16

Dreams

Then He said, “Hear now My words; if there is a

prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself
known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream
(Numbers 12:6, emphasis added).

Dreaming is a product of the imagination of the

heart. During sleep our reasoning is inactive, while
at the same time our imagination continues to be
active. Imagination is the ability to form a mental
image of something or somebody not present or
even something or somebody that was never seen
before and then interpreted by the senses in the
brain.

A dream is a story or incident that is playing off in

the imagination of the dreamer during sleep. It is
normally an audiovisual experience that involves
the feelings and emotions of the dreamer and it
may include other people and/or objects in the
dream. Although the contents of a dream usually
seem unrelated to actual events, it often relates to
real life situations and issues of someone or it may
reveal the state of the heart of somebody. Some
dreams are pleasant, others alarming and some are
frightening nightmares. God uses all dreams to get
our focus set on Him. Without a dream people
perish.

All things started out in God, even dreams. He

made the worlds and upholds all things by the word
of His power. When He said, “all things” it includes
dreams. The first four words in the Bible are: In the
beginning God. Dreams were never created as it
was in the beginning with God. In the beginning
dreams lived in the imagination of God. The worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that the things,
which are seen, were not made of things, which are
visible. So, the things, which we see today, first
lived in the imagination of God before those things
came into being by the word of God.

Before the beginning of time, God had it in mind to

establish an everlasting kingdom, and the dominion
of the eternal King will never cease. This kingdom
shall never be destroyed; and this kingdom shall
not be left to another; it shall break in pieces and
consume all other kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever (Daniel 2:44). This is the dream of the
Almighty God.

So, God created the heavens and the earth, with its
entire host, in six days and on the seventh day God
ceased from all His works and He entered into His
rest. So there was His kingdom. Unfortunately,
Adam and Eve sinned and by doing so caused the
entire human specie to sin. God knew it would
happen. So it did not distracted God from His
purpose to have an everlasting kingdom. Neither
caught it Him by surprise. Since the foundation of
the earth God had appointed His Son, Creator and
Maintainer of all things, also Redeemer of that
which He has created; His everlasting kingdom.

When men began to multiply on the face of the

earth, the earth grew violent and was filled with
wickedness. God saw that the intent of the
thoughts of the hearts of men was continually evil.
So the dreams of men did not harmonize with the
dream of God for His eternal kingdom. So God, the
Righteous Judge, had another dream of destroying
man, whom He has created, from the face of the
earth. After about 1 650 years from Adam, God
destroyed the earth with a flood leaving only eight
survivors. Sadly, the fallen nature of Adam survived
the flood and was perpetuated in the offspring of
those eight people. It took another 2 380 years
before God, in His boundless love, nailed the old
nature to the cross so that we may receive a godly
nature in Christ.
Firstly, God had to prove to man that His dream
about an eternal kingdom was His dream and there
was nothing man could do to bring it about. So God
was about to prove to man that every man is a liar
and God alone is the truth. So He established a
covenant with the people of Israel, in the form of
the Mosaic Law, whereby the doers of the law shall
be justified and be blessed. Because the law was
weak through the fallen nature of man, no flesh
was ever justified through the works of the law. So,
God proved every man a liar. Enoch, Elijah and all
the Old Testament faith heroes were justified
through faith and not the works of the law
(Hebrews 11).

God took away the old covenant, which man could

not keep in his fallen state and established an
eternal covenant with man in the blood of His Son.
Jesus fulfilled the law on man’s behalf and suffer
God’s wrath on behalf of his sin. By His eternal
sacrifice man is forgiven of all his sin, justified,
sanctified and blessed forever. He paid the price to
make man an eternal kingdom of priests unto God.
He was the One who fulfilled God’s dream. Thus, He
is the alpha and the omega and the beginning and
the end of man’s faith. Every man is a liar and God
alone is the truth. The kingdom of God is planted in
the heart of man when he or she is birthed by the
Holy Spirit through faith in God and Jesus Christ
whom He sent.

All the dreams of the redeemed started out in God

and are according to His purpose. Often we dream
dreams, which reveal some aspects of God’s dream
for us in His eternal kingdom. Thus, some of our
dreams are fragments of the dream of God. Biblical
examples include Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the
great image and the revelation of our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Book of Revelation. Even dreams
about ourselves, may be God’s way to show us how
to prepare ourselves for His unfolding everlasting
kingdom.
We all dream, but some people hardly ever recall
their dreams. Sometimes we remember our
dreams, but very often forget them. Mostly we treat
them as junk mail because we perceive them as
worthless. The very questions that are in the hearts
of people, God often answer in dreams but because
of unbelief they ignore those important messages.
Do you know that most dreams are meaningful?
Have you ever consider that God would like to
speak to you through your dreams?

