From Amazon.com:
Stop wondering what your dreams and visions mean—and start living the meanings! The Divinity Code to Understanding Your Dreams and Visions book is a Bible-based guide to dream interpretation that reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. With this set of Master keys, you can unlock the unseen realm! … Embrace your supernatural communications with God and go deeper into the things of the Spirit—today!
A code to figuring out your dreams! What will they think of next? Online lessons?1 A dream dictionary?2 Yes, indeed.
As these books and websites indicate, some Christians believe that dreams are for today. Others think they have the gift of interpreting dreams. What are we to think of these claims?
First, what are we talking about? Obviously, we are not talking about hopes. I hope to play for, or dream of playing for, the New York Yankees, or I dream of being hired by Pixar as an animator, or I dream of getting married and having kids someday. No. We are talking about the stuff that happens when you sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, we typically dream four to six times per night. We forget more than 95 percent of all dreams.
There are all kinds of dreams. Funny dreams, scary dreams. Dreams with goofy, mixed-up plots. All sorts of things can influence your dreams. If your seven-year-old watches the movie “Jaws” right before bedtime, guess what? Guaranteed: a scary dream. If you eat a large pepperoni pizza at night (hello, teenagers!), bizarre dreams are coming your way. If you haven’t eaten in a while, then you might be prone to dream about donuts rolling off the roof or a giant ice cream avalanche swallowing you. The prophet Isaiah referenced this phenomenon in one of his prophecies (Isaiah 29:8).
What are the most common subjects of dreams? According to Healthline.com, the top four subjects are falling, being chased, dying, and … teeth. (Presumably, about showing up at a party toothless. Dreams, if anything, are an arena of God’s humor.)
These are not the type of dreams our Amazon friends are talking about. They are addressing dreams that are supposedly a normal part of living the Christian life. (Note: this includes visions, as both dreams and visions fall under the same type of biblical revelation. A dream happens when you sleep; a vision occurs when you are awake.)
The Nature of Dreams in the Bible
God used dreams to communicate to his people. When He gave a dream, it was part of the 5 percent that would be remembered. The dreamer could recall and relate every detail. For example, the cupbearer remembered the number of branches on the vine, how it budded and blossomed, that he served the wine to Pharaoh, and so forth (Genesis 40:9-11). God-given dreams make an impression; they grab your attention and shake you to the bones. Most importantly, there is a clear interpretation.
The interpretation was usually given in three ways. One, God spoke directly to the person (Abimelech: “Don’t touch Sarah”). Second, he used an angel (Joseph: “Flee to Egypt”). And third, he used a person (Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams).3
When God provided the interpretation, it was clear. The butler and baker did not have to get out their Egyptian code books (which actually existed) to figure out what Joseph told them. It was straightforward. There were no guesses, no need to visit a dream expert, no need to take a poll on Facebook for alternative interpretations, and no need to consult The Divinity Code. (Interestingly, 1 Corinthians speaks of one who interprets tongues, but makes no mention of a gift for interpreting dreams.)
Purpose of Dreams and Visions
Although there are only about 23 dreams in the Bible, the message or purpose of those dreams primarily concerned the outworking of redemptive history in five areas.
First, to establish the covenant. God used a vision to restate the Abrahamic Covenant, reminding Abram that he would have a son and be the father of many nations (Genesis 15:1). The ladder in Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:10-17) gets all the attention. We are riveted by angels descending and ascending from heaven to earth along this elevator-type ladder, but the purpose is to affirm the covenant: the land you are lying on belongs to you and your seed.
Second, to establish His prophets. The Lord often established and confirmed his prophets by miracles. He also used dreams to do the same thing. For example, He placed Joseph and Daniel in positions of power in foreign kingdoms.
Third, a means of prophecy. Daniel had many dreams and visions, mainly related to future kingdoms of the world and the nation of Israel. Ezekiel’s book is comprised of six visions. The book of Revelation is a record of John’s vision.
Fourth, messages surrounding the incarnation. Joseph would have divorced Mary when he found out she was pregnant, but God sent an angel to convince him that the pregnancy was of God (Matthew 1:20-22). Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, commanding him to flee to Egypt to escape from Herod (Matthew 2:13-15), and then another angel appeared, telling him it was safe to return (Matthew 2:19-21).
Fifth, to establish the church. It is doubtful that Ananias would’ve taken one step to visit murder-breathing Saul had it not been for a vision from God to convince him otherwise (Acts 9:10-19). To push the apostles to share the Gospel with the Gentiles, the Lord sent an angel in a vision to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6), telling him where to find the Apostle Peter. Meanwhile, as Peter was praying on the rooftop of a house in Joppa, God gave him a vision, straightening out his thinking so he could share the Gospel with people like Cornelius (Acts 10:9-16).
Back to our question: Are dreams for today? Let’s put it another way. If a stranger comes to you and claims he has had a dream from God, it should blow our socks off. Why? For one thing, dreams in the Bible were extremely rare. During the approximate 1,000-year gap between Joseph and Daniel, only two dreams were recorded in the Bible: a dream for Gideon and Solomon’s dream.
Then, you may have noticed in our review of dreams in the Bible that they tended to cluster around crucial periods in biblical history: the patriarchs, prophets, incarnation of Christ, and the founding of the church. On top of that, who had the dreams? It was mainly the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles
Clearly, revelatory dreams are not normative.
