Study Companion
Ask
Browse
Listen
＋
Install
←
Back
Podcast
Dreams And Visions
Open original on relationalconcepts.org ↗
Your browser does not support audio.
↺ Start from beginning
0% listened
Transcript
0:00
Hi, I'm Dave DeWitt, and today I'd like to talk a bit about dreams and visions.
0:09
I'll not here talk about Muslim dream conversions.
0:12
I have a separate podcast about that.
0:15
Here I want to talk about dreams and visions in the Bible and in the church.
0:20
First, dreams and visions in the Old Testament.
0:23
Elihu the Buzite told Job, in a dream, a vision of night, when sound asleep, sleep
0:31
falls on men, while they slumber in their bed, then he opens the ears of men and seals
0:39
their instruction.
0:41
That's in Job 33.
0:43
Well, apparently it was the belief of most people at the time of Job, that's 4,000 years
0:49
ago, that God spoke to individuals in a dream or in a vision of the night.
0:56
We find dreams and visions all through history and nearly every religion.
1:02
Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon had a dream, and it was expected that his own wise men would
1:08
be able to interpret it in Daniel 2.
1:11
Pharaoh had a dream in Egypt with the same expectation, Genesis 41.
1:18
Abimelech was not surprised when God told him in a dream that he had Abraham's wife
1:25
in Genesis 20.
1:27
He was surprised she was Abraham's wife, but not that the message came in a dream.
1:32
We can therefore conclude that Elihu's idea was a common one in all the regions from Egypt
1:39
to Babylon, including Israel.
1:42
There does seem to be a difference in understanding dreams.
1:48
The Babylonians had a special magicians and conjurers and chaldeans and diviners, whose
1:55
job it was to interpret dreams.
1:59
The Egyptians had magicians and wise men for that purpose.
2:05
Interestingly, none of these were able to interpret the dream without the presence of
2:10
the Hebrew prophet.
2:12
Abimelech was not a Hebrew, but he was in the land of Israel and his dream was strictly
2:17
about Abraham and Sarah.
2:20
But Gentiles were not the only ones with dreams.
2:24
The God of Israel used dreams and visions to communicate with his prophets.
2:29
There's no biblical evidence that God ever revealed anything to Adam or Noah or Abraham
2:39
or Moses in a dream.
2:42
The first revelations come in the form of a vision to Abraham in Genesis 15, 1, after
2:49
these things the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision saying, Do not fear Abraham.
2:55
I am a shield to you.
2:57
Your reward shall be very great.
2:59
The first mention of a dream is the one in Genesis 20, where God told Abimelech he had
3:07
Abraham's wife.
3:09
The next instance is when Jacob had a dream and behold, the ladder was set and the letter
3:15
was set from earth with its top reaching to heaven.
3:20
And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
3:25
God gave dreams to both Jacob and his father-in-law Laban.
3:30
As a boy, Joseph had a dream.
3:32
His brothers already hated him because he was a favorite of his father.
3:38
Then we are told they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
3:45
This led Joseph being sold into slavery and the whole clan being brought down into Egypt
3:52
for 430 years.
3:54
This is followed by various different instances where people had dreams and visions.
4:01
Now let's talk about dreams and visions in the New Testament.
4:05
With the New Testament, we continue to hear about people receiving dreams and visions
4:10
from God.
4:11
Here is a list of all the dreams and visions in the New Testament.
4:16
Zacharias saw a vision concerning the birth of John the Baptist.
4:21
Joseph was told in a dream to take Christ, the Christ child, to Egypt and again back
4:27
from Egypt.
4:29
The transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James, and John was called a vision.
4:36
There's no mention of Jesus ever having a revelation from God in the form of a dream.
4:42
The only vision is transfiguration, although that would be an appropriate label for the
4:49
revelation as his baptism as well.
4:53
During Jesus' trial, Pilate's wife sent him a message saying,
4:57
I have nothing to do with this righteous man, for last night I suffered greatly in a dream
5:03
because of him.
5:06
There's no biblical record of anyone in the New Testament church ever receiving a dream
5:11
from God.
5:13
Joseph received a dream about protecting Mary and Jesus, and that was some 30 some years
5:20
before the church began.
5:22
And of course, Pilate's wife was not a believer.
5:26
Paul received a vision on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9, and Ananias had a vision
5:33
to go to Paul and remove the blindness that accompanied Paul's vision.
5:39
Cornelius was a devout man and one who feared God and all his household and gave many alms
5:46
to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually, and he saw a vision of an angel of God who
5:52
told him to send for Peter.
