Audio and Written Versions: Dreams Interpretation Session 6

Dreams and Visions Interpretation Course Session 6

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Session 5

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 a few erroneous practices that people started to embark upon concerning dreams and visions and unauthentic symbolism that hurt the body of Christ. In today’s session, we are kicking off with part two of the series. We will be discussing specific symbols and it’s meanings and also the differences between certain groups of symbols.

As I previously said, the Bible is actually the first dreams and visions symbols dictionary that mankind was introduced to. The reason for people making this statement is because of the presence of a rich and abundant list of symbols that have been identified within Biblical parables and the symbols in the dreams and visions and in the types and the shadows that we find in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible.

Many Bible Scholars who investigated this aspect of the word of God soon realized that the Bible is filled with symbolism from cover to cover. They have found countless symbols and it’s meanings in the Bible. It was soon realized that modern equivalents of objects in the Bible have the same meanings as it’s primitive counterparts and it was soon determined that the natural characteristics and behaviors of animals and insects and plants and almost everything that we see in nature determines the meanings of such symbols. The Bible is filled with examples of this.

Interpreters in Biblical times used the meanings that were given them by angels and they soon started to realize that the symbols that they see in Old Testament Scriptures are part of a divine language.

Many Bible scholars started to divide certain symbols into groups and they managed to test such symbolic meanings in real-life situations. Through the years they managed to identify the rules and the principles that govern the symbolic language of dreams and visions. The church has made a lot of progress in this regard in recent years. Like any other Biblical subject or spiritual area or aspect in the body of Christ, the work of such scholars developed tremendously. This aspect of Christianity came a long way and dreams and visions interpreters get better and better by the day.

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Discipleship - Session 3

I learned a lot from Hennie van Niekerk and Kevin Conner. Kevin Conner displayed a lot of insight into this aspect of the word of God when he researched symbolism a few years ago. On the other hand, Hennie van Niekerk worked extensively with a group of people whose aim was to test the different symbols over and over again in real-life situations with the Biblical meanings of the symbols as a basis.

Both these men had a huge influence on my life in this regard.

Let’s start this session with the symbols that represent human beings in dreams and visions: Trees, houses, animals and vehicles and even human beings. What I mean by human beings is that sometimes a specific person in a dream or vision symbolizes another person or even himself. When a person is representing himself or herself in a dream, that person in the dream or the visions is not a symbol but should in such a case be regarded as literal.

To describe the different symbols I need to make this statement, Trees usually represent characteristics or behavior of people. Houses usually represent the condition of people’s hearts or their souls which is the same thing. The soul of a human being is symbolized by a heart in dreams and visions. Animals usually represent the attitude or the spirit of a person also called the discerning of spirits. Vehicles usually represent the ability or attitude or conduct of people in regards to their jobs or work situations or ministries. I used the word usually with all these symbols because in dreams and visions there always are exceptions or deviations. Although these symbols are different they do overlap a bit. They are different because each of them represents a different aspect of a human being.

Let’s start with the meaning of trees and the Biblical reference to this symbol:

Psalm 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

As you can see, in this scripture the Bible refers to a specific person or a specific type of person as a tree. It says the person will be like a tree. We see the same thing in Luke 3:9 which says the following:

And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

So the tree here symbolizes a person who is not bearing fruit. So the tree being cut down symbolizes a person being judged and punished. This Scripture is not about literal trees and real fruit. The tree in this verse represent people who need to repent and to be obedient to God. Obedience is symbolized by the fruit.

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The Free and Authentic Christian Dreams and Visions Symbols Dictionary 4

A tree in dreams and visions symbolizes a human being and a forest or an orchard symbolize a group of people. Groups of people are usually a nation when it is a huge forest or a church or a congregation when it is a smaller group of trees or a smaller orchard.

Take note that in some cases, one tree can symbolize a group of people like a nation, an institutional church or a denomination and so forth. For instance, a fig tree is a symbol of the Jewish nation. Even the church is symbolized by a tree in the gospels. This is one of the exceptions or deviations that I mentioned.

