Dream Interpretation

*All word meanings and scriptures are taken from https://www.blueletterbible.org/

Act 2:16-18 KJV] 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 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: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophecy:

In this verse, and in all of the examples of dreams in the Bible, dreams and visions are strongly linked to prophecy. God often uses them to communicate with us. Let's look at how these words are related.

Prophesy: Greek - prophēteuō, prof-ate-yoo'-o

*to prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict

*with the idea of foretelling future events pertaining esp. to the kingdom of God

*to utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation

*to break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse or praise of the divine counsels

*under divine prompting, to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, comfort others

*to act as a prophet, discharge the prophetic office

Hebrew is a concrete pictorial language, the first Hebrew alphabet was like the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. While Hebrew speakers are able to think in abstract ways, they always ground it in concrete images. For instance, their word for “grace” is חֵן chên. The first letter is a picture of a tent wall, the second is a picture of a seed or fish which the Hebrews associate with life.  The concrete meaning of the word is “tent life” or an encampment. To the nomad, this is home, a  place where you are accepted and provided for: Grace. So it is helpful to look at the Hebrew letters that make up the word.The Hebrew word for  prophesy is נָבָא  nāḇā', naw-baw’

nun ( seed, fish, life), bet (house), alef (ox, strength, leader)

In this word, we see a leader who houses seed, nourishment or life.

[נָבָא] verb denominative prophesy (in oldest forms, of religious ecstasy with or without song and music; later, essentially religious instruction, with occasional predictions);

Many people think of foretelling the future when they hear the word prophecy, but to prophesy is so much more than that. It is communication from God.

Visions:  Greek - horasis, hor'-as-is

*the act of seeing

*the sense of sight, the eyes

*appearance, visible form

*a vision

*an appearance divinely granted in an ecstasy or dream

ὅρασις hórasis, hor'-as-is; from G3708; the act of gazing, i.e. (externally) an aspect or (internally) an inspired appearance:—sight, vision.

Hebrew - חִזָּיוֹן - ḥizzāyôn -khiz-zaw-yone

Chet (tent, wall, fence, separation), Zayin (plow, weapon, cut off), yod (arm and hand, work, deed) vav (nail, peg, and), nun (seed, fish, life)

Here we see a veil that is pierced by a sharp weapon bringing forth seeds, nourishment, and life.

חִזָּיוֹן chizzâyôwn, khiz-zaw-yone'; from H2372; a revelation, expectation by dream:—vision.

Dream – Greek - enypnion - en-oop'-nee-on

*a dream 

ἐνύπνιον enýpnion, en-oop'-nee-on; from G1722 and G5258; something seen in sleep, i.e. a dream (vision in a dream):—dream.

ἐνύπνιον, -ου, τό, (ἐν and ὕπνος, what appears in sleep; from Aeschylus down), a dream (Latin insomnium), a vision which presents itself to one in sleep: Acts 2:17, on which passage see ἐνυπνιάζω.

 

Hebrew - חָלַם - ḥālam - khaw-lam

Chet (tent, wall, fence, separation), lamed (a shepherd’s staff - teach, bind to), mem (water, chaos)

Here we see access to a tent being controlled by the shepherd who teaches and gathers the sheep to himself. The Spirit of God (water) is within.

It is interesting to note that mem also has to do with chaos. Scientists tell us that REM sleep is the way our brains “defragment” the chaos of our day.  Organizing and filing the events and memories so that we can use them later.

Let’s go on to how the word dream is interpreted in the Bible:

*to dream (ordinary)

*to dream (prophetic)

*to dream (of false prophets)

*to be healthy, be strong

* to restore to health

 

Night vision – Daniel 2:19

Visions that occur at night, often in that place between sleeping and waking

Dreams and visions are very prevalent in the Bible. Some who have done the calculations say that roughly 1/3 of the Bible is directly related to a dream or vision or the indirect results of a dream or vision.

Dreams of both believers and unbelievers are recorded. Let‘s look at just a few of the many.

Gen 10:3-6 Abimelech - warning

Gen 28:10-16 Jacob - encouragement

Gen 31:10-13 Jacob - instruction

Gen 31:24 Laban - warning

Joseph's dreams of the sheaves of wheat and the stars, the sun and the moon bowing down to him - prophecy

Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, the baker, and the butcher are prophecy and instruction

Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar - prophecy

Daniel 2:28 – God is the one who gives the interpretation.

In the New Testament Joseph receives 4 dreams, one confirming that Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and the other three are warnings and instructions. 

Matthew 27:19 Pilot’s wife has a warning dream about Jesus.

