100. DREAMS

102. DREAMS

We all dream right?

What does the bible say about dreams and how do I know what is a good or bad dream?

Bible – Its Dreams and Symbols

And He said, “Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream” (Num. 12:6).

“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” (Acts 2:17).

“For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.” (Job 33:14- 18).


Dreams are believed as being the manifestations of the mind's process of working on your worries and fears. At times, your efforts during your awakened state do not bear fruit. You fail in solving certain problems. You struggle to get rid of mental stress, only to find yourself still in trouble. It is during your sleep, when your conscious mind is not awake, that your brain tries to find solutions to your problems. Some of you must have experienced having found an answer to a seemingly difficult question after a night's sleep. You might have experienced the phenomenon of your problems getting solved through your dreams. What does the Bible say about dreams? Dreams are the reflections of the stress in your life. Some believe that Satan could be sending you intimidating messages in the form of dreams. Just pray to the heavenly father for guidance and what is the true meanings behind your dreams .
God and prophets through dreams. The Bible has a verse that talks about God warning people through dreams. The Bible states that God may encourage you through dreams. It is believed that it is your subconscious self that speaks to you through your dreams. Dreams can be the means by which your mind tells you that you need a change in life.

A verse in Bible, that says, "For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words" discusses the causes of dreams. According to the Bible, multitude of physical or mental business causes dreams. The Bible believes in the idea that while you are physically asleep, your mind and brain are at work. Many a times, you wake up with a certain state of mind that appears to have developed as a result of your dreams. At times you wake up sad, at times scared while at other times, you wake up with an unexplained happiness. Soon you realize that all of it was a part of your dream. What appears real is actually not. The Bible talks about this phenomenon in Isaiah 29:8 that says, It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite".

The Bible makes it clear that there is a difference between messages from God and those from the Satan or demons. Only those with a "band of truth" are fortunate to interpret the messages they receive through dreams. It is also not correct to interpret every dream as messages from God. The sources of dreams or premonitions that you experience are not always clear. The reasons behind them cannot be easily understood. In case of bad dreams casing fear or illness, it is best to seek God's help. Almighty is the true healer.
There are about 121 mentions of dreaming in the Bible and 89 mentions of sleep. (King James version.)

"And they replied, “We both had dreams last night,
but no one can tell us what they mean.”
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied.
“Go ahead and tell me your dreams"
Genesis 40:8 (NLT)

"And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you,I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams."
Numbers 12:6 (NLT)

"He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds."
Job 33:15 (NLT)

"For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness.
Rather, fear God."
Ecclesiastes 5:7 (NASB)

"It will come about after this. That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions."
Joel 2:28 (NASB)

"God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said," Jacob, Jacob.
"And he said, "Here I am."
Genesis 46:2 (NASB)

"He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision
I shall speak with him in a dream."
Numbers 12:6 (NASB)

"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law."
Proverbs 29:18 (NASB)

"And the LORD answered me, and said,
Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth  it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
Habakkuk 2:2-3 (KJV)

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams." - Numbers 12:6b

This evening I did a study of all of the passages in the Bible that mention the words: dream, dreamed, dreamer, dreamers, dreameth, and dreams. My intent was to practice Systematic theology concerning the nature of dreams. (Wayne Grudem defines Systematic Theology as "any study that answers the question, "What does the whole Bible teach us today?" about any given topic.")

Dreams are listed in several different places in the Bible.
Some of the most notable:
Jacob's Ladder - Jacob dreamt of a ladder going from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it.God spoke to him from above, granting him the land of Israel.
Joseph's dreams - Joseph dreamt that his parents and brothers would bow down to him, in two separate dreams. In one, sheaves of grain bowed down to his sheaf. In another, the stars, sun, and moon bowed down to him.
Later while in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's baker and cupbearer. The baker was given three days before he was hung, and the cupbearer was given three days before he was restored.
Joseph also interpreted Pharoah's dream involving cows, and also his second dream involving ears of corn. He correctly predicted 7 plentiful years and 7 lean years for Egypt, and was put in a position of power.

Daniel was given several dreams/visions that are recorded in the apocalyptic style.

My study revealed several items of interest about dreams.