When you see different needs or problems or circumstances about the tree or the forest in a dream or a vision, it tells you more about the characteristics, circumstances, needs, and situations in the particular person’s life or regarding the group of people.

A tree bending low in the wind or a storm speaks of a person or a group of people who are experiencing a lot of trials and tribulations in his or her lives. A tree falling speaks of a person who is dying or a group of people who reached the end of their existence as a group.

Different trees symbolize different types of people.

A high tree symbolizes the importance of a person and his work or ministry or political position. A tree without fruit speaks of a person or a group of people who are not bearing any fruit in their lives. An oak tree represents a person who is spiritually strong and who plays a leading role in the church. A tree being pruned speaks of a person or a group of people who are being purified and prepared for ministry or to be like Christ. A snake in a tree symbolizes a person or a group of people who are being deceived by an evil spirit. A tree with thorns symbolizes a person or a group of people with a hurtful nature. Such people easily hurt other people when the opportunity arises. A willow tree symbolizes a person or a group of people who enjoys prosperity in the body of Christ in a spiritual sense and/or financial blessings in a natural sense.

It is important to note the condition of the trees in dreams and visions. Is the tree big or small? Is it in good condition or is it damaged? Does it bear fruit and leaves? What are the colors of the leaves and the fruit? Is the tree dry or dead? Is there unnatural growth?

All these things will tell us how a person is or how he acts or how he is influenced by other factors or what a person’s behavior or characteristics are. With trees, it is usually about how a person is and acts presently or at the time you saw this symbol in a dream or a vision. With houses, there is the possibility that the dream or vision reflects the situation at a time in the past of the person or the present or the future. This is possible because of the backyard or the backdoor and back-windows of a house symbolizing past situations and the front-yard and front door and windows facing the front-yard representing present events and even future situations.

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Audio and Written Versions: Victorious Living In Christ Session 12

Like with a tree, a house also symbolizes either a person or a group of people. Let’s look at a few Scriptures to determine what the Bible says about houses:

1 Corinthians 3:9

For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

So in this verse, we are called God’s building. So people are symbolized by a building in the Bible.

Let us look a 1 Peter 2:5

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

In this verse, we are called a spiritual house. We are called a spiritual house because we are a dwelling place for something. Together we are a dwelling place for God. That means we are the temple of God. Jesus was called the true Temple of God. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit live in us. Even our spirits live in our bodies. So it is easy to understand that a house represents a person or a group of people.

This is what Hebrews 3:4-6 says about this:

4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;

6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

So this Scripture confirms that we are a house. It says that we are his house. We are the house of Christ.

Jude 1:20

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

In this case, we are a spiritual house and we together as a unit as spiritual stones build ourselves up in the kingdom of God. In most cases, a house in dreams and visions symbolizes the human heart or the condition of the soul of a specific person. We are spiritual houses as the Scriptures above declares. Each room in the house symbolizes a different aspect of our inner being. For instance, the sitting room symbolizes personal social situations or relationships in our lives. A sitting room is all about social interaction. The presence or availability of different chairs tells us that accommodation has been made for other people to interact with us socially. In dreams and visions, the bedroom symbolizes the personal and private aspects and situations in our lives. There is usually only one bed in a bedroom. There is no accommodation for other people in this place. It is personal and intimate. All rooms inside a house symbolize different aspects of our inner beings. Even the furniture in dreams and visions symbolizes different aspects of our inner beings.

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Audio and Written Versions: Spiritual Warfare Session 4

Sometimes we dream of the outside areas of houses as well. The exterior condition of the house and the condition of the garden speak of the condition of the heart as well. What is in the heart or the soul of a man can be perceived by people just by observing his actions and conduct. In dreams, the outside condition of a house tells us what is in the heart of the person it represents. It tells us what the condition of the soul is. Whatever is on the inside will be reflected or displayed at the outside. People cannot hide who or what they really are. A “heart” in dreams and visions symbolizes the soul and not the spirit of man. The spirit of man is symbolized by the “Stomach” or the “Belly.”