Dreams from God in the Book of Genesis include

Abimelech’s dream about Sarai, Abram’s wife
(Genesis 12:10-20), Jacob’s dream about the ladder
(Genesis 28:12), Jacob’s dream about the flocks
that conceived (Genesis 31:10-13), God’s
instruction to Laban concerning Jacob (Genesis
31:24), Joseph’s dreams about his exaltation
(Genesis 37), the chief butler’s and chief baker’s
dreams (Genesis 40) and Pharaoh’s dreams
(Genesis 41). There are many other examples of
dreams from God in the Bible. All these dreams
relate somehow to God’s dream, since all God’s
endeavors are purposeful, because in Him is no
vanity or idleness. Everything He does reveals His
will. His dream and His will is one. He does
everything according to the counsel and pleasure of
His own will.

Dreams are just one of many ways of instruction in

which God reveals His will to us, that He may draw
us into His kingdom, by us conforming more to the
image of His Son. How often He revealed to us good
things but though we have eyes to see we do not
perceive. Because we are so busy with our own
business He often needs to bypass our estranged
minds during sleep to seal instruction. For God may
speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not
perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering
on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and
seals instruction (Job 33:14-16).
Dreams originate either in the spirit or in the soul.
Dreams are often the product of much activity. If
you dwell predominantly in the realm of soul your
dreams will originates largely from the soul. If you
dwell predominantly in the realm of Spirit, God will
answer your questions in that realm. The Holy Spirit
dwells in your spirit and if you make it a habit of
communicating with Him, He will honor you on that
level. I do not lay it down as a rule; I just relate to
you my experience. The greatest problem is to
discern between spiritual and natural (soulish)
dreams or revelation.

Spiritual dreams

The Holy Spirit prompted and inspired various

desires, questions and expectations that have to do
with the will of God for one’s life. It has normally to
do with your calling in the kingdom of God,
according to His divine will. Sometimes it may be a
prophetic dream. The Holy Spirit generates
inspirational input into our spirits and then that
message is relayed into our minds. In contrast,
natural dreams are a product of the turmoil that is
present in our souls. A spiritual dream is the
inspirational input from the Holy Spirit into our
spirits and then into the imagination of our minds
revealing the will of God to us. All spiritual dreams
relate to God’s kingdom.

Spiritual activities like prayer, waiting on the Lord,

meditation on the word of God, and a general
awareness of Him that comes about by diligently
practicing His presence often activate spiritual
dreams. To be of service to others may also result
in openness to God to receive revelation. God will
answer you on the realm or domain of your
dwelling. The state of your heart determines the
realm of your dwelling. The faith, hope and love of
Christ in you are in the realm of Spirit but all
motivations that originate from self (even your own
faith, hope and love) are found in the realm of soul.
Christ in you is the only hope of glory that God has
given you. He in you, with His character and power,
should be the focus of your faith. This is the key to
release Christ in you. You must learn how to relate
to God and others with your spirit (faith, hope and
love that is generated by revelation in the word of
God and power of the Holy Spirit) and not your soul
(feelings, emotions and your own ideas and
desires). The Holy Spirit may also supernaturally
intervene in your life to lead and to guide you in
truth and to warn you about errors. Errors are that
which miss the will of God.

A spiritual dream may occur anytime during the

night. However, my observation of my practical
experience in my life shows that spiritual dreams
occur mostly in the early hours of the morning,
toward the end of a person’s time of sleep. At this
point of the night, the subconscious mind has been
cleared of all pressures and conflicts through
natural dreams. We are then open to receive
revelation from the Holy Spirit.

A dream inspired by the Holy Spirit can have a

literal meaning where no interpretation is required.
It can also be in parable format or be partly literal
and partly in parabolic format.

The dream where God instructed Abimelech to

restore to Abraham his wife Sarah is literal in
content and requires no interpretation. But God
came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to
him, “Indeed, you are a dead man because of the
woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s
wife.” But Abimelech had not come near her; and
he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?
Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she,
even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the
integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I
have done this. And God said to him in a dream,
“Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of
your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning
against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a
prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live.
But if you do not restore her, know that you shall
surely die, you and all that are yours (Genesis 20:3-
7).

The dream that Pharaoh had about seven lean cows

that consumed seven fat cows was in parabolic
format and needed interpretation. Suddenly there
came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking
and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold,
seven other cows come up after them out of the
river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows
on the bank of the river. And the ugly and gaunt
cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So
Pharaoh awoke (Genesis 41:2-4).

An example of a dream that was partly literal and

partly in parabolic format is as follows: A woman
had a dream where she saw people in a large
swimming pool. A large angel came and stood in
the air above the pool and cried out with a loud
voice, “Hate what God hates and love what God
loves.” The message from the angel needs no
interpretation. The swimming pool with the people
in it can be interpreted as enjoying the things of
this world. The message means that you must hate
what God hates and love what God loves while
enjoying the pleasures of this earth. It does not
mean to hate what God hates and love what God
loves while you are swimming and enjoying
yourselves in a large swimming pool or in that
specific swimming pool.

Natural dreams

Dreams occur in sleep because the rational intellect

is at rest and therefore the mind can work through
the day’s activities and through issues that rest
heavily on the mind. A natural dream is the outflow
of the tension of impressions and stress stored in
our conscious and subconscious mind. It is
therefore the product of emotional stress due to
irritation, doubts, quarrel, defeat, hidden desires,
traumatic experiences or much and/or intense
activity. For a dream cometh through the multitude
of business… (Ecclesiastes 5:3a).

