From very early times we read of dreams and their interpretation in Old Testament Bible times. Very riveting stories of kings such as Pharoah in Egypt (Genesis 41:1-39); and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, (Daniel 2:4). Then there's the "plebeians:" Jacob en route to Laban, seeing angels in his dreams ascending and descending a ladder from earth to heaven (Genesis 28:10-22); Joseph's dreams (Genesis 37:1-10) and the sheaves of grain, meaning his family members, bowing down to him. They didn't take that so well; Daniel and his dreams and visions, some of which are still difficult to decipher (Daniel 7, 9, 10, 12). Many of those dreams were interpreted to the good and benefit of thousands; read the Pharoah account. Joseph's family did eventually bow to him in respect, or mayhaps, in fear of their lives (see Genesis 42-45).
The New Testament has its fair share of dream stories as well. Joseph, Jesus' step-father, had at least four dreams in regards to Mary and to the safety of Jesus, giving direction of escape (Matthew 1:20-2:23). The wise men in similar regard were warned of Herod's evil intentions regarding Jesus. They went home by a different route to avoid confrontation with Herod and revealing Jesus' whereabouts (Matthew 2:12). Pilate's wife had a nightmare in regards to Jesus and told her husband to have nothing to do with Him during His trial and sentencing (Matthew 27:19). Then we have Peter, granted it's called a "trance", so whether it was a trance or a dream, he learned kind of a stern lesson God wanted him to know in order for him to then go out to do his mission work without prejudice (Acts 10:9-16); and, lastly but not least, dear old Paul. He had dreams on a number of occasions, one of which directed him to a new path to his next mission post (Acts 16:6-10) and another time in Acts 27:22-26, giving him courage that yes, although he was going to be shipwrecked, again, no one would lose their lives.
Incredible stories but with God we do not, "play, play". The interpretations of these dreams, visions and/or trances, electrified purposeful action in most cases and revealed God's will and intentions. These could be termed "prophetic dreams".
Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, author of What Buddhists Believe, says that for Buddhists, prophetic dreams are the only important type.
"They are seldom experienced and only when there is an impending event of great relevance to the dreamer" (Page 412).
These come not from God as God does not exist for them, but from devas who have benefited from a living human being (usually a relative) having developed a mental relationship with said deva through sharing of a meritorious deed. The deva in turn will "protect" the living by giving warning of danger ahead or of some momentous joy to come. The idea is that prophetic dreams prepare the dreamer for the 'event'.
The Buddhists postulate that there are six causes of dreams and categorize them into four basic types. The subconscious mind will 're-play' events or an accumulation of thoughts, feelings, perceptions imbibed through the five senses each day or from the past and give you a 'movie' of them as you sleep.
Another type comes from internal and external inducements. Internal causes such as wind, bile or phlegm, and external such as outside noises in the night: for example, rain or tree branches swaying in the breeze rustling the leaves. The mind will explain these by incorporating the sound effects into a dream so the sleeper can continue to sleep undisturbed.
Sri Dhammananda believes that neither of these two categories are of much relevance and not anything from which to attempt significant interpretation.
Revival of past-experiences-causes, would be classified as "karmic energies". One's "karma is about to ripen" (Page 413). Again this is a type of pre-emptive 'warning' or knowledge which apparently is believed to be of rare occurrence. These occasionally appear in one's mind just prior to departure from this world.
Evidently Buddha exhorted monks not to get involved in interpreting dreams, dabbling in astrology and the like in the 'name of Buddhism" (Page 413) as vulnerable adherents would be easily exploited, the monks earning much material gain therefrom. Monks, especially, should be eschewing greed that such practices would breed and perpetuate.
In God's Word, beyond the captivating true stories of Jacob and Joseph and the monarchs, are other revealing verses about dreams. Look at Joel 2:28 NIV about the day of the LORD...
"And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit of God came down and indwelt all the believers in Jesus, these followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth were then animated and did great exploits by them giving testament to God's power through the Holy Spirit's empowering. Those who were formerly seen and perhaps even looked down upon as uneducated men were suddenly "equipped" with the supernatural and speaking powerfully and persuasively in the various languages of the merchant traders and other 'foreigners' from all parts of the then known world in that place. They declared,
"...the wonders of God" and the people heard them "...in their own tongues" (Acts 2:1-12 especially vs 11).
Peter explained the 'phenomena' by quoting Joel 2:28-32, as quoted above (read Acts 2:14-24).
The dreams and visions came true.
