The Bible and Dreams: Does God Still Talk to Us Through Dreams?
God has used dreams in the Bible many times to communicate his will, reveal his plans, and announce future events. However, the biblical interpretation of the dream required careful testing to prove that it came from God (Deuteronomy 13). Both Jeremiah and Zechariah warned against relying on dreams to express God's revelation (Jeremiah 23:28).
Key Bible verse
And they [the pharaoh and the pharaoh's baker] replied: "We both had dreams last night, but nobody can tell us what they mean."
"Dream interpretation is a matter of God," replied Joseph. "Go ahead and tell me your dreams." Genesis 40: 8 (NLT)
Biblical words for dreams
In the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, the word used for the dream is ḥălôm, referring to an ordinary dream or to what is given by God. In the New Testament two different Greek words for dream appear. Matthew's gospel contains the word ónar, which specifically refers to the messages or dreams of the oracle (Matthew 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22; 27:19). However, Acts 2:17 and Jude 8 use a more general term for dream (enypnion) and dream (enypniazomai), which refer to both oracle and non-oracle dreams.
A "night vision" or "night vision" is another phrase used in the Bible to indicate a message or an oracle dream. This expression is found in both the Old and New Testaments (Isaiah 29: 7; Daniel 2:19; Acts 16: 9; 18: 9).
Dreams of messages
Biblical dreams are divided into three basic categories: messages of impending doom or fortune, warnings about false prophets and ordinary non-oracular dreams.
The first two categories include message dreams. Another name for a dream message is an oracle. Dreams of messages generally do not require interpretation and often involve direct instructions that are imparted by a divinity or divine assistant.
Dreams of Joseph's message
Before the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph had three dreams of messages regarding upcoming events (Matthew 1: 20-25; 2:13, 19-20). In each of the three dreams, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph with simple instructions, which Joseph understood and obediently followed.
In Matthew 2:12, the sages were warned in a dream message not to return to Herod. And in Acts 16: 9, the apostle Paul had a night vision of a man exhorting him to go to Macedonia. This vision in the night was probably a dream message. Through it, God commissioned Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia.
Symbolic dreams
Symbolic dreams require interpretation because they contain symbols and other non-literal elements that are not clearly understood.
Some symbolic dreams in the Bible were simple to interpret. When Jacob's son Joseph dreamed of bundles of wheat and heavenly bodies bowing before him, his brothers quickly realized that these dreams predicted their future submission to Joseph (Genesis 37: 1-11).
Jacob fled for his life from his twin brother Esau, when he lay down for the evening near Luz. That night in a dream, he had a vision of a staircase, or staircase, between heaven and earth. The angels of God were going up and down the ladder. Jacob saw God standing above the staircase. God repeated the promise of support he had made to Abraham and Isaac. He told Jacob that his descendants would be many, blessing all the families of the earth. God then said, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this earth.
Because I won't leave you until I have done what I promised you. " (Genesis 28:15)
The entire interpretation of Jacob's Ladder's dream would not be clear if it were not for a statement of Jesus Christ in John 1:51 that he is that ladder. God took the initiative to reach humans through his Son, Jesus Christ, the perfect "ladder". Jesus was "God with us", who came to earth to save humanity by reconnecting us in relationship with God.
Pharaoh's dreams were complicated and required skillful interpretation. In Genesis 41: 1–57, Pharaoh dreamed of seven healthy and fat cows and seven lean and sick cows. He also dreamed of seven ears of corn and seven ears of corn. In both dreams, the smaller one consumed the larger one. None of the wise men in Egypt and the diviners who usually interpreted dreams could understand what Pharaoh's dream meant.
Pharaoh's butler remembered that Joseph had interpreted his dream in prison. Then Joseph was released from prison and God revealed to him the meaning of Pharaoh's dream. The symbolic dream foresaw seven good years of prosperity in Egypt followed by seven years of famine.
The dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar
The dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar described in Daniel 2 and 4 are excellent examples of symbolic dreams. God gave Daniel the ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams. One of those dreams, Daniel explained, predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would go crazy for seven years, living in the fields like an animal, with long hair and nails, and eating grass. A year later, while Nebuchadnezzar bragged about himself, the dream came true.
Daniel himself had several symbolic dreams related to the future kingdoms of the world, the nation of Israel and the end times.
Pilate's wife had a dream about Jesus the night before her husband handed him over to be crucified. He tried to influence Pilate to free Jesus by sending him a message during the trial, telling Pilate about his dream. But Pilate ignored his warning.
Does God Still Talk to Us Through Dreams?
Today God communicates mainly through the Bible, his written revelation to his people. But this does not mean that he cannot or does not want to speak to us through dreams. A surprising number of former Muslims who convert to Christianity claim to have believed in Jesus Christ through the experience of a dream.
Just as the interpretation of dreams in ancient times required careful testing to prove that the dream came from God, the same is true today. Believers can pray to God for wisdom and guidance regarding dream interpretation (James 1: 5). If God speaks to us through a dream, he will always clarify its meaning, just as he did for people in the Bible.