But the friends who have just read The Divinity Code insist that their dreams are really, truly, positively from God. So, ask: does their dream share the characteristics of Biblical dreams? Was it vivid? Do they remember every detail? Most importantly, was there a clear interpretation? And how did they receive the interpretation? Did God speak in an audible voice? Did an angel sit down and review it? Did a Joseph interpret it?
The answer will be no.
Then we should ask: Why would God give them a dream? Was it to establish the covenant? Confirm that they are one of his prophets to proclaim fresh revelation? Establish the church?
Once again, emphatically, the answer is no.
Why?
Dreams, like the gift of prophecy and tongues, have ceased. They no longer apply to the Lord’s church because the plan of salvation has been completed. No further revelation is necessary. Old Testament history pointed towards and was fulfilled in the complete revelation of God in Christ. “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him” (Hebrews 1:1).
God spoke to us long ago. How? Through the prophets. And how did God communicate to the prophets? Through direct revelation, but also through dreams and especially visions. (God gave prophetic visions to the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.) To be looking for visions or paying attention to dreams is a distraction. It takes us away from what is important: the Word of God, Jesus Christ himself. “We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
To look for revelation or guidance in dreams is to take a low view of Scripture. It is saying to God: “Your word is not sufficient. You are not sufficient. I need something more.”
But your newfound friends do not like what you have to say. They strenuously object. What are their primary objections? It is not an appeal to Scripture. No Bible verse instructs you that dreams are normal or tells you how to interpret dreams. They point to just one thing: experience. Not only their own dreams but especially the stories of others. No doubt you have heard these stories, too. They are circulating on the Internet. The stories are inspiring, intriguing, and seemingly convincing. Here is one of the most prevalent.
A Muslim man experiences a vision in which Jesus reveals Himself as the true prophet of God, the only Savior, and the only way of reconciliation with God. The Muslim man, at the risk of his life, forsakes Islam and embraces Christ. 4
What do you say to your friends about such a story? (Except to note that the story is almost always from a far-off land where it is nearly impossible to obtain confirmation of their accuracy from a disinterested third party!)
Well, there were occasions in the Bible when God used dreams to direct His people or to bless and encourage them.
The Lord sent Paul two visions to change his travel plans. (Acts 16:9-10, 18:9-11).
There is Gideon’s experience (Judges 7:12-15). The Midianite and Amalekite armies, “as numerous as grasshoppers,” were arrayed against Israel. God told Gideon to sneak into the enemy camp at night. He overheard an enemy soldier relate a dream about a massive loaf of bread tumbling into the Midian camp and smashing a tent (notice he did not dream about an olive or a grape, but “bread”—a purposeful, significant metaphor). The dream comforted Gideon. He worshipped God for this confirmation of coming victory.
Then God used a dream to promise Solomon a great blessing: “Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5).
But notice that these dreams of providence and blessing were given to an apostle, one of the judges, and a king of Israel. As one author wrote, “There are no instances in the Bible in which God gives special and specific guidance to the ordinary believing Israelite or Christian in the details of their personal existence.”5
So, can God use a dream to direct a Muslim to a Christian to hear the Gospel?
Uh … well … yes. God is sovereign. He is active by His Holy Spirit in the world today. To paraphrase Acts 17:28, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” and our dreams. Dreams are just as much under his sovereign decree as the baloney sandwich you had for lunch. But they are not normative. They would be rare. We should treat them with a healthy dose of biblical skepticism. If someone claims to have had a dream from God, you could run through a quick checklist.6
One, dreams are not sufficient for salvation. The new birth comes by the word of God (James 1:18a). Any replacement of the Gospel with a dream is a false, Satanic dream.
Two, test the dream with the word of God. If it contradicts it, do not pay any attention.
Three, test the fruit of the dream. If it leads to faith and hunger for God’s word, maybe the dream is from God. The problem with fruit is that sometimes it rots. What if a Muslim confesses Christ, and then returns to the Islamic faith?
Four, remember the ascension of Christ. Where is Jesus? More specifically, where is his body? In heaven. And when will his body return to the earth? At the second coming. If someone tells you they had a vision and Jesus appeared to them, they are wrong. Period.
Five, remember the Church. God speaks today by his Spirit and the church through the word of God. We should pay much more attention to biblical preaching than to any dream.
In saying all that, I am, frankly, being charitable—extending grace to fellow believers. More importantly, I am bowing to God’s sovereign rule. For, yes, God in his providence can send a dream to someone, but—it bears repeating—it would be rare and is not normative.
Suppose someone from Africa shows up and tells you they’ve had a dream to find a bald, old, white guy named Snow to tell them about Jesus. Then do not bring them to me. Don’t even tell me about the dream. Instead, tell them about Jesus and ignore the dream.
We need to focus our attention on the word of God. Only the word of God never fails (1 Peter 1:25). Only the word of God is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative. As Jesus said, if people will not listen to the word of God, “neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
Kurt Snow
Reprinted with permission from The Outlook, Outlook.ReformedFellowship.net.
1 One example, https://www.godconversations.com/product-category/online-courses/
2https://www.dreambible.com/
3 See Genesis 20:3–7; Matthew 2:13; Daniel chapters 2 and 4.
4 GotQuestions.org, “Is God giving people in closed countries dreams and visions to bring them to faith in Christ?” https://www.gotquestions.org/dreams-and-visions.html
5 The Gospel Coalition, “What Do We Do with Dreams?” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/what-do-we-do-with-dreams/
6 Southern Equip, “Does God Still Speak Through Dreams? (Part 2)” https://equip.sbts.edu/article/does-god-still-speak-through-dreams-part-2/