Dreams and Visions as Divine Revelation (PDF)

Ouachita Baptist University Ouachita Baptist University Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita Honors Theses Carl Goodson Honors Program 2010 Dreams and Visions as Divine Revelation Dreams and Visions as Divine Revelation Sarah Horton Ouachita Baptist University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Horton, Sarah, "Dreams and Visions as Divine Revelation" (2010). Honors Theses. 42. https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses/42 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Carl Goodson Honors Program at Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita. For more information, please contact [email protected]   DREAMS AND VISIONS AS DIVINE REVELATION BY SARAH HORTON OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY 2010  TABLE OF CONTENTS WHAT ARE DREAMS AND VISIONS? ................................................................................................................. 2 THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENT ................................................................................................................................ 4 OLD TESTAME T PERIOD ............................. ................................................................................ 5 NEW TESTAMENT .. ....................................... ................................................................................ 7 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................. 9 DREAMS AND VISIONS TODA Y .......................................................................................................................... ll ARGUMENTS AGAINST: CESSATION ........................................................................................... 11 ARGUMENTS FOR: CONTINUATION ............................................................................................ 12 THE BOTTOM LINE: EXPERIENCING DREAMS AND VISIONS ................................................................. I3 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................................... 18  As a Christian, one might wonder, "What happens to those who have never heard the gospel?'" Answers and speculations abound, espoused in theories like exclusivism, inclusivism, and post- mortem evangelism. 1 But what if these are not the only possible answers? Although dreams and visions could potentially be the answer to a much broader category of questions than the one above, this is the discussion that gave birth to my thesis. I would posit that dreams and visions represent to the Christian community one valid means of receiving divine revelation. WHAT ARE DREAMS AND VISIONS? It is appropriate to discuss first the psychological aspect of dreams and visions. What to academics know about them? Is there a difference between the two phenomena? Why do people dream in the first place? It would appear that comparatively little research has been conducted on dreams, and even less on visions. llowever, there does seem to be little known psychological difference between a dream and a vision, other than the time of day in which they occur. Meaning, typically we say that people dream at night while asleep, and that visions occur in the waking state. Even this distinction tends to be blurred, however, such as when '·daydreaming'' is brought into the discussion. 1 Exclusivism is the belief that salvation is exclusive to those who have heard and positively responded to the gospel; inclusivism accepts the possibility that people who die having never the gospel may still be included in salvation; post mortem evangelism is the belief that God offers another opportunity for people to accept the gospel after death. 2  There has not been much said on the subject of seeing visions, but some mention of theories of dreaming may be appropriate here. There is little definitive knowledge about dreams considering their private, subjective, and unpredictable nature: only one person can experience a specific dream, and researchers can only have second-hand knowledge of one outside of their own experience. The matter becomes still more subjective when one considers the elusive nature of dreaming itself: many dreams are forgotten even before awakening, or fade away within hours. Sigmund Freud saw dreams as consisting of two parts: the manifest dream and the latent thoughts behind it. He theorized that the dream portrays the fulfillment of subconscious desires that are not socially acceptable. In his view, the dream stems from the "psychological remnant" of one's experiences or emotions from the previous day. 2 Alfred Adler saw dreams as related to humanity's unconscious desperation to overcome a sense of helplessness that is left over from the time of infancy. In his view, dreams anticipate or prepare for future events, or attempt to solve problems encountered in daily life. To Adler, the dream events themselves are not as significant as the feeling or mood they create: the mood lasts well into the next day, and affects one's problem-solving abilities.3 Another theory is Cognitive Dream Theory, which proposes that the mind is an information processor: while awake, it processes external information, and while asleep it processes its own internal information. According to this theory, dreams do not hold hidden 2 Harry Trosman, "Freud's Dream Theory," in Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming, ed. Mary A. Carskadon (New York: Macmillan; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; and New York, Oxford, Singapore, Sydney: Maxwell Macmillan Inti, 1993), 25 1-254. 