PROPHETIC DREAMS AND VISIONS
February 24, 1999
Don Hawley
God-given dreams and visions played an important role in Old Testament history. According to the prophet Joel, prophetic dreams and visions would play an even more extensive role in New Testament times. Sensing this, Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy after the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.
Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that. People don’t get drunk by nine o’clock in the morning. No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel:
"In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy." Acts 2:14-18.
We need to understand that this portion of Scripture is not saying that only older people will dream dreams, or only younger people will have visions. Words of prophecy can come in various forms without regard to age or gender.
UNMIXED BLESSING?
At first glance it seems like a great blessing will be realized when "all" of God’s people prophesy. However, the devil also knows the Bible, and he is concerned about a prophetical outpouring in the last days. He must do what he can to clog the channels of spiritual communication.
God knows that on our own we are more apt to go astray than down the road he has planned for us. For that reason he has sent his Holy Spirit to make clearer the proper path.
Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me. All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.
John 16:12-15.
Our goal then is to hear clearly the voice of the third person of the Godhead. We can be certain the Holy Spirit will not lead us astray, but the devil will try to interfere in any way he can.
SATAN’S BLOCKING STRATEGIES
When I look at my computer email morning by morning, I sense we have already entered that time when many of God’s children are speaking prophetically. One problem, however, is the very volume of messages presented. I find it almost impossible to download and study every "prophetic" communication available. I need the Spirit to help me be selective in some manner.
To many, if not most of us, this matter of hearing prophetically is new and strange. We may be tempted to assume that anything and everything labeled "prophetic" is a true word from God. That is a dangerous stance.
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.
Matt. 7:15-20.
If there are false prophets we can be sure there are false prophecies. If a person shows up on your doorstep claiming to be a prophet of God, you may have opportunity to test the "fruit" of that person’s life. However, if you merely have a "prophecy" on the Internet, fruit testing can be quite a challenge. What we can be certain of is that some of the "prophecies" on the Net, or elsewhere, are deliberately false and designed to mislead. We must exercise care.
A religious proclamation may originate with God, the devil, or the flesh. Some of what purports to be "prophetical" is merely the imaginings of the flesh. Even though it might not be a malicious counterfeit, it nevertheless can cause damage if taken as truth. Again, caution is in order.
By this time it must be obvious that we cannot automatically take any "prophetical" word as a sure guide for either an individual or a group. The Bible presents us with a safeguard.
As the Scriptures say, "The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Cor. 13:1.
Only after we have what we consider to be adequate confirmation dare we follow a word of prophecy.
PROPHETIC DREAMS
Since most of my prophetic ministry has evolved from prophetic dreams, I would like to address that area specifically.
I read a book on prophetic dreaming recently where the author stated that every dream one has is prophetic. I absolutely reject that stand, and consider it a dangerous one. As Scrooge pointed out, a dream or vision may be the result of some gravy eaten earlier in the evening. Ordinary dreams play an important role in relieving us of day to day stress, and their content reveals that. When I was a young boy my mother was terrified of anything having to do with the field of medicine. This rubbed off on me, and for years I had a nightmare almost daily where I was being wheeled into surgery—certainly never to return. It would be the height of foolishness to consider such a dream to have spiritual significance.
Although there is no glib way to tell the difference between a prophetic dream and an ordinary one, there is a difference. My ordinary dreams are, well, ordinary. Prophetic dreams have a certain intensity and quality about them that sets them apart. This is something one learns with experience. Naturally, it's important to be able to tell one from the other.
There are some general elements of prophetic dreams that may provide guidelines for interpretation. For instance black often represents the power of darkness, while white stands on the side of righteousness. However, I stay away from popular dream codebooks that define every little impression one might meet in a dream. The Holy Spirit is not that easy to figure out. So when someone tells me that a fork with one tine missing is almost certainly indicative of a death in the family, I just move on.
Of course a prophetic dream without interpretation is merely an annoying problem, as King Nebuchadnezzar found out. An interpretation is mandatory if the dream is to be of value, but herein lies a danger. The interpretation of the dream is more important than the dream itself.
Sometimes God allows the prophetic dreamer to correctly interpret his own dream, and in other cases another person, or persons, must be called upon for interpretation.
How do we go about finding a reliable interpretation? Someone has wisely said, "Every translation of the Bible is an interpretation." In other words, no matter how wise, sincere, and well educated the theologians doing the translation, some of their own bias inevitably will creep in. That is one good reason for comparing one translation with another.
Even the Bible authors were merely God’s penmen, not his pen. God did not dictate to them word for word, but gave them a message of truth that they then wrote down in their own way. That is why the writings of Luke and Amos are not alike. A physician is not going to express himself in the same way that a shepherd is going to write.
No matter how earnest or experienced the interpreter of a prophetic dream, the interpretation is bound to reveal some of that person’s own bias. I didn’t say such a fact invalidates the dream. We merely need to understand that the message has gone through a human filter, and ultimately we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to see the full light of truth.
I've seen situations where the interpreter was so emotionally attached to the dreamer that it was all but impossible to make an objective analysis. On the other hand, I have also seen situations where the interpreter was so detached from the dreamer and his world that it was difficult to interpret correctly.
I hope I have not inadvertently frightened anyone away from the prophetic. God has, from the fall in the Garden on, chosen to speak to his people prophetically. The role of prophet is the only ministry that can be traced from Eden to today under the same title—although the role of a New Testament prophet differs from that of an Old Testament prophet.
Prophecy is essential if the Body of Christ is going to understand its role and mission at the end of time. We must not be deprived due to fear of false or fleshly prophecies. We must look to the source of prophecy and believe that if we sincerely ask for bread we will not be given a stone.
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