Dreams: From Man, The Devil, Or God?
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Joel 2:28-And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
From the time that I was young, I have been fascinated by dreams. Sometimes they seem to be something mysterious and otherworldly, perhaps a glimpse into the inner workings of the universe and a portal to Divine insight: other times, they can be terrifying or humorous beyond description. (I mean, who doesn’t find it comical when you have a dream of being chased by the Terminator through the Empire State Building as he is stopped by a cosmetics salesman as you make an escape on a G.I. Joe helicopter piloted by your director from preaching school? Or would that fall into the category of terrifying)?
It is certainly the case that the Bible speaks a great deal about dreams. In fact, we are repeatedly told about three sources for dreams: God and His angels, the devil and his angels (and demons), and our own heart (either from anxiety or false prophecy).
Let’s look at all three of these.
Sometimes, dreams may come from an anxious heart.
Solomon wrote:
Ecclesiastes 5:3-For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.
Look at how that is rendered in some other translations of the Bible:
Ecclesiastes 5:4 (GNB)-The more you worry, the more likely you are to have bad dreams, and the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 (ERV)-Bad dreams come from too many worries, and too many words come from the mouth of a fool.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 (CEV)-If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.
Maybe sometimes our dreams are just a projection of our own anxieties and worries, being played out on the theatre of our minds, while we sleep.
Other times, dreams can be brought forth by a person’s own heart from false prophesy.
Jeremiah 14:14-And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
Sometimes, Satan and his forces can affect our dreams. This is made clear in the Book of Job, where Eliphaz is deceived into doing the devil’s work. Notice how it comes about:
Job 4:12-15-Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13 In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
This was a terrifying experience for Eliphaz! This appears to be a mix between Eliphaz having a terrible dream and an experience with a spirit of some kind in the middle of the night. The famous writer, Henry Morris, had this to say about the matter:
“This mysterious spirit was not God’s Holy Spirit speaking words of divine inspiration. God later rebuked all the counsel of Eliphaz and his friends, which was largely based on the revelation received from this spirit. For the same reason, it was not one of God’s holy angels either. Although angels appeared to men on occasion during biblical days, their appearances and messages were never like this. We conclude therefore, that this was an evil spirit, speaking words of apparent piety and partial truth. In reality, however, they were deceptive and misleading words, for this is how Satan works. He can appear as “an angel of light” and his angelic servants as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11: 14-15). Perhaps this night visitor was Satan himself, in view of the importance of the mission, or at least one of his “principalities and powers,” not a run-of-the mill demon; the latter seem to be more useful in terrifying than in deceiving. But why would he come to Eliphaz at this time? The reason must be connected somehow with the pending visit of Eliphaz to Job. Satan, knowing that Eliphaz was Job’s respected friend and counselor, may have decided this was the best way to get to Job and to cause him to lose his faith and renounce the Lord.” (Henry M. Morris, The Remarkable Record of Job, 850-861 (Kindle Edition); Green Forest, AR; master Books)
Sometimes, dreams can come from the enemy, which is why we must always be on guard for deception.
Of course, often in the Bible, dreams are sent from God. In fact, in the Book of Job, Elihu points out that God uses dreams for good purposes.
Job 33:14-18-For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. 17 In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, 18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.
Consider that Elihu doesn’t say that God only uses dreams to communicate with Prophets, even though He sometimes did this throughout the Bible (cf. Numbers 12:6). Instead, Elihu says that God speaks to all mankind through dreams. This includes sinners, to try and turn them from calamity and Hell. We read other examples like this throughout the Bible.
One of my favorites is Abimelech.
Genesis 20:3, 6-7-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.” …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. 7 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 who are yours.”
Again:
Genesis 31:24-But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
Please observe that Laban understood this dream was a warning from God:
Genesis 31:29-It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’
God sometimes uses dreams to direct His people away from danger and dangerous situations:
Matthew 2:12-13-Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
God uses dreams to direct His people where He wants them to go.
Acts 16:6-10-Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Notice that the vision/dream of Paul was sent by God in order to instruct the Apostle as to where he was to go (from a geographical point of view). It is also worth pointing out here that the Christians took time to investigate and consider the dream instead of acting impulsively. This is made evident here by the word “concluding,” which implies that they carefully considered the dream before reaching a decision. This is very important for us to remember: any dream that we believe may be from God must be examined carefully.
God will not use dreams to reveal some kind of new doctrine or teaching, since the Bible is all-sufficient doctrinally (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3). Indeed, we must always test dreams and every spirit with the Word of God (Isaiah 8:20; Jeremiah 23:21-32; 1 John 4:6).
Lord, thank You for speaking to us in this world, especially through Your Word, the Bible. Give us wisdom as we live in this world. If it is Your will to speak to us through dreams, then give us discernment from the Bible to test all things. Please protect us from the deceptions of Satan, and guard us from an anxious heart. We give you thanks and praise. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.