God communicates with most Christians today through their dreams. He sends us instructions, guidance, warnings and revelations of what He is doing, what He intends to do, and what the enemy is plotting against us through dreams.
It is very crucial that every genuine Christian desires to see dreams from God. Today, we will learn about warning dreams from God.
You will agree with me that our God is not a rigid taskmaster who lives billions of miles away within the galaxies. He is a loving and caring Father who is always with us—even closer than a brother. His desire has always been to be with us, be close to us, and dwell within us.
In His efforts to ensure our safety, He doesn't only send His angels to protect and guide us (Psalm 91:11), He also takes it upon Himself to give us dreams, warning us of possible dangers and problems we may encounter, so that we can avoid and avert them.
I'm sure that you are eager to know the diverse ways God warns us through dreams. So, follow up and give your keen attention to reading this article, as we discuss more on this subject matter under the following subheadings:
- Dreams that are actually warnings
- God warning signs
- When God sends a warning
- Spiritual warning dreams
- Warning dreams in the bible
At least nine out of every ten Christians will admit that they have seen (or have been seeing) warning dreams from God. Besides that, our Heavenly Father cares so much about humanity, that He doesn't give such dreams only to Christians alone, but also to non-Christians. The Holy Bible records many instances where God gave dreams to unbelievers.
Have you ever received a warning dream from God? How can one tell that a dream is a warning from God, and what should be our response to them? Let's trust the Holy Spirit to help us find out the right answers to these questions (and more) as we progress.
God Speaks Through Dreams And Visions
In the holy Bible, we are told of a promise that was made by the Father, uttered through the mouth of the Prophet Joel: that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh; activating and enabling many to dream dreams and see visions. We are living in that era that was prophesied by the Prophet Joel.
Joel 2:28 NIVAnd afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
The dreams spoken of in the prophecy of Joel are not just ordinary dreams. They are dreams from God; they are prophetic dreams from Heaven.
The Almighty takes pleasure in communicating with His creation. He has always longed to stay in touch with humanity through every possible means. The hindrance that arose to prevent this from happening was the Sin of the first man in the Garden of Eden.
When Adam and Even disobeyed God, so many negativities arose as a result. The first of them is that, the direct communication link between God and man was broken.
For this reason, the Father had to send His Son (Jesus Christ) to redeem of from the curse of Adam's rebellion. The result was the bridging of that gap that separated man from God. Man can now be reconciled back to God through salvation.
When our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this assignment, the broken communication link between God and man was restored. The saved is now opened up to diverse streams of communication with God. The streams of communication I'm referring to here, include dreams and visions.
The visions mentioned in Joel 2:28 are not only open visions. Most godly dreams we see in the night are beyond dreams—they are night visions. The Bible calls them night visions. As evident in the Scriptures below, many people see this kind of dreams:
Daniel 7:13 NIVIn my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
2 Samuel 7:5 KJVAnd it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
Genesis 46:2 ESVAnd God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
Even today, God is willing is speak to us through dreams and visions. For most of us who desire to have God lead us and direct our steps, understand that one of the channels through which He will do that is a dream. We should desire and ask for godly dreams. God says we should ask Him!
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJVCall to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Undoubtedly, God speaks through dreams and visions, and for those who barely see dreams from God, you can ask Him to open you up to that channel of communication, and He will gladly do it.
When God Sends A Warning
As earlier said, one of the major channels through which God sends us warnings is our dreams. Although our Lord Jesus Christ said in the holy scriptures, that His sheep hears His still small voice—via the Holy Spirit (John 10:27), not every Christian have trained their spiritual senses to discern God's voice in this manner. That leaves God with the only option of comminucating with them through dreams.
Job 33:14-17 NLTFor God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.
Dreams tend to be the most common means used by the Lord to send us warnings. That also means we should not treat our dreams with levity. They are as equally important as open visions and prophecies.
What To Do When God Sends A Warning Through A Dream
So many people would have been spared the dangers, mishaps and evil that befell them, if they paid attention to their dreams.
In the book of Job 33:14, we are made to understand that God speaks to us again and again through dreams, but people do not recognise His voice; they do not pay attention.
The same problem persists till today—even among Christians. The root cause is often that not many people treat their dreams seriously.
When you go through scriptures, you will notice that God sent dreams to many people (both Believers in Him and non-believers). One thing that stands out in this truth is that, these people never joked over their dreams or discarded them as nothing. They always made sure they did everything within their capacity to get the accurate meaning of their dreams—and act accordingly.
For instance, when the King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he didn't just let it slide. He sought for the interpretation of his dream throughout his entire kingdom—even to the extent he was ready to execute the wise men of Babylon who couldn't interpret his dream (Daniel 2:24-49). He took it that serious.
When God sends a warning through a dream, I believe we should take the following steps concerning that dream:
- Pray and ask God for the meaning of your dream.
- Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, find out the accurate meaning of your dream.
- Understand your dream in detail.
- Understand exactly what or who God is warning you about in the dream.
- Idenitify God's instructions to you within the dream. Or pray asking Him to lead you on what to do.
- If there are no specific instructions, pick clues from within the dream concerning what God wants you to do.
