Prophecy
Dreams & Visions
By Joe Ibojie
1. Everyone dream. Many see visions.
There may be visions in dreams or a dream in a dream.
Dreams are more symbolic while visions are more literal. Vision leave more emotional imparts & tends to feel more real. Dreams are parable language of God and are very personalised form of communications. We need to build up our personal vocabulary.
However,
there is variable degree of giftedness in the ability to “perceive” dream.
We all need to stir up this gifting to maximise its potential. Dreaming is a form of prophetic communication with God but not all prophets are gifted in this and only very few are gifted with the ability to interpret dreams. However interpretation belongs to God
Portals (gateways) are permanent communication channels between the heavens and the earth, which exist in certain geographical locations or sometimes are carried on gifted people, e.g. Bethel, Mt Sinai, River Jordan, Elijah, Joseph, Daniel and many others. Whether places or persons, they are usually fiercely contested in spiritual realm.
Job 33:14 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.
v18
He keepeth back his soul from
the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
Numbers 12:6 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.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will shew
you things to come.
v14
He shall glorify me: for he
shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See
thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony
of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
2. There are two sets of senses;
human natural senses operating in the soulish realm and spiritual senses that
operate in the realm of the spirit.
Luke 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at
his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with
the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
v23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
2 Kings 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone
forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And
his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said,
LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that
he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Revelation 2:29 He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Revelation 3:22 He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
3. Dream brings into our consciousness
the communication between the natural senses, the spiritual sense and the heavenlies.
Thus some may classify a dream according to its point of origin as soul
dream or spiritual dream (from God) or demonic (dark) dream from the 2nd heaven.
4. All dreams are important.
God
may use a soul dream to reveal the thoughts of our hearts to us.
Also
repeated demonic dreams alert us and make us to get closer to God and battle in
the spirit.
Human
beings are conditioned from birth to operate in the realm of the soul (mind,
will and emotions) but dream bypass the resistance of our soul.
Dreams
transcend the limitations of time and space dimensions.
A
dream is a picture language and can speak volumes.
Often
there are deliberate exaggerations in dream to emphasise some points.
Dream
also may hide certain things so that there is no difficulty in concentrating on
the issue that requires our attention. Also God may chose to fade some aspects
of a dream otherwise vivid, either to protect us or to prioritise our focus.
Focussing
on one aspect of the dream may lead to incomplete perception and so remove the
essence.
It is important get the essence of a dream before breaking the dream into details However breaking it into too many details may obscure the real meaning.
INTERPRETATION
Interpretation
is a by-product of our relationship with God.
Interpretation
comes by the Holy Spirit. You are not automatically entitled to the
interpretation of a dream by reason of receiving the dream; “Interpretation belongs to God”. “Ask and you shall be given”.
Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of the King
is to search out the matter”. God wants the dreamer to search for the meaning.
Oftentimes you get more from the search than in the answer itself. God may give
interpretation in the dream. Usually dreams come with clues to the correct interpretation
if you pay attention to the time, place, people and the context.
Reduce
the dream to its simplest format. No matter how inexperienced you are first
attempt your interpretation before you seek help but ensure the person is
gifted in dream interpretation.
Understand
your role in the dream, which may either be observing or participating, what is
the main focus or sub-focus?
In
about 90% of cases, the dream is about to you. There are four levels of
revelation; personal, Gods plan for you, God plans for places or people and
finally God may begin to trust you with the secrets of others that need
addressing. Where you are depends on God’s trust in you, (product of your
fellowship with Him) and your giftedness.
Consider
other details of the dream; objects, thoughts, colour or lack of it, fear or
peace.
The interpretation of a dream must not violate spiritual or scriptural principles. More than one dream in one night is usually different scenes of the same subjects.
The dream world consists of revelation, interpretation, application and proclamation. All these aspects are equally important. Interpretation speaks of who or where, application speaks of how and when and proclamation means speaking it into existence.
Four Levels of Interpretation
Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
v17 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:
v18 And on my servants
and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall
prophesy: v19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the
earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: v20 The sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable
day of the Lord come:
v21
And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
All four levels of interpretation may be applied to a dream, but most of the time only two or three are immediately applicable.
I will illustrate these levels using Mrs S’s “train dream”.
Literal: According to the exact meaning.
Mrs S represented Mrs S in the dream.
Allegorical: Similar, metaphoric or parable illustration; using one thing to represent
Philosophical: Rational or logical deductions from the events
or circumstance in the
Hidden: Transcends the limits of natural
wisdom. Only God can give this
Why
some of the people at the train station did not go on the train.
Sub-focus - refers to
that element or elements if removed alter the meaning of the dream.
Fill - those elements that fill the gaps.
Details - descriptive elements in the dream such as emotion, colour, attitude,
anger