Dreams of Disaster

Several dreams about another earthquake and tsunami are doing the rounds in Christchurch. They are causing a lot of fear and confusion.

Christians should understand that dreams can come from different sources.

1. Most dreams come of our own minds and memories. They are often a mash-up of our past experiences and current emotions, but seem to be real because they are staged in surrounding that are familiar to us. During times of stress, our dreams sometimes become more dramatic and disturbing. Some people experience terrible nightmares during times of trouble. Most dreams are more normal and are quickly forgotten.

2. God can speak to us through our dreams. Joseph is well known for dreaming and interpreting dreams. There were four dreams associated with the birth of Jesus. His life was saved by a dream (Matt 2:12). Overall, dreams from God are relatively rare. I have had thousands of dreams during my lifetime, but there would only be a handful that I have thought might come from God. We can also assume that most dreams do not come from God.

3. Angels can speak into our dreams. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, before and after the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:20; Matt 2:13).

4. If angels can speak to us while we are dreaming, then evil spirits probably can too. They could sometimes push a false thought into our dreams, but this should be rare for Christians under God’s protection. Saul was vexed by an evil spirit (1 Sam 16:14). I presume that it tormented him day and night, but this only happened after he lost the blessing of God.

Christians should be alert for God speaking in a dream, but they should also be aware that most dreams are just dross from our minds. Therefore, a dream should be tested, before it is taken as guidance or revelation.

• When a dream sticks in our minds until the morning, we should not automatically assume that it has come from God. That may be the case, but it is more likely that it has come out of own mind. We should pray about the source of the dream and get the witness of the spirit, before deciding that it has come from God.

• The fact that a dream is dramatic or disturbing does not mean that it is from God. During times of trouble and crisis, frightening and disturbing dreams become more common, but it does not mean anything. Dreams of falling from a height, being overwhelmed by water, or being chased by something dreadful are very common. These dreams do not mean anything, but are just a reflection of the dreamer’s situation.

• The fact that two people have the same dream does not mean that it comes from God. They may have had similar experiences, or been tricked by the enemy.

• Evil spirits can pretend to be angels. Therefore, a dream in which an angel speaks can be a deception. Even dreams in which angels teach should be tested.

Once that it is confirmed that a dream is from God, it must be interpreted carefully. Some dreams are literal, but most are symbolic. Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and thin cows is an example (Gen 41:1-4). He understood that the cows were not real and that he needed someone to interpret the dream. Over the last twenty years, a number of Christians have had dreams of big waves sweeping across New Zealand. Most have interpreted these waves as symbolising waves of spiritual renewal. Interpreting dreams that are symbolic as if they were literal is a common cause of error.

When describing a dream, the description of the dream should be kept separate from the interpretation. These two things often get mixed together, which produces confusion. I have written more on this at Publishing Dreams.

Christians should be particularly careful about dreams that circulate on the internet.

• Not everything on the internet is true. The web is a mixture, like everything in life.

• The fact that a dream is on the internet does not mean it is from God. Most dreams are human.

• Things on the internet often get copied and circulated in a different form by different people. This can make it seem like many people have had the same revelation, when they have really come from the same source.

• Christians should be careful about attributions on the internet that are vague. A statement saying “a well-respected pastor in a spirit-filled church has confirmed this is true” means almost nothing, because it cannot be validated.

• Everyone putting stuff on the internet is not good. Some words that circulate have are deliberately written in order to deceive. Christians should be alert for hoaxes.

Dreams can be a powerful means of communication. God can use dreams to get us thinking about something that we have been ignoring. Christians should be aware that he may speak in this way. I suspect that a good many dreams from God have been ignored by the people who really need to receive them.

On the other hand, Christians should be alert and test everything that they receive, especially from the internet.

With regard to the dream that is circulating, the bullying words within it suggest that it is not from God. He would not threaten,

those who do not listen will perish.

Jesus said something quite different (John 3:16-17). I sense that the dream is a description of what the enemy would like to do, but is unable to do.