As with any experience we encounter today—personally or by testimony—we must test it by the Scriptures (1 John 4:1–6). If there is anything the New Testament teaches, it is the nature of spiritual warfare is a battle for the hearts and minds of those who have come in contact with the gospel. Yet, there is also those times and places where the gospel enters a region for the first time, and it is here where many dream testimonies occur. So what does Scripture say about dreams today?

Well, the clearest testimony seems to be one of caution (see Jude 8). That said, if God is at work in the world (which he is) and Christ is calling his sheep to himself (which he is) and the Spirit is sovereignly preparing hearts and lives to hear the gospel (which he is), then it is plausible that non-saving dreams might play a role in preparing people for the gospel and their salvation.

The most helpful article I’ve read on this question is that of Darren Carlson, president and founder of Training Leaders International. In “When Muslims Dream of Jesus” he gives a cautious affirmation of dreams occurring among Muslims he has met. Rightly considering the counterfeit miracles that Satan can produce, he points to the gospel fruit that has come not by dreams alone, but by dreams as a part God’s salvation through the Gospel.

With this sort of Scripture-chastened approach to the question of dreams, I offer seven exhortations for considering dreams today.

1. Affirm the active providence of God in the world.

Christianity is not a Deistic religion. We believe, as Scripture testifies, God is present and all-powerful in the world. Scripture testifies God has used dreams in the past, and thus in non-saving ways, it is conceivable that dreams may again play a part in preparing people for the gospel.

2. Affirm the necessity of Scripture.

If dreams play a part in salvation, they are insufficient in themselves for salvation. Scripture teaches faith comes by the hearing word of Christ (Rom. 10:17) regeneration comes by the word of truth (James 1:18). Therefore, a dream is not sufficient for salvation.

Just as the Spirit inspired the Word, he gives life by that Word (1 Thess. 1:5). Likewise, the Spirit bears witness about Christ and thus cannot save without a proclamation of the gospel. Therefore, if dreams are valid today, they must be coupled with gospel proclamation. Any replacement of the gospel with dreams undermines the very economy of salvation God has revealed in Scripture.

3. Stress the sufficiency of Scripture.

God never contradicts himself. So, if the Bible teaches the necessity of the gospel, true dreams will be preparatory for (or maybe recollecting of) the gospel. How God works on the mind is an amazing evidence of his providence. Luke Short remember the gospel he heard 85 years earlier and was saved. Certainly, the Spirit was involved in Short’s conversion, but the time between hearing the Word and receiving life was separated by eight decades.

Could something like this happen in a dream? Certainly. What could not happen is a man or woman finding salvation apart from knowledge of the true gospel. For as Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Without hearing the gospel, the lost cannot be found; the dead cannot be raised; the sinner cannot be saved.

4. Evaluate the dream by its fruit.

The validity of the dream, as Carlson asserts, is found in its fruit. “If the dream leads to faith in Christ, suffering for that faith, desire for the Word, and spiritual fruits that confirm repentance, there is strong evidence for the dream’s divine origin. However, if the dream leads to further speculation, disinterest in the Word, or division from the church, its origin is equally clear.

Second Corinthians 10:14 speaks of Satan disguising himself as an angel of light. And the glorious visions described by many dreamers could fit this description. Yet, if the dreams are genuinely from the Lord, there is equally the chance Satan would confuse seekers with counterfeit visions. As Carlson concludes,

Where the Spirit moves, Satan distorts and distracts. But we can rejoice in the powerful work of God in the world and trust the sufficiency of the preached gospel to save sinners.

As I have pondered the legitimacy of these dreams, I have been drawn to passages like Matthew 12:22–36, where the validity of Jesus’s own ministry was questioned. Would Satan cast out Satan? Would he give dreams filled with Scripture, pointing to Jesus, that ultimately lead to conversion and purity? I doubt it. The Spirit is still on the move, saving his people from among the nations. Of course, Satan tries to attack and muddle what is real, but this should cause us to be discerning, not dismissive.

All in all, the genuine test of these dreams is the fruit that results.” [1]

5. Retain the bodily ascension of Christ.

Affirming all Scripture teaches, we must remember that in visions of Jesus, the physical body of Christ is located in heaven. In personal correspondence with Steve Wellum, author God the Son Incarnate, he wisely noted,

If these dreams are claiming that Jesus is appearing to them, I find this problematic. In the ascension, Jesus has taken his human nature out of this realm [i.e., the earth] and he will not return bodily until the end. If these are angels that is one thing, but I don’t see how Christ can actually be present other than in some visionary form.

This is vitally important. While angels ministering to the elect (Heb. 1:14) is one thing, claiming the bodily presence of Christ is another. To be comprehensive, we can say Jesus, post-ascension, did appear to Paul in Acts 9 and John saw the glorious Christ standing in the midst of his seven lamp stands (i.e., the seven churches) in Revelation 1. Yet, these counter examples do not override the metaphysical claim of Christ’s presence in heaven.

6. The normative pattern of God’s revelation is by the Spirit and the Bride.

Continuing to let the ascension of Christ inform our answer, it should be remembered that the New Testament speaks often of Jesus speaking to his sheep (John 10:26–28) and preaching the gospel to the church (Eph. 2:17). Yet, as Revelation 22:17 records, it is the Spirit and the Bride who communicate Christ’s invitation to the world. As the Word of God explains, the normative way of communication is through the Spirit-filled Church.

As Ephesians 3 indicates, the church is the wisdom of God and the people entrusted with the mission to bring the gospel to the nations. If dreams serve in preparing the way for the gospel, then there is a place for them in God’s economy of grace. Yet, if they created an alternative way of salvation, then they are to be rejected not accepted.

7. After testing, marvel at the way God leads people to himself.

Finally, if these dreams do produce good fruit based on faith in the gospel and fruit that comes by the Spirit of Christ. If they enhance trust in the Bible and not an appetite for speculation and more dreams. If they retain, the place of Christ seated in glory at God’s right hand and serve as a means of Christ’s providential rule in the world, then what else can we do but marvel.

Truly, God is active in the world to bring his people to himself. Looking back in time, the common testimony of Christians is the way God has providentially ordained events in our lives to save us and sanctify us. Sometimes, Christians are imprecise in their descriptions and attribute God’s regular means of providence in quasi-miraculous language.

God Continues to Work

Nevertheless, it is absolutely the case that God does work on behalf of his people, and with these biblical-theological qualifications in place, we can see how God has and continues to work through dreams to prepare his people for faith in the gospel. To that salvation in Christ, we can give all glory to God—whether it includes a dream or not.

 

 

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  1. Darren Carlson, When Muslims Dream of Jesus,” The Gospel Coalition, May 21, 2018. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/muslims-dream-jesus/#:~:text=All%20of%20us%20recognize%20that,the%20Qur’an)%20factors.