What is an omen?

Answer

An omen is a sign with prophetic significance that foretells an exceptionally notable or disastrous event. Natural phenomena, strange birth defects, or animals behaving in unexplainable ways are all commonly interpreted as omens. Omens can be either good or evil, indicating a positive or negative event. Some may view finding a heads-up penny as a good omen, while seeing a black cat cross their path as a bad omen.

Omens are closely associated with fortune-telling and divination, as they need to be “read” or “divined” by someone knowledgeable. Throughout ancient times, omens (also known as signs and portents) were believed, interpreted, and followed. For instance, in ancient Assyria, if the king received an evil omen, he would hide, and the Assyrians would install a decoy king on the throne, expecting the calamity to befall the false king instead of the true one.

Signs sometimes appeared in the Bible in connection with prophecies from God. The prophet Isaiah stated that he and his children were “signs and symbols” to Israel “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.”, (Isaiah 8:18). The names of Isaiah’s children held significance for Israel’s future (see Isaiah 8:1-4). Additionally, God instructed Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot as “a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush” “And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;”, (Isaiah 20:3, NET). In this instance, God exposed Isaiah’s nakedness to the people of those doomed lands.

As a sign to them about their destruction. Another divine prophecy accompanied by a sign in the book of Isaiah is the backwards movement of the shadow on the sundial (Isaiah 38:7-8). These events—these “omens”—were clear confirmations of God’s plan.

Another example of a sign or “omen” happened before the exodus. God sent Moses to Pharaoh with a sign: when Moses threw his staff down, God turned it into a serpent. This miracle was specifically designed to convince those who did not believe (Exodus 4:1-5). The presence of a snake in the royal court should also have been a sign to Pharaoh of the plagues to come, but he failed to heed the omen. Another person who tragically failed to heed a divine omen was Pontius Pilate. During Jesus’ trial, Pilate’s wife sent him an urgent message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him” «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. », (Matthew 27:19).

These portents occurred in the Bible, usually through God’s prophets, when it served God’s purpose. However, the Bible expressly forbids divination of any kind: “Let no one be found among you who . . . interprets omens. . . . Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). We do not live by superstition, and we should not be searching for good or evil omens. Our understanding of the spiritual world does not come through the occult. God has given us the ultimate sign of His goodness, love, and grace in Jesus Christ «In this was manifested thThe love of God toward us is shown in that God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:9). The Bible serves as our foundation for spiritual understanding (2 Peter 1:19-21).