Dreams and Visions Interpretation Course Session 11
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My name is Basie Martins. I trust that you are all well and I want to thank you again for listening to this series. For you who do not know, this series is about dreams and visions.
In the previous session, we discussed the symbolic meanings of houses and people in dreams and visions and also the differences between these symbols.
In today’s session, we are discussing the meanings of random groups of symbols in dreams and visions in general. By the way, today is the last program in this series. I think you will all agree that the topic of dreams and visions was very interesting and I hope this course was informative.
So, let’s start today’s session with the meanings of the symbols of balls and games in dreams and visions.
A ball in a dream symbolizes an opportunity to speak or to teach or to preach. More detail in the dream, reveals more information about the meaning of the dream. Details like the color of the ball, the players involved in the game, the interaction of people, the circumstances about the area or the place and buildings or vehicles all reveal more information.
This principle can also apply in natural or non-spiritual circumstances. For instance, in a work situation, it speaks of the opportunity of a person to speak during a convention or in a meeting or a specific situation and so on.
A black ball in dreams and visions speaks of the unbelief in a person’s heart that an opportunity to speak or to preach will arise. Such people do not have the faith and the assurance that God wants to use them and that He will open the necessary doors and opportunities for them or in a natural sense that he will be allowed to speak in a work situation.
A golden ball speaks of a conversation about faith or the opportunity to preach about faith.
A golf ball speaks of a very relaxed discussion about the word of God where each participant gets a turn to speak or to make a declaration. This is a very effective and civilized way of sharing the word of God. The chances of the discussion resulting in an argument are very slim. Participants are not focused on outwitting each other but are merely sharing the word of God without putting any pressure on each other.
In a natural sense, it speaks of a situation at work or in a particular incident where all the people involved will be allowed to speaks whatever is on their mind without and pressure.
A rugby ball or an American football ball speaks of a heated discussion or argument. Rugby and football are very tough contact sports. People with a gift of teaching often dream that they are involved in a football or rugby game. This symbolizes an event or an incident where people will be involved in an emotional or a heated discussion about the word of God, or in a natural sense about something at work or in a business situation.
A silver ball symbolizes a conversation about redemption and/or purification.
A tennis ball symbolizes preaching or a discussion where each one gets a turn to speak. This differs from golf. In tennis, each participant is motivated to outflank or outwit each other. This is a negative way to share the word of God.
In a natural sense, balls also symbolize natural arguments and in such cases, it has nothing to do with spiritual matters at all. A person dreaming that he is involved in a tennis match with somebody like his employer is warned to prepare himself for an argument with his employer. He might have to outwit his employer to save a specific situation.
Sometimes an argument bothers a person. In such a case such a person might dream of a tennis ball or a tennis match soon after the argument took place. In such a case, such a dream is an emotional restoration dream.
Remember that dreams are not always about spiritual matters. It is also about people getting involved in all sorts of situations. God might be preparing you for a specific situation. The color of the tennis ball will give more insight into the meaning of the specific dream. For instance, a red tennis ball indicates that the argument will be characterized by anger, fury, and conflict.
Boxing
1 Corinthians 9:26
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air.
Matthew 26:67
Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.
Boxing comes from the word “fight” as in 1 Corinthians 9:26. Boxing thus symbolizes an aggressive argument or reasoning with the intent to overpower the other person. It speaks of an attempt to vigorously convince the other person of a viewpoint. Often when a person is successful in such an attempt, in the dream, it will be symbolized by a knockout blow, a technical knockout or a win on points. No winner indicates that both persons involved were unsuccessful in their attempt to convince each other of the specific viewpoint.
Boxing can also speak of one person humiliating the other, especially if the other person is not strong enough in debating the specific subject. It can also speak of two people hurting their relationship, especially if the two persons injured each other in the dream.
The color of the gloves will reveal more detail about the argument.
