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From where do dreams originate?

Dreams and visions come from God. He is the Dream Giver and that includes both types of dreams. We need to go to God and the Holy Spirit for more clarity on dreams and visions. We need to go to God for the interpretation of specific symbols that we identified in dreams and visions. God created mankind. He created us according to his image. We were born of his Spirit. We are like Him. He knows us inside out.

Now it is very important to understand the following, “Nobody has the right to regard dreams and visions or the interpretation of dreams and visions as something that they mastered or something they own.” Not only do dreams and visions come from God but also the meanings of the symbols come from Him. We can even take it further by saying that we cannot really interpret dreams and visions without the help of the Holy Spirit. God needs to help us “find” the meanings of dreams and visions by revealing them to us through prayer and through divine revelation. For this reason, a mere dreams and visions dictionary alone will be of little use to us. It will put our attention on some meanings and we might have an indication of what God wants to communicate to us but that’s all. The real meaning of the dream or the vision will be lost if we do not seek God in prayer for the interpretation of the specific dream or vision.

God also provides the meanings of different symbols. Most symbols and the meanings of these symbols are found in Scripture. It is understandable that if dreams and visions come from God, the meanings of the symbols in these dreams and visions will be found in his word. The language of symbols belongs to God. He created it. Almost all symbols and meanings of these symbols come from the Bible.

Some symbols are in fact modern equivalents of Biblical symbols. For this reason, a “sword” and an “arrow”, which come from the Bible, have the same meaning as a “pistol” or a “rifle” which are modern equivalents of these Biblical symbols. The same with a “horse” and a “motor vehicle.” In some cases, God gave the meanings of the different symbols and in other cases, God used the natural characteristics of the object to be representative in terms of the meaning of the specific object. Some objects may have both a God-given meaning and also a meaning based on the natural characteristics of the specific object. Some symbols cannot be found in the Bible and we need to seek God for the meanings of these symbols. This makes the interpretation of dreams and visions more complex. For this reason, we cannot use a dictionary only but we need to seek God in prayer to determine exactly what God wants to tell us.

The symbols

Because God created everything that exists, everything belongs to Him. The rainbow is his, the sea is his and the lion is his. Anybody may try to defile God’s property and he may give other meanings to objects but that changes nothing. Even when the enemy tries to defile God’s property by giving demonic meanings to certain objects, those objects and the meanings of these objects still belong to God. It means that God created it and He gave meaning to everything first. It means that the meanings that God gave certain objects in dreams and visions are the true meanings and all other meanings are false. This is exactly why dreams and visions dictionaries created by pagan “religionists” or even psychologists are so full of errors and false meanings. Not only people but also the enemy started to give meanings to objects. It is important to understand that we need to ignore these meanings.

Pagan religions like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, satanism and people like fortune-tellers, psychics, and even psychologists all have no business with dreams, visions, or the interpretation thereof. This has nothing to do with them! It has everything to do with God, the Church, and you, the individual.

We should not be scared of demonic types of symbols and demonic meanings. It is actually false meanings and these meanings are not legitimate. For example, God gave a certain meaning to the symbol of a rainbow. Satan also started to use the rainbow as a symbol and he gave this symbol another meaning. We should ignore this and embrace God’s symbols and the meanings God gave to these symbols. A rainbow is pure and beautiful and it belongs to God.

How common are dreams and visions?

God spoke to many people in the Bible through dreams and visions. People like Abraham, Jacob, Pharaoh, Moses, Gideon, Nathan, Eli, Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joseph, Amos, Zechariah, The wise men who came to witness Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Maria, Pilate’s wife, Paul, Ananias, Cornelius, Peter, John and many more.

In these dreams and visions, God used symbols and certain meanings of these symbols to communicate with these people. The angels often asked those people the following words: “What do you see?” When these people identified these symbols the angels often gave them the specific meanings of these symbols. Please look at the following Old Testament and New Testament verses for more insight into the way God communicates with us:

Genesis 15:1

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great”

Job 4:13-16

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,

Genesis 46:2

God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob” And he said, “Here I am”

Genesis 41:1-7

Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.

Exodus 3:2-3

The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

Numbers 12:6

“If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.”

Acts 7:30-32

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.

Judges 7:13-15

When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat”

2 Samuel 7:4

But in the same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple.

Ezekiel 1:4-14

As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.

Ezekiel 8:2

Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from his loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal.

Ezekiel 11:24-25

And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea so the vision that I had seen left me.

Ezekiel 37:1-10

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.

Daniel 2:28

“However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.

Daniel 4:5

I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

Daniel 2:19

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;

Amos 7:1-9

Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing.

Amos 8:1-6

Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit.

Amos 9:1

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, “Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.

Zechariah 1:8

I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.

Zechariah 3:1

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Zechariah 4:2

He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lamp-stand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

Zechariah 5:2

And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits”

Zechariah 6:1

Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.

