Although one rarely sees Jesus in dreams, He is just “there” as a Presence beside the dreamer, often as a Husband, Friend or Person whose name means one of His names, such as David, or names with an etymology of Rock, King, etc., depending on the message of the dream. We note also that theophanic visions of Old Testament prophets do not give images of the Lord, lest we are tempted into idolatrous image worship, or the making of artefacts that limit our hearing His Voice.[1]
But to return to my error being show in this dream. God had shown me true fellowship – the symbol being the restful family picnic table of Psalm 23, a family of three enjoying one another’s company around a meal; Father, Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He had shown me my lack of love , that is, fear of the unknown, but most of all, He had told me by this dream that I didn’t really know Him. Natural fears, re-enforced by voicing my old nature instead of the new had been lurking in my past and had so clouded my understanding of Who my saviour is. Consequently, I began a journey of learning about the character of Christ through biblical dreams that drove me deeply into God’s Word like never before.
The training I was then guided to online and through sets of audios was really helpful and I learnt how to distinguish biblical dreams from those that arise from our old selfish thinking.[2]
I discovered the unending patience of the Holy Spirit. Often His direction to a personal correction would not be understood, I would write up dream after dream, morning after morning, knowing the biblical symbols, but missing the whole interpretation. There was no Daniel in our little fellowship here to give me an interpretation. So, praying and looking back through the Word documents on my laptop files, I would then see a pattern and suddenly I would know, with great relief, what the interpretation of dozens of dreams would mean. This then enabled me to take on Christ in correcting whatever it was in my life that was not of Him. I learnt to actually live “in Him” in reality and not just in rhetoric.
With a Holy Spiritual dream of correction, when the interpretation is realised, given one doesn’t have a stubborn heart, suddenly the change miraculously happens in one’s life. Old character flaws that caused relationship loss and disquiet to the soul, then fall away. Such joy floods the soul as one has learnt how to be led by the new spirit within and not the soul. Following the spirit means the soul walks also then in this newness of Life. This is what it means to be changed from one glory to another. Glory is not some soulish experience with music in a church service. Glory is moving in and of the identity of Christ. It’s who we are meant to be. The feelings follow and need no band, coloured lights or cathedral atmosphere to bolster them.
The real Holy Spirit creates solid character change and growth. If you have dreams about change rooms, changing clothes etc., pay attention because this is what you are being led into. This is one of the main functions of the night parables or dreams.
I soon realised that Jesus used the same teaching method too when He was teaching using parables. As explained, parables – or night parables in the case of dreams – often retell the same truth using different analogies so that a rounded concept can be gained of a spiritual truth using the practical symbols of our everyday life. Dreams about His kingship and Kingdom from different angles are not unusual either, as people often need reminding of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He cannot be Saviour if He is not Lord / King of one’s life.
And parables from both testaments are the place to start if we want to develop this Bible type of gift of study. Central to that there is the one parable that Jesus stressed was the one which is foundational to all parables. He told his disciples that the parable of the sower is the most basic one which is required to give light to other parables. In Matthew, Mark and Luke He teaches His loyal followers the step-by-step understanding of the sower and the seed. It is good to look out for events and teachings that appear in all synoptic[3] gospels as the repetition stresses their importance for us.
One of the biggest mistakes made regarding dreams among believers today is to jump in and assume an interpretation without listening carefully to the Holy Spirit and seeking Him in God’s Word. If we do, we are bound to come up with something from our old fallen (pre-Christ) nature. Especially when we first begin. After a while we realise that’s a waste of time and may even think spiritual healing won’t come our way. But if we practise humility, asking for correction and healing – He will certainly bring it.
If you don’t know the Lord and are interested in what He is saying to you in dreams, you are welcome to use the contact form on this site to receive information about the symbols in your dreams.
Dreams are designed to draw one into the Word of God in a very practical way that enables the overcoming of the things that keep one bound up. When a dream is carnally interpreted, it usually renders a meaning far removed from God’s intention in His Word. – very often one hundred and eighty degrees from the Holy Spirit’s intention. Looking at online “prophets” who recount their dreams and visions and give a carnal interpretation most commonly renders a meaning the opposite of the biblical interpretation. This can be seen in many online instances in the contemporary world of believers. We cannot blame them for it. By and large we in the church have neglected this important gift as part of its pastoring. Without pastoring the gift, and teaching the necessary biblical understanding, people easily go astray.
Unfortunately, many charismatic leaders fail to correctly interpret their dreams and issue a carnal interpretation which is usually mistaken as political. Nothing could be further from the truth of Jesus’ Way.
One of the most important things to say about biblical dreams is that they most commonly are given to keep the believer on the narrow way. They are generally, but not always correctional. And they are generally, but not always personal and not meant to be broadcast for the general church or world. Paul tells us that the Lord chastises those He loves. I feel very loved indeed as at the time of writing. Of the several thousand biblical dreams which I have recorded, most have been correctional enabling a much closer walk with the Lord. The spiritual cleansing that I have enjoyed following this chastisement is greater in the last seven years than in the previous decades of listening to sermons ithreatening eternal conscious torment. We can receive readily from the gentle and profoundly accurate work of the Holy Spirit, correction that an earthly agent could possibly blunder with, causing harm. No-one can tell a human off with such profound and persistent love like the Holy Spirit. No-one brings the refreshment of repentance and absolute liberty like the Lord.
[1] Pictures of Jesus can never do His character justice; but attempting to paint or sculpt such is best avoided. A good depiction of Jesus was shown in the very wise direction of the movie, “The Robe” when Jesus is seen to mercifully give the then slave, Ben Hur a drink. The audience is shown the Lord’s back while the audience’s eye is led to the look of wonder on the face of Ben Hur who is on his knees. This is often the sort of thing that the Holy Spirit does in Biblical dreams; He does not show Himself or the Father or the Son. Instead they appear symbolically. We see this lack of specificity in Ezekiel’s vision in 1:27. We see the vision in detail until it comes to the Source of the Voice and we have only this one verse. It is enough to know we are looking into heaven by the use of the symbolic circles / wheels with the omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience of the Spirit of the Lord enthroned. No language can describe God this side of eternity and we must learn the biblical ways of symbolic / apocalyptic dreams or miss their biblical message entirely. It is crucial to discard statues of the Lord Jesus and other Bible characters or we will fix our hearts on carnal ways; this is not to make rules – it is not for no reason that we are commanded to make no graven image – but that we should be enabled to worship the Lord where our real eyes are – in the spirit He has newly breathed into us.
[2] The word “carnal” simply is the Bible’s way of describing our fallen, marred human nature, as opposed to the new born spirit Jesus puts within those who trust Him. The two natures of a person who trusts Jesus are in opposition to each other and we need to learn to walk in the new nature of loving and disregard our old harmful ways.
[3] There are four Gospel accounts in the Bible, each with their own special perspective. The three that run along similar lines are Matthew, Mark and Like. They are therefore called “synoptic’ (syn -same; optic -about eyesight or “looking”. John’s wonderful Gospel takes a different approach to the synoptic gospels.