The back of the house is the past and the front of the house is the present or future. The backyard is his past life and the front yard the present or future life. The whole yard symbolizes a person’s personal situations in life (past, present, and future).

Furniture symbolizes all the equipment and tools that we need in our spiritual hearts to make things organized and easy or convenient for us. Furniture in dreams and visions speaks of spiritual aids that help us maintain our spiritual conditions or wellness. A closet or a drawer or a cupboard or a suitcase speaks of the condition our spiritual preparedness (clothes) are stored. If our clothes are new and beautiful and white or purple or blue (all positive colors) it speaks of us being prepared for life and ministry in a good positive way. If the cupboards and drawers are new and beautiful and white and blue and gold it speaks of us protecting and caring for our clothes in a good responsible way. Dark, brown, broken, black, old, red, yellow, dirty furniture in a chaotic condition or a house not kept or orderly or furniture not kept clean or orderly speak of our hearts or inner being or souls being in a bad, unprotected and chaotic spiritual condition. This speaks of us backsliding or no spiritual growth or no development in a spiritual sense in our lives.

In another sense, houses in dreams symbolize the church, a congregation or an institutional church. Just as with a person, the interior and the exterior condition of the house reveal the condition of the church or the congregation. Houses, in this sense, typically symbolizes house churches or small congregations. The bigger institutional churches or denominations are symbolized by the extended or bigger version of houses and that is multilevel buildings. Global denominations and even the global church, in general, are symbolized by impressive skyscrapers.

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The Symbolic Language Of The Bible Explained

A house full of spider webs symbolizes passive people or congregations who are not willing to take a stand for truth and not striving for righteousness in their hearts.

A very untidy and disorderly house in dreams symbolizes a person or a congregation who does not care about righteousness and truth. They are spiritually indifferent and lazy. It speaks of chaos in their spiritual lives.

An old house symbolizes an old type of church or an old situation or an old way or method of serving God in a congregation or a particular person’s life. It speaks of a person or a church who are full of tradition and old man-made ways of serving God and the community and their members.

This brings us to the third group of symbols that represent people in dreams and visions: Animals. We read in Luke 13:32 the following:

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox (Herod), Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

So in this verse, we see that a person (Herod) is symbolized by an animal, a fox. Foxes in dreams and visions speak of people who follow their own hearts and spirits by being very sly and cunning and evil and deceiving to achieve what they strive for. They like to hide their true motives from other people just like foxes hiding in their holes. We read the following in

Job 12:7-8

7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

So this scripture refers to a few different animals. In dreams and visions, the characteristics of animals symbolize attitudes, weaknesses, sins and demonic influences in the lives of people. This aspect is about the discerning of spirits. When you dream of a giraffe, for instance, the Holy Spirit warns you that you are dealing with a haughty person or a person with an overweening spirit. Remember that symbols of animals are to help you to discern the attitude of people. Do not forget that it also gives you insight into the demonic influences in these people’s lives. This means that the symbol may speak of a specific person but it can also speak of demonic activities in that person’s life. If the dream was about you it speaks of you directly but it can also speak of evil spirits trying to influence you negatively. As I said it is about the discernment of spirits which do include the activities of evil spirits. Evil spirits are also spirits and the discerning of spirits applies to evil spirits as well.

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Please take note that in real life all animals are all the same in God’s sight. He loves all the animals. He created them all. There is no such thing as a bad animal. Animals do not sin. They live as God created them. Animals do indeed display good or bad or evil behavior but this is how God created them to be. The same with insects.

With animals, we need to differentiate between “Creatures (Of the land)”, “Creatures (Of the air)” and “Creatures (Of the sea)”

Let’s look at Creatures (Of the air) first.

Symbols in this category speak of the influences around us affecting our thoughts and shaping our minds and souls. Flying insects speaks of certain personal attitudes and personal characteristics influencing our thoughts and our souls. Birds and insects are free to fly. Insects symbolize the irritating or distracting thoughts of human beings. Just as insects are constantly on the move, constantly relocating its position and constantly adjusting its speed and direction, so are the thoughts of human beings, constantly skipping rapidly from one subject to the other and constantly wandering off into different directions. In a sense, birds are the same. Birds speak of either the Holy Spirit (dove) or demonic spirits influencing and affecting our thoughts and our souls. Take note that even with thoughts (flying insects), demonic forces are also at play.

