Dreams & Visions

This is the first of two follow ups to Out of Egypt have I called my son

When you read through the first two chapters of Matthew, one of the things you notice is the high level of supernatural occurrences. I mean, the star that guides the magi and all those dreams with angels. These are, of course, secondary to the main event – a virgin conceives and brings forth a son, whom they name Jesus (Savior), who is called Emmanuel (God with us), and who is the long awaited Christ.

God spoke five times in dreams in these first two chapters - four times to Joseph, once to the magi (1:20, 2:12, 2:13, 2:19, 2:22). This is a highly charged supernatural time and God is very active through these dreams and angels to guide Joseph and to protect the Child.

Dreams
What does the Bible say about dreams? Dreams occur in the Old Testament more than 80 times, 5 times in these two chapters, and once more in Matthew 27:19, When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. I was surprised to learn we only read of dreams one more time in the New Testament. That would be in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost:

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 

Peter is quoting from Joel 2 to explain what was happening to the apostles: the Holy Spirit had been poured out and the disciples were speaking in tongues. Wait, other than the Spirit being poured out, nothing Joel said would happen happened on Pentecost and nothing that happened on Pentecost was mentioned by Joel. Peter introduced this quote from Joel by saying, this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; Joel spoke of manifestations of the Spirit and this is what happened. Joel did not speak of the gifts of the Spirit (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues), but he does say, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

As I pointed out, there is no mention of dreams after this. Interesting. Does this mean no one did or should ever expect to have a dream from God? I don’t think so. I mean, the only epistle to mention the Lord’s Supper is 1 Corinthians, does this mean no other church observed it. Of course not.

Dreams may not be common but we should remain open to God speaking to us this way. There have been many people throughout church history who have had dreams from the Lord. Patrick for example. “And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.” This is not uncommon in early church history.

There are innumerable stories today of Muslim men and women declaring that God spoke to them through dreams, telling them Jesus is the Savior. I’m not a Patrick or a Muslim convert, but I can testify to God speaking to me in dreams. My dreams are often vivid and I remember many of them, but these were different and made an impact on my spiritual life. Now, Joseph had more dreams from God in two chapters than I have had in 44 years as a believer, but this doesn’t change the reality of the promise, God can and does speak to us in dreams.

Visions
There are no visions in Matthew 1 and 2, but Joel speaks of visions after the Holy Spirit is poured out. And the New Testament mentions a number of visions: Matthew 17:9, Luke 1:22, Acts 9:10, Acts 10:3, 10:17, Acts 16:9, Acts 26:19, and of course the book of Revelation is a series of visions. (The Old Testament mentions visions more often than I cared to count.) There is one occurrence that is especially interesting:

Acts 18:9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: Spoke by night in a vision. Is this a dream or a vision? My working definitions have been – A dream is something that you have when you are asleep; A vision is something you see when you are awake. I may need to reconsider.

If a vision is something you see when you are awake, I’ve never had a vision. Well, as I pondered this I recalled something that happened once when I “was trippin’ on LSD.” I didn’t really like LSD so I didn’t ‘drop acid’ very many times, but those few times I did I saw things. Most can be filed under ‘hallucinations’, but one time was different – I saw demons. It scared me. Does that count as a vision? I clearly saw something in the spiritual realm, but I don’t know that it was from the Lord.

Perpetua was a believer who was martyred in AD 203. Here is an excerpt from her story:

"Then my brother said to me, 'My dear sister, you are already in a position of great dignity, and are such that you may ask for a vision (1), and that it may be made known to you whether this is to result in a passion or an escape.' And I, who knew that I was privileged to converse with the Lord, whose kindnesses I had found to be so great, boldly promised him, and said, 'Tomorrow I will tell you.' And I asked, and this was what was shown me. I saw a golden ladder of marvellous height, reaching up even to heaven, and very narrow, so that persons could only ascend it one by one; and on the sides of the ladder was fixed every kind of iron weapon. There were there swords, lances, hooks, daggers; so that if any one went up carelessly, or not looking upwards, he would be torn to pieces and his flesh would cleave to the iron weapons. And under the ladder itself was crouching a dragon of wonderful size, who lay in wait for those who ascended, and frightened them from the ascent. And Saturus went up first, who had subsequently delivered himself up freely on our account, not having been present at the time that we were taken prisoners. And he attained the top of the ladder, and turned towards me, and said to me, Perpetua, I am waiting for you; but be careful that the dragon do not bite you.' And I said, 'In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall not hurt me.' And from under the ladder itself, as if in fear of me, he slowly lifted up his head; and as I trod upon the first step, I trod upon his head. And I went up, and I saw an immense extent of garden, and in the midst of the garden a white-haired man sitting in the dress of a shepherd, of a large stature, milking sheep; and standing around were many thousand white-robed ones. And he raised his head, and looked upon me, and said to me, 'Thou are welcome, daughter.' And he called me, and from the cheese as he was milking he gave me as it were a little cake, and I received it with folded hands; and I ate it, and all who stood around said Amen. And at the sound of their voices I was awakened (2), still tasting a sweetness which I cannot describe. And I immediately related this to my brother, and we understood that it was to be a passion, and we ceased henceforth to have any hope in this world.”

I have highlighted two parts for observations: (1) visions were a normal part of the Christian life in her day; (2) looks to me like she had her vision while she slept, in other words, in a dream. Interesting. Maybe dreams and visions are like a hand in a glove.

Dreams and visions are promised as a part of this new day of life in the Spirit. I believe they are a genuine way that God may speak to us today; a natural part of a supernatural life. Yet, and I find this interesting, we have no guidelines concerning them. They don’t appear to be as common or frequent as spiritual gifts, but like spiritual gifts, they are subject to the Word of God - that is, a dream that contradicts the truth revealed in Jesus and recorded in the Word is not from God and is to be rejected.

I’m aware of people who have dreams/visions as often as I eat supper. They have them more frequently than any prophet or apostle. I’m not impressed nor inclined to believe them. I know that Joseph had four dreams in two chapters, but in the rest of the New Testament they are not nearly as frequent.

Spiritual Gifts and Dreams
Spiritual gifts are supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit: the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, that is, for the profit of the church. (The exception being tongues when used as a prayer language: For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God...He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself...But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.) And even though gifts are supernatural, there is still a participation required. Dreams are also supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit, but they are personal and private. And, they are just given to you; you can have a word from God for the church and fail to share it, you just have a dream. Perhaps this is one reason there are no guidelines, they happen when God gives them period.

Dreams and the promise in Joel 2:28-29  
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

What a wonderful promise! This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and continues for us today. Joel seems to be rather specific: sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, but I don’t accept for a minute that he is being restrictive – only old men dream dreams etc. I understand him rather in an inclusive way – I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, young and old, men and women, servants and handmaids; and there will be manifestations for all of them. In other words, everyone who is filled with the Spirit can expect any of these manifestations (or any of the gifts, for that matter). Amen. And when he says, “upon all flesh”, he clearly does not means every person in the world will receive the Spirit; he means every covenant person, every believer has the promise of the Spirit.

What a day we live in: Christ has come; and Joel says of this day (later in the same chapter), And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved; and here, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and they shall prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions! Amen and amen! Let us open our hearts to all that God has for us in Christ.

The Comforter has come!

The Comforter has come!

The Holy Ghost from heav’n,

The Father’s promise giv’n;

O spread the tidings ’round,

Wherever man is found—

The Comforter has come!