Vision vs. uber-vivid daydream

[bornagain2011]

Hi,

I have been really debating with myself on whether or not to talk about this. I am not going to go into great detail about what it was I saw, because if I am wrong I face chastizing from the Lord, so I want to make sure it was from God. I feel torn between not wanting to share and also feeling a bit of an urgency to share because it could be from God.

I would just like to know first how can you tell the difference between seeing a vision and closing your eyes for a moment and having a vivid scene play out infront of you, just like you are there. I have never had a vision before, just lots of dreams. Do visions happen while your eyes are open or can they happen while they are closed for a moment?

This happened about a month ago. Maybe I should pray for God to allow me to see another vision or dream to confirm it is from Him. I dunno.

Thank you!

-Natalie

[bornagain2011]

Oh I should also add (since it might help) that part of the vision - a big part has already come true since then. This is another reason I am reluctant to share, because sharing AFTER it has partly come true makes it look like I am making it all up.

[1peterlight]

What did you see? I have never personally had a "vision", very vivid dreams, and 4 to date that I still feel were end times dreams, I had also dreamed about my grandmother passing twice within 6 months of her passing unexpectedly so I do sometimes feel they are of God. As for how do you know they are from God, I dont know. I wonder this myself. I believe satan and his demons can infect your mind, and if satan masquerades as an angel of light, then who's to say he can't give us dreams we think are from God. Scripture says to test every prophecy to see whether it comes true, if it does then it is of God:

What are the tests for prophecy, or for any other spiritual gift that purports to bring the Word of God? These questions should be asked:

1. Does it glorify Christ? The prophecy may not mention Christ by name, but does the whole message honor and glorify him? This is always the Spirit’s primary work (John 16:14; 1 Cor. 12:1-4).

2. Does it edify the body of Christ? Seven times in 1 Corinthians 14 Paul emphasizes this point when discussing spiritual gifts, especially tongues and prophecy.

3. Is it in accordance with the Scriptures? If we twist the Scriptures, we do so to our own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).

4. Is the prophecy given in the spirit of love? This is the hallmark of the Spirit’s presence, even in correction or rebuke.

5. Is Jesus lord of the speaker’s life? A false prophet will be known by the fruits of his or her life, said Jesus (Matt. 7:15:15-20).

6. Does the speaker submit to the church leaders? Strong personalities with independent spirits caused splits and divisions in the New Testament church, and do so today. Paul warned the Ephesian elders about those “from among your own selves” who would draw away disciples after them, and so divide the church of God (Acts 20:29-30).

7. Does the speaker allow others to judge the prophecy? Such weighing should be the rule, not the exception (1 Cor. 14:29).

8. Is the speaker in control of himself when speaking? The speaker may be “taken over” by an evil spirit, but that is never the mark of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:2ff, contrast the passive “moved” and the active “speaking”; see also 14:32).

9. Is the prophecy fulfilled, if it speaks about some future event? Most prophecy is forth-telling, not foretelling. A Christian prophesying will normally “tell forth” God’s word as an encouragement or exhortation for the whole congregation. Only on rare occasions will prophecy predict some future event When it does, the biblical test is in the prophecy: fulfillment, or lack of it (Deut. 18:22).

[joi]

Since part of what you saw has already come to light, how is it that you do not trust what you saw?

By and large today most Christians are skeptics when it comes to end time dreams or visions. This recalls to my memory that

Jesus said:

Mark 6:4

But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Today we treat one another as if God can not use us, but I ask if not us then who?

Joel 2:28

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Acts 2:17

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

This mostly addresses men dreaming, but I know that He is in fact using women to dream.

I see no problem with posting a dream you had. You do not have to make any claims, just present it as it was.

[1peterlight]

Since part of what you saw has already come to light, how is it that you do not trust what you saw?

By and large today most Christians are skeptics when it comes to end time dreams or visions. This recalls to my memory that

Jesus said:

Mark 6:4

But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Today we treat one another as if God can not use us, but I ask if not us then who?

Joel 2:28

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Acts 2:17

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

This mostly addresses men dreaming, but I know that He is in fact using women to dream.

I see no problem with posting a dream you had. You do not have to make any claims, just present it as it was.

Well said

[Fez]

I have seen very vivid stuff when I have prayed on one or two occasions only. If this is a vision, then so be it.

But I have not really understood what I was seeing, or the reason I was seeing it, and it has not, as yet, seemed to have any connection to my walk.

Some people have told me what it might mean, but these are just educated guesses by people who care for me, and they also admit they don't know.

So I guess I am not the best person to answer your question. You saw what you saw, and it probably means something is as much as I will comment.

[bornagain2011]

I think I should go ahead and say what it was about.