3 David Foulkes, "Adler's Dream Theory," Encyclopedia ofS/eep and Dreaming, 6-7. 3  meanings; the theory is more concerned, therefore, with the process of dreaming than with dreams themselves.4 As to the function dreams perform, there are many theories.5 In the modern West, these theories include: protecting our sleep from disturbances, coping with upsetting events or providing courage to face a new day, expressing otherwise repressed parts of our personality, and filtering the day's experiences. Other cultures often attach a more spiritual meaning to dreams: the dream world is seen as being as real as the "real" world and can affect it in tangible ways. Dreams are the means by which the soul retraces the day or encounters new experiences; or they are omens or means of guidance from God or the gods or spirits. In any case, it is vitally important to take a dreamer's culture into consideration when attempting to interpret or do any kind of research on a dream.6 The question I want to ask is: Can we as Christians consider dreams and visions to be a legitimate, biblical means of divine communication today? THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENT Before the question of the continuing validity of dreams and visions as divine revelation can be explored, the biblical precedent must first be established. How were dreams and visions used in the Bible? To whom did they occur, for what purposes, and with what results? Does the Bible look on them positively or negatively, and does that opinion change between the Testaments? 4 Foulkes, "Cognitive Dream Theory," Encyclopedia ofS!eep and Dreaming, 126-128. 5 Rosalind D. Cartwright, "Functions of Dreams," Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming, 254-257. 6 Waud H. Kracke, "Cultural Aspects of Dreaming," Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming, 15 I -155. 4  These questions are all relevant to Christians who want to know what role dreams and visions play in their religion.7 Whatever the distinguishing factors may be between dreams and visions, it is helpful to note that the Bible makes little distinction between them.8 If they are not synonymous, then they are at least parallel concepts from the biblical perspective. Daniel 7:1 illustrates this well: "Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind" (italics mine). Another good example is Acts 2: 17, part of a quotation from Joel 2: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your young men will see visions, Your old men will dream dreams. NIV, italics mine Old Testament Period In the times and cultures surrounding the Old Testament, dreams were seen as a major way through which gods communicated with their people. Although people could attempt to discern the will of the gods through methods of divination, such as reading the entrails of a sacrificed animal,9 dreams were a type of"inspired divination."' This means that they were a type of divination initiated by the gods themselves. Even so, some people sought to experience a 7 For a list and brief description of the dreams and visions that occur in the Bible, see appendix A. 8 Bart J. Koet, "It Started with a Dream: Paul's Dream (Acts 16, 9-1 0) and Aeneas as a Biblical Example of Dreams as Intercultural Legitimation Strategy," Dreaming 18, 269. 9 This method, however, was forbidden to the Israelites. 5  revelation-dream by sleeping in a temple. If successful, the god would appear to the sleeper in a dream. This is called an incubation dream, and is sometimes associated with the experiences of Samuel (I Sam 3) and of Jacob (Gen 28). 10 Also in Ancient Near Eastern culture, dreams were often used to appoint or affirm the reign of a king, signifying his election by the gods. But even everyday, "normal" dreams by everyday, normal people were considered communication from the gods. These dreams were often translated into meaning for everyday life, so that if the dream symbols meant ''this," then the dreamer would alter the course of the day by doing '·that.., To everyday people, dreams concerned .. life, property, family, health, and success.'' 11 Many scholars see the Old Testament as considering dreams to be suspect or inferior to other means of divine communication, such as visions. 12 Furthermore, Walton, citing the stories of Joseph and Daniel, infers that dreams were not to be trusted unless "God's direct involvement in the interpretation can be affirmed.'' 13 This is because the Old Testament repeated warns against false dreams and those who purposefully misinterpret them. True though this may be, dreams do occur surprisingly often in the Old Testament for something that is supposedly seen in a negative light. In fact, every dream narrative recounted in the Bible is positive, or has some positive purpose. There are no accounts of people receiving false dreams or of someone purposefully misinterpreting a dream. On the contrary. Numbers 1° For this and more information on ancient Near Eastern thought, see John Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006). For more on ancient dream theories, see Wilse B. Webb, .. Dream Theories of the Ancient World," Encyclopedia ofS/eep and Dreaming, 192-194. 11 Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought. 12 Note, for example, that while none of the classical prophets received their messages through dreams, several did experience visions. See Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought. 