Spiritual Dreams and Visions

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.

  Joel 2:28-29 (KJV)

We are in those last days and God is pouring out His Spirit just as he said he would!

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The Purpose of Dreams and Visions

   While we recognize that not every dream is God given we also know that God does still speak to his children through dreams and visions. God uses dreams to speak and bring revelation, correction and instruction, exhortation and comfort and direction to the body of Christ.  You can see God’s purpose regarding dreams in the follow passage of scripture.

    Job 33:14 ¶ For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,  17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.  18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.  19 ¶ He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: 20 So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.  21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. 22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. 23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: 24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.  25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth:  26 He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. 27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; 28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.  29 ¶ Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, 30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living

      Dreams are used to reveal things to come, and to give warning of future events. People often mistake the dreams they have as being garbage dreams or perhaps a dream from the devil. Some dreams are somewhat disturbing and at times we awaken startled or with a sense of danger. It could be that this kind of dream is given to give warning or to reveal the plans of the adversary A dream that is given as a warning regarding a particular situation can often be counteracted through the prayers and intercessions of believers. At times God will give a dream of future events to reveal the plans of the enemy, and then lead one to intercede for that situation, thereby fouling the plans of the enemy. We must be careful to pray regarding these things. God often uses dreams and visions to speak to people and to the prophets of today to bring revelation. Many people have been made aware of the call of God on their lives through dreams and visions.

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

(Numbers12:6)

  This doesn't mean that every person whom God speaks to in a dream is called to the office of prophet. Such a calling is not something we take lightly and confirmation regarding this calling should be earnestly and prayerfully sought. It is a miserable thing to walk in a ministry office that you are not called to walk in.

1.) Prophetic Dreams:

Dreams are most often prophetic, foretelling things to come and revealing the heart of the Lord in a matter, but can also be used in bringing correction.

Example: the Birth of Jesus ( Matt 1:19-25)

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. 

Notice in this passage that the dream brought correction, and gave comfort and encouragement to Joseph and was also prophetic.  

2.) Dreams of warning: God also uses dreams to bring warnings.

Example: The wise men warned also Mary and Joseph warned. (Matthew2:7-15)

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.  

 Guidelines to Interpretation of Dreams and Visions

 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth..." (Jn.16:13).

 Remembrance

   First of all you cannot interpret a dream you cannot remember. Many dreams are forgotten and lost because of a lack of training and self discipline. I never considered dreams to be important enough to record them until God began to give me dreams, and it became obvious to me that the dreams I was having came from him. Prior to this realization when dreams came I simply thought on them for a fleeting moment and quickly forgot them, if I ever had any recall of it at all. I can’t help but wonder how many of those dreams were God working to communicate with me.

   In retrospect I can recall a few dreams that were recurring dreams in my life that I now know were from the Lord .In fact one particular dream stands out in my mind as being a recurring dream that began in my childhood. This particular dream continued to recur throughout my childhood until I finally recognized the meaning behind it. After finally getting understanding regarding this dream I never had the dream again .Many dreams throughout my life have simply fluttered away, because I did not recognize the source of them and made no effort to remember them.

   Job33:14  For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,

       Dreams so easily escape us as we slumber upon our beds, like butterflies often landing softly upon us and we see them not, till they flutter away and we know it was there. We see it as it goes from us, catching glimpses as it flutters softly into the distance. So it is also with dreams and visions of the night, we must pursue them while they are yet in sight lest they escape us and we recover them not.

 Job 4:12 ¶ Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. 13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

 Because our dreams are so fleeting we must endeavor to capture them while they are fresh in our minds. Daniel recorded his dreams, so he could remember them.

 Dan7:11 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

 As you first begin to realize you have had a dream it’s helpful if you will spend a few moments going over the dream in your mind and bringing it to remembrance. Begin at the beginning of the dream and go over each part of it from the beginning to the end making certain you make a mental note of each thing in the dream that seemed to “STANDOUT” in the dream. It is most often the things that stand out in the dream that are key symbols to unlocking and interpreting the dream.

     After going over the dream make sure you don’t make the mistake of rolling over and going back to sleep. Even if the dream seems rather profound to you chances are if you go back to sleep without recording the dream you will forget it.  If you wake up after dreaming a dream, most likely the dream is important enough that God would awaken you to bring it to your attention. It may be a dream that requires a response from you. 

