Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation

1 1 Defining Dream and Vision:1. Dream - A sequence of images, etc. passingthrough a sleeping person s mind (Webster sDictionary)2. Vision - A mental image (Webster s Dictio-nary)3. In a Dream , a vision of the (Job33:15)You will note from this verse the close con-nection the Hebrews maintained between thedream and the vision. The words are used al-most dreams and visions involve the viewingof images on the screen within one s we would think of a Dream as the flowof these images while sleeping and a vision asthe flow of these images while Daydreaming is MAN utilizing the visionaryprocess. This is not encouraged, and may bewhat is referred to in Ecclesiastes 5:7. It isbetter to present the eyes of the heart to Godand ask Him to fill them with a divine flow ofdreams, visions and godly Scientific ObservationsConcerning DreamsSleep laboratories have proven that everyonedreams one to two hours each night during acertain period of sleep known as alpha level,which is light sleep.

2 Every 90-minute cycle ofsleep begins with alpha, then goes into deepersleep which is called theta, and finally deepestsleep which is called the close of the first 90-minute cycle each night,the individual returns to alpha level sleep, where hehas a short, five-minute Dream period. The next timehe cycles up to alpha, he has a ten-minute dreamperiod. The third time in alpha, the Dream period isabout 15 minutes, and so on. If one sleeps a fulleight hours, the entire last hour is essentially spentin alpha level sleep. Thus, the average person sleep-ing for eight hours a night will Dream about one totwo hours of that level sleep is where one has what is calledRapid Eye Movement (REM). Rapid Eye Movementis exactly what it sounds like: the eyes of the dreamerbegin moving rapidly. He is actually watching thescenes in the Dream , and thus his eyes are literallymoving back and forth, observing the action. Byobserving the alpha level sleep when Rapid EyeMovement occurs, researchers in sleep laboratorieshave determined when a person is dreaming and howmuch time is spent dreaming in an average have discovered that if they awaken a personevery time REM begins, preventing him from Dream -ing, after about three nights the individual will be-gin to show signs of having a nervous dreams are an inner release mechanismwhich helps provide us with emotional balance andmaintain our sanity.

3 Dreams can be consideredguardians of our mental and emotional Reasons We Should Listen to OurDreams1. God declared that He WOULD speak throughdreams and visions in the Old He said, Hear now my words: If therebe a prophet among you, I the LORD willmake myself known unto him in a vision, andwill speak unto him in a Dream (Num. 12:6).2. God declared that He DID speak throughdreams and visions in the Old Testament. I have also spoken by the prophets, and Ihave multiplied visions, and used similitudes,by the ministry of the prophets (Hos. 12:10). Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation23. God declares that He WILL communicatethrough dreams and visions in the New Testa-ment. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit uponall flesh: and your sons and your daughtersshall prophesy, and your young men shallsee visions, and your old men shall dreamdreams (Acts 2:17).4. God declares that He WILL COUNSEL us atnight through our will bless the Lord who has counseled me;Indeed, my mind (inner man) instructs me inthe night (Ps.)

4 16:7 NASB).5. Rather than our dreams being fatalistic, dreamsare calling us to change SO WE WILL God speaketh once, yea twice, yet manperceiveth it not. In a Dream , in a vision ofthe night, when deep sleep falleth upon men,in slumberings upon the bed; Then Heopeneth the ears of men, and sealeth theirinstruction, That He may withdraw man fromhis purpose, and hide pride from man. Hekeepeth back his soul from the pit, and hislife from perishing by the sword (Job 33:14-18, emphasis mine).6. God does very significant things WITHIN dreams. For example, He established theAbrahamic Covenant in a when the sun was going down, a deepsleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror ofgreat darkness fell upon God saidto the same day the LORD madea covenant with Abram, ( :12,13,18, emphasis mine).7. God grants supernatural gifts Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomonin a Dream by night: and God said, Askwhat I shall give Give therefore thy servant an understand-ing heart to judge Thy people, that I maydiscern between good and bad: for who isable to judge this Thy so great a people?

5 Behold, I have done according to thywords: lo, I have given thee a wise and anunderstanding heart; so that there was nonelike thee before thee, neither after thee shallany arise like unto And Solomonawoke; and, behold, it was a Dream (I Kings3:5,9,12,15).Summarizing the Importance of OurDreamsGod has chosen to communicate with mankindthrough dreams. He guides and counsels us throughour dreams. He establishes covenants with usthrough our dreams. He grants us gifts in our utilized dreams from Genesis to Revelation, anddeclared that He would continue to use them in thelast days. When you total up all dreams and visionsin the Bible, and all the stories and actions whichcome out of these dreams and visions, you haveabout one-third of the Bible, which is equal to thesize of the New Testament! Dreams are a centralway God has chosen to communicate with us, andthus they must be given great weight!Five Things You Can Do to Help RecallYour Dreams1.