When we are dreaming during the night, we relive

these unpleasant situations and events in our
dreams. This is the way God has fashioned us, to
rid us from these emotional stresses. Even
nightmares assist us in coping with built-up fear,
suffering and sorrow. Then again we can also relive
pleasant situations and events. Either way if these
dreams are not interpreted, they still fulfill an
essential restorative function.

A dream can be an accurate mirror image of the

soul, which God uses to reveal deep-seated
problems in our hearts. A person may experience
vile dreams due to unhealthy meditation. I use to
have violent dreams because of my past. Even
after I came to Christ, confess my sin and have
repented thereof the dreams continued and even
got worse. In the beginning I was heavily alarmed
because of this defilement; but the consciousness
of sin was busy to flow out. The same goes for any
other problem. Eventually after I understood the
grace of God and I could forgive those who sinned
against me I had my last violent dream. I only came
to understand what it meant to be without
condemnation when I started to develop a
friendship with the Holy Spirit.

Dreams sometimes involve the revelation gifts of

the Holy Spirit like wisdom, knowledge and
discernment of spirits (discerning God’s Spirit,
man’s spirit or demonic spirits).

Occasionally a natural dream is the result of

demonic input into our minds. It is said that the
mind is the playground of the devil. If you are open
to demon activity or was involved in the occult, a
demon inspired dream is possible. Have you ever
had a dream where you are paralyzed and cannot
move even sometimes after waking up? That is a
demonic inspired dream: normally attacks from
demons responsible for spiritist activity.

I know off a person that was innocently involved in

the occult. Afterwards he came to the Lord and
then he started to experienced demon inspired
dreams that manifested in nightmares. After the
person confessed his involvement in the occult
to the Lord and was prayed for he still
experienced these nightmares for about
eighteen months after which it disappeared. His
release came, as he grew strong in the word of
the Lord.

I also know a god-fearing believer that had a

dream, where the devil appeared to him coming
out of the ground, and voiced a negative prophecy
over his life. He prayed to God and humbled himself
before the Lord, according to the Scriptures, and
then resisted the devil by worshipping the Lord. It is
now many years later. The Lord has protected him
and keep him save until this day. The devil could
not snatch him out of God’s hand.

Every dream that encourages unrighteousness,

rebellion or any work of the flesh or stimulates fear,
unbelief or heresy is from the pit of hell. Likewise
also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise
dominion, and speak evil of dignities (Jude 8,
emphasis added).

Demon possession can also produce demonic

inspired dreams. An example may be where a
familiar spirit inspires the contents of a dream. It is
very important not to give the devil any place in
your life.

God uses even our natural dreams to get our focus

back on Him. All things, even our dreams, work
together for good if we love God, and if we are
called according to His purpose. Often our natural
dreams will reveal the arrogance of the deception
of our carnal hearts. The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked (Hebrew:
incurable); who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). We
are born deceived and we live deception if we walk
according to the flesh. Through faith, however, we
can please God. Jesus has nailed our deceptive
arrogance on the cross so that we need not to walk
under a cloud of condemnation; we only need to
believe Him and to walk according to the measure
of our faith. The measure of our faith is the
measure of revelation we have received from the
Holy Spirit. To please Him is the cry of our spirit. To
please Him is what we are living for. So, we should
walk by faith and not by sight or feeling.

Jesus died for us and nailed our inadequacies on

the cross and transferred His adequacy to us. This
happened when we were joined to Him and become
one spirit with Him through the born again
experience. We should always remember that we
only need to share the life that Jesus has given us
with Him. We need not to live in our own strength
but to express the excellence of His power through
faith.

Dreaming the dream of another

It happens occasionally that another person may

dream your dream or you may dream somebody
else’s dream. My wife had a spiritual dream on my
behalf a couple of months ago. I asked God what
we would do after the end of this dispensation on
earth. I did not believe I would sit on a cloud and
play the harp for all eternity. She dreamed that I
must go away and oversee a planet somewhere in
the universe. I will be like God (not God, but like
Him) to this planet. Now I say that the heir, as long
as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave,
though he is master of all, but is under guardians
and stewards until the time appointed by the father
(Galatians 4:1-2). She saw that at this moment in
time an angel is fulfilling the overseeing duties.
This angel must move on and I must replace him.
Although, I am not God I will be like God. They shall
see His face, and His name shall be on their
foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need
no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives
them light. And they shall reign forever and
ever (Revelation 22:4-5, emphasis added). This
was only a dream but I honestly believe God has
shown us something about the destiny of the
saints.

This is a very good example of how God has

revealed His kingdom in the future. I was also
transported into the future in the times to come of
the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth
where I witnessed some of the shape of things to
come. Where your heart is there your treasure will
be also. If you set your heart on the things above
your believing eyes shall see these things in
dreams, visions and revelation.