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context to the Prophetic Listening lectures in ‘The Way of the Prophet’ I
want to take you through some basic guidelines in simple, Spirit-led dream
interpretation. It is vital as a prophet to both know and understand what the
Lord is saying to us in dreams and visions. He speaks to us in dark sayings to
keep His will secret and hidden from the enemy.
Not every symbol will have the same interpretation for every
person. What a spouse or a father may mean in one person’s dream, may
represent something totally different in another. So as a prophet in addition to
using these guidelines, ask the Lord for revelation to add to the dream. While
you go through the dream, write out the interpretation as a journal and allow
the Holy Spirit to place additional pictures and revelations into your heart to
enhance it. Dreams can tell you all about a person. It can let you know what is
in their heart and what the Lord is doing in their lives.
Use the opportunity, not to just give an interpretation but
also use it for ministry. This is after all what the Lord gives revelation for
– for the use of ministry and encouragement. Take the interpretation the Lord
gives you and then add encouragement and counseling to give the person you are
interpreting for faith, hope and love. As you use the gifts within you, you will
be a sharpened, valuable tool in the hand of the master and a treasure in His
eyes.
The Prophetic Dream
As a prophet, any prophetic dreams you receive are tantamount
to receiving a revelation through visions, prophecy, sounds, taste or touch.
They are simply the medium the Lord has chosen to speak to you at that time.
There are different kinds of dreams, but speaking here of prophetic dreams they
are to be treated like any other revelation. The Lord may give you a word and
tell you to keep it hidden, just as John was told in Revelation, so you to
should keep that secret in your heart.
There will be a time when the Lord will tell you to speak it
forth: Jeremiah 23:8 The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and
he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What [is] the chaff to
the wheat? Says the LORD. These dreams are prophetic and are to be spoken as
a decree, just as Daniel in declaring to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of
his dream in which he dreamt of the statue with its head of gold, breast of
silver, thighs of bronze and feet of clay and iron mixed. As Daniel both
received this revelation and spoke it forth, he was speaking into existence
those things that would take place in the world and the coming of the Messiah
whose Kingdom would take over the earth.
Often a dream will be giving you direction of what step to
take next. The Lord often spoke to people in the scriptures to tell them what to
do. Joseph and Mary are another example of the Lord sending an angel in a dream
to tell them when to leave Egypt and then again when Paul dreamt of the
Macedonian beckoning him to come to them.
What of the warning dream? Right through the scriptures you
read of where the Lord spoke warning. Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech
in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you [are] a dead man, [because] of
the woman which you have taken; for she [is] a man's wife.
A warning dream is always directional. It will tell you what
to look out for and what to do about it. When the Lord gives you a warning of
what the enemy would like to do in your life, this is not for the reason of
causing fear, but rather to use the authority and means He has given you to
overcome that plan.
Background Information
Before being able to interpret the dream of another, you will
need to know a bit about that person. While some symbols are common amongst many
people, to give an accurate interpretation you will need to know the
relationship of the person with the characters in their dream. You will need to
know what the places, objects and scenes meant to them personally and most
importantly you need to know if they are born again by the Spirit of God if you
are to interpret by the Spirit and the Word.
Keep in mind that interpretation of symbols in dreams also
depends on your culture and upbringing. The Lord used a tablecloth of unclean
animals to get His point across to Peter at the tanner’s house. Peter was
Jewish and so the symbols in his dream were very clear to him, they yelled
" UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!" So the Lord will use symbols that are common to
you and your culture to speak to your spirit. Being a Christian, most symbols
for Prophetic dreams will come from the Word of God, because that is one ‘culture’
that we all belong to as the Body of Christ Universal.
Deception
The enemy can plant dreams in your mind that are either, a
direct attack or a deception. When the enemy attacks you in your sleep, find out
what open doors you may have given him that day. Apply the Warfare 4 lecture.
Another teaching that will help you identify curses is the "Identifying
Curses" in the Way of Blessing series.
