Chapter Eleven—Visions and Dreams

The method by which God conveys to the mind and intellect of his servants, the prophets, the instruction that He desires imparted to His people is clearly described in the Bible. It is a method that God not only chooses to use for this purpose, but that, in using, He fully controls, so that there is no diversion of attention on the part of the recipient of the revelation, and therefore no corruption of the content of the revelation.GoPH 77.1

“Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Numbers 12:6.GoPH 77.2

To us, visions and dreams may appear ill fitted to serve as vehicles for divine communications. We may not be able to discern God’s reasons for choosing them. But that He has chosen them in certain. This passage, together with many others, makes that clear. And some of the excellences of this method we can, with a little consideration, perceive.GoPH 77.3

It would seem clear that revelations rise in rank in proportion to the degree of completeness of the engagement of the attention, or mental activity, of the recipient in their reception. In a vision or divinely given dream, images or ideas, either filling the mind or passing in procession before the consciousness, completely engage the attention of the person without admixture of other thoughts. The mind is thus entirely in the control of the agency making the revelation. And it should he pointed out in this connection that such revelations, together with their contents, are determined by a power outside the recipient’s own will. The intellectual or spiritual quality of a revelation thus received is not derived from the recipient but from its Divine Giver.GoPH 77.4

“In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction.” Job 33:15, 16.GoPH 78.1

When the mind is unoccupied by the cares of waking consciousness, when it is quietly at rest, untroubled by the thoughts that fill it at other times, then the Spirit of God takes full and complete possession, and causes to pass before it the ideas or the images of thought that constitute the divine revelation to be made.GoPH 78.2

It is, therefore, the characteristic of the gift of prophecy that God makes Himself known to those who have it “in a vision,” and “in a dream.” This has been the method employed by God in revealing His will, especially to those who received His revelations, and recorded them in the Sacred Word. The terminology of the Bible throughout presupposes the vision form in the revelations that were made to its writers. The whole body of revelation in the Scripture is presented as a thing seen. Mark the nomenclature of the prophets.GoPH 79.1

“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw.” Isaiah 1:1.GoPH 79.2

“The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw.” Isaiah 2:1.GoPH 79.3

“The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos did see.” Isaiah 13:1.GoPH 79.4

“The words of Amos, . . . which he saw.” Amos 1:1.GoPH 79.5

“The word of the Lord that, came to Micah, . . . which he saw.” Micah 1:1.GoPH 79.6

“The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” Habakkuk 1:1.GoPH 79.7

“The word that the Lord hath showed me.” Jeremiah 38:21.GoPH 79.8

“The prophets have seen” Lamentations 2:14.GoPH 79.9

” The word of the Lord came expressly, . . . and I looked, and, behold.” Ezekiel 1:3, 4.GoPH 79.10

“Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ” Ezekiel 13:3.GoPH 80.1

“I will watch to see what He will say unto me. . . . And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision.” Habakkuk 2:1, 2.GoPH 80.2

It is plain from this language not only that visions and dreams constituted the method of God’s revelation to the ancient prophets, but also that the revelations given in this way are not their own but wholly God’s. In the employment of this method, the movements of the mind are determined by something outside the subject’s will. A power not of himself takes possession of his consciousness and of all his mental processes and controls them in accordance with its own will.GoPH 80.3

That power is fully recognized and emphatically asserted to be the Spirit of Jehovah.GoPH 80.4

“And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.” 1 Samuel 10:10.GoPH 80.5

“Testified against them by Thy Spirit in Thy prophets.” Nehemiah 9:30.GoPH 80.6

“The words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in His Spirit by the former prophets.” Zechariah 7:12.GoPH 80.7

“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.” Joel 2:28.GoPH 80.8

Because it was recognized that it was the Spirit of God that imparted these revelations, a prophet was known as a “man of the Spirit.” Hosea 9:7, margin.GoPH 81.1

Indeed, the very thing that constituted them prophets was that the Spirit was upon them (Isaiah 42:1), or poured out upon them (Joel 2:28, 29), and they were as a result filled with the Spirit (Micah 3:8).GoPH 81.2

In equivalent language “the hand of the Lord,” or “the power of the hand” of the Lord, was upon them (2 Kings 3:15; Ezekiel 1:3; 3:14, 22; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1), which means they were under divine control.GoPH 81.3

This control is always complete and compelling. Under it, the prophet becomes the one, moved, not the mover, in the formation of his message. This is what Peter means in his well known declaration:GoPH 81.4

“For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21, A. R. V.GoPH 81.5

As these messages given through the gift of prophecy are produced by the operation, and determined by the control, of the Spirit of 6 God, the result is raised above anything that could by any possibility be achieved by mere human powers or human wisdom. Its origin, and the Spirit-controlled method of its trans-mission, constitute it entirely a supernatural product. Human traits are indeed noticeable throughout, but fundamentally it is a divine gift. The most proper mode of speech that can be applied to it is that used by Paul:GoPH 81.6

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” 1 Corinthians 2:13.GoPH 82.1

“The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 14:37.GoPH 82.2

The instruction given through the gift of prophecy originated in heaven, and is the voice of God to His people. It was given to the church to be heeded and followed, and it came to us under the full direction and control of the Spirit of God. It is a most wonderful privilege to have this gift, and it results in most wonderful blessings to follow its instruction. Divine leadership and divine guidance are the happy lot of the movement that possesses the gift of prophecy.GoPH 82.3