6 Say to yourself, I believe dreams contain avalid message. This is a signal to your heart that you are tak-ing it seriously and want to hear what it has totell you. You are giving it permission, and evenasking it to awaken you after each Dream . Yourheart will do exactly that. You see, if you donot awaken within five minutes of the dreamending, you will not recall it. If, however, you3tell your heart that dreams are leftover undi-gested pizza, then you heart lets you sleepthrough the Dream and doesn t awaken youafter it is over, and thus you do not recall Ask God to speak to you through dreams asyou fall does answer prayers, especially whenprayed in accordance to His will!3. Put your journal beside your bed and immedi-ately record your dreams upon will forget most of your dreams by themorning, so get up and write them downwhen you Get eight hours of sleep, as the entire last hourwill be Awaken naturally, without the use of an alarmclock, as alarms shatter Dream recall and blasttidbits of dreams into oblivion where they arenever you will do the above five things, you will recalldreams every Foundational Principles forInterpreting Dreams1.

7 Most dreams are symbolic (including biblicaldreams), so view them the same way youwould view a political cartoon. Throw theswitch in your brain that says, Look at thissymbolically. You can learn the art of communicating sym-bolically by playing the game Pictionary or Bible Pictionary. 2. The symbols will come from the dreamer s life,so ask, What does this symbol mean to me? or, if working on another s Dream , ask, Whatdoes this symbol mean to you? For example, Joseph was a shepherd, and hedreamed of sheaves and sun, moon and starsbowing down (Gen. 37:1-11). These imagessurround a shepherd boy who lives in the , a king, dreamed of statuesof gold (Dan 2:31ff), which surround kingswho live in The Dream generally speaks of the concernswhich your heart is currently facing. So ask, What issues was I processing the day beforeI had the Dream ? For example, Paul was wondering where togo next on his missionary journey and had adream of a Macedonian man motioning forhim to come on over (Acts 16:6-11).

8 Nebuchadnezzar was thinking his kingdomwould go on forever (Dan. 4:28-33) and hehad a Dream of a tree being chopped off atthe roots (Dan. 4:9-27). Once you know thethoughts that were on the dreamer s heartwhen he fell asleep, it is much easier to drawout the meaning of the The meaning of the Dream must be drawn fromthe dreamer. Realize you know nothing aboutthe Dream , but through dependence upon theHoly Spirit and the skillful use of questions,you can draw the meaning of the Dream outfrom the heart of the for these four children, God gave themknowledge and skill in all learning and wis-dom: and Daniel had understanding in all vi-sions and dreams (Dan. 1:17).Counsel in the heart of man is like deep wa-ter; but a man of understanding will draw itout (Prov. 20:5).5. The dreamer s heart will leap and witness and say, Aha! when it hears the right inter-pretation, so never accept an Interpretation thatdoes not bear witness in the dreamer s Dreams reveal but do not condemn.

9 Their goalis to preserve life, not to destroy it (Job 33:13-18).7. Never make a major decision in your life basedonly on a Dream without receiving additionalconfirmation from the other ways that Godspeaks to us and guides us (peace in our hearts,the counsel of others, illumined Scriptures,God s still small voice, prophecy, anointed rea-soning, etc.).Discerning Dreams About YourselfAt least 95% of your dreams will be about you your inner self, your current situation, your relation-ships. Your dreams come from your heart and willexpress the things that are important to your most common area your spirit will reveal willbe your emotional, heart struggles and sanctifica-tion issues, expressed symbolically. Body and healthissues are also important to your spirit, so they maybe revealed, again in a symbolic way. Your relation-ships to other people are important to your heart, sothese may be conveyed in signs and symbols.

10 Andthe circumstances and events that surround your life,ministry or vocation are also important to your heart,so these may be portrayed symbolically in the vast majority of dreams are about yourinner self, begin the process of interpreting yourdream with the assumption that it probably is aboutsomething you are or should be dealing with in yourown life right the feeling of the Dream first. How did youfeel upon first awakening? Was your heart pound-ing in fear? Were you confused, frustrated, angry,rejected, or threatened? Did you feel loved, excited,happy, or content? Did you feel exposed, unprepared,or disappointed? What was the overall emotion thatthe Dream evoked? In what aspect of your life areyou also feeling this emotion? If it is not immedi-ately obvious to you, ask the Lord to reveal it at the action of the Dream next. Ask the HolySpirit to show you the symbolism of the action. Forexample, if the symbol in your Dream is that yourcar is going backward, ask, In what way do I feelthat I am going backward, that I am not moving for-ward in this area of my life?