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Response
We encounter various instances of God communicating with individuals through dreams in the Bible. Some, like Jacob’s vision of the ladder extending to heaven, were quite literal. Others, such as young Joseph’s bundles of wheat, demanded further interpretation.
Joseph’s visions of authority over his family (Genesis 37:5-11)
Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, Jacob’s favored wife, was also his father’s favorite son, much to the chagrin of his older brothers. Joseph had two dreams that exacerbated his brothers’ animosity towards him. In the first dream, he saw himself and his brothers binding sheaves of wheat in the field, and his sheaf stood upright while his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to it. In another dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars paid homage to Joseph. His brothers and father quickly inferred that the dreams foretold Joseph’s future authority over them. This fueled his brothers’ envy, although his father, after initially scolding Joseph, pondered the implications silently. Years later, after Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery, and he had risen from being a slave to a prisoner to becoming Pharaoh’s second-in-command, the dreams were realized. Joseph’s brothers and father found themselves under his authority when they came to him to purchase grain during a severe famine (Genesis 45).
The dreams of the cupbearer and the baker (Genesis 40)
During the period between Joseph’s prophetic dreams and his elevation, he was imprisoned in Egypt alongside Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker. The cupbearer dreamt of finding three branches on a vine, squeezing grapes into Pharaoh’s cup. The baker dreamt of carrying three baskets on his head filled with baked goods, with birds eating from the top basket. Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams, predicting that in three days, the cupbearer would be released and restored to his position.
To his position, but the baker would be executed.
Pharaoh’s dreams of feast and famine (Genesis 41:1-36)
Two years after Joseph interpreted the cupbearer’s dream, he was called to do the same for the ruler of Egypt. Pharaoh had dreamed of seven ugly, thin cows eating seven plump, healthy cows. He then dreamed of seven thin, blighted ears of grain devouring seven full ears. Joseph told Pharaoh the dual dreams were both communicating the same message from God: the land of Egypt would see seven unusually prosperous years, followed by seven years of horrible famine. He also said that Pharaoh should stockpile everything he could during the years of plenty to sell during the years of famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of this plan—which was how Joseph came to be in authority over his father and brothers when they ran out of food.
The Midianite’s dream of defeat (Judges 7:13-14)
Gideon may have been the most reluctant judge in all of Israel. God commissioned him to raise an army to defeat the Midianites, but God cut back the forces to a scant 300 men. To strengthen Gideon’s resolve, God sent him to the outskirts of the enemy camp to overhear two soldiers talking. One had dreamt of a loaf of barley bread rolling into the camp and flattening a tent. The other, amazingly, interpreted the dream to mean that the Israelite Gideon would defeat the Midianites: “God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into [Gideon’s] hands” «And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. », (Judges 7:14). Gideon took heart, followed God’s plan, and watched the Midianite soldiers slaughter each other (verses 19–22).
Nebuchadnezz
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Statue (Daniel 2)
God often communicated with prophets through dreams, but perhaps none more so than Daniel. “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:17). When Nebuchadnezzar demanded that his wise men reveal both his dream and its meaning, Daniel complied. The king’s dream depicted a statue of a man: a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, body and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. A stone cut without human hands then struck the feet of the statue, causing it to crumble, while the stone itself became a mighty mountain. Daniel explained that the various parts of the statue represented different earthly kingdoms that would rise to power, turning this dream into a profound prophecy. The golden head symbolized Babylon, the silver chest and arms represented Medo-Persia, the bronze thighs signified Greece, and the iron legs stood for Rome. The exact identity of the feet remains undisclosed; they appear to be linked to the Roman Empire (both the feet and the legs contain iron), and the ten toes seem to correspond to the ten horns mentioned in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. It is known that the ultimate global kingdom will be governed by the Antichrist. The stone in the dream, which destroys all kingdoms and fills the earth, represents the kingdom of God, established when Jesus returns to reign over the entire earth eternally.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Fallen Tree (Daniel 4)
On a personal level, Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream was much more unsettling than the first. The king envisioned a tree being chopped down, stripped of leaves and fruit, and reduced to a stump bound in iron and bronze. Reluctantly, Daniel disclosed the interpretation of the dream: it was a warning that God would afflict Nebuchadnezzar with a form of madness. For seven years, the proud Nebuchadnezzar lost his sanity and lived like an ox in the field. After his hAfter experiencing humiliation, the king regained his sanity and his position in the palace. He wisely acknowledged Daniel’s God.
The vision of the four beasts in Daniel’s dream (Daniel 7:1-8)
Daniel had multiple dreams and visions about end-time events that puzzled him. One vision depicted four great beasts: a lion with wings of an eagle, a bear with three ribs in its mouth, a leopard with four wings of a bird and four heads, and a beast with iron teeth and ten horns. An angel from heaven explained the dream to Daniel: “The four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth” «These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. », (Daniel 7:17). The lion represented Nebuchadnezzar; the bear symbolized the Medo-Persian Empire (the three devoured ribs were Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt); the leopard signified Greece (the four heads illustrating the division of the Greek Empire after Alexander the Great’s death); and the last beast was the Roman Empire, with a twist. Although it represented Rome, the ten horns indicated future events. These horns will belong to ten world leaders who will revive the Roman Empire and usher in the Antichrist, the “little horn” mentioned in verse 8.
The Bible contains other instances of visions and dreams. While God did communicate His plans through dreams to certain individuals, He also strongly warned against those who falsely claimed to have prophetic dreams. In the Mosaic Law, if a prophet asserted to have received a divine message through a dream but then, even if his prediction came true, encouraged people to worship other gods, he was to be executed (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). If a prophet declared to speak on behalf of God but his words did not come to pass, proving that the message was not from God, that prophet was to be punished.
Ut to death (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).
The apostle Peter wrote, “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21). Second Timothy 3:16–17 similarly affirms the inspiration and sufficiency of Scripture: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Peter also wrote that God’s “divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” «according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: », (2 Peter 1:3). We need not seek after dreams to hear from God. The written Word of God, provided through the agency of the apostles and prophets, is our rule for faith and practice. The indwelling Holy Spirit illuminates God’s Word to us and helps us live out God’s will for our lives.