A game of chess in dreams and visions symbolizes tactical reasoning. It is all about outmaneuvering your opponent with clever reasoning to put him in a checkmate situation. We dream about chess boards or playing chess whenever we are in financial positions where a person or people who want us to fail act so they can achieve just that. These actions include strategic arguments. This is true for many other situations or challenges.
In another sense, it symbolizes a person who asks tricky questions and who makes tricky statements to win an argument. As soon as we are in a “checkmate” position by us failing to counter clever reasoning these people feel that they have accomplished what they intended to do. Seeing this in a dream is a warning for you to be ready for a very clever intellectual argument.
Now let us discuss food and the digestive system of human beings and human organs as symbols in dreams and visions.
We read about food in the Bible:
Psalm 31:9
Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Ezekiel 3:1-3
1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Food in dreams and visions symbolizes, in a positive sense, our spiritual food or the word of God. In a negative sense, things that we dream we eat, even things like poison, symbolizes bad words that are not good for us or good food or even medicine which is good for us.
Whatever we eat, in a dream, always speaks of what we place (as symbolized in the dream) in our spiritual mouths to eat. It even goes further than that. The spiritual food that we eat is digested by our spiritual digestive system. In fact, some of the organs making up our digestive system have spiritual meanings. I am referring to body parts and organs like See Teeth, the Stomach, the Liver and so on.
This process, called digestion, allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from the food you eat. This fact is also true for our spiritual digestive system. The digestive system consists of that parts of the body that work together to turn food and liquids into the building blocks and fuel that the body needs. This is also true for our spiritual digestive system. Our spiritual digestive system breaks down and absorbs good spiritual food. It separates the word of God from false and bad words that we hear from other people and evil spirits. The main purpose of the spiritual digestive system is to absorb the true and wonderful word of God so that we can grow spiritually.
The different kinds of food that God uses as symbols in dreams and visions range from milk, bread, vegetables, fruit, cake, meat pies, hamburgers, take away food, finger food, restaurant food to fresh meat in a butchery. Even bad things like poison. There is no limit to the different kinds of foods in dreams that symbolizes the word of God.
Everything we eat that is from God (word of God) no matter how we obtain it. For instance, through Bible study, listening to preaching, reading, dreams and visions, prophetic words, and so on, goes to our stomachs which symbolizes our spirits where it is digested. Unfortunately, we also eat rubbish (lies, wrong beliefs, poison, words of hatred, people treating us badly with negative words and slander, hate, contempt, and so on.
Spiritually bad food is symbolized by symbols like “poison” and food that is normally not fit for human consumption and substances that have no nutritional value.
Just as the natural processes of our digestive system break up the food and just as the nutrients are taken up in our bloodstream and transferred to all the cells in our bodies, so our spirits also absorb the “nutritious” word of God and also transfer the nutritious substances to our spiritual cells.
Our livers remove all kinds of impurities from our blood. This is also true for our spiritual livers. The bad food is removed and separated from the good food. A liver in dreams and visions symbolizes forgiveness. The liver breaks down old and damaged blood cells and removes it from the good and healthy blood cells. This speaks of the forgiveness of sins. Sins lead to death and it must be removed just like the liver removes dead cells from the blood. We need to make sure that our spiritual livers are functioning by constantly forgiving other people when they sin against us. When we do not forgive other people the “dead cells” in our spiritual bloodstream will kill us spiritually because the dead cells symbolize unforgiveness and bitterness.
Just as with our natural bodies, after most of the nutrients are removed from the food mixture there is waste left over. This is stuff our spiritual bodies, as our natural bodies, cannot use. This stuff is bad for us and needs to be passed out of our bodies. As I said, in our spiritual “bodies”, this stuff is the lies, the slander, the insults, the emotional abuse, bitterness, hate, contempt, forgiveness, and so on. It is just plain bad words.
