Vision

One of the ways God communicates with His people is through dreams and visions (the words are sometimes used interchangeably but a vision may come when a person is awake – see Numbers 12:6). A vision is a picture, normally accompanied by a voice, that God lets an individual experience to communicate a specific truth. In the Bible, many of God’s prophets receive visions from God: Abraham (Genesis 15), Samuel (1 Samuel 3), Isaiah (Isaiah 1), Daniel (Daniel 8), Paul (Acts 9), Peter (Acts 10) and John (Revelation 1). In Acts 2, Peter quotes the prophet Joel and says that in the Last Days young and old will have visions and dreams as the Holy Spirit works in their hearts. This prophecy was certainly fulfilled immediately in the early church, as we can read in Acts, and there is no reason to doubt that the Lord continues to speak in this way today. However, we should recognise that receiving a vision is not a promise for every believer; as even in the Bible the vast majority of people never had one. We should also be aware that there may be false visions, from delusions of the mind or evil spiritual powers (Jeremiah 14:14, Zechariah 10:2). Today, if we think we have had a vision, or if someone else claims to have one, it must be tested against the Scriptures to see whether it is true or false (1 John 4:1-6). Visions can be misunderstood or misinterpreted, so it is important not to treat them as if they have the same or greater authority than the Bible. The Bible is the only infallible Word from God so any true vision would agree with the truth explained in its pages. It does seem that in the world today visions tend to happen more frequently in places where there is no access to God’s Word, and that those who have them soon have a hunger to seek out the Bible.