Dreams of death can be reversed
Dreams are primarily meant by God
to be a blessing. But Satan can create havoc with them in the lives of people, if they render themselves vulnerable through ignorance.
I have been confronted with many questions about dreams and other premonitory signs. And this has been the case after last Monday’s headline-making report. Monday’s newspaper account dealt with the “dreams and images” which a mother had prior to the death of her son in a three-car accident on the Manzanilla road, last Saturday. The accident also claimed the life of a 24-year-old relative of the mother and son. According to the report, the mother “saw images of two dead bodies in her dreams.” Some people become virtually paralysed with fear when they have these “bad dreams.” This is mainly because they believe it’s inevitable that such dreams would come to pass.
The basic questions however remain: What is the source of these dreams? Is there a sure way of preventing or reversing the negative outcome of the dreams? I can offer some answers from a biblical base. As to the source of dreams (from a spiritual viewpoint) the Bible points to either God or the devil. Evil dreams are usually associated with the devil, while the good ones are connected to God. There can also be very “negative” dreams which originate with God, in the context of warning of impending dangers, as in the case of a call to repentance or other similar reasons. As for question two, the evil outcome of many of these dreams can be avoided or averted if they are addressed according to guidelines provided in the Bible. In fact, to a large extent, it’s the discovery of these guidelines and my firm determination to apply them in my own life, that is responsible for my being alive today.
Twenty-five years ago, I was very ill and essentially given a slim chance of survival by doctors. (I have shared this testimony numerous times on television and radio over the years). I also had all the bad dreams and other eerie signs of my death. It was very, very tormenting. The negative “powers” were overwhelming. I had very vivid images of my death. Actually, I was so sure that I was going to die, that I had mentally planned my entire funeral. It was almost indescribable torture. I tried to reject and ignore the evil attacks saying I was “too intelligent” to believe “such stupidness.” But the spiritual oppressions were unrelenting; despite whatever efforts I made to find deliverance. On July 20, 1978, however, a Pentecostal, born again gentleman invited me to his church in San Fernando. I became born again by accepting Christ as my Saviour. That day, I received the good news that my destiny of death could be completely reversed, through the power of Christ, along with the prayer and guidance of my pastor and elders.
I learnt that I could rebuke and reverse the evil dreams, images and all. I found great refuge in Luke 10:19 which states that God has given believers “power over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” I learnt much more about “bad dreams,” evil spirits, generational curses and how to counteract them. Over the past 25 years, I have been able to assist quite a number of people along these lines. I guess most pastors can testify of similar experiences in helping people. Many “bad dreams” have no power in themselves to cause harm. The evil or disaster visits our lives because of the fear which the dreams produce. Fear is faith in reverse gear. The things that we fear will come upon us (Job 3:25). In many cases, there are evil spirits present in the whole scenario, including the fear aspect. Fear is not merely an emotion. It is a spirit (2 Tim 1:7). People come to pastors with horrifying dreams of supposed impending evils, but we teach them how to identify whether the source is God or the devil, and deal with the dreams accordingly.
There are conditional and unconditional dreams. Some dreams change as conditions change. There may be impending evil but repentance, prayer and deliverance can reverse it. On the other hand, there may be a wonderful dream of great things ahead. But sin may reverse the positive to negative. The Bible furnishes some examples. Abimelech, the king, had taken Abraham’s wife. He had a dream revealing that death was about to strike him and his entire family. The king however repented and Abraham, the pastor of the day, prayed for him. The death curse was immediately averted (Gen 20 3:17). Isaiah the prophet saw in a vision the imminent death of King Hezekiah. The prophet delivered the news in blunt terms: “Put thy house in order, for you shall surely die.” Hezekiah instantly turned to the Lord and prayed. His fate was dramatically altered. Death was changed to an extension of 15 more years of life for the king (2 Kings 20:1-6). There may also be prophetic dreams given by the Lord that are basically fixed and final. We see mention of some of these in the life and experiences of Joseph, the son of Jacob, Daniel and Joseph the husband of Mary. We must note that “bad dreams” don’t necessarily mean that sin is being committed by the dreamer. It may be just a plain, unprovoked attack of the devil, which must be rebuked and dispelled in Jesus’ name. Dreams are primarily meant by God to be a blessing. But Satan can create havoc with them in the lives of people, if they render themselves vulnerable through ignorance.