For this reason, when we dream we go to the toilet, I am not using the word “bathroom” for a reason, to get rid of the solid waste, it symbolizes that we are being delivered from the sin, the lies, and the emotionally abusive words and sins like bitterness, hate, and contempt that we allowed in our spiritual bodies. Remember, we transgressed by “eating” this bad stuff. We allowed it into our spiritual bodies.
These actions and these conditions in our bodies have consequences. We need to repent and to get rid of those things like bitterness, hate, and contempt and it’s consequences. Especially those things that cause bitterness, unforgiveness, and other bad emotional issues that stand between us and a pure, balanced relationship with God and other people.
A toilet symbolizes the repentance and confession of a Christian to deal with inner emotional issues and sin in their lives. It is good to dream that you are using the toilet in this regard. Such a person is cleansing himself (his inner being) of bitterness and unforgiveness and other emotional issues and sins through confession and repentance. This also speaks of the removal of spiritual blocks and garbage through repentance and confession. It is not the same as “bathing” which symbolizes the conversion of a non-believer.
Some may ask, “How can we prevent ourselves from these emotional sins and its consequences in the first place? I mean, preventing lies and false doctrines from taking hold of us or in us is understandable. But what about abusive words and actions which cause bitterness and unforgiveness?”
Think of Stephen in the New Testament. He was mocked and cursed and stoned to death by people who hated him very much because of his Christian faith. Yet, at that moment, his words were, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. Stephen did not allow those words of hatred and those unfair actions to enter his spiritual body. He did not “eat” those words and did not allow it to become poison or a bad substance inside his body.
Food also symbolizes the spiritual teaching of the word of God. The five-fold ministry, especially the teachers often dream about food and preparing food for people. They often dream that they are busy in a kitchen or a restaurant or food-truck preparing food. This is what the Bible says about poison
Psalm 140:3
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
Deuteronomy 32:33
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
Job 20:16
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
Psalm 58:4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear.
Romans 3:13
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.
James 3:8
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
In dreams and visions, anything that we put in our mouths to eat symbolizes words. Poison is, therefore, a symbol of evil teachings. Whenever the Bible refers to the poison of people it speaks of their lies and deceit. Just as poison kills a person, so evil teachings also leads to spiritual death when a person accepts those evil teachings in his spiritual belly and digestive system.
When you dream of a person eating or drinking poison it speaks of that person killing himself spiritually because of evil teachings. Even Spirit-filled teachers in the body of Christ might have a little bit of poison among some very good teaching material or in their personal libraries. Watch out for this. I once went through the teaching material of a well known Spirit-filled teacher. Some of the materials were just awesome but a few things raised some concerns in my heart. I asked the Lord about those teachings and He confirmed in a dream that those doctrines were indeed poisonous. He showed me the poison among the good food that the person usually offers people.
In a positive sense, the word of God is also poisonous to evil spirits, specifically referring to the toxic thoughts that they instigate. When we dream we apply poison to little insects or birds it speaks of us applying the word of God to the negative thoughts by replacing it with the true and authentic word of God. The true word acts as a poison by killing toxic thoughts.
Whenever you dream that you are applying poison to vicious little animals like crocodiles and other symbolically evil animals (which represent evil activities and influences), the Holy Spirit is motivating you to apply the word of God in the specific situation or the specific evil attack on your life. We chase these evil spirits away by applying the word of God.
Now let us move on to another group of symbols. Swords and knives and even the body armor of soldiers mentioned in Ephesians 6 are all part of a group of symbols called weapons. Let’s read a few Scriptures about this symbol.
Let us look at what the Bible says about a Sword
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…
Revelation 2:15-16
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
In a general sense, the symbols of armor and weapons in dreams and visions speak of our spiritual ability to protect ourselves against the attacks of evil spirits. It uses the metaphor of warfare and the methods and equipment of warfare to symbolize the actions that we need to take to be ready and able to fend off attacks by evil spirits and evil people.