Satan has no right to attack you with no license, so if you
are coming under demonic attack in your sleep stop right there and ask for
revelation to reveal the open door you may have given him. Often this happens
when you bring a contaminated object into your bedroom. I remember a time when
someone gave my children what seemed like an innocent gift, but every night
after receiving it, they kept having nightmares. After praying over the toy and
dedicating it to the Lord, the nightmares stopped.
In identifying deception apply the Prophetic Purpose lecture
to all revelation - even revelation given in a dream. I had a situation where my
advice was asked regarding certain revelation shared in a dream. The person
shared that both their spouse and a friend both dreamed a certain individual was
going to have a heart attack and die. They were pushing to tell this person in
question to warn them.
Now if you apply the principles in the Prophetic Purpose
lecture, you need to ask yourself: Does this revelation give faith, hope or
love? If you had to walk up to a person and tell them: I dreamed you are going
to die. How do you think they will react? If they are like any one normal
person, their first reaction will be fear! And as you have learned – fear is
one of the most powerful tools the enemy uses to bring curses into our lives.
Fear doesn’t only kill faith, but causes the person to open their hearts and
give the enemy license to bring about that exact plan he had in mind!
Check your revelation out with other prophets! Discern the
spirit on it! Any dream that is filled with fear, guilt, condemnation or
self-exaltation is a deception! When the Lord speaks, He gives you the means to
facilitate that revelation. If the Lord should give you a warning through your
dreams as He did with Joseph and Mary when Jesus was a baby, He will do so at
the right time and give you what you need to speak and avoid the enemy’s plan.
It is very common for members of the G.M.R.N Team to have
warning dreams. Yet every time the Lord has given a dream of warning, there has
not been fear associated with it, but rather a sense of direction and assurance.
So be very discerning when sharing a revelation you received in a dream,
checking out the spirit on it and its motivation.
5 Steps to Christian Dream Interpretation
- STEP 1 -
Internal/Prophetic, Healing or Rubbish?
Next you need to identify if the dream is a healing dream,
internal/prophetic or just rubbish. Once you have identified that the dream is
internal or prophetic, write it down and move on to step 2.
Here are some hints on how to identify which category the
dream falls into.
-
Prophetic
A prophetic dream is very clear. It is a short, clear
precise dream with a single message. Often you will have a few short dreams
one after the other, each having a similar message.
-
Healing
In a healing dream you will most likely relive past events.
You may find yourself saying things in your dream you had wished you had said
in that particular circumstance. Perhaps you will go back to past houses,
events or time frames in your life and re experience an event, but this time
with a happy ending. A dream where you always seem to be running or hiding and
then finally stopping and confronting that which is chasing you is very
characteristic of a healing dream.
- Rubbish
A dream that is over complicated with many changes of scenery and events
are very likely to just be your inner man ‘throwing out’ the junk it had
accumulated for that day. You will most likely have many garbage dreams if
you get more into the Word and spend time with the Lord, because your mind
will be making space for the Word and will ‘throw out’ the garbage you
have stored in there for years.
A dream where you display emotions and characteristics that
are not natural to you are simply your sub-conscious ‘living out’ those
feelings and hidden temptations that you experienced during the day. These
dreams are simply purging and do not have an interpretation.
- STEP 2 -
Internal, Internal Prophetic and External Dreams.
It makes it much easier to write down the interpretation as
the Lord gives you revelation. Begin by identifying firstly if the dream is
Internal, Internal Prophetic or External. Write down which it is and then move
on to point 3.
Here are some hints on how to make this identification. Once
you have read the dream through you need to identify if it was an internal,
internal prophetic or external dream. Were you the main star? If that is the
case the dream is internal and the characters symbolic of something within
yourself. Did you perhaps receive words of direction in your dream directed at
you? Then it is likely an internal prophetic dream.
However if you were standing on the outside, looking on, the
dream is likely external. The characters may still be symbolic though, so do not
take the dream literally until you have identified each character and object.