13 Ibid. 6  12:6 identifies dreams as one way God speaks to prophets. Job 33: 15 describes dreams as tools God uses to warn people, reveal their sin and pride, preserve them, and chasten them. Furthermore, in Joel 2, old men dreaming dreams is a sign that the Spirit has been poured out. So, while it is true that many Old Testament passages urge caution when dealing with dreamers, and treat them harshly, these passages (specifically in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah) refer to "false dreams'· and the false prophets who dream them. Dreams in general are not to be immediately discounted or scorned, but examined closely for truth, in light of God's Word (cf. Jer 23:28). God used both dreams and visions to speak to many of his people, as well as many foreigners--even pagan worshipers, such as Abimelech (Gen 20) and Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2, 4). In fact, when it can1e to "ousiders, uninitiated, or those who had no access to prophets," dreams were often a first choice for divine communication. 14 In God's first communication with Abraham (then Abram), he appeared in a vision to establish the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15); later, he reaffirmed it through a dream to Jacob (Gen 28). Among the prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zechariah all received their prophetic messages through visions. New Testament In the New Testament, the number of occurrences of dreams and visions drop dramatically; however, they do still occur. The book of Matthew records how God sent dreams to Joseph, the Magi, and Pilate's wife. The book of Acts recounts stories in which Paul and Peter both receive visions, as well as Ananias and the Gentile Cornelius. The last mention of a vision in the Bible occurs in Revelation 9, where John implies that he received the whole revelation through a 14 John Walton and Andrew Hill, The Old Testament Today (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). 7  vision. So we see that again God sends dreams and visions both to his people the Jews/Christians, as well as to people outside the faith. The Matthean dreams, not surprisingly, all closely concern the story of Jesus. In the first two chapters, the dreams are sent to protect the birth and early life of Jesus from the interference of humans: first, to ensure that Joseph marries Mary, then to warn the Magi and Joseph to avoid Herod, who wanted to kill the baby Jesus, and finally to alert Joseph that it is time to return home but that he should go the long way in order to avoid Herod's son, who might harbor lingering fear of the '·King of the Jews." The last dream account in Matthew is perhaps the most interesting, for it is received by Pilate's wife during the trial of Jesus, just before his crucifixion. There is no description of the dream, but its result is for Pilate's wife to plead with Pilate to leave the innocent Jesus alone. Of course, her entreaties are to no effect. In Acts, it is Saul's vision of Christ that results in his conversion and consequent name change to Paul; Ananias receives a vision telling him to affirm Paul's conversion. Cornelius and Peter each have complimentary visions which lead them together and result in Cornelius' conversion. Paul's vision of the Macedonian man spurs him on to expand his ministry to the Gentiles; another vision he receives encourages him to preach without fear. The decline in the number of occurrences of dreams and visions in the New Testament may perhaps be attributed to the fact that the New Testament itself is considerably shorter than the Old Testament. Furthermore, much of the New Testament consists of letters, and is more concerned with what to do with the truth than with how one receives it. Notable exceptions to this rule are the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation, which are where all accounts ofNew Testament dreams and visions appear. 8  Conclusions In the Bible, dreams and visions have a major effect on those who experience them. For example, the dreams of Abraham and Jacob essentially initiated the precursor of a new religion. Dreams and visions were often a sufficient reason for biblical characters to change their planned course of action or to be encouraged in enacting it. However, that is not the only effect of dreams and visions. In the Bible and even in extrabiblical, historical situations, dreams and visions affect entire groups of people. Paul's dream of the Macedon ian man in Acts I 6 is a prime example of this widespread effect. In the context of Paul's ministry, his preferred method of persuading the Jews of Jesus' lordship is to show that he is the fulfillment of their main source of authority, the Torah. Acts 16 marks the beginning of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles, however, and now he requires methods that will be significant to them. God seems to anticipate this need, as his response is to send Paul a dream. It is this dream that inspires Paul to preach in Macedonia. However, it is that same dream that legitimizes his ministry there. Dreams were something that the Greeks understood and respected as divine communication; the fact that Paul's dream occurred in Troy, the pride of Hellenistic thought and a symbol of profound nationalism, further spoke to Paul's audience. Paul was not just describing a dream; he was setting up the word of Jesus over the words of Greek heroes like Homer, Virgil, Achilles, Xerxes, and Alexander. Paul's dream of the Macedonian man not only opened a new sector to Paul's ministry; it played the part of"religious propaganda," acting to legitimize Paul's teaching in the minds of those to whom he ministered. 15 15 Koet, 269. 