5:55
Peter received a vision that declared all food was clean.
6:00
Paul received a couple of visions that directed his missionary journeys.
6:05
Apparently, some of the revelation received was in the form of a vision.
6:11
The New Testament ends with the book of Revelation, which is a vision given to the apostle John.
6:18
Now let's talk about dreams and visions in the church between the 1st and 21st century.
6:25
Although there are always stories about scattered dreams and visions in all religions, including
6:30
Christianity, the primary leaders of the church throughout the history of Christianity did
6:37
not report having nor encouraging people to pay attention to dreams or visions.
6:45
The obvious difference between New Testament church and church history is that the apostles
6:50
reported experiencing dreams and visions, the church leaders for the next 1900 years
6:55
did not.
6:56
For example, we hear no report or exhortation about dreams and visions from Athanasius,
7:02
Augustine, Benedict, Wycliffe, Hus, Luther, Calvin, Knox, von Zunzendorf, Wesley, Whitefield,
7:09
Edwards, Spurgeon, Moody, Darby, Schofield, Lewis, Ryrie, or Graham.
7:17
There's no encouragement to look for or give credence to dreams and visions from the Moravian
7:22
Brethren, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Reform, the Puritans, the Separatists,
7:27
or the Baptists.
7:30
This practice of leaders promoting dreams and visions all began in the 1900s, first
7:37
in a small way, and then with the tongues movement in 1901, but especially with the
7:42
charismatic movement of the 1960s, and much more with the new epistolic revelation of
7:48
the 1990s.
7:51
The Old Testament evaluates dreams and visions.
7:55
The word dream or dreams occurs 102 times in the English Numeric Standard Bible translation.
8:03
It's clear that God used dreams and visions to communicate with certain people at certain
8:08
times.
8:09
But just because God used dreams does not mean prophetic dreams were always from God.
8:15
The Mosaic Law says, quote, if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives
8:23
you a sign or a wonder, then that sign or wonder comes true concerning which he has
8:28
spoke to you, saying, let us go after other gods who you have not known, and let us serve
8:36
them.
8:37
You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the
8:43
Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart
8:48
and with all your soul.
8:50
But that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has counseled rebellion
8:55
against the Lord your God.
8:58
So you shall purge evil from among you.
9:02
That's from Deuteronomy chapter 13.
9:05
Zechariah confirms, quote, the diviners see lying visions and tell false dreams they comfort
9:13
in vain.
9:14
Therefore, the people wander like sheep.
9:16
They're afflicted because there is no shepherd.
9:21
Galatians advice was, for in many dreams and in many words there are emptiness, rather
9:27
fear God.
9:31
The New Testament also evaluates dreams and visions.
9:35
The New Testament did something not done in the Old Testament.
9:38
The Old Testament ended looking for revelation from God to be added to it, Malachi 4, 5,
9:45
and 6.
9:46
The New Testament predicts that prophecy will be done away and told us not to add to
9:52
it.
9:53
First Corinthians 13, 8-10, love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy, they'll
9:59
be done away.
10:00
If there's tongues, they'll cease.
10:01
If there's knowledge, it'll be done away.
10:04
For we know in part and prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will
10:09
be done away.
10:11
And then in Revelation 22, 18, I testify to everyone, here's the words of the prophecy
10:15
of this book.
10:16
If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
10:22
The meaning of these passages has been debated, of course, but they cannot just be overlooked.
10:29
Revelation 22 is basically a command to not add any words to the book of Revelation.
10:35
First Corinthians 13 is a prophecy.
10:38
If a biblical prophecy has been fulfilled, then the best way to determine the meaning
10:44
is obviously to see how it was fulfilled.
10:48
That's how we come to the conclusion that prophecy should be interpreted literally because
10:53
that's how past biblical prophecy was fulfilled.
10:58
Prophecy given to Abraham and Daniel and Ezekiel, all the prophets that was already been fulfilled
11:04
has been fulfilled literally.
11:08
It may be given that many different forms, dreams, visions, metaphors, poems, but whatever
11:16
form it's given in, it's always fulfilled literally.
11:20
So we should assume that it is the case when it comes to predictions.
11:26
First Corinthians 13, prophecy will be done away, tongues will cease, and knowledge will
11:30
be done away.
11:32
Obviously this last reference is not about doing away with general knowledge, but contextually
11:37
about supernatural knowledge.
11:41
So how is this prophecy fulfilled in the church when it comes to dreams and visions?
11:48
As previously mentioned, the last believer in the Bible to have a dream was Joseph of
11:53
Joseph and Mary.