A: Internal
An internal dream will often give you direction in your
spiritual life. It functions the same way as a Word of knowledge, in that it
relates to you those things of the past and present. An internal dream always
speaks of your spiritual life. It will let you know of you have gotten off the
path, or if you need to be placing more emphasis on something. It will give you
an idea of what state your spirit is in and if there is something lacking in
your life. It may also tell you when you have birthed something new or have come
to a place of rest or promotion.
Prophetic dreams are directional and can also give warning
and revelation from the Lord directly. In scripture the Lord often sent angels
in dreams to give a message. (See Jacob - Genesis 31:11 And the angel of God
spoke to me in a dream, [saying], Jacob: And I said, Here [am] I. and Joseph
- Matthew 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,)
B: Internal Prophetic
A Prophetic Internal dream has a different emphasis. Joseph
is a good example of this when the Lord gave him the dreams of his brother’s
sheaves bowing to his sheaf, indicating that his family would one day, bow
before him. These dreams were internal because they concerned him personally,
but yet they were also prophetic in that they were giving him a word for the
future. Another good example would be of the baker and butler whose dreams
Joseph interpreted in prison. (Genesis 40:5) Both concerned them personally, but
also gave a prophetic word of what was going to happen. Prophetic Internal
dreams function the same as a Word of Wisdom, only the word pertains to you
personally.
C: External
An external dream always concerns future events and is always
prophetic. It functions like the Word of Wisdom and needs to be used
discerningly. Daniel is a prime example of the external prophetic dreams he
received with regards to Israel and the empires of his time. His dreams always
had a future orientation. Joseph also interpreted the external dream of the King
of Egypt, which allowed him to save many lives, even the lives of his nation.
Note how even external dreams were given in symbolism. Even in an external dream
the characters may not be who they are in real life.
D: Double Interpretations
It is entirely possible for a dream to have an internal and
external interpretation. In looking at Nebuchadnezzar once again and his dream
of the large statue, we hear only the external interpretation that Daniel gave
the King. Daniel told the King how an empire was going to come that would live
forever (speaking of the Kingdom of God). What Daniel was too afraid to tell the
King is that Nebuchadnezzar himself was going to be toppled and destroyed as the
Lord revealed again later in his dream of the tree that was felled and made to
be a stump in the dew for 7 years.
So while the Lord may give you an internal dream pertaining
to your spiritual condition, He may also be giving you a prophetic dream
relating to the future. I have often seen many people err in classing all the
dreams they have as external, overlooking the internal interpretation. Perhaps
this is because people do not like to have such a close look at within
themselves and would rather relate the atrocities and obvious mistakes revealed
in their dreams as pertaining to the church, or perhaps it is simply a sign of
naiveté.
As a minister be quick to see the revelation as internal
firstly, seeing if the Lord is revealing something within yourself that needs
changing, before trying to apply what is so obviously a message to you – to
your church to use it as a whip to get them in order. You might think this
sounds harsh, but it is more common than you think for those in the prophetic
ministry to use the revelation given them by God as a whip instead of a balm of
healing to the flock.
As we receive revelation, whether it is through dreams,
visions or prophecy, let us always bear on our tongue the words of Christ,
dripping with His healing balm and light. His words and His light will indeed
destroy the darkness and bring the change He desires to bring, as ministers of
the Word of God we are to deliver the word in humility and power – we leave
the discipline and judgement to Him alone.
- STEP 3 -
Sensing the Spirit
Next sense the spirit on the dream. Was there a negative or a
positive spirit? Was there a spirit of peace, joy, fear, death, life, change or
insecurity? Once you have identified the spirit and emphasis of the dream, this
will give you a foundation on which to build the interpretation on. Write down
the impressions you have received from the Spirit and then move on to step 4.
- STEP 4 -
Identifying Places, Scenes, Characters, Objects, Creatures and Colors.
This is where you are going to break the dream down and ‘dissect’
it. Once you become more accustomed to dream interpretation you will not need to
break the dream down as much as you will see the interpretation without having
to ‘dig through’ all the details. But for those who are still ‘trying
their hand’ at dream interpretation this is a good way to go until you learn
how to flow better in the Spirit.
