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CESSATION OF VISIONS AND
DREAMS
by Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
I. DEFINITION
a. Visions and dreams are vehicles through which God used to
reveal His Holy Word.
b. Some
Bible verses to support this truth include: Numbers 12:6-8, “And he said,
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. My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will
I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the
similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?” Also in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
c. These biblical visions and dreams are not to be confused
with our visions and dreams. Our use of the word “visions” means “to have
foresight and plans and goal for the future.” Our “dreams” are defined as
“a series of pictures or events in the minds of one who is sleeping.” They
are for private consumption unlike the visions and dreams in the Bible
which are recorded for our learning and study.
d. What is recorded in the Bible as visions and dreams are in
fact the very Word of God.
II. IMPLICATIONS
a. Today, in some Charismatic circles it is portrayed that a
person who receives visions and dreams is one who is close to God. He has
been divinely endowed with a great privilege. He is honoured and placed on
a pedestal.
b. At
times we, who are outside of the Charismatic circles, are confused and do
not know how to react. Should we be intimidated? Dare we say categorically
from the Bible that these are false? And even if these are true does it
indicate anything special or spiritual about that person?
c. What
does the Bible teach concerning the recipient of such visions and dreams?
d. An example for study and consideration -- Genesis 20:1-7,
“And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled
between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah
his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took
Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and
said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou
hast taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her:
and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not
unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my
brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I
done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou
didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from
sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now
therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray
for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that
thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.” [emphasis added]
e. Abimelech
was a Philistine king. He took Abraham’s wife in ignorance. If he had
slept with Sarah then God’s plan for the salvation of mankind would have
been jeopardized. Sarah was then with child, Isaac was his name. God
appeared to Abimelech in a dream to stop him from sinning against God.
f. The dream Abimelech received from God was real. It was
given to him by God to stop him from sinning. This dream that Abimelech
received from God was real and is recorded for our learning and
understanding.
g. Just because Abimelech received a real dream from God does
it mean that he was born again? Does it mean that he was a spiritual
person? Does it mean that he now has a special relationship with God? The
answer to all these questions is an emphatic NO! God did not and will not
reveal Himself to Abimelech again. Abimelech cannot call God Jehovah the
way Abraham did. If Abimelech had been given a special relationship with
God then he would not have to offer his offerings to God through Abraham.
He had to do it through Abraham. What Abraham received from him were not
gifts for telling a lie. They were offerings given to God through the
hands of God’s prophet, Abraham.
h. There are many more examples in the Bible such as the chief baker
and butler (Genesis 40), Pharaoh (Genesis 41), Balaam’s ass (Numbers 22),
Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2), etc. who received dreams and visions from God.
They were not given any special relationship by God in any personal
way when they received their respective dreams or visions. They were all
unbelievers when God spoke to them through the dreams and visions.
i. We should not be intimated by the claims of the
Charismatics today that they have received dreams and visions as if they
are more spiritual than those who do not. The measure of true spirituality
is never by the external experiences. The true measure is by one’s
obedience to God’s Holy Word.
j. The Christian’s walk with God is always the measure of a
person’s spirituality. The nature of the believer’s gifts and the exercise
of it is not a measure. It is not measured by his wealth or how successful
he is in the world. His promotion to high positions is not a measure.
III. PROOF TEXT EXPLAINED
a. The proof text used by many Charismatics to support their
claim of present day visions and dreams is Acts 2:16-21.
b. Acts
2:16-21, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it
shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of
my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven
above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of
smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
c. Peter’s
quotation is taken from Joel 2:28-32, “And it shall come to pass
afterward, that 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: And also upon the servants and upon the
handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders
in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for
in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath
said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”
d. When
Peter quoted from Joel, he deliberately omitted the word “afterward” in
Joel 2:28. This is significant. From Joel’s perspective it was “afterward”
because it was in the future. From Peter’s perspective it was the present,
his present. What happened in Jerusalem at the time of the Pentecost was a
fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
e. Based
upon Peter’s message, we see that Pentecost was the beginning of the “last
days.” It begins with Acts 2:17 and 18. The fulfillment of these signs
mentioned in Acts 2 where Israelites will receive visions and dreams
begins the period known as “the last days.” This was precisely what the
apostles received from God when they wrote the New Testament. His prophesy
was fulfilled in the lives of the apostles.
f. In
biblical prophesy there is no multiple fulfillment. There is only ONE
fulfillment. To teach that there are multiple fulfillments in biblical
prophesies is wrong. You do not find it in the bible. All the prophecies
in the Bible have only one fulfillment. To teach that there are multiple
fulfillment will open a Pandora box that can never be closed. The Bible
will become a book with no authority. Imagine the frequent fulfillment of
the virgin birth of Christ or the resurrection and death of Christ! All
the biblical prophesies in the Bible have been fulfilled once and once
only without repetition.
g. As
in prophesies, the emphasis is primarily on the events themselves. The
certainty of the fulfillment of these prophetic events is the emphasis.