11:55
For sure the apostles had visions, but except for John's receiving the book of Revelation,
12:02
the last mention of a vision is in Acts 28 where Paul reviewed his earlier vision of
12:08
chapter 9 to King Agrippa in Acts 26.
12:13
So the apostles never mentioned dreams and somewhere in the middle of the New Testament
12:19
before it was finished being revealed, all mention of visions ended.
12:25
There's no exhortation by Christ to look for dreams or visions.
12:30
Early on the apostles expected some people to speak with prophecy in tongues, as in First
12:35
Corinthians 14, but there's no mention after the Corinthian letters where they are prophesied
12:44
to cease.
12:46
Actually Paul said, let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement
12:54
and the worship of angels.
12:57
Rejecting his stand on visions he has seen inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.
13:04
That's in Colossians 2.18.
13:08
But what about Joel 2 quoted by Peter in Acts 2?
13:13
This is one that's quite often brought up.
13:16
In June of 2012, Pat Robertson said this, and I quote, the Bible tells us in the book
13:23
of Joel that in the latter days I'm going to pour out my spirit on all flesh and your
13:30
young men will see vision and your old men will dream dreams.
13:35
Well dreaming dreams and seeing visions of Jesus is happening today, close quote.
13:43
The point of Pat Robertson and most charismatic leaders is that even though dreams and visions
13:49
did not happen through church history, they're happening today because we're approaching
13:54
the last days.
13:56
Here's what Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem, for these men are not drunk as you supposed
14:02
for it's only the third hour of the day.
14:06
But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel, and it shall be in the last
14:12
days God says that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind and your sons and your daughters
14:19
shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.
14:26
Notice that both Joel and Peter were using the clause and it shall be in the last days
14:32
in reference to days after the Messiah has come, not about the last days before the Messiah
14:38
comes.
14:40
Let's first go back to Joel.
14:43
In the verse before the passage Joel's talking about the Millennial Kingdom after Christ
14:49
returns.
14:51
Through Joel God said, thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel and that
14:57
I am the Lord your God and there is no other and my people will never be put to shame.
15:05
That's in Joel 2.27.
15:06
The next verse says, it will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all
15:13
mankind and your sons and daughters will prophesy and your old men will dream dreams.
15:20
In other words, the dreams and visions will take place after Christ returns and sets up
15:25
his future Millennial Kingdom.
15:28
The dreams and visions will confirm that the Messiah has already come and even though there's
15:34
no dreams recorded for anyone in the church, that's how Peter's using the passage to prove
15:40
that Jesus was the Messiah and he'd already come.
15:46
Peter's not saying Acts 2 is a fulfillment of Joel 2.
15:51
Obviously he knew the sun had not been turned to darkness and the moon to blood.
15:55
Peter went on to quote things that will only happen after the second coming, but he uses
16:02
it here as a confirmation that Jesus is the Christ.
16:06
As you can see, Pat Robertson makes the classic mistake of ignoring the context.
16:13
Notice he's not developing an interpretation of this passage and applying it to today.
16:19
Rather, he's looking at the experiences that people are having today and applying them
16:25
to this passage.
16:28
So let's make a list of what we know about dreams and visions.
16:33
First of all, God is sovereign and might do anything he pleases, including using dreams
16:37
and visions today.
16:40
One should never determine that we completely understand God or what God can do or will do.
16:49
Second, God definitely used dreams and visions as a form of revelation at various times in history.
16:58
They're recorded in both the Old and New Testament.
17:02
Three, many religious people from many different religions experience dreams and visions and
17:08
have all through history.
17:11
Through dreams and visions, people are led to alliances with various religions and cults.
17:19
Therefore, some dreams and visions are clearly not from God.
17:24
Certain revelation-inspired scripture is always superior to dreams and visions.
17:30
And in general, Judeo-Christian leadership received and held to visions until the end
17:36
of the New Testament, but not throughout history until the mid-1900s, even in recent times.
17:44
The closer leaders are to the Bible, the less likely they are to support the validity of
17:49
dreams and visions.
17:51
For example, you're more likely to get support for following dreams and visions from Pat
17:56
Robertson or Joel Osteen than you are from J. Vernon McGee or John MacArthur.
18:03
We can only conclude that for us to declare I've received a dream or vision from God and
18:10
use it for decision-making is fraught with problems.
18:15
Well thanks for listening.
18:16
If you're interested in more study on this, I've got a longer paper available.
18:21
It's on our website, relationalconcepts.org.