Make a list on your page from A - F then under each
letter list the corresponding Place, Scene, Character, Object, Creature and
Color as they appear in the dream. Reading through the helps that I list below,
systematically identify the symbol for each of these points one by one.
A: Places
Make a list of the various places encountered in the dream.
Often you may dream of places that are familiar to you. It could be that a time
of healing is being brought to that period of your life or that the Lord is
exposing something that happened during that time. Churches can speak of a place
of worship. If it is an old style church, it could be speaking of the religious
status quo system. A house could speak of your life, your body as a temple of
the Holy Spirit. Places such as monuments or historical buildings may speak of
things relating to the past – things gone by.
You might find yourself running through alleyways or dark
streets. This often speaks of running blind and not having direction. If the
feeling that comes with the place is negative and fearful, it could be that the
Lord is revealing to you that the enemy is wreaking havoc in your life and
sending you running all directions – none of which are of the Lord.
Of course if you find yourself in a meadow where the sun is
shining and you feel peace, the Lord could be revealing to you that you have
entered into a time of rest and peace with Him. This could speak of a time of
freedom and escape from the pressure around you.
Each of these would have a specific meaning pertaining to you
as an individual. Look to the Lord for revelation concerning what the places you
dream about mean to you.
B: Scenes
Write down the scenes in the dream. Once again you might find
yourself in a scene that is familiar to you. Restaurants can speak of ‘feeding’;
bathrooms can speak of ‘exposure’ or a place of ‘washing’. Then again
bedrooms may speak of intimacy and privacy. You would need to identify what the
scene mean to you and if you sensed a positive or negative feeling towards that
scene in your dream.
C: Identifying the Characters
Often the color red can speak of the blood of the Lord. Blue
is a heavenly color, while black does not have a good connotation, being likened
to the nature of the enemy. Gold often speaks of the Lord and His majesty, while
silver speaks of humanity and redemption in the scriptures. White can speak of
purity and green of fertility. Once again you would need to identify what they
mean to you as an individual and what they represent in the Word.
- STEP 5 -
Get Revelation!
Once you have made your list and identified what each symbol
represents. Put the dream aside and summarize now what you have received from
the Holy Spirit. Write this final summary as a journal and so let it flow not
from your intellectual thinking, but by using the internal anointing the Lord
has given us for revelation.
Do not use the same formula on every dream you interpret.
Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and give you additional visions and
revelations to back up what you feel the dream means. Here is where you are
going to give the subject (or yourself) the direction and answers you are
looking for. It is not good enough to just give an interpretation without
following it up with the Word of God to encourage, exhort and to promote faith,
hope and love.
If a warning is being indicated then give the warning and
with it scripture and direction on how to be victorious in that particular
situation. If the dream is internal then guide the subject through a better
understanding of what is going on inside themselves and how to move on from
where they are. If the dream is Internally prophetic, then prepare the subject
for what lies ahead and how to prepare for the work the Lord is about to do in
their lives.
If the dream is external receive revelation from the Spirit
and Word on what to do with the revelation. In other words if it needs to be
spoken forth as a decree, kept for a later time, to be travailed over in
intercession, or to be shared with a group that you might intercede in unity.
In Conclusion
James 5 verse 1 says that if any man lacks wisdom all he
needs to do is ask of the Lord and it will be given to him. So ask and pray for
wisdom. Daniel was known for the wisdom the Lord gave him with dreams and so
with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have that wisdom within us for every
revelation and dream.
Receive that wisdom by faith and see the Lord open your eyes
to a whole new realm of interpretation. As you allow yourself to be His vessel,
He will open the way for you to use that gift and to bless the Body of Christ
with it.
SUMMARY
Here is a summary that you can use as a guideline to
interpret your dreams:
1.
Internal/Prophetic, Healing or Rubbish?
2. Internal,
Internal Prophetic and External Dreams.
3. Sense the
Spirit
4. Identifying
Places, Scenes, Characters, Objects, Creatures and Colors.
a) Places
b) Scenes
c) Characters
d) Objects
e) Creatures
f) Colors
5. Your summary