9  The Bible is not the only place we see this principle at work. Biblical scholar Bart Koet cites sociologist Max Weber as asserting that the biographies of leading men often (and women occasionally) describe dreams as divine sanction of a mission. Specifically we see this is the case with several Roman emperors, such as Constantine, and in classic literature like the accounts of Agamemnon in !lias, Xerxes in Herodotus, and other important literary figures, including generals, kings, prophets, and poets. 16 The experiences of Alexander the Great and Jaddua the high priest can also be added to the list; their dream accounts provided legitimation for their alliance and for Alexander's conquest of Asia. 17 In light of this information, it is possible to focus on the word '·propaganda" used above and thereby conclude that dream narratives like these are invented by the so-called dreamers for the sake of manipulating people and forwarding the dreamers' agenda. Undoubtedly that has happened, and indeed the Bible's warnings against such false dreamers have already been noted. However, it is more important to understand that dreams themselves are relatively insignificant in light of the power they hold to affect people. That is, it is less important to know if Paul's dream or Constantine's vision really occurred than it is to see the affect they had on their audiences and subsequently on history itself. As Koet says, "The medium ... is here the message." 16 lbid. 17 Tae Hun Kim, ·The Dream of Alexander in Josephus," Journal for the Study of Judaism, 34: 425-442. 10  DREAMS AND VISIONS TODAY? Arguments Against: Cessation It seems necessary to here lay out the arguments agajnst the continuing validity of dreams and visions as signs from God. It seems that most scholars who adhere to this view do so based on several assumptions: first, that dreams and visions are to be classified with the apostolic, miraculous gifts described in the New Testament, including prophecy, miraculous healing, speaking in tongues, etc. This is not a far-fetched connection to make, since oftentimes in the Bible, dreams and visions are the medium of prophecies. This type of spiritual gift, proponents argue, has ceased to function in the same capacity that it did in the times of the New Testament. This is because the original apostles played a unique role in the development of the Church and therefore were blessed with unique gifts. 18 Second, one's opinion concerning dreams and visions seems to be closely connected to one's eschatological views, namely, those views which concern the end times. For example, some scholars read the reference in Acts 2/Joel 2 to the Spirifs being poured out on "all people'' as referring to the millennia) age, which is the only period in history when everyone will be Christians and thus eligible for the outpouring of the Spirit. 19 This view and others like it are firmly rooted in the eschatological viewpoint termed premillennial dispensationalism, which generally takes a quite literal reading of the book of Revelation, including a literal seven-year 18 Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., ··A Cessationist View,'· in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? ed. Wayne A. Gruden, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 23-64. There is little discussion among credible Bible scholars specifically about dreams and visions; if we classify them, therefore, with the apostolic or miraculous gifts, Gaffin's article will prove a more than sufficient source for the exposition of a cessationist view. 19 Cooper P. Adams Ill, "Does God Speak to Men Today in Dreams and Visions?" bible-truth.org (March 18, 20 I 0). Online: http://www.bible-truth.org/VISIONS.html. See also Arthur Belanger, "Dreams and Visions," www.invitationtochrist.org (March 18, 20 I 0). Online: http://www.invitationtochrist.org/god_speaks_dreams and_visions.htm. Some of these arguments may, to the trained academic, seem somewhat unsound exegetically. It seems to me that they are, however, relatively widespread views, and as such they are worth considering. II  Tribulation to be followed by a literal I 000-year millennium, during which Christ will reign on the earth. Another oft-cited reason for skepticism regarding dreams and visions stems from a concern for maintaining the absolute authority of scripture. This is an apprehension well-worth considering. Most evangelicals consider the current biblical canon to be closed, authoritative, and complete in and of itself; thus, any added revelation is not only questionable but heretical. A hesitancy to acknowledge the validity of dreams and visions is understandable, even commendable, if the acceptance of them might be adding to the revelation of God which he has already given us in the form of the Bible. Arguments For: Continuation First, clarification is needed. This essay does not mean to suggest that the apostolic gifts are in use today to the same extent that they were in the period of the early church, or that dreams and visions are a standard method of divine communication, the absence of which indicates a lack of communication with God. Nor does it intend to imply that the Bible is anything less than completely authoritative. However, it does mean to assert that where unorthodox means of divine communication are required, God does not hesitate to utilize them-and that there is nothing in the Bible that opposes this statement. John Walton, a scholar of Ancient Near Eastern culture, said that God speaks to people in ways with which they are familiar. I believe that he was correct. The Bible, as he says, was written for everyone, but not to everyone: it was written to the Israelites, in their time, in their language, with their linguistic and cultural idioms. God spoke to the Israelites through dreams 12