Let’s see how the Bible compares certain people to birds:

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 103:5

Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

An eagle speaks of the renewal and restoration of physical or spiritual strength. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles. This is much more than just feeling better. It is really about God restoring and renewing us. So here we can see how the Bible uses an eagle to represent a person who waits on the Lord and who are being strengthened by God.

Let’s see what the Bible says about ostriches:

Ostrich

Job 39:13-16

13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,

15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.

16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear.

Ostriches show no empathy or compassion for its offspring which symbolizes the lack of heart for whatever they do. In this sense, ostriches symbolize people who do not care about what they do or what they possess in a spiritual or in a natural sense.

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Audio and Written Versions: Dreams Interpretation Session 1

In another sense, an ostrich symbolizes a person with false pretenses (a deceptive lying spirit). Such a person shows an energetic spirit in their actions but does not really care about what they are doing. Such people usually mislead people about their abilities and motivation. They want to make people believe in them but they do not really have the heart for what they are doing. They show potential but do not really have the ability that they pretend to have, symbolized by an ostrich who has feathers but cannot really fly.

Another example of flying insects in the Bible is a fly. We read about it in the following verses:

Mathew 10:25

It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Exodus 8:24

24 And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

Beelzebub means the “lord of the flies.” A fly symbolizes thoughts of disorder and confusion. Just as flies usually gather around rotten things or things decaying, so is a person who is pondering on destructive or negative things. A person thinking bad things are, in fact, eating rotten words. So the bad and rotten things that people ponder on brings spiritual decay and confusion and disorder.

Creatures (Of the land)

Symbols in this category speak of man’s actions. It is all about the results of attitudes, weaknesses, sins, thoughts and demonic influences in the lives of people. Birds that cannot fly, like ostriches, also fall in this category.

We already noticed that Jesus compared Herod with a fox because of him being cunning and sly. Other examples of animals in the Bible is the following:

Job 39:19

Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

Proverbs 21:31

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.

A horse speaks of a person’s strength and power. It speaks of a person’s ability and the means to achieve something. It has the same meaning as motorcars which symbolize ministries, motivation or the work situations of people. A person with a big, strong, white, powerful motor vehicle speaks of a person with a good and powerful ministry or motivation in life. A person with an old rusted small motor vehicle speaks of a person with a spiritually poor ministry or an insignificant job or poor motivation in life.

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Some people often dream about miniature horses. Imagine a miniature motor vehicle in a dream. This brings the perspective that we need. Motor vehicles are the equivalent of the Biblical horses. It has the same meaning in dreams and visions. Miniature horses symbolize a lack of spiritual power or a poor spiritual motivation in a person’s life.

Creatures (Of the sea)

Symbols in this category speak of man’s spirit, which is hidden from other people. Just like creatures of the sea are hidden under the surface of the water, so man hides his true nature from other people. When you dream of a creature of the sea the spirit of a person is revealed to you. When you dream that a creature of the sea comes up out of the water it means that the spirit of a certain person will be self-exposed. Such a person will probably act in such a way that he exposes himself. The difference between animals of the land and animals of the sea when it comes to discerning their spirits is the following: With land animals, the focus is the actions of such people that are being exposed. With sea animals, it is about their hidden characteristics and not always their actions. The emphasis on sea animals is the fact that these type of people purposely attempt to hide their true colors. They do not want people to know who or what they are.

We have seen with the fox, that represented Herod, that Jesus himself compared a human being to an animal because the human being is like the animal or displays the same attitude or characteristics of the animal. So the Bible laid the foundation for this principle in the word of God. Many people and groups of people have been compared to or represented by animals many times in the Bible.