This is faith. Therefore in some cases there are large gaps of time in
between verses. Daniel 2 for example describes the kingdoms of Babylon
(gold), Medes and Persians (silver), Greeks (bronze), Romans (iron),
antichrist (clay and iron), and Millennium (stone not cut with the hands
of man). The first four impacts the first coming of Christ and they
occurred consecutively, one after the other. But there is a gap of more
than 2,000 years between the Roman Empire and the empire of the antichrist
which is still in the future. This antichrist empire is then immediately
replaced by the Kingdom of Christ, the millennium.
h. This
gap is also found in Acts 2:17-20. Verses 17-18 describe the beginning of
the last days. The end of the last days is verses 19-20. This
interpretation is affirmed by the use of the singular “day” in the phrase,
“before the great and notable day of the Lord come” of verse 20b.
i. The
end of the period of the last days describes the Second coming of Christ.
This is confirmed in Matthew 24:29-31, “Immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.” The similarity of the description of the last few
moments before the last day described in Acts 2:19-20 and Matthew 24:29-30
is startling. The detail description is revealed in the book of Revelation
in the seven Trumpet Judgments and the Seven Vial Judgments.
j. During
this period of the last days anyone who call on the Name of the Lord Jesus
Christ will definitely be saved. The entire local church scene is in the
last days. We are living in the last of the last days. Many of the signs
mentioned in the bible preceding the Coming of our Lord have already been
fulfilled. One of these signs is that of Matthew 24:24, “For there shall
arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect.” It says here that great signs and wonders will be done before the
end comes. The alternate name of the Charismatic Movement given by their
leaders is The Sign and Wonders Movement.
k. There
is therefore no basis for the Charismatics to claim that Acts 2:17-20
continues on today and what they are experiencing is a continuation of
Acts 2. The inaugural beginning of the “last days” period was the once off
Pentecostal event which will never be repeated again.
IV. VISIONS
AND DREAMS TODAY?
a. Are
there still visions and dreams today where God still use these vehicles to
speak to someone?
b. Dr
John Sung in his book did testify of receiving visions and dreams in his
personal life. These dreams revealed to him his life’s ministry. He was
told by God in his vision that he will serve God within a period of
fifteen years. This period is divided into five equal periods of three
years each. All these came to pass in Dr John Sung’s life.
c. There
is no reason to believe that a man of God like Dr John Sung would lie.
What Dr Sung received was for him and him alone. His vision was not added
to the Bible as THE Word of God.
d. In this sense, the difference between a personal experience today
and that of the Bible is very clear. The visions and dreams in the Bible
are personal but they are also recorded for our learning and application.
But not that of Dr Sung’s.
e. God
can still choose to use visions and dreams to call one of His children to
do a great work for Him like what Dr Sung did. But they are very rare.
Even when these visions and dreams are true, they must be evaluated very
carefully against God’s Holy Word.
f. They
are for the person’s own consumption and benefit and must be attested by
the leaders of the church, using the Word of God. If the person’s
“calling” or claim based upon the dream is against the teaching in the
Word of God then that person will be called a false dreamer or prophet.
The Bible text to support this action is Deu. 13.
CONCLUSION
The warning from God’s Holy Word is that there must be no addition and no
subtraction from God’s Holy Word. When the apostle John wrote Revelation,
Revelation 22:18-19 says, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the
words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Claims of visions and dreams are on the increase, particularly within the
Charismatic Movement. They will not stop. With the restoration of the
prophetic and apostolic ministries in the Charismatic churches claims of
visions and dreams will only increase. May God give to His people the
discernment and courage to not only know what is right according to
Scriptures but also to speak wisely and for the glory of God to help some
loved ones out of this global Charismatic deception. AMEN.
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