Matthew 2:12

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Matthew 2:13

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him”

Matthew 27:19

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him”

Acts 9:3

As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;

Acts 16:9

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”

Acts 18:9

And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;

Acts 22:18

And I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

Acts 27:23

“For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,

2 Corinthians 12:1-4

Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

Acts 9:10-11

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias” And he said, “Here I am, Lord”

Acts 10:3

About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

Acts 10:9-17

On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

Revelation 1:12

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands;

God really does speak through symbols to people. Human beings were created with all the abilities and tools that they need to understand dreams and visions. created that way. We do not grasp the abstract so well. We want to see pictures. That is the reason why Jesus spoke and taught by means of parables. Have you ever heard someone asking, “Don’t you understand? Must I draw you a picture?” God will never stop speaking to us this way. At least not until “when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”

A very important Scripture to confirm that God speaks to us through dreams and visions is Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:14-18.

Joel 2:28-29

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Acts 2:14-18

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

We are in fact living in the last days. That is why we dream and that is why we see visions.

Pagan dreams and visions dictionaries

When a non-Christian dreams he or she is, in fact, receiving a message from God just like a Christian. Just like us, they also have “emotional restoration dreams” But, they need the Holy Spirit and the word (Bible) of the living God to assist them to interpret the dream or vision. The problem is that they do not have the Holy Spirit. It is quite difficult for an unbeliever to find the meaning or the interpretation of a dream or a vision. It is thus impossible for them to interpret dreams and visions correctly. A Biblical example of such a person was Nebuchadnezzar. He searched for a person who could assist him in interpreting the dream that he had. His own pagan interpreters could not interpret the dream for him. Fortunately for him, he did find a man of God. He found Daniel and he succeeded in finding the true meaning of his dream. Apart from Nebuchadnezzar, other Biblical heathens like King Abimelech (Gen 20), The Midian Army (Judges 7:13-14), Pharaoh’s butler and baker (Gen.40:5), Pharaoh (Gen 41:1,5), Pilot’s Wife (Matthew 27:19) and the Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:12) all had divine dreams which needed interpretation.

When a person ponders on certain issues God will reveal these issues to them irrespective if such a person is a Christian or not. That is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar and it also happened to Pharaoh. It is still happening today. That is why we must always take note of what we were pondering on the day before the dream or the vision. It is also important to remember what our needs were just before the dream. Sometimes we ponder on a certain need or a certain person or even a certain situation. God reveals many aspects of these things to us. Also, remember the people you had contact with just before the dream or the vision. Sometimes the dream is not about you but about another person that crossed your path. Sometimes God wants you to minister unto such a person (Message or word from God for such a person).

Many times this assisted me a lot in correctly interpreting the dream or vision that I received from God. Sometimes people speak to God about a certain problem or a certain situation. They forget about this and when God answers them they are confused, just because they forgot to pray about or ponder on the problem or situation before the dream or the vision.

Why does God reveal certain things to unbelievers? I do not know. What I do know is that nobody will have any excuse one day when it comes to spiritual things. As nature reveals to us that there is a God in order for us to search for this God, so even dreams and visions reveal to us that there is a God. Even if non-believers pursue the meanings of dreams and visions they will find them, just as Christians do. Our God is a God of grace and mercy. He answers to nobody and He does what He wants. We cannot question Him!

The greatest danger for an unbeliever and a Christian for that matter is to consult a pagan dictionary. Would you go to a fortune teller or a soothsayer to interpret the dreams that God gave you? Nebuchadnezzar attempted to do that without any success:

Daniel 2:2

Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

Whatever you read in a pagan dictionary will not be anything other than lies. Consulting these dictionaries will lead to deceit.

Occupied minds

Sometimes people are dreaming about things purely because their minds are excessively occupied by those things. This is actually an unhealthy or undesirable situation that causes emotional restoration dreams. People are very emotional when they are obsessive.

For instance, when a person is constantly frightened or scared of something he may dream about exactly what scares him. Some people are so preoccupied with their careers and ambitions resulting in them dreaming about those things. Some people can be so jealous of, about, or of other people and some can be so suspicious about things resulting in them dreaming exactly what they are jealous or suspicious about. This can be a bit confusing when interpreting a dream. These are classified as carnal dreams. With the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, these types of dreams can be identified and dealt with. Preoccupied people and people displaying an unhealthy obsession with certain things and certain people should be counseled in this regard. Recurring dreams of this nature should be identified and dealt with.

This is what John E. Thomas has to say about this kind of fleshly dreams:

A young lady once told me a dream in which her boyfriend proposed to her. I asked her if they had been together for a while and if she thought it was past time for them to be engaged. She confirmed both of these things were true. The source of the dream became apparent to me, and I gently told her she wanted to be married so much that she had caused herself to dream about it.

The most common soul dreams involve a coming marriage, promotion, ministry or season of popularity. When we interpret dreams at film and music festivals, it is amazing how many musicians tell us dreams in which they are finally discovered!

The prophet Jeremiah warned about dreamers who dreamed dreams they caused themselves to dream (Jer. 29:8–9). Not all soul dreams come because someone is a false prophet, like the people Jeremiah was condemning, sometimes we just desire something so strongly that we dream about it.

– John E. Thomas

Please take note that when we interpret dreams and visions incorrectly we will have the same or similar dreams over and over again until we interpret them correctly.

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