This is how dream symbols interpreters identified the meanings of many animals. For instance, based on the behavior of a shark, people represented by sharks in dreams and visions behave as follows:

A shark in dreams and visions symbolizes a person with hidden aggression and rebellion. Such a person has the attitude of a shark by aggressively and openly and rebelliously showing discontent. Like a shark, people with this attitude attack very suddenly, without prior warning and very aggressively with the purpose to kill, usually when least expected.

In a natural sense, and what I mean by a natural sense is situations which are not about spiritual or Christian matters, a shark speaks of a person who is aggressive toward other people. Such a person’s attitude is hidden until the moment that he “launches” the attack. All creatures in the sea are underwater and therefore hidden. This symbol is the opposite of an aggressive creature of the land, like a gorilla, who is openly aggressive toward people.

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In a general sense fish represents unsaved people in the sea of humanity as we can see in the following scriptures:

Fish

Matthew 4:19

Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

John 21:6

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Mathew 13:48

48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

Fish symbolize lost souls being won for Christ. Fishermen on the sea symbolize workers of God who are winning souls for the kingdom of God.

Even vehicles can represent people but only in regards to their ministries or jobs or businesses and general motivation. For instance, somebody had a dream about a bulldozer wrecking through the White House. Based on the interpretation of John Paul Jackson that person is believed to be Donald Trump. So, in this case, the bulldozer represents the attitude and motivation and acts of Donald Trump. So although we can see that the vehicle refers to a person the focus is not the person but rather his ministry or job or function or actions.

Except for trees and houses and animals and vehicles, sometimes people are represented by other people. For instance, A white man in dreams and visions symbolizes a person (with a message from God or a message of faith or victory or righteousness or holiness or truth.

1 John 4:3

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

A black man symbolizes a messenger from the enemy or a messenger with his own opinion or a messenger with a false message of a message of unbelief or evil or lies. Please take note that in real life, in the kingdom of God, black people do not differ from white people at all. Black people are not evil and they are not satan’s messengers. In dreams, it is all about colors. A black man in a dream may symbolize the situation in the life of a white man or a white woman or a black man or a black woman or any other race or gender who is spreading a false message of unbelief or false doctrines. It has nothing to do with race or gender but everything to do with the authenticity of a message.

See also
Learning The Biblical Language Of Symbols

Please take note that a black man in dreams in visions does not always speak of a false message of unbelief, evil or lies. Sometimes it represents a literal black man (most of the time, literally the person in the dream or vision) in which case, the color black does not mean anything. The same can be said for Asians, Indians, a white man or a man of any other race. In some dreams, the person represents a particular nation. For this reason, we always need to pray about this aspect to determine the meanings of different races in dreams and visions.

The different colors of different people in dreams and visions are very significant. Each color and each gradation of skin color in a dream or a vision changes the meaning of the dream. It changes the messages that these people bring. It has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with color. The type of message is determined by the skin color of the messenger but also by the clothes they wear. Take note of the following skin colors of messengers in dreams and visions: Black, black-brown, black-red, brown, brown-yellow, copper-red, light brown, dark brown, white, yellow, etc. The different gradations symbolize a mixture of the colors it represents. The meanings of different colors of human beings in dreams and visions were tested and confirmed over and over and over again many times and this is no mistake. It is what it is.

I think when God decided how to symbolize a bad or false messenger with a bad message or a good and true messenger with a good message or a messenger with a message of rebellion or hate and bitterness, He probably realized or thought of the possibility that people might be considered as being racists when the meanings of the different types of messengers are discussed. He probably could have decided to use unnatural substitutions for human beings in dreams and visions like a human being that looks like Casper the friendly ghost for a good messenger, a pitch-black Casper for a bad messenger and a shocking yellow Casper or a scarlet red Casper for messengers with messages of rebellion or blasphemy or hatred or bitterness. However, these colorful Caspers in dreams and visions would have been either very funny or very spooky. I think the fact that God stuck with natural people in dreams and visions was probably the best decision. After all, we are all adults and when we accept that it is all about colors and not about race I am sure we can live with this.

See also
Audio and Written Versions: Dreams Interpretation Session 2

This is all for today.

Thanks for listening. See you next time.

Session 7

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