Biblical dream interpretation symbols
Christian interpretation of dreams begins with faith in God and a submission to his will. The Old Testament of the Bible supports communication with God through dreams.
Understanding Christian Interpretation of Dreams
Once upon a time, a dream would be interpreted by a priest or holy man for the dreamer seeking understanding of the message from God. Today, however, Christian interpretation of dreams involves the extension of a very personal, one-on-one relationship with God or with Jesus Christ.
Within Christian dream interpretation, there is significant importance placed on dreams deemed either prophetic or warning. A prophetic dream is one that has relevance to immediate events and the dreamer personally. According to the Bible, any person may have a dream sent to them by God, thus a prophetic dream is sent to warn the faithful of impending crisis ahead.
Prophetic Dreams
By their nature, a prophetic dream is intensely personal with symbols that will have direct and clear meaning to the recipient of the dream. In other words, if you dream of sheep and you truly believe in the Lamb of God, then you may see the sheep as representative of that. If you see a lonely sheep, one without a shepherd or a flock, you may interpret this to mean that you will need this time to yourself to discover certain things.
While certain symbols can have meaning to others and there are dream interpretations that put labels on those symbols, within the Christian faith, a dream (particularly the prophetic dream) is a communication specifically between the dreamer and God. The only two who can interpret the meaning or understanding of the dream are the dreamer or God.
Dreams that Warn
A warning dream is somewhat different from a prophetic dream. In the Bible, the story goes that God sent an Angel in a dream to warn Joseph to take his wife and child and flee the Holy Land until God summons them home again. This is a direct, clear, unmistakable message that needs no interpretation. In a warning dream, God will tell the dreamer exactly what they need to do and how they need to do it. There will be no symbols, no hidden meanings to decipher. Warning dreams are far rarer than prophetic dreams.
Iconography
Religious interpretations of dreams rely on iconography that dates back to prehistoric times. Traditional symbols and icons have been handed down through the generations. To dream of an angel, for example, is to dream of a messenger from God. Within Christian belief systems, angels are beings worthy of trust and faith, who carry the word and the will of God.
In contrast, the apple can be seen to represent questioning, discord and in some cases, a lack of faith. For the apple represents Eve and the tree of knowledge. When Eve ate from the tree, she began to question the will and the wisdom of God. So an apple in Christian dream interpretation may be a question that needs to be answered by the dreamer.
Because Christian dreams are so very personal, the symbols and icons within the dream will be personal to the dreamer. You may look up how others interpret the symbols, but your initial reactions to the symbols, your gut feeling as it were, are likely to be more on target than someone else's interpretation.