Recording the Dreams You Dream 

I counsel others to keep a dream journal beside their beds along with a pen and a lamp or light of some kind.   

   It is imperative that we take note of the dream and write it down as soon as it occurs. Don’t make the mistake if thinking that you will easily remember the dream and write it down some other time. It is necessary to write it down as soon as you possibly can, while it is still fresh in your mind. If you sleep with a spouse and turning the light on to write the dream would be out of the question then you need to get up out of your warm comfortable bed and go to another room to write the dream down. It’s that important!      If God were to stand before you to speak to you, there is no doubt you would certainly do all you could to hear and remember every word he spoke. Most would certainly "take note" of the message God had come to give us.

  God often gives us a series of dreams or visions that are related to one another like pictures in a story book, It is important that we take note of the date and the time of each dream. When several dreams are given in one night it is highly likely that they are all related to the same subject or situation. Be certain to write down the order in which the dreams occur. Often times when a series of dreams is given, the first dream is the one that will “lay the foundation” for those that follow.

      Each dream should be written down including as much detail as possible. God is not careless with his words nor is he careless in dreams and visions. God chooses his words specifically in every way that he speaks. Everything that is given in dreams and visions has a purpose for being there.

    Colors, emotions, places, settings, directions, people and objects as well as events each have a specific purpose in the dream and should be documented.

     Often times as you write down the dream God will begin to give you the interpretation of the dream. Always ask God for the interpretation and be patient.  Allow God to give the interpretation as he wills.

 Who Should Interpret the Dream      

 While the gift of interpretation is not listed in the bible as being one of the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit, it does appear as though God gifts some with the ability to understand and interpret such things as dreams and vision. Howbeit such things are by the Spirit of God.

   Joseph was a man whom God spoke to in dreams. When he was asked to interpret dreams he responded by saying that the interpretation and understanding of dreams was of God and not of man.

 Genesis 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

 Genesis41:15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.

 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

 Joseph appears to be one whom God has gifted with ability to interpret dreams by the Spirit of God. There are those who can give the interpretation of a dream even to the point of telling you the dream though they heard it not from you, but by the Spirit of God.

  1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 Sometimes when God gives us dreams and visions they don’t readily make sense to us at first. Our natural man sees them as odd and foolish, because we lack understanding in our natural man. When God gives us dreams that are symbolic these things are not understandable apart from the Holy Ghost who gives us the interpretation of these things. We must be careful not to “read” to much into the dreams and visions but to allow and wait on the Lord to bring the revelation and interpretation.

 We don’t always have the full view of the thing God is speaking to us about.

 1 Corinthians 13: 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.  11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.  13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.(KJV)

 The First time I ever had a vision I didn’t really perceive it as being from God. I can recall a time early on when God gave me a short series of similitudes (picture visions).

They came while I was lying in bed one morning.  The first one was of a large grotesque hand. It looked evil like what one would imagine a devils hand would look like. I thought perhaps it was an attempt to frighten me from the enemy, and I responded as though it were from the enemy.

 The second similitude I saw occurred just a few moments later. This time I saw a mantle with a clock on it. By now God had my attention, wondering what it was all about.

The third came a few moments after that and was more profound than the first two. It was of a large white chair (almost like a throne) and I was in it. There was a white figure of a person, and I knew it was God, with a rod in his hand standing in front of me while I sat in the chair. The rod was pointed at me. I perceived it to be the rod of correction.

 The fourth similitude I saw was of a baby in a blue blanket being lifted up by two strong masculine hands.

    The whole thing left me rather dumbfounded for a while. After realizing it was from God I asked the Lord what it was all about. A few days later I was at Church and after the sermon the pastor had asked those who wanted prayer to come forward. Several went up for prayer. One of the people who had gone up for prayer was speaking to the pastor about a dream she had been given. She explained that she had been given a dream in which she was being given a baby that was sick. The countenance on the pastor’s face changed and he began to speak to her and to prophecy to her that the baby in the dream represented a ministry that she was being given which was in serious need of help.

