- Mar 5, 2024
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The Principle Of Warning Dreams
One of the most important uses for dreams is to serve as warnings of things that might happen if a believer should keep following a particular course. They can take several forms, but there are examples of some of them found in scripture.
One such instance is when Abraham let Abimelech think Sarah was only his sister so that the king would not simply kill him to take her for himself on account of her beauty.
1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:1-7)
Abraham and Sarah were a dangerous pair of people to be around. I presume Abraham didn't want to sound threatening by warning the king he would be in trouble if he decided to kill him just to take his wife, so he let God do it instead. But this passage is a clear example of God giving a man a very strong warning that he had better NOT go in the direction he was thinking of, because it could ultimately lead to his death.
Another instance of a warning dream that was heeded and the danger was averted was when God warned Joseph in a dream to take the baby Jesus to Egypt. In heeding the dream, they avoided the death warrant Herod would eventually issue against all children two years and younger, in an attempt to kill the Christ child.
On other occasions, however, warning dreams are not heeded, and the recipients suffered the consequences as a result. Such was the case when Pilate's wife received a dream the night before the crucifixion, and led her to send word to her husband warning him not to agree to have Christ crucified.
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” (Matthew 27:15-19)
This was essentially God's way of warning Pilate that Christ was indeed innocent just as her dream had said. But in this case Pilate didn't trust in the dream enough to avoid killing an innocent man, and thus had to bear the guilt for the rest of his life. Jesus rose from the dead three days later, and people were professing He was in reality the Son of God and had in reality done nothing worthy of crucifixion. Pilate's wife likely had to endure talk of it in her social circles for years to come as well, and how her husband allowed the Jewish leaders to talk him into killing Jesus of Nazareth instead of doing the right thing. A similar story took place in Genesis Chapter 40, when a baker to the Pharaoh received a dream and Joseph warned him it meant he was going to die. Had the baker fully believed what Joseph told him, he might have acted wisely and circumvented things. But he didn't, and it ended up costing him his life as a result (Genesis 40:16-22).
I bring this last occurrence up because sometimes warning dreams can appear to be almost "set in stone" as it were, but they are not. They can make it seem from start to finish like everything is going to go wrong and things will end in tragedy. But spiritual discernment will reveal that it is simply a warning of what could happen if a certain course of events is not circumvented, and if the believer does nothing to change it.
I've received numerous dreams like this, and they have been a tremendous blessing to me in helping me avoid making mistakes and bad decisions - often because of my temper - and I am exceedingly grateful for this form of dream now. Every time I receive one I pay very close attention to what it is saying, so as to avoid what it says might happen.
Should you receive what others might simply define as a "nightmare," if you are Spirit-filled, don't be so quick to simply dismiss it as being from the Devil. They might be a warning dream for you or someone else, and God is trying to tell you how to avoid before it comes to pass.
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
One of the most important uses for dreams is to serve as warnings of things that might happen if a believer should keep following a particular course. They can take several forms, but there are examples of some of them found in scripture.
One such instance is when Abraham let Abimelech think Sarah was only his sister so that the king would not simply kill him to take her for himself on account of her beauty.
1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:1-7)
Abraham and Sarah were a dangerous pair of people to be around. I presume Abraham didn't want to sound threatening by warning the king he would be in trouble if he decided to kill him just to take his wife, so he let God do it instead. But this passage is a clear example of God giving a man a very strong warning that he had better NOT go in the direction he was thinking of, because it could ultimately lead to his death.
Another instance of a warning dream that was heeded and the danger was averted was when God warned Joseph in a dream to take the baby Jesus to Egypt. In heeding the dream, they avoided the death warrant Herod would eventually issue against all children two years and younger, in an attempt to kill the Christ child.
On other occasions, however, warning dreams are not heeded, and the recipients suffered the consequences as a result. Such was the case when Pilate's wife received a dream the night before the crucifixion, and led her to send word to her husband warning him not to agree to have Christ crucified.
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” (Matthew 27:15-19)
This was essentially God's way of warning Pilate that Christ was indeed innocent just as her dream had said. But in this case Pilate didn't trust in the dream enough to avoid killing an innocent man, and thus had to bear the guilt for the rest of his life. Jesus rose from the dead three days later, and people were professing He was in reality the Son of God and had in reality done nothing worthy of crucifixion. Pilate's wife likely had to endure talk of it in her social circles for years to come as well, and how her husband allowed the Jewish leaders to talk him into killing Jesus of Nazareth instead of doing the right thing. A similar story took place in Genesis Chapter 40, when a baker to the Pharaoh received a dream and Joseph warned him it meant he was going to die. Had the baker fully believed what Joseph told him, he might have acted wisely and circumvented things. But he didn't, and it ended up costing him his life as a result (Genesis 40:16-22).
I bring this last occurrence up because sometimes warning dreams can appear to be almost "set in stone" as it were, but they are not. They can make it seem from start to finish like everything is going to go wrong and things will end in tragedy. But spiritual discernment will reveal that it is simply a warning of what could happen if a certain course of events is not circumvented, and if the believer does nothing to change it.
I've received numerous dreams like this, and they have been a tremendous blessing to me in helping me avoid making mistakes and bad decisions - often because of my temper - and I am exceedingly grateful for this form of dream now. Every time I receive one I pay very close attention to what it is saying, so as to avoid what it says might happen.
Should you receive what others might simply define as a "nightmare," if you are Spirit-filled, don't be so quick to simply dismiss it as being from the Devil. They might be a warning dream for you or someone else, and God is trying to tell you how to avoid before it comes to pass.
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
