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Study Aid: Blue Letter Bible:
Bubby
Riddle -- 2 years old
Riddle
Family: (from your
left to right) Leah, Charles
and Susan holding Easton,
Michael, Amber, Addison,
Susan's mother (Mrs. Noone)
John holding Collin, Charles'
sister, Mary Ann under John,
and Charles' mother, Mrs. Riddle.
Charles and Susan Riddle
Marrled 31 years in March 2009
Susan
was blessed
to atttend the
International Worship Conference
in Dallas Texas this summer
(July-2003). She is pictured here
with Hillsong's Darlene Zschech.
Michael
and Ashlyn and their son,
Landen Michael.
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DREAMS AND VISIONS - PART 2
EXAMPLES OF SYMBOLS
Back
to Teaching Index | Dreams
and Visions - Part 1
This
is a excert from the book,"In A Dream, In A Vision of the Night”
copyright secured: 1998;
revised 2003=2009/1stBooks; now Authorhouse
We have already established that dreams
are dark sayings and parables. Jesus taught us that parables needed
to be interpreted. Some of our Old Testament characters taught us that
dreams are symbolic and must be interpreted. Joseph had symbolic dreams
that were actually prophetic about his own life as well as his family.
He shared these dreams with his jealous brothers. This only brought
him a life full of struggle and trouble! We can learn a valuable lesson
from Joseph sharing his dreams with his brothers. Jesus said not to
cast our pearls before the swine. (Matt 7: 6) There are those
in the body of Christ that will persecute the dreamers because of ignorance,
jealousy or carnal mindedness. Joseph was very skilled at understanding
dreams that Pharaoh had.
The dreamer as well
as the dream interpreter must beware of using symbols and making hard
fast rules. As with everything in the Kingdom, dreams and visions must
be viewed through the eyes of the Word of God which is truth, as well
as the Spirit of God. The Word without the Spirit is legalistic and
dry. The Spirit without the Word can be dangerous, too. There are many
voices in the Spirit realm. We need the Word of God to determine that
the voices we hear are correct. The Lord Jesus Christ has provided the
balance for us. Without it, we can very easily miss God.
We are richly blessed
with the inward witness of the Spirit of God. Many times someone has
shared an interpretation that did not settle in my heart right. The
next step is to pray, asking the Lord why it is not sitting right. Is
it because my flesh is in the way preventing me from receiving what
the Lord may be wanting to say to me? Or, is the information shared
coming from someone else’s flesh making it incorrect? 1 John
2: 26-27 says,“These things I have written to you concerning
those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received
from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you but
as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true,
and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
What John is wanting us to understand here is that HE LIVES IN
US! HALLELUJAH!! We have the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in
us! Listen to His voice on the inside when it comes to dreams or anything
at all!
The Bible itself is
full of rich types, shadows, symbols and parables. When reading through
the book of Revelations, one might throw their hands in the air and
say, “I can’t understand a word of this!” I really feel
that much of what the Apostle John saw, he did not understand as well.
He wrote down what he saw the best way that he could describe it all.
In Revelations 4:3 the rainbow is mentioned. We know from
Gen. 9: 12-17 that the rainbow is symbolic of God’s covenant
with the earth never to destroy it by flood again. This is a promise
that cannot and will not be broken. Most of the time, the symbols of
the Bible can be interpreted by the Bible itself.
Another example is in
Psalm 64. In Psalm 64: 3 it says, “Who sharpen
their tongues like sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows
- bitter words.” Wow! If you dream that someone is shooting
arrows at you, or guns (our modern day arrows) know that it is possible
that someone is speaking bitter words against you. This is important
to know because the Lord told us in Isaiah 54: 17 that “No
weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises
against you in judgment YOU SHALL CONDEMN. This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, Says the Lord.”
The Lord may let you know that someone is speaking against you because
He has given us the responsibility to condemn the words in His name
so that they, as weapons formed against us, cannot prosper against us.
Some may say, “Why doesn’t the Lord just simply tell us in
plain language, or let us over hear someone talking about us. He does
it this way also. But, I know that it is His choice to speak to us the
way He chooses when He wants to. It has been my experience that He speaks
as He chooses and really does not have to tell us why!
I was seeking the Lord
once on a very important matter. I had retired from teaching in the
public school system. Being involved in ministry and raising three boys
was keeping me extremely busy! I was soon asked to take some ones place
as they took maternity leave. This would mean going back to work for
6 to 8 weeks. The pay sounded wonderful!! However, I was unsure about
what was truly God’s will. I went to bed one night asking the Lord
what to do. About 2: 00 o’clock in the morning my middle son John
came in and snuggled in between my husband and I. He quickly fell asleep.
I was thinking over and over in my head, “Lord, do I speed up or
slow down? You told me to stop teaching so I could slow down. If I take
this job, I’ll be speeding up again!?!?!” My middle son sat
up in bed and yelled at the top of his lungs, “SLOW DOWN!!!”
Then he laid back down and continued sleeping. The next day he had no
memory of this at all! Needless to say I did not take the job. I knew
beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had heard the Lord loud and clear
through my son. This was not a dream, but a supernatural happening none
the less. Why the Lord chose to speak in this manner is unknown to me!
I am grateful nonetheless that He got through to me loud and clear!
There was no symbolism in this event. I knew instantly that what I heard
was my answer.
Once one begins to understand
the language of the Bible and the Spirit, as how to listen to the voice
of the Lord, the language of dreams and visions becomes more and more
clear. One of the mistakes that many people make in understanding the
dreams and visions of the Lord, is that of taking the dreams too literally.
