Visions, dreams and revelations

1. Can we receive from God a dream or a vision concerning other people?

Yes, God can give us a dream or a vision about another person (whether a believing person or an unbelieving person).

On certain occasions God foretells – in a dream or in a vision – that some unbelieving persons will repent of their sins or will die in their sins.

On some other occasions God foretells – in a dream or in a vision – that a certain believing woman will give birth to a child or that a certain believer will die or that two persons will get married or that He separated a certain man from his mother’s womb so that he might preach the Gospel etc. Obviously, since the dream or the vision is from God, the prediction will surely be fulfilled at God’s appointed time.

On certain occasions God – in a dream or in a vision – can even give a believer a message for another person.

What I have just said is supported by the Scripture. For the prophet Zechariah had a vision about Joshua: here is what the prophet wrote: “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree” (Zechariah 3:1-10). And the apostle John, while on the island called Patmos, saw and heard (while he was in the Spirit) certain things concerning the angels of the seven churches of Asia, and he received from God a message for each one of them (Revelation chapters 1-2-3).

Nevertheless, brother, I exhort you to be wise because there are some among the brotherhood who invent dreams or visions about this or that brother, and in this way they create confusion and trouble brothers. Examine carefully through the Scripture what you hear, and if it is a prediction know this, that if it is from God it will surely come to pass; otherwise it will fail and he who made the prediction will be put to shame. Instead, if it is a message like one of those messages given to John for the seven angels, know this, that if it is from God it will prove to be perfectly true without any shadow or falsehood; otherwise it will prove to be untrue and confused. Don’t worry, the things which come from God prove to be true, while the things which come from the devil prove to be false, perhaps not immediately, but certainly the time is coming when they will prove to be false.

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