      Suddenly the memory of the four similitudes came flooding back to me and the interpretation began to come. Now I knew that the baby represented a ministry. I went over it again in my mind.  A devils hand, a mantle and time, God and the rod of correction, a baby (a ministry) being lifted up. Oh my God!

I don’t even know what words to use to describe the flood of emotions that came to me when I first began to realize what God was saying to me. Suddenly I had to know more. The similitude series presented to me a glimpse of Gods will and his hearts desire and plan for my life, and somewhere in it there was a call to ministry of some sort. I was shocked and yet looking at the rest of it I was scared. A devils hand, time, and the rod of correction, this did not sound like a pleasant thing! Yet somehow it gave me peace to know that God would take the time to correct me where I was wrong. I was reminded of the scripture in the bible that says in Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (KJV) 

   Basically what it was all bout was this.

        The devils hand will come against you for a time, but be not afraid for I will correct you with  the rod of correction, a mantle will be placed upon you. I the Lord your God will lift you up into a place of ministry.

 It was the beginning of my training for ministry purposes. “Holy Ghost Boot Camp” as some would call it. Since that time I have seen much in the spirit realm and battled much, both in my flesh and in the spirit.

The Language of Prophetic Dreams  

The language of dreams and visions is largely symbolic. Don’t let the symbolism of dreams over whelm you. As God begins to deal with you in dreams and visions you will see that there is a specific vocabulary being built in you and as time goes by your "dream vocabulary” will increase.

   Often times God will give you a message in part like pieces of a puzzle. Each puzzle piece reveals a little more of the "big picture". Sometimes in our Christian walk it is necessary in order for us to get the message for God to reveal a part of some thing and then time is required for us to "digest" or come to a particular understanding regarding a matter before God will give us another part of the message. God is an excellent teacher. So don’t panic he is able to bring you to a point of being able to understand the meaning of the dreams and visions he gives.

 While many of the symbolisms used are common as far as the language of dreams and visions go, God will often use symbolism that is specific to your understanding. For instance, I had some very difficult dealings with a woman who had a jezebel spirit. During the course of all the difficulty with her she became nicknamed as “Red Gator”.

    God had given me a dream and in it he showed me an alligator. This alligator represented gossip and slander. God revealed a few more things regarding the matter and any way to make a long story short the woman had red hair, so we nicknamed her “The Red Gator”.

   Now this is something specific to my understanding. God later made a reference to a red gator and we knew immediately that what it represented was a jezebel spirit. Now if God spoke to anyone else about a red gator they might not get the same meaning seeing as how they had not had that situation occur in their lives. It was specific to my situation and experience.

    The point that I am trying to make here is that God knows you intimately. There is nothing about you that is hidden from him. He knows your likes and dislikes and he knows what you know. God is aware of your abilities and your limitations as to what you understand and he works with those things to build in you a dream vocabulary which makes up a language by which God communicates to you.

Symbols

Symbols in dreams can have a number of different meanings. Some symbols are more common than others. Here is a for instance. Water is a common symbol in a dream or vision. It can be used to give many different messages. Look at this list.

Water: The Spirit of God.

A clear clean rushing river; represents a mighty move of the Spirit of God.

River overflowing a damn; Gods ability to over power the enemies attempts to hinder the move of God.

Water being poured out; an outpouring of the Spirit of God.

Swimming pool; place where people gather to swim in water; Church

Clarity of the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit

Dirty Pool; contaminated water, Church out of order, not teaching the truth; death

Dirty river with a broken bridge; sin evil, the world; no way across, lack of salvation. 

Muddy Brown Water, adulterated spiritual life, flesh mixed with Spirit, mixture

Water or drink being cut off; blessings of God being withheld

Water slide; superficial or childish fun, lack of commitment

Water Well; the deep things of God

Little trickles of water; not much of a move of the Spirit, lack of anointing.

Rain; out poor of the Spirit of God,

Draught; No move of God, lack of blessings,

Just looking at this short list can show you how the symbols are connected and how the events happening in the dream are just as important as the symbols them selves.

The key in understanding the above list is in knowing what water represents.Water generally represents the Spirit of God, we see God as being clean clear Holy without spot.Yet when we see dirty water, we know this is not like God, in fact we can see it is opposite which is evil.If a clean pool represents a Church where people go to be in the Water or in the Spirit of God then a dirty pool would be the opposite. 