Last month I was laying in bed praying, I wasn't really that tired yet. I closed my eyes and I immediately saw a short scene play out infront of me. It terrified me. I saw the pope infront of his throne. No one was around him, he was all alone. I was watching from off to the side, kind of like a fly on the wall. The pope was dressed in the whole fancy gown and everything, I believe it was red. Anyways he was doing an evil little dance jig thing, I could tell he was so evil, he was quite pleased with his evil plans being fulfilled and he was doing like a celebration dance because he couldn't contain his ammusement. When he danced it was like he was rocking side to side very fast and laughing. I was so horrified and scared I had to shake myself out of it! I opened my eyes and said "Okay God what the heck was that?!". And the creepiest thing was that he looked almost exactly like this new pope! The only difference was that he looked a tad bit older, and he had a posessed look about him. But I have seen pictures of this new pope Francis that made my heart stop because they look identicle to what I saw!!!

And after all the hype about people saying the new pope would probably be the black cardinal from Africa I was a bit confused because that isn't what I saw, so I started to just write it off as a short dream.

I still have doubts, maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was from the enemy because the enemy has shown me signs and wonders before. I told God that I had to test the spirits and needed confirmation. The Bible doesn't talk about popes and stuff, but it kind of alludes to it in prophecy. I don't know. I am just taking it with a grain of salt right now. I kind of wish I had posted this last month, but I am not one to jump the gun on things like this. Plus I didn't know the pope would turn out to look just like the pope in my dream/vision.

I am praying for God to use me any way He can, even if it is through scary dreams and visions. He will send me what He wills, and I have to do my duty to report exactly what I see or I face His wrath. That is why it is imperitive that I test each sign and wonder.

Thank you guys for your advice!

Natalie

[gdemoss]

There is one who has all power, that one is God. There is only one true God and all things originated with him. When David was led of Satan to count the people it also says God was responsible. I say this to bring up the point that any one of us must consider that which we see and seek to understand it for what it is. The day the pope was elected I saw a vision of a lamb with two horns in the clouds that was remarkably clear. When the angel spoke to Mary it says she kept all these things in her heart. I have simply chosen to do the same.

I am really pretty new to the whole spiritual realm and seeking to understand what is coming from where and why. At first I thought everything was coming from God and was the absolute truth, but then some things did not come to pass that I was being shown and I became skeptical of all that I had seen. I did what I could do and that was turn to God and ask for clarity. I also had to learn not to go running off to tell the whole world what I thought was truth that I was being shown but rather to submit what I had been shown for the greater scrutiny of the church as a whole.

What I do know is that there is a serious battle going on in the spiritual realm to confuse what is actually going on in the world today all around us and that it is coming with a vast amount of disinformation in both visions, dreams and prophetic utterances. I am erring on the side of caution anymore.

[firestormx]

Hi,

First let me say I understand through a life of being given dreams and visions that some things we see, even from God can be very disturbing. I can easily understand how when the prophets or apostles of old were shown things it might have troubled them. Peter when shown the vision of the sheet coming down with the hoofed creature on it, was disturbed by it, and had to meditate on it for the understanding. I say this just to say, remember Jesus doesn't give us the spirit of fear or confusion, but of love peace and a sound mind. If you have felt fear or trouble over this, then there is a good chance it's one of two reasons why. One would be, it was from the enemy, the other would be it was from God and the enemy is trying to steal it away. Seek God in faith for peace and confirmation.

I have discovered the Holy Spirit can show us things in many ways. Dreams and visions need no explaination. Dreams happen when you are asleep. Visions happen wide awake with eyes open. But the Holy Spirit can also show us things in our spirits. These are often the hardest to understand. These are the easiest to pass off as our own imagination or the enemy. I believe the Holy Spirit showed you something in the spirit.

The first rule of interpretation is most of the time what you see is not literal. God often uses symbolism to get his message across. Think of what daniel saw, or John the revelator, or even Jeremiah. Which leads to the 2nd rule. Anything you see must always line up to scripture. For instance, you might want to go through the bible and see how the color red has been used in dreams and visions. The first thing that comes to my mind is in revelation where the water is turned Blood red when wormwood hits I believe. As for the pope. He could easily represent a authority figure. A religious authority figure who God is showing you is not what they appear to be. This is not cause for alarm. By showing you this now, God is clearly sharing with you that when the time comes, he will reveal to you who this person is, so you will not be harmed by them. An act of protection and warning from God. More than likely, God is talking to you about someone in your own life. Have you been praying over propblems? What have your prayers been about? These are ritorical questions by the way. My advice on this would be to examine your prayer life. See what you have been praying about. I would also reccomend starting a prayer/dream journal. It helps you keep track of specfic prayers, and dreams and visions. So that later, when you are at peace, you can take it to God in prayer, and compare them to the Bible to make sure it all lines up.

I hope this helps, and I'm sorry for making it so long. God bless you.

Firestormx

Joseph

[Elhanan]

Continue to ask God for insight and understanding as he leads you. As you continue to be obey Him, he will continue to guide you. As for the new Pope, I too have my suspicions. People appear to be enthralled by his acts of humility but his fruit require further scrutiny and testing. You may want to read the two links and form your own opinion: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-darkness-draws-nearer-part-two.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294580/Special-report-The-damning-documents-new-Pope-DID-betray-tortured-priests-junta.html