the relationship at the time. Never was it a warning from God about his impending doom.
- Many times God will speak to you personally about the dream. You do not need an interpreter. God is more than capable of letting you know what a dream means. If He was big enough to send you the dream then He is big enough to reveal to you its meaning. You have the Holy Spirit, you have His word. Many times He will confirm the dream directly to you.
- Instead of chasing after some person who claims to have a gift of dream interpretation (which is not listed as a spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians). Go to the elders and leaders of your church. They are the ones that are entrusted with the care and well being of your soul. Get wise counsel from them, not some person who is claiming to have a gift but is, in reality, only trying to gain fame for themselves or are trying to con you out of some money.
Even when we are familiar with the background of the person a dream concerns, including ourself, we should use caution when we apply a symbol’s meaning. Hasty dream interpretations should be avoided. Even Daniel mulled over Nebuchadnezzar’s dream for an hour before he ventured an inter-pretation, and he knew the king’s lifestyle very well (see Dan. 4:18-19).
Do you have a puzzling dream or vision that you just can't understand? Remembering that the symbols in your dreams and visions are sometimes signs that the Lord uses to communicate, use the tools below to help you 'crack the code' of the Lord's message to you. Then confirm it with mature and stable people in the Lord to see if your dream interpretation is correct and ALWAYS make sure it lines up with the word of God. Why? Because not every symbol has the same interpretation for every person. What a spouse or a father in one person’s dream, may represent something totally different in another.
Dream Dictionary http://christiandreamsymbols.com/
A free online dream dictionary dedicated to helping people understand the meaning of their dreams.
DREAM ENHANCERS http://www.dreambible.com/dream-enhancers.html
There are number of options available to help enhance the dreaming experience using vitamin supplements, dietary changes, and electronic devices. Most are easily available at your local health food store or off the Internet. Others may be illegal in your jurisdiction.
Deception Checklist
The Bible talks of some dreams that are deceptive: “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship." (Jeremiah:23:25-27)
If your revelation even has one of the following points proceed with caution and further check the revelation against the Word
- When the revelation was shared, the person receiving was made to fear.
- The dream/revelation condemned and accused, thus causing the person in question to feel depressed. This kind of condemnation is NOT conviction as it does not motivate the person to action, but rather makes them withdraw and regress.
- The dream/revelation was pushy, demanding that action was taken immediately!
- A revelation that overrides a person’s will. Anything they do not have control of is not of the Lord as the Holy Spirit is a dove and does not override the will of man.
- The revelation was received through very loud words. A strong voice, a strong forceful vision or dream.
- Anything that veils its identity is not of God. If an angelic being appears, not showing its face and pushing the person to receive from it, then it is not of God. The Lord and His angels are always open-faced. If such a being appears it is an angel of Satan's and should be told to leave in the name of Jesus.
- A revelation that brings confusion and doubt is not of the Lord. If a person is thrown into turmoil, once again regressing and not motivated to positive action, then the revelation was not of the Lord or perhaps even shared in the wrong season.
- If the revelation is not based on the Word. Sometimes we have just accepted certain symbols to mean certain things – but take NOTHING for granted! Check every single symbol and direction with the Word of God and see if it lines up. Having a good Bible concordance on hand is recommended. If you can get one on CD for your computer, even better, because you can then look up scriptures all having the same dream symbols.
- Above all else discern the spirit on the revelation by the gift of discerning of spirits. If you get a knot in your stomach, feel uneasy or simply feel a ‘no no’ in the spirit, then proceed with caution. However if you feel comfortable positively motivated and a ‘yes yes’ in the spirit then the Word is of the Lord.
Restless days cause restless nights. Worry, fear, doubt, uncertainty causes many people to have a busy mind. Many go to sleep at night restless because they have a busy mind caught up with the cares of this world. The Word of God says this Ecclesiastes 5:3 "A dream comes when there are many cares..." The meaning appears to be that if we have many cares, or, perhaps, decisions to make, or if we are feeling fretful, fearful or filled with anxiety, we will dream rather more than if we are at complete peace.
Numbers 12:6 "And he said, Hear now my words, If there be a Prophet of the Lord among you, I will be known to him by a vision, and will speak unto him by dream."