We see also water as it appears in scripture. 

John 7:37 ¶  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.(KJV) 

John4: 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

 Am 8:11 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

 So now we see that within Gods own word lay many of the mysteries of dreams and vision. The bible itself is highly symbolic. Look at the Rock out of which flowed life giving water in the dessert in this passage.

 Numbers 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

The water which flowed from the rock in the wilderness is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ. Though these things did happen, water did flow from a literal rock, it is symbolic of Christ. Christ is now the rock of our salvation. He gives us living water which gives life. As the water in the wilderness gave refreshing to the thirsty Israelites, so also does the Lord Jesus Christ give to those of us who thirst after the “living water”. 

In considering dreams and visions, it is imperative that we mention that God’s word is to be like a plumb line for us. God does not contradict his own word.

     If you see something in a dream or a vision and it seems to totally contradict what you know to be true according to scripture be very very careful to search the matter out. Either you have misunderstood the scriptures or the thing your hearing or seeing is not from God.

 Not every dream is from God

Use wisdom. Try the spirits whether it be of God or not. Weigh everything against God’s Word. See if it lines up with scripture. While everything you dream about may not be mentioned in the bible, we must understand that God will not go against his own word.

Also know that there is safety in the multitude of council. Sometimes, especially in our early walk with God, it is necessary to ask the Lord to give us confirmation that the dream we dreamed is from him.

 Always ask God for the interpretation. Interpretation is of God. Trust God that he will give you the interpretation. It may be that he will speak to you again on the matter .

 Job 33:14 ¶ For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.

 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;

 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,

 The Key to Prophetic Revelation

   Intimacy that comes from sitting at the master’s feet and having close personal relationship with the Lord is key to prophetic revelation. You want a greater level of revelation? Sit at His feet. Spend time in God’s presence. It is important that we spend much time in God’s presence. The word of God promises us that if we draw nigh unto God that he will draw nigh unto us. God desires relationship with his children. He desires fellowship with his creation. Revelation is simply a look into the things of God, a look into God’s heart in a matter. Let’s look at Moses for an example. Moses went up to the mount and spent time in the very presence of God. When he came down from the mountain The Glory of God was upon him so much that the Israelites could see the glory on his face. He had been in Gods presence.

Exodus 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

 So we see here that Moses went up to the mountain and spent time in the presence of God and we know that while he was in the presence of God that the revelation of God’s will was given to Moses. We see also that the presence of God (  the anointing ) rested upon Moses. God desires that we spend time in His presence. It is in the presence of God that we hear from him. It comes through relationship. With out relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ we cannot enter into his presence and live. But now because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can come boldly before the throne of God and make our petitions known to him. We can come and desire of him that he reveal his will to us and to be lead of His Spirit that His will might be made manifest  to us and through us be made known to others as he leads.

 Sharing the dreams we dream.

 It is very easy to get excited about what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes our excitement is so great we want to share it with others. While the excitement is understandable, I feel it is necessary to give a word of caution regarding the sharing of such things with others. Not every dream that God gives us is for others to hear or to know. The times of intimacy we share with God should be considered personal and we need to understand that some things that God shows to us are things that he shows us in confidence and not all things are to be shared with just anybody. Some of the things God gives us are only to be shared with specific people.

 Look at this passage:

5 ¶ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

 6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

 7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

While at times we know it is God’s will that such things be shared we must also use wisdom as to whom they should be shared with and even when. We see in the above passage that dreams and visions and such can cause others to envy us. Scriptures show us that Joseph ended up being tossed in to a pit and afterward sold into slavery by his own brothers.

 We see John in the book of revelations being told to seal up the things that he has heard and been shown.

Revelation10:4

 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

 The Word Seal is translated from the original Greek as:

 4972.  sfragizw  sphragizo,  sfrag-id'-zo

Search for 4972 in KJV

from 4973; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication, to keep secret, to attest:--(set a, set to) seal up, stop.

 So we see that not all things are to be shared. We must get a green light from God .

 I hope this article has been informative and of help to you. Continue to watch this site for more information regarding the prophetic ministry.

 Copyright 2003.C.D.Holt

© Copyright 2007 Cheri D. Holt
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