Purposes for dreams:

Science tells us that dreams “defragment” our thoughts and organize them. This is without a doubt a majority of most people’s dreams. It is part of God’s plan for keeping us healthy.

Dreaming also establishes plans for the future. For instance, in our waking hours, we dream of buying a car, having children, or starting a business. It is my opinion that God uses our sleeping dreams to plant the seeds of His plans for us in our dreams. Why? Because God gave authority over the earth to man. In order to not violate that authority, He works through men and often uses dreams to establish His will. Have you ever experienced Deja Vu? I strongly suspect that is because God has given you a dream about that situation that you don’t remember. This is also why young children need so much more sleep than older people – because God is downloading His dreams for their life.

Scripture gives multitudes of clear examples of times when God has used dreams to communicate with people.

The examples we have looked at instruct, warn, reveal God’s plan, and encourage.

So how do you know if a dream is from God?

# 1 It sticks with you. Most “defragment” dreams will fade soon after waking.

#2 It is a reoccurring dream.

     Example: My grandson had been exposed to pornography by another boy. He started having dreams that a character from a horror show was dragging him into the sewer. When I found out what was going on, I finally understood the dreams. I talked with him about how pornography looks beautiful and exciting, but it leads you into the sewer. We prayed a prayer of repentance together and the dreams stopped.

God is still in the business of talking to us through our dreams. Most of the time, our dreams deal with personal circumstances, but occasionally they are for a nation, territory, or the world. 

Just a couple of examples:

My tornado dreams:

For several months, I was having dreams about tornadoes. We would always find shelter and survive them. In most of the dreams, we were wondering where our youngest son was or we were trying to contact him so that we could tell him we were ok. In the last one I remember, Jesse was with us.

Then we went through several horrendous years. My husband was very sick. He had a triple-by-pass, then one of the grafts failed, then appendicitis. They didn’t want to do surgery because he was on some pretty hefty blood thinners, so he spent almost a year in and out of the hospital getting intravenous antibiotics, then a pulmonary embolism, with bouts of pneumonia here and there throughout all this time. In addition, my youngest was going through a series of disastrous marriages, the last of which was a very abusive drug addict. It is only a miracle that he got out of that with his life.

These dreams encouraged me because in them we survived. And we have!

Becky’s dream of 9-11

Several months before 9-11 my friend Becky had a very compelling dream. She was telling everyone she could about it. In it, she saw 5 very tall buildings collapse. As she watched, she heard a voice, “America is about to fall into a time of great oppression, but it can be lessened by prayer.”

Some dreams like Becky’s are very literal, but most are full of symbolism. So how do you interpret them?

#1 Pray for understanding. Only God can give accurate interpretations

#2 Look for similar symbols in the Bible. Dreams are from God; He will use His language.

#3 He will also use your language and your culture.

Example: In the Bible, dogs are associated with unbelievers and evil, but if you are a dog lover, they will often represent those you minister to.

#4 Realize that most things in dreams are symbols and rarely mean what they appear to be on the surface.

Example: Many people dream about sexual unions. They may be embarrassed by them because they think perhaps, they are being unfaithful or committing fornication, but usually, it is just a symbol for a union in business or ministry.

Example: People or things often symbolize different aspects of ourselves. For a while, I often dreamed about a friend of mine that like me is very interested in gardening and homesteading. It took me a while, but I finally figured out she symbolized the “natural” part of me.

Most symbols can have both positive and negative meanings. For instance, the color yellow can represent light as in sunlight or a gift. It can also mean coward. The meaning will depend on your current circumstances and the context of the dream.   

#5 A dream dictionary can help, but be sure to use one that is Christian based and understand that they are not scripture and not set in stone. Submit everything to God. He will give you understanding.

#6 If you really want to hear from God through your dreams, be ready to capture them by keeping a pad of paper and a pen near your bed.

#7 Don’t worry about recording all the details. Just jot down the main points. Note the main focus of the dream. Were you a participant or an observer? Was the dream positive or negative? How did you feel in the dream? Once you were awake you may have different emotions, but take note of how you felt during the dream.

#8 Sharing your dream with trusted friends who will help you pray about it often helps to bring it into focus. There are also Christian dream interpretation groups online that can help.

#9 When listening to thoughts others have about your dream, the right interpretation will witness with your spirit. If someone gives you an interpretation that doesn’t seem to fit, just put it on a shelf. Later, something in it may connect the dots.

#10 Sometimes, a dream will take years before it is understood. Don’t worry about it. God will reveal it when you need it.