First and foremost is how we are expected to use dreams - dreams are secondary to the use of God's word. "Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully." - Jeremiah 23:28a God warns against false dreamers and prophets in several places (Deut 13, Jer 23, 29:8, Zech 10:2) and that they will be sent to test faith (Deut 13:3). In addition there are characteristically 4 types of dreams reported in the Bible:
Blessings:
Blessings are bestowed upon Jacob (Gen 28:12), Joseph (Gen 37), the cupbearer (Gen 37), Egypt (Gen 41), King Solomon (1 Kings 3).
Warnings:
Abimelech concerning Abraham's wife (Gen 20:3,6), the baker (Gen 40), Egypt (Gen 41), Gideon's enemies (Judges 7:13), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4), and numerous times to Joseph (early father to Jesus) and the Magi in the first two chapters of Matthew.
Information/commands:
To Joseph concerning Mary's child, and also to return to Israel from Egypt (Matthew 1 & 2)
Future events:
The visions of Daniel, and also of John in Revelation.

Job 7:14 also states that God frightens us with dreams so that we will turn from evil.

"For God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not percieve it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds." - Job 14:15

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, your young men will see visions." - Joel 2:28

Clearly God uses dreams to communicate with man. But are all dreams meant as this communication? Ecclesiastes would indicate not - "Much dreaming and many words are meaningless" (Ecc 5:7) and "dreams come when there are many cares" (Ecc 5:3).

There also seems to be a gift of dream interpretation - possessed by both Joseph and Daniel in Scripture. While it is doubtful that such a powerful version of it is bestowed today, if God uses dreams, then he almost certainly uses interpreters as well.

How then do we know what dreams are meaningful? Can we even have meaningful dreams?

Peter's quotation of the passage in Joel (Acts 2) indicates that the time when the Spirit is poured out has arrived, meaning any common person who has the Holy Spirit can have meaningful dreams. In many cases in the Bible, God directly speaks to the dreamer - while these dreams have the highest consideration, as long as it does not conflict with Scripture, any dream could be communication from God.

Why do I have nightmares can the devil influence your dreams? Even if you don't believe in the devil?

The other night I had a dream where the devil approached me and told me that he was the one giving me bad dreams. This is really weird because I don't even really believe in the devil, and I never even thought that the cause of my bad dreams could be the devil. 

Was this just a random dream or is there some truth to the devil being able to influence dreams like some kind of freddy krueger?

Very well possible (metaphorically speaking of course). Think of it this way: we all face "demons" in this life... big, small... we all face em. The devil supposedly represents the king of all that is evil and all the demons of this earth. This could be your subconscious mind (or spirit) trying to tell you that a huge demon you are facing now is causing all these bad dreams or experiences in life. Now since I don't personally know you, I can't say wat demon you face and my best advice would b if you dont know wat it is search previous dreams and try and connect them and piece together your issue and tackle it head on. Or if you do know wat demon it may be, face it head on still :) God Bless
The Bible tells you to trust in God, submit yourself to Him and rest assured that He will solve all the problems in your life. You should pray to God before going to sleep and request him to take away your worries. The Bible proclaims that belief in God and a total loyalty towards Him is a definite way to overcome your difficulties.


God and the devil are both real, and the devil can influence your dreams. God is more powerful than anything so you can pray about your life to protect yourself. You need to find and follow God before you die, whenever that is, so you can go to heaven after you die. This is very important. Know that God can help you live a better life. You can have a personal relationship with God by saying the prayer below. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, holy, love. God loves us and sent us His Son, Jesus Christ, so we can go to heaven if we know and follow Him. Forever means without end -- time on and on without death. Forever is what happens after we die. Either we go to heaven and be with God forever, or we go to hell which is very bad and painful forever. The good people who are saved believers in Jesus Christ go to heaven. The bad people go to hell. We need to know and follow God in this world to get to heaven in the next world. We follow God by loving and obeying Him and loving others for Him. Jesus Christ, God's Son, is our bridge to God. Jesus died on the cross to cancel our sins. We need to accept Jesus into our life as our Lord and Savior forever to receive God's blessing and forgiveness plus go to heaven to be with God forever after we die. This is about being a born-again Christian. Faith in God is a gift from God. You can pray for faith in God. Just speak out and ask God for the faith to believe in Him and to follow Him. Some people find faith in God when they realize the beauty in the world is made by God. Evolution can't explain the world's natural beauty, for example, the parks in the world, animals, flowers, peacocks, sunsets, butterflies, rainbows, etc. After you have your faith on, you can pray a sinner's prayer to be a born-again Christian. This prayer is very important and should be said with a sincere heart and faith in God. This is the prayer: "Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice for our sins. I have done the following sins (state these out) and I pray to discontinue these sins. I pray to receive Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior forever. In Jesus' name, amen. You could check out a Christian church youth group or Bible study group to learn about God's will for your life. You can pray to God about your daily life and have a Christian church pray for you.