Topical Bible: Divination: Effected Through: Dreams

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In the biblical context, dreams are often depicted as a medium through which God communicates His will and reveals future events. Dreams as a form of divination are seen throughout the Scriptures, where they serve as a divine tool for guidance, prophecy, and revelation. The Bible presents dreams as a legitimate means by which God imparts wisdom and direction to His people, although it also warns against false interpretations and reliance on dreams outside of God's revelation.

Old Testament Instances

1. Joseph's Dreams: One of the most notable examples of divination through dreams is found in the account of Joseph. In Genesis 37, Joseph receives dreams that foretell his future rise to power and the eventual bowing of his family before him. These dreams are prophetic and play a crucial role in the unfolding of God's plan for the Israelites. Joseph later interprets dreams for Pharaoh, which leads to his elevation in Egypt (Genesis 41).

2. Jacob's Dream: In Genesis 28:12-15, Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. In this dream, God reaffirms His covenant with Jacob, promising him land and numerous descendants. This dream serves as a divine assurance and guidance for Jacob's journey.

3. Nebuchadnezzar's Dreams: In the Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar experiences troubling dreams that none of his wise men can interpret. Daniel, endowed with divine wisdom, interprets these dreams, revealing God's sovereignty over kingdoms and the future of empires (Daniel 2, 4).

New Testament Instances

1. Joseph, the Husband of Mary: In the New Testament, Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, receives guidance through dreams. An angel appears to him in a dream, instructing him to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20-21). Later, he is warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to protect the infant Jesus from Herod's massacre (Matthew 2:13).

2. The Wise Men: The Magi, or wise men, are warned in a dream not to return to Herod after visiting the Christ child, thus safeguarding the young Jesus (Matthew 2:12).

Warnings and Cautions

While dreams are used by God to communicate with His people, the Bible also cautions against false prophets and dreamers who claim divine revelation without God's endorsement. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns against prophets or dreamers who lead people away from God, emphasizing the need for discernment and adherence to God's commandments.

Jeremiah 23:25-32 criticizes false prophets who use dreams to deceive, highlighting the importance of aligning any dream interpretation with God's revealed word. The Bible underscores that not all dreams are from God and that His people must be vigilant in discerning true divine messages from false ones.

Conclusion

Throughout the Bible, dreams serve as a significant means of divine communication, providing guidance, prophecy, and revelation. They are a testament to God's active involvement in the lives of His people, directing them according to His sovereign will. However, the Scriptures also emphasize the necessity of discernment, ensuring that dreams align with God's truth and do not lead His people astray.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 29:8
For thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the middle of you, deceive you, neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Zechariah 10:2
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether, in Prophetic Revelation, New Species of Things are ...
... or out of their senses), or through the coordination ... representation of things, which
is effected by means ... prophetic ecstasy," and such is divination by dreams. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether in prophetic revelation new.htm

The Conversion of the Jailor of Philippi.
... from whom Paul expelled a spirit of divination, and like ... in the course of a single
night, was effected in the ... us in time, rejoice with us through eternity." [26 ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xviii the conversion of.htm

The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity than the ...
... the sign of Jona; and Tobias, through the assistance ... restoration of the inspired
oracles were effected; and the ... book of the work, On Divination, that Orpheus ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xxi the jewish institutions and.htm

Author's Introduction,
... conditions, the resurrection were effected, a probability ... still legible, and
henceforward, through the recitals ... again, some share of divination and conjecture ...
//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the life of jesus/authors introduction.htm

Summa Theologica
... Whether the essence of God is seen by the created intellect through an image? ... Whether
the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father through the Son? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/

Scriptural Poems; Being Several Portions of Scripture Digested ...
... issuing out his royal proclamation, And through the city ... dream each man his dream:
Which dreams, according to ... he said, What evil hath effected This melancholy ...
/.../scriptural poems being several portions.htm

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
... As we read through the lists, faint resemblances in sound awaken dormant classical
memories, and the ear detects familiar ... Irrigation was effected formerly, as ...
/.../chapter iiithe medes and the.htm