In another sense, armor and weapons symbolize the strength and ability of the enemy (evil spirits or evil people). A symbol of a black military tank or a black battleship attacking us in dreams and visions are proved by this fact. A person shooting at us with a shotgun is another example that weapons and armor symbolize not only our abilities and strength but also the abilities and the strength of our enemies. So we have shotguns (the powerful word of God) and they have shotguns (powerful and proven words of deception).
A sword symbolizes the written word of God (“Logos”) or the inspired or revealed word of God (“Rhema”). It speaks of the power of the written word as well as the inspired or “spoken” word of God. It is sharper than a two-edged sword and cut through all resistance. When a word comes alive in our spirits and we use it to change our circumstances, that word is actually “anointed” and therefore Holy Spirit-driven or quickened.
A sword can also be a symbol of the teaching ministry. It cuts away tradition and wrong teachings. According to Revelations 2:15-16, a sword symbolizes the judgment of God on people who are refusing to distance themselves from wrong doctrinal teachings and erroneous ways in the church.
A dark or black sword speaks of unbelief in the revealed or spoken word of God. Such a person does not believe that the word of God is powerful.
A golden sword speaks of victory over the lies of the enemy because of purified faith in the word of God. When we speak the word of God in faith it brings victory in our lives.
A green sword symbolizes an attack on the lies of the enemy resulting in intellectual thoughts being renewed and replaced by the true word of God.
A silver sword speaks of the word of God used in faith to bring about deliverance, purification, and cleansing in a person’s life.
A white sword speaks of the use of the word of God resulting in victory over the lies of the enemy. It speaks of breakthroughs or victory or righteousness or holiness or faith in and because of the word of God. When we speak the word of God in faith it brings victory in our lives. Let’s look at what the Bible says about armor:
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Military armor is equipment utilized for protecting the army. Symbols of military equipment thus symbolize divine equipment for resisting evil. The armor of God keeps the enemy outside the border posts and borders of our lives. We resist evil by keeping evil from entering our lives (influencing different aspects of our daily lives).
We do not give the enemy any foothold in our lives. This means we do not fall for the enemy’s lies and temptations. All the spiritual armor that God gave us is about “faith” and “believe.” It is all about the word of God and it is all about living a holy life. Only the sword of the Spirit is offensive. We use the sword of the Spirit to speak things into existence. All the other pieces of armor of a soldier are there for protection and therefore defensive of nature.
This is what the Scriptures say about Arrows
Psalm 64:2-4
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
Deuteronomy 32:23
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
Arrows are all about words. It symbolizes negative and positive words. In a negative sense, the enemy attacks us with words of judgment and critical words of condemnation, lies, and deceit. People can attack us with bitter words of criticism, anger, and hate but people can also build us up with positive words of faith, love, exhortation, and comfort.
In another sense, according to Deuteronomy 32:23 arrows also symbolize the judgment of God.
In a positive sense, arrows with purple, blue or white arrowheads symbolize words of love, faith, peace and revelation knowledge that people “shoot” into the hearts of other people. Such a person hits people in their hearts with the wonderful word of God. These words bring life and deliverance.
Arrows with red, orange or black or brown arrowheads symbolize words of hate or anger or resentment or fear or temptation that people “shoot” into the hearts of other people.
Our next symbol is Gardens and garden equipment
Let’s look at
Song of Solomon 6:2-3
2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
Isaiah 58:11
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Genesis 2:8-10
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
A garden symbolizes our love relationship with God or with Jesus Christ or in marriage or with other people. It is a symbol of growth and fertility in terms of personal relationships. A garden is filled with flowers, grass and trees and scrubs. The flowers symbolize praise, honor, and respect for each other. The trees symbolize people living and fellowshipping together. The shrubs symbolize the attitudes that we display toward each other. The grass symbolizes prosperity and peace in our relationships. There is usually a wonderful smell hanging around in parts of the garden. This smell is the adoration, the thankfulness and the joy that we feel for and because of each other.