- Start praying concerning the dangers highlighted to you in the dream. Agree with God that they are annulled and can't come to pass.
- Obey God by doing according to what you were instructed in the dream.
- Exercise faith in God, knowing that no matter how scary a warning dream may seems, if God revealed it, He has also handled the outcome.
- Thank God for the revelation through the warning dream.
There are times when God sends people warnings through their dreams, but they refuse to take action. Although they understood what their dream meant, they adamantly refused to do according to God's instructions! Know that this always comes with dire consequences!
I'll also like to highlight that, not every warning dream from God will require the common action of just praying. Some warning dreams from God will come to inform the dreamer not to proceed with a particular course of action, because it will lead to an undesirable result.
For instance, if a Christian naively tried to pick the wrong spouse, God could warn them about the consequences of proceeding with that decision, through a dream. Such warning dreams would require we simply retrace out steps from a particular course of action.
That is always better than praying and thinking nothing bad will happen if we continue doing what God warned us about, simply because we prayed. Wisdom is profitable to direct.
We must understand that God will always do His best to keep us safe from dangers, but we as well must do our part in order to stay safe.
Warning Dreams In The Bible
Below are some warning dreams God showed to different people in the Bible.
1. God Warned Laban Concerning Jacob In A Dream
Jacod had fled with his wife, children and belongings, from his boss and father-in-law, Laban. This irritated Laban and caused him to go after Jacob. But before embarking on his trip in pursuit after Jacob, God came to Laban in a dream and warned him to do no harm to Jacob.
Genesis 31:24 NKJVBut God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
Although this warning dream came to someone else other than Jacob, we could see that God protected Jacob and ensured his safe travel through this warning dream.
2. The Magi Were Warned In A Dream
After paying homage to King Herod, the three wise men were warned by the angel of the Lord in a dream, not to return to Herod.
Matthew 2:12 NIVAnd having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
If the magi had refused to heed this warning by going back to Herod, they would have likely revealed the location of the baby Jesus, or their lives would have been in danger.
3. Joseph And Mary Were Warned About Herod's Ploy Against Baby Jesus
King Herod became furious after learning that another king that was far greater than him was born. For this reason, he was bent on terminating the life of the new born King (the baby Jesus).
Matthew 2:13 ESVNow when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
God had to send a warning to Mary and Joseph in a dream, revealing Herod's ploy against their baby. If Mary and Joseph had refused to heed this warning, no doubt about the fact that Jesus wouldn't have lived to fulfil His ministry on earth.
4. Abimelek Was Warned By God In A Dream
For the fear of being denied entry into the land of Gerar, Abraham resorted to lying to King Abimelek that Sarah was his sister.
Genesis 20:3 NIVBut God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
The king had decided to take Sarah as one of his concubines, but God warned him in a dream not to do so—because Sarah was Abraham's wife. If Abimelek had refused to heed this warning, he would have definitely attracted a curse upon himself.
How To Identify A Warning Dream From God
Before we see some examples of warning dreams from God that we've interpreted on our blog, below are certain characteristics of dreams that come as warnings from God:
- A warning dream from God is always clear and specific.
- Warning dreams from God often carry God's authoritative voice.
- Warning dreams from God are not confusing. God always ensures He delivers such dreams as simple and clear as possible.
- Most warning dreams from God often come with instructions on what needs to be done and what not to do.
- It's rarely expected of a warning dream from God to come to pass.
Some of you will start receiving warning dreams from the Lord after reading this article. It is one way God leads us. It's nothing to be scared of but something to desire.
10 Warning Dreams From God
On iBlogGospel, we have written on some dreams that are often warnings from God. Click on the titles below to read their full meanings:
Remember, God loves you and wants to warn you of danger before it happens. God doesn't want what the enemy does to take any of us by surprise.
If you are one of those who have been struggling to see prophetic dreams from God, begin to ask Him to give you warning dreams.
Warning dreams from God may sometimes look scary, but they aren't harmful. They are for your benefit.
For those who rarely dream, here is an article that provides a solution to not being able to see dreams: Spiritual Meaning Of Not Dreaming.
Final Words On Warning Dreams From God
Most warning dreams from God always tend to appear negative, because they aren't expected to manifest.
In some warning dreams, God will show us the evil the enemy is plotting against us, so that we can pray to destroy them. In some other warning dreams, God will warn us against things we are doing that could harm us. In both instances, we are required to take action accordingly.
If God sends us a warning through a dream but we refuse to do as He expects of us, then we shouldn't blame Him when what was revealed to us in the dream comes to pass in our waking life.
Let's learn to treat our warning dreams like our lives depend on them. Merely saying that nothing bad you saw in your dream will happen is not enough.
Beloved, I trust that you learned something new today concerning warning dreams from God. If you found this article helpful, go ahead and share it with someone else out there.
God bless you.
The articles and dream interpretations on our blog are gotten through revelation. We don't go about stealing other people's content. If we did, this website wouldn't have survived till today. DESIST from copying or lifting any part of our content to your website, books or videos. God is against plagiarism (Jer. 23:30). All content are protected by DMCA with fast response rate. Don't say you were not warned !!