Nowadays, do we rely on dreams, prophetic or not, to lead and guide us? We are cautioned in Hebrews 1:1-2 that God now speaks to us through His Son despite His vivid dream mode in Old Testament times.
We now have God's Word which is complete, and His Holy Spirit to give us direction and knowledge; therefore, although we cannot imprison God in a box and say He no longer uses dreams and visions to speak to His people, we do well to be cautioned about pinning too much emphasis on dreams and visions and their intrepid interpretations. God's Word, in the book of James encourages,
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5 NIV).
When we prayerfully seek God's will for our lives, sincerely wanting "to know", I believe God will scope out His will and ways for us in definite direction when we listen with open, willing ears, minds and hearts. God's Word is at most of our fingertips waiting for us to open it and glean greater discovery for our lives, for today and tomorrow.
A fellow by the name of Hank Hangraaf on one YouTube video clip on this topic made a great point. He says we actually wouldn't really want to know our earthly future nor what lies just around the corner in most cases especially if it is a traumatic experience waiting for us because we wouldn't be able to handle it today. We'd go forth in fear. He added that when that day came, then we who are followers of Jesus Christ could engage God's grace which would be sufficient for that timeframe.
Instead, Hanegraaf recommends growing in wisdom and stature in God's Word...to grow spiritually. Know God. Know His Word. Grow your relationship with Him.
He alluded to the astrologers of Daniel's day who would not have been able to interpret correctly what King Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed as they did not even know what the dream was about.
Daniel and his three friends prayed and asked for that wisdom and knowledge. I believe, that because they had had a sustained devotion and obedience to God and His ways, that God was gracious to them and revealed both the dream and the interpretation. Consequences were immediate. They saved their own necks as well as all those of the astrologers, soothsayers and the like. (You can read the account in Daniel 2).
I belabor the point that God's Word is complete. We can know our final future destination by reading and studying God's Word.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved..." (Acts 13:31 NIV)
"...whosoever believeth in Him will have everlasting life" (John 3:16 KJV)
"Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:18 NIV).
If you want warning of "end times" and what your end will be, God's Word has the answers. Read it. Study it in all candor and guilelessness. Investigate.
Interpretations that go against God's Word are not trustworthy even one iota!
Sri Dhammananda even reminds monks of the deceptiveness of giving interpretations of dreams that need no such thing (as in the first couple of causes of dreams) and would only engage in such exploitation for monetary gain.
Then there was the extreme recorded in the book of Isaiah when the people of God, the Israelites, no longer wanted to know God's will, with or without dreams. Such a sad case.
"They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 30:10-13 NIV)!
God's response was that since they had rejected Him, and that all that He and they together, had worked for, was going to crumble because they veered away from Him. They had shut Him out.
I hope and pray that each one reading this will not do any such thing but will continue to seek God with all their heart, soul and mind.
Further to all this, life is NOT a dream and when we dream, it is not a dream within a dream of life. Life is a reality and yes we have dreams that stem from the stresses and distresses of life. These we can take to the Lord in prayer. He will help guide us through our
"valleys of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4).
We do not have to fear.
According to Dr. k. Sri Dhammananda, who states in his book What Buddhists Believe,
"Buddhas and Arahants do not dream. In fact they are the only ones who are awake...as they have seen reality" (Page 414).
The rest of us are all dreamers by that measure until the moment of enlightenment occurs. Then, the...
"...minds have been permanently 'stilled' and cannot be activated to dream" (Page 414).
That's exceedingly curious especially in the face of scientific observation gleaned from sleep clinics. It has been observed that...
"...everyone dreams at least 1-2 hours during alpha level sleep".
Not to get too technical, but the cwg ministries where I unearthed this info, related that there are three levels of sleep and alpha is, obviously, the first level of lighter sleep and this is where REM sleep occurs (REM = Rapid Eye Movement). The dreamer is watching the "dream movie" thus the eye movement.
They say,
"Clearly dreams are an inner release mechanism which helps provide us with emotional balance and maintain our sanity. Dreams can be considered our guardians and emotional well-being."If we do not have enough of this type of sleep and dreams, they said, then a person is likely to have a mental breakdown.
Can human beings, even "enlightened" ones, genuinely never dream? That's something to think about. However, the best place to get answers is God's Word, and through the dynamic power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, and turn to God in prayer instead of reliance on dreams and dubious human interpretations.
Let our peace of mind come through our trust and relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As David of the Old Testament wrote so long ago,
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8 NIV).
Good night. Sleep tight. Sweet dreams and pleasant nightmares.
~ERC 31 March 2019~
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