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In the Bible we see extraordinary examples of God communicating with people with dreams and visions. It is very important for the person to interpret the dream correctly so as to correctly understand the meaning. But before interpreting, even more important is to determine whether the dream was from God or is it just another normal dream we have every day.

If one treats a normal dream as a dream from God, then he is making a big mistake. He is making a lie. If one treats a normal dream as a dream from God and preaches the dream like a message from God, he becomes a false prophet. In the Book of Jeremiah chapter 23, we see the Jeremiah the Prophet criticizing this problem severely. Similarly, if one treats a dream from God as a normal dream and dismisses it, he is despising the word and revelation from God. Looking at these two kind of possible consequences, we see the importance and urgency to understand how to discern revelations with a fearful heart.

If someone suspects that he had a dream or vision from God, he should first review it with biblical truth and principles, preferably with the help of spiritually mature mentors. One special characteristic a divine dream should possess is a strong intensity. A divine dream is likely to cause special feeling or engagement of the soul. Normally, our whole body including the brain rest during sleep. The brain is only partially awake even upon the occurrences of dreams. As a result we experience irrational, confusing and discontinuous visual animations and other senses. Also, we often find dreams to be difficult to recall once awake. This is due to the weak activation of processing ability and memorization of the brain during sleep.

When divine dreams happen, God light of truth shines upon your mind and spirit. The words from the mouth of God always carry power. The dreamer of divine dreams should be able to sense the power and recognize them apart from normal dreams. In the book of Genesis, Jacob saw God above the ladder of heaven and name the place Bethel. This is an example that illustrates the power of divine dreams or visions.

In strong intensity of divine dreams causes the person to react. The power touches the person’s inner being and makes him response in the way God wills. These dreams are more vivid and real in many senses. Some even reported lucid dreams which the dreamer had difficulty telling the difference of dream and reality. And these dreams are naturally more clearly remembered, sometimes even the details.

God speaks with a purpose. When God speaks at that intensity, we can be sure that message from the revelation is also likely be important to the person who experiences it. It may cause long term impact on the person’s life. God could also speak to a person about something more than personal, like information about a nation, another person. The experience would act as a reminder to influence the person to work out the will of God. Hence, we could try to inspect whether a dream is from God by its intensity.

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God speaks to people through many different ways. He communicates with people with thoughts or unnoticed feelings. Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” He also communicates with a minor group of chosen people at more intense levels, like prophetic dreams, visions or even audible voices. For average believers like us, how can we separate what is from God and what is not? We can know better with some common points of the revelations from God, like their efficacy.

When we talk about the efficacy of dreams and visions, we are saying about the effects they induce. All means of revelations, if they are from God, convey the will of God and messages He wants people to know. By studying the Bible, we know that all these messages work for the people who receive them or the community they belong to. Real prophetic messages bring the help of God for the word of God is spirit and life, while false prophesying does not. In the Old Testament, God clearly berates the false prophets for proclaiming dreams from Him while they were not from Him. They say peace, peace while there is no peace.

God provides all sorts of help for people in prophetic revelations like dreams. The word of the Lord shines light into the dreamer’s life. It brings the attributes of God. He is love. His love endures forever. People clearly experience the love of God through prophesying. It provides guidance, instructions, hope, warning, wisdom, faith and strength for the dreamer or the group of people.

We see important prophetic dreams and visions in significant events in Bible. One of the most significant events ever happened is the birth of Jesus Christ. After the birth of Jesus, Herod the King wanted to kill him because he heard from the wise men from east that a king is born there. The wise men finally found baby Jesus and worshipped Him. They then received a dream from God. Originally, they planned to report to Herod after meeting Jesus. But the dream instructed them not to. We see that dreams from God always work goods for people, to show the love of God.

In the Book of Daniel, we also see an example of a God given revelation saving a group of people. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king had a dream but forgot about it. He was troubled and demanded the sorcerers to tell his dream and the interpretation. Of course no one was able to do it, besides Daniel the prophet for God almighty was with him. God gave Daniel a revelation at night in form of a vision which is similar in nature of dreams. Daniel gave Nebuchadnezzar a satisfying answer and spared everybody’s life from death. In addition, the dream carries significant information about the end time!

We are taught to judge a tree by its fruit. A real prophetic message whether by means of dreams or visions or any other form, if it was from God, the result it brings must reflect the characters of God. He has loving kindness. His mercy endures forever. He is just and true. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

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