Dreams in the bible

Acts 2:17: 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.

Who really knows if these are the last days. I mean I've heard that all my life, of course I expect "the last days" to be played out in a number of years, not days.....anyway, some friends and I started talking about dreams and if God still communicates to us through dreams. Sometimes, dreams are just that - dreams. But is there something more? Has anyone ever a dream where you felt it was more than just a mere dream? A message? A test? So, I compiled some information and thought I would share. I know it's a long post, but just thought I'd share it anyway:

Are All Dreams and Visions from God?
The answer to this is a definite - no. In John 10:4 the Lord clearly says that the sheep know His voice. In verse 5 it states that they do not even know the voice of a stranger! The devil, our enemy, does attempt to speak to us in the night season. It is up to us to know the Word of God as well as yield to the Spirit of God in order to discern what is of God and what is not. The kingdom of darkness will try and tempt us to sin, discourage us, lie to us, scare us, and many other things.

What Does the Bible Say?
It is very important that we search the scriptures out ourselves on any and every matter. Even if you talk to someone about a dream or vision that you have, don’t take anyone's word as LAW! People are human and make mistakes. Seek the counsel of others you trust in the Lord, but seek the Lord and His Word by His Spirit through prayer and reading the Word of God. A dream interpretation should be regarded like a prophecy , word of wisdom, word of knowledge, or any word from anyone. There should be confirmation from deep down in your spirit as well as from the Word of God. Remember, it was your dream, not the interpreters’ dream. You have the Holy Spirit in you. If you feel a lack of peace about what you are hearing, don’t judge the interpreter, just the interpretation! A constant study in the Word on a daily basis will keep you fresh in the Word as well as fine tuned to the Spirit of God. As is stated in 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The only three places that I know of that dreams come from are the devil, ourselves and from the Lord. The Lord will speak to us in this manner for many different reasons. Some of these reasons may be to tell us something about ourselves that is good, or that needs to be changed. Another reason may be to warn us of things to come. Sometimes the Lord may desire to reveal a spiritual truth. Other times He may reveal something to you about a brother or sister so that you can pray for them (He will only do this if He knows He can trust you not to gossip with what He has shown you). It is not always God’s purpose for us to go to a person with information God has revealed. This must carefully be considered in prayer to know from the Spirit what the Lord’s will is concerning information a dream from the Lord has provided. The Lord may want to confirm something to the dreamer. The Lord may want to give direction in a dream. It is best to seek confirmation and not make a decision too soon when it comes to serious changes in life and ministry. One should never make a change based on a dream alone.

There are about 122 mentions of dreaming in the Bible; here are some:

Following are some biblical dreams that demonstrate this principle:
Gen. 15:1-21 Abraham in interaction with God & sleeps = dream about himself
Gen. 20:1-18 Abimelech and God in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 28:10-22 Jacob being spoken to by God = dream about himself
Gen. 31:10-29 Jacob and God in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 37:1-11 Joseph and brothers in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 40:1-23 Cupbearer and Baker = dreams about themselves
Gen. 41:1-49 Pharaoh's dream of 7 cows = dream for others
Gen. 46:1-7 Israel in dialogue with God = dream about himself
Judges 7:9-18 Loaf of bread hitting camp = dream about himself
1 Kings 3:5-28 God and Solomon interact = dream about himself
Daniel 2:1-49 Statue hit by stone = dream about others
Daniel 7:1-28 Four beasts = dream about others
Daniel 8:1-27 Ram and goat = dream about others
Daniel 10:1-12:13 Terrifying vision = dream about others
Matt. 1:20-25 God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself
Matt. 2:3-15 God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself
Matt. 2:19-23 God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself


Seven Reasons We Should Listen to Our Dreams
1. God declared that He WOULD speak through dreams and visions in the Old Testament.
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" (Num. 12:6).

2. God declared that He DID speak through dreams and visions in the Old Testament.
"I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets" (Hos. 12:10).

3. God declares that He WILL communicate through dreams and visions in the New Testament.
"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" (Acts 2:17).

4. God declares that He WILL COUNSEL us at night through our dreams.
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind (inner man) instructs me in the night (Ps. 16:7 NASB).

5. Rather than our dreams being fatalistic, dreams are calling us to change SO WE WILL NOT PERISH.
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword (Job 33:14-18, emphasis mine).

6. God does very significant things WITHIN dreams. For example, He established the Abrahamic Covenant in a dream.
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him....And God said to Abram....In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying... (Gen. 15:12,13,18, emphasis mine).

7. God grants supernatural gifts THROUGH dreams.
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, "Ask what I shall give thee...."

"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?"

"...Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee...." And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream (I Kings 3:5,9,12,15).

Seven Foundational Principles for Interpreting Dreams
1. Most dreams are symbolic (including biblical dreams), so view them the same way you would view a political cartoon. Throw the switch in your brain that says, "Look at this symbolically."
You can learn the art of communicating symbolically by playing the game "Pictionary" or "Bible Pictionary."

2. The symbols will come from the dreamer's life, so ask, "What does this symbol mean to me?" or, if working on another's dream, ask, "What does this symbol mean to you?"
For example, Joseph was a shepherd, and he dreamed of sheaves and sun, moon and stars bowing down (Gen. 37:1-11). These images surround a shepherd boy who lives in the fields. Nebuchadnezzar, a king, dreamed of statues of gold (Dan 2:31ff), which surround kings who live in palaces.

3. The dream generally speaks of the concerns which your heart is currently facing. So ask, "What issues was I processing the day before I had the dream?"
For example, Paul was wondering where to go next on his missionary journey and had a dream of a Macedonian man motioning for him to come on over (Acts 16:6-11). Nebuchadnezzar was thinking his kingdom would go on forever (Dan. 4:28-33) and he had a dream of a tree being chopped off at the roots (Dan. 4:9-27). Once you know the thoughts that were on the dreamer's heart when he fell asleep, it is much easier to draw out the meaning of the dream.

4. The meaning of the dream must be drawn from the dreamer. Realize you know nothing about the dream, but through dependence upon the Holy Spirit and the skillful use of questions, you can draw the meaning of the dream out from the heart of the dreamer.
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams (Dan. 1:17).
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out (Prov. 20:5).

5. The dreamer's heart will leap and "witness" and say, "Aha!" when it hears the right interpretation, so never accept an interpretation that does not bear witness in the dreamer's heart.

6. Dreams reveal but do not condemn. Their goal is to preserve life, not to destroy it (Job 33:13-18).

7. Never make a major decision in your life based only on a dream without receiving additional confirmation from the other ways that God speaks to us and guides us (peace in our hearts, the counsel of others, illumined Scriptures, God's still small voice, prophecy, anointed reasoning, etc.).

Does God work through dreams and visions like described in the bible?

Dreams and the bible.