Previous Questions and Answers
Do the dead communicate with us through
dreams or thoughts?
When I was a child I spent a great deal of time
with my Grandparents. I loved them dearly. When I reached my early twenties they began to
fail in health and I fretted terribly over the thought that they would soon be gone. In
short I agonized over this. At different times their health worsened and I guess I reached
a point where I fixed an image of what they used to be in my mind. My Grandmother went
first, May 93, and I did not weep. Grandpa went in 97 and I did not weep. Here is the
second area I need your input on. The day that Grandpa died I immediately drove home to
get some things for the funeral. Out of the blue it came to me that one of my good friends
children was going to die, and wouldn't you know it about 2 weeks later my friends boy was
diagnosed with cancer and just recently pasted on this spring. The next thing that
happened was this. Almost one week after my grandfathers passing I believe God sent me a
dream. I am awakened in the dream by someone rubbing my arm and it is my grandmother. I
look at her and she says to me " it's OK Mike we are all right. I get up of the bed
and begin to leave, and I turn the corner to go down a hall way and there stands papa. He
did not speak, just looked down at the floor. Pastor, I believe the lord was speaking to
me. Do these dreams and ideas carry any weight. Since these events I am careful to pay
attention to my dreams and thoughts. Tell me what you think.
In regard to having an idea that something bad (or
something good) is going to happen, it is something that happens to everyone, in big or
small ways.
Many Christians look back and see how God prepared them for something
that was coming that they would have to face. Amos 3:6,7 says, "Shall a trumpet be
blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the
LORD hath not done it? Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets." That was specific information that the Lord gave
unto His prophets to warn the people. God may do that to us today through a message that
we hear, or through our Bible-reading. He may prepare us for something that is coming our
way.
But be careful about seeking experiences or following mysterious
thoughts or feelings about something that you think is going to happen. The Bible is very
clear in Proverbs 27:1, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; FOR THOU KNOWEST NOT WHAT A
DAY MAY BRING FORTH." The Bible says that we do not know what is going to happen for
sure tomorrow, so we should not seek to be able to tell the future. James 4:14,15 says,
"Whereas YE KNOW NOT WHAT SHALL BE ON THE MORROW. For what is your life? It is even a
vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to
say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." Once again, the Bible is
very clear that we do not know exactly what is going to happen from day to day — that
is in God’s hands alone. Acts 1:6-8 says, "When they therefore were come
together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, WILT THOU AT THIS TIME restore again the
kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW THE TIMES OR THE
SEASONS, WHICH THE FATHER HATH PUT IN HIS OWN POWER. But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." The
Lord told them, "Do not worry about trying to figure out exactly when something is
going to happen — just be faithful doing what I have called you to do." And He
has called us to give out the gospel faithfully to people, so that they might be saved.
Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" So do not spend your
life seeking feelings about what is about to happen, but spend your life seeking to be a
faithful witness and servant of the Lord.
Concerning dreams about loved ones who have passed away, probably most
everyone who has had a loved one who has passed away, has had a dream where their loved
one was alive, and they were doing this or that. And many times to wake up was a
disappointment, because they then realize that their loved one is indeed gone.
God has given us the ability to dream, and it all seems so very real
when we are dreaming. We sometimes dream, because we go to sleep with those things on our
minds. Ecclesiastics 5:3 says, "For a dream cometh through the multitude of
business." In other words, if our minds are thinking about something in particular
when we go to sleep, or if we have been thinking about something a lot, and it has been
consuming a lot of our time, it may very well be that we will dream about that thing that
night. When a loved one passes away, that affects us very greatly, and it consumes a lot
of our thoughts, so it would be natural to have such dreams.
But this should not be confused with communicating with those who have
died. The Bible specifically forbids that. All of our communication is to be with God
— not those who had died. Isaiah 8:19,20 says, "And when they shall say unto
you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that
mutter: SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK UNTO THEIR GOD? FOR THE LIVING TO THE DEAD? To the law
and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no
light in them." Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, "THERE SHALL NOT BE FOUND AMONG YOU
any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a
consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, OR A NECROMANCER. For ALL THAT DO THESE
THINGS ARE AN ABOMINATION UNTO THE LORD."
Necromancy is "conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes
of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events"
(Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). As you can see, consulting with the
dead to know the future, is absolutely forbidden of God. That was the final straw with
King Saul, and the Lord took him home. I Samuel 28:3-19 says, "Now Samuel was dead,
and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul
had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the
Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul
gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of
the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of
the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then
said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to
her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath
a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he
went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee,
divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off
those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest
thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying,
As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the
woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the
woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why
hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for
what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And
he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is
covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face
to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to
bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against
me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by
dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from
thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the
LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to
David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath
upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD
will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt
thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand
of the Philistines."
So the Lord forbids necromancy — consulting with the dead for
questions that we have. If we have questions, or need assurance, then we are to go to God
and His Word. Remember Isaiah 8:19,20? "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto
them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a
people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony:
if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
God wants us to seek Him for direction, and He gives that through His Word.
Are you
reading the Bible every day, and seeking God’s will through prayer? You will not know
exactly "what" is going to happen "when," but you will be found doing
the right thing no matter what happens!
Previous Questions and Answers
Ask A Question