For example, I once had a series of dreams in which my sons were the
main characters. In one dream my middle son fell off of our porch. In
another dream a police officer brushed passed my youngest son and knocked
him over, also knocking his shoes off. In another dream, my youngest
son was kidnapped and disappeared. My initial reaction was to protect
my children. Then I began to realize that the dream was about something
very near to my heart. It was a warning that something that I viewed
in my heart as a “spiritual child” was about to be under serious
attack by the enemy. Sure enough, it happened. The policeman was someone
who was in authority at the time. The shoes represented my walk with
the Lord. The whole time was a very difficult time that really could
have knocked me off the porch and off my feet, but because I was fully
warned in advance, I was able to pray through and overcome! Had
I not recognized the voice of the Lord in that these dreams were symbolic,
I could have really panicked concerning my children, and as a result
not been prepared for the seriousness of wha did occur!
Other times, dreams
are multilevel. Some dreams have a level of truth in the natural meaning,
and a level of truth in the symbolic, spiritual meaning. How do you
know the truth about a dream? Study the Word of God and pray! As humans
we would like hard fast rules that would make it easy for us to figure
out. The Lord wants us to meditate and dwell on His Word. Instant answers
would not encourage us to linger where He is for answers!
There are some symbols
that come right out of the Bible like arrows from the book of
Psalms. Another example of this is wine. The Bible calls it “new
wine” speaking of the Spirit. However, if you dream that you
are drinking wine and doing something destructive, this would not
indicate the work of the Spirit! Most symbols have a good and and evil
side to them. Another example of this is the symbol, water. Water
is a type of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. If you dream of clear,
pure flowing water, then you are probably dreaming of the Holy Spirit.
If you dream of murky, muddy water, then the Holy Spirit is not
what is being represented here. This dirty water is more than
likely a wrong or unclean spirit. Numbers are very significant in the
Word of God as well as in dreams. If you dream of the number 7 in connection
with your ministry or life, this could really be a good thing! The number
seven is a type of perfection and completion. Seven is one
of God’s perfect numbers. It is used about 600 times throughout
the Bible. In Genesis 2:1,3, we learn that the work of creation was
completed and God rested on the seventh day! In Revelations 16: 17 the
seventh vial was poured out into the air. A great voice came from the
throne saying, it is done!!
Colors are also important
to pay attention to in a dream. Many times a color will stand out so
vividly in a dream that you just know it is important to its meaning.
I would not suggest taking every color from a dream and picking it apart.
However, if something stands out as significant, pay close attention
to it. An example of this would be a dream that my husband had. In the
dream the streets of a downtown portion of the town we live in was full
of water. The water was crystal clear and a beautiful
blue color. He and I were diving in the water, swimming and having
a wonderful time. Water, representing Spirit, (Eph. 5: 6), crystal
clear , representing purity and transparency of heart, (Revelations
15: 22-3 and Revelations 5: 6) and blue, representing the Holy
Spirit as well as something heavenly. (Numbers 15: 23 and John 14: 26),
leaves a clear picture right out of the Word of God as to the meaning
of this dream. The dream indicates a revival coming forth into this
town also. At the end of the dream, others began to jump in and enjoy
the sea of glass and the anointing of God! Ezekiel 47: 1- 12 describes
this river that flows from the throne of God. The Lord God caused Ezekiel
to swim in this river!! It brought healing and life. GLORY TO GOD!!
Verse 9 says, “And it shall be that every living thing that
moves, wherever the river goes, will live. There will be a great multitude
of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and
everything will be healed wherever the river goes!” I believe
that this dream was and is a promise from God about this community!
Creatures such as animals,
reptiles and so on are usually significant in dreams. To dream of a
pet such as a dog or cat, would have a different meaning than to dream
of a vicious growling dog or a snarling cat! I have dreamed of my pet
dog being wounded before. I learned that this type of dream is symbolic
of something very near and dear to my heart being wounded. I have also
dreamed of a dog that was trying to bite me. This is a warning from
the Lord of an attack planned by the evil one. May times the warning
itself is enough to send us to our knees in prayer. Because of this,
the event that we were warned about may come and go with little significance!
The Lord, through prayer, gets the victory! It is important to pay attention
to the information the Lord gives us in dreams!
Another significant
type of symbol that we must understand in dreams is that of places,
buildings and rooms. When one is deeply involved in a body at a church,
many times the Lord will speak to us about that church. However, the
dream itself may not always take place in an actual church setting.
It may be in a setting where people gather together a lot. I’ve
had dreams pertaining to the church that took place in a restaurant,
or school, or auditorium. These places represented the church. This
was clear also by the content of the dreams.
Another significant
room in a dream is the kitchen. Many times the kitchen can represent
the heart of the dreamer. The reason for this is that the kitchen is
the heart of one’s home! I had a dream that I was standing on the
table in our kitchen at home. A full worship team was playing live music.
I could not see them, but I could hear the music. There were black bands
or belts that were attached to the ceiling and to my waist. I was pulling
the the bands one by one and breaking them! As they broke I would sing,
“I break these chains - that bind me!” It was awesome! Finally
all of the bands were broken. I turned to leave the kitchen. As I did,
I looked around and shadows began to try to come back into the kitchen.
I turned to face them. As I did, the music started up again. The shadows
disappeared. When I awoke I realized that the song I was singing was
a totally new song. We now sing it frequently in our praise and worship
services.
It is very important
to remember that a symbol should never be used in an interpretation
simply because it meant something in another dream. Dreams are abstract
and cannot be interpreted concretely. Use these symbols only with prayer
and by the Spirit. They are only meant to be used as a means to learn
the language of the Spirit. I cannot stress this enough. The things
of the Spirit should never be used to manipulate ours or anothers circumstances
to suit our needs.
For more information about Dreams and Visions, a symbol dictionary,
examples of dreams and more, order the book, "In a Dream, In
a Vision of the Night."  (click
here)
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