What Is The Scriptural Meaning Of Dreams?

Common Sense Commentary: Strange indeed, how easily inept and gullible people are swayed by other inept, gullible people and by religious deceivers and sociopaths as well.

Biblical evidence of the meaning of dreams seems to be somewhat like the gift of speaking unlearned languages or "tongues", which began at the Feast of Pentecost, with the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, and ceasing soon after."...whether there be tongues, they shall cease." 1 Cor.13:8. The entirety of Paul's 1 Corinthians epistle was a rebuke of the Corinthian Christians for their abuse, misuse and misinterpretation of the doctrines of Christ. The Apostle wrote extensively on their misuse of the Pentecost gift of speaking in unlearned languages (tongues) from 1 Cor.12:10 through 1 Cor.14:23. That gift of "unlearned tongues" is never mentioned again, in the Bible, after Paul's rebuke in 1 Cor. Jesus had earlier given His church the Great Commission command to preach/teach the gospel to the entire world, before He empowered them to do so in Acts 2. When he gave them the Holy Spirit, they still did not have the canonized (compiled, complete and authorized) New Testament  in Greek, Hebrew or any other language. They were "living" it at that time. They could neither witness, read nor quote Scripture in the foreign languages of the multitude of foreign Jews who had come to Jerusalem to observe the Old Testament Feast Of Pentecost. That is why God gave them the ability to witness and preach Jesus to those foreign Jews in their own language; who then carried the gospel message back to their countries of residence.

In the case of "dreams", they too appear to be transitory in their use by God to communicate His will or instruction to people. In the Old Testament dispensation, which extended from Genesis unto the crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus, dreams were used by God to influence or inform both believers and unbelievers and are mentioned over 100 times in the O.T. The last six, of those, in the O.T. dispensation, are recorded in Matthew when an angel spoke to Joseph three times through dreams. First, concerning the birth of Jesus and then about the threat on His life. Since that was 33 years before Jesus' crucifixion, it was still in the O.T. dispensation under the old covenant (Matt.1&2). The fifth mention of a God given dream, in the N.T., but still in the O.T. dispensation, was when gov. Pilate's non-Christian wife spoke to him, concerning Jesus, "When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." Matt.27:19. 

Throughout the Old Testament dispensation, prophecy and information were, from time to time, given in dreams. So God did give certain dreams, but Satan also gave false dreams and some liars made up dreams. The seriousness of this sin is emphasized in the O.T. where we are told that false dreamers, who told false dreams or heresy, to influence people, were executed ...."If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder .... saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known ....Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart .... And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God ...."  Deut.13:1-5. God sometimes allows such contradictory events by heretics to put believers to the test. In other words, "Are you going to believe God's revealed word and will or let yourself be misled by the devil's devious but convincing telling of a dream contradicting God's clear word?"

God's prophet, Jeremiah, revealed another kind of dream. Dreams which your own body or mind or upset stomach give you. "For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed ...." Jer.29:8-9.

Dreams, however, are mentioned just twice in the New Testament dispensation, beginning with the crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus through the book of The Revelation. One time as a fulfillment of the O.T. prophesy in Joel 3:28 and quoted in Acts 2:17 during the O.T. Feast Of Pentecost, as a prophecy of a "last days" phenomenon given to "old men" only."And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy (speak forth), and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17. Of course God can cause anyone to be blessed or horrified by a dream to accomplish His own holy purposes.

 The second, and last mention, in the N.T. dispensation is not of "dreams" but of "filthy dreamers" and is a condemnation of them. "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities." Jude 1:8. I have personally witnessed this being done by a young, religious person, as if it were a gift from God, telling a dream predicting a horrible fate upon someone of more "dignity" than himself, by means of his dream. Also, claiming his dreams were a revelations from God.

This evil sin, of using dreams to predict the future or influence other ignorant people, through the telling or lying about dreams, is becoming more and more common among several sects and false religions. It is heresy. RB