The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Dreams.

I hesitate to say it, but from time to time I have dreams that are vivid and rather symbolic. Last night I had such a dream, which was a disturbing one.

I consider myself a Reformed believer, but in my past I have had experience in the occult, which I firmly renounced many years ago. Depression also runs in my family, and I am being treated for it now-- medication has helped me greatly. I do not get counseling, as Scripture is what I need. I'm saying this by way of confessing that I can be a little strange.

I don't get these dreams all the time. Some are 'different' from others. I guess I just am trying to humbly ask what I should do with these 'different' dreams when I get them. Should I renounce them, though there is no sin portrayed in them? Should I pay attentio, and if so, how? I don't want to put them on a par with Scripture of course, but why does God allow these things to happen, and what am I to learn from being a person who 'dreams things' from time to time? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/scratch1.gif" alt="" />

E F Grant,

I must confess that I sometimes also have very strange dreams. On occasion my wife wakes me when I am in tears or even petrified. Some of the dreams I remember and some I don't.

It has always been my personal philosophy that dreams come in the nighttime and its best to leave them there, in the dark.

Calvin said:

"Furthermore, those who, having forsaken Scripture, imagine some way or other of reaching God, ought to be thought of as not so much gripped by error as carried away with frenzy. For of late, certain giddy men have arisen who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Spirit, despise all reading and laugh at the simplicity of those who, as they express it, still follow the dead and killing letter...What say these fanatics, swollen with pride, who...carelessly forsake and bid farewell to God's Word, and no less confidently than boldly, seize upon whatever they may have conceived while snoring? Certainly a far different sobriety befits the children of God".

Denny

Romans 3:22-24

Hi Adopted,
This is my second time of trying to post a reply, the first one disappeared,strange things happen.My first post was longer,I explained my experiences with being scared while dreaming,so to make this post short and sweet,I'll get to my point. Control your thought process while dreaming,if you need to get out of a fear,go to your comfort,mine is GOD,I will pray,asking him to take me out of this situation,whatever it may be. One time after praying the LORDs prayer in my dream,the next scene,was me on my knee's before an alter,talking to GOD.
Then when you wake up,thinking about that fear you also have peace,comfort.

neicey <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/cheers2.gif" alt="" />

Thanks neicey. That is indeed what I do with fearful dreams and in fact I have discovered that the more I am in the Word, that further away these dreams go. But the dream I speak of was not frightening, only very odd and rather obviously symbolic.

Denny, while I can agree with what Calvin has said, the context of what I am saying is a bit different. I'm not trying to invent a new doctrine here, nor are my intentions haughty ones, although I will readily concede that too much error has its origins in dreams.

The Scriptures do not condemn dreams, and in fact, in the Middle Eastern culture dreams have always been of utmost import, and remain so to this day. Many Middle Easterners have been encouraged to believe in the Lord Christ through communal dreams. I do believe that the primary and surest way Christians are instructed in the things of God is through Scripture, so I want to make sure that my attitudes and my practises are in line with Scriptures. I think it's not wise to be so "humble" as to disbelieve that God would ever warn or inform a person in a dream; clearly He does from time to rare time. I think that a Christian 'sobriety' needs to not disregard these things out of hand, but put them in their proper place.

So far, with regard to these sorts of dreams, which are not frequent for me, here are the guidelines I use:

1. It must encourage a person to glorify God through Jesus Christ.

2. It must not be in opposition to the doctrines given us in the Word. The interpretation of the dream must not supercede the Word, but rather vice versa.

3. It must encourage a person to act in agape love and obedience.

4. Like tongues, it must have an interpreter to be valid and effective if the dreamer cannot understand it, which means that there must be those who are able to interpret dreams.

Can anyone suggest more?

Just one..... disregard ALL dreams as a source of communication from God and/or as a source of guidance, truth or any other form of communication outside oneself.

That God communicated to individuals in the past, I have to conclude that this is no longer the case, cf. Heb 1:1, 2; 2Tim 3:16 as well as all the Confessional statements concerning the inspiration and sufficiency of the written Word of God which affirm this biblical teaching.

Secondly, I believe that the source of all dreams is oneself, whether they be upright or sinful. If they are "upright", i.e., pure, wholesome, God-glorifying, etc., they are so because the person is regenerate. Unregenerate persons are incapable of having such dreams as their natures are depraved.

Thirdly, I believe that dreams are nothing more or less than one's own desires. If I look at my own dreams I am constantly being thrust before the throne of grace and compelled to seek forgiveness and cleansing in His name and blood.

Lastly, as to "interpretation of dreams", as the above should make clear, the only interpretation that is necessary is the conclusion that Christ is our only hope in this world and in the next. One is not to try and find some hidden and/or deep meaning to those things which flood our minds during sleep.

That's my

In His grace,

E F Grant,

I certainly did not want to imply by my Calvin quote that you were interpreting Scripture with your dreams. I was aware that you had said, "I do not put them on par with Scripture".

My concern was what exactly is it that you believe you might discover by interpreting your own dreams? What is it that you might find in your dreams that you can't find wide awake, lucid, with a cup of coffee and in control of all of your facilities. I don't believe that the Spirit somehow deserts us when we're awake. This is especially true for us Reformed who know that the Scripture canon is closed.

This is also especially true when we know that the Scripture generally presents our dreams as self-emanating and valueless.

"It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves" (Isaiah 29:8)

Our New-Age world is full of neophyte Sigmund Freuds, all of whom believe they are able to find your "inner child" or whatever, simply by interpreting your dreams - a dangerous occupation indeed.

Denny

Romans 3:22-24

Amen.

Took the words right out of my mouth <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, all, I will disregard these dreams.