We all know of the love relationship and interaction depicted in a garden in the Song of Solomon, which is a shadow or a type of the love relationship between Christ and the church. A garden should be beautiful and well maintained to be enjoyed and to be a feast for the eyes. In dreams, we need to look at the condition of the garden to understand the meanings of the different symbols.
Relationships are very important to God. For this reason, we often dream of garden tools that symbolize spiritual tools that we can use to maintain our relationships with God and with other people.
This is what the Bible says about relationships:
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
In a love relationship, we should always show our praise and thanksgiving onto each other. When we dream of giving a flower to a person it speaks of a gesture of informal praise and thanksgiving. When we present a bouquet to a person it speaks of honor, praise and thanksgiving bestowed on the person. When we pin a flower on a person’s jacket or dress it speaks of honor or praise bestowed on the person.
The colors of the flowers reveal more information regarding the interpretation of the dream. For instance, presenting red flowers to a specific person speaks of a person bestowing praise, honor, and thanksgiving to such a person in spite of conflict between them.
In a general sense, any type of tool and equipment in dreams and visions symbolize the ways and means and the methods which we can use to improve or develop our spiritual conditions. For instance, garden tools symbolize ways and methods to repair and fix and maintain relationship issues in the lives of people, marriage, congregations, work situations, groups of people who are working together and so forth.
Dental tools symbolize ways and means that we can use to fix people’s issues in terms of understanding and comprehending (eating and digesting) the word of God.
Kitchen equipment symbolizes ways and methods to prepare spiritual food and representing spiritual food to unsaved people, babies in Christ and mature Christians and so forth.
A garden fork symbolizes the preparation of people’s hearts to receive the word of God (seed) and to accept a love relationship with Christ Jesus and with God our Father. A garden fork speaks of an initial ice-breaking ministry to prepare people’s hearts for the gospel. We need the word of God (the gospel of Jesus Christ) to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior but also as our heavenly Bridegroom. When we receive Jesus Christ in our hearts a wonderful love relationship with Him comes into existence.
A neglected garden speaks of a relationship with God or with Jesus Christ or with other people which is neglected. A garden is neglected when it needs attention and care. When the grass is not mowed regularly and if the shrubs are not trimmed, it speaks of a “do not care” attitude in a love relationship.
A pick symbolizes a person with the ability to work with or to minister to people with hardened hearts to open their hearts to receive God’s word. This speaks of much more effort to prepare the hearts of people.
When we gather fallen leaves and dry pieces of grass we are rounding off the gardening task. Similarly, when we rake the soil into patterns or stashing it up near the base of a plant we are rounding off the garden task. So a rake symbolizes a gentle ministry that removes the last bits of untidiness and it brings mutual respect and order into a relationship.
Deuteronomy 23:12-13
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
The underlying truth of this Scripture that I just mentioned is the fact that love covers everything
A spade is used to cover or hide objects that we do not want to see like human feces or items that can become rotten. This speaks of an important element in relationships that we always need to embrace and that is to cover each other’s sins and to forgive each other. We should never focus on each other’s mistakes, shortcomings, and less attractive characteristics but we should keep relationships pure, strong, and free from unnecessary negativity.
In another sense, when we move ground out of the way we are creating a place or a spot where a plant can be planted. We are preparing the soil in a more aggressive way than just losing it with a fork. This moving away of soil is symbolic of a deliverance ministry. This might include the casting out of demons, counseling and the preaching of the fundamental message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is all for today. As I mentioned already, today was the last session in the series about dreams and visions. Our next series of discussions will be about spiritual warfare. There’s a lot of misunderstandings about a lot of things around this subject. Many people in the church have embarked upon a strategy of spiritual warfare in this regard which is not Scriptural at all. There is a variation of spiritual warfare that differs completely from the true and authentic spiritual warfare that Paul taught and the Bible is teaching us. I am looking forward to this series which will run for quite a few weeks.
Thanks for listening. See you next time.
