Signs and symbols part 2
In our last teaching, we dealt with understanding how God uses signs and symbols relative to our everyday environment, which would become apparent once we interpreted the dream's message.
I want to begin this teaching with a law that governs dreams/mysteries. Many of you have probably read the following scripture before but never realized that it was law. As a follower and believer of Jesus Christ, the reality is that you have what it takes to interpret dreams and unlock mysteries. The only thing preventing you from understanding your dreams clearly is dream principles and heavily relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you in revealing the mystery of your dream.
"Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out," Proverbs 20:5. Let's dissect this scripture to expose its in-depth meaning. Let me first remind you of Matthew 13:11, which reads: "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given (past tense) unto you (followers of Jesus Christ) to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (unbelievers ) it is not given." The latter scripture indicated that the people of God have what it takes to understand mysteries/dreams. At the same time, those that are not in a relationship with him do not have it. Proverbs 20:5 begins by saying counsel in the heart of man is like deep water. This statement is considered a simile. A simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind (e.g., as brave as a lion). The word counsel is defined as advice, opinion, or instruction in directing the judgment or conduct. So, Proverbs 20:5 did not say counsel was deep water; instead, it compared it to deep water. In other words, your God-given counsel (instructions and advice) as a follower of Jesus Christ to understand dreams are buried deep within you. It is like sunken treasure at the bottom of the ocean. As long as you're at the surface, you will never know what's at the bottom. Scripture goes on to say, "A man of understanding draws it out." This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. As a reminder, I said that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, and his job is to lead us into all truth. So the Holy Spirit, if allowed, will dig deep within your spirit to retrieve the understanding necessary to bring clarity to your dreams. Proverbs 4:1, 4:5, 4:7, 5:1, Proverbs 8:14, which I am convinced the entire chapter speaks of the Holy Spirit, which says that he is understanding!
The bible is filled with metaphors and similes; again, the whole idea is to understand spiritual things by comparing. Let us look at the word house; we know the word house to be a dwelling place for folks and their families. However, using this word house to convey a deeper understanding of the spiritual world. For example, let us review the following scripture. "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he comes, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished "Matthew 12:43-44. In this scripture, Jesus clearly said, "When the evil spirit is gone out of a man." However, when the evil spirit decided to return, the evil spirit did not say let him go back into the man. Instead, he called the man his house. This is just one of the thousands of biblical clues to unlock your dreams where words are substituted or compared to something else. A House will usually represent the life of someone; now, just like with anything else, the different parts of a house will speak to other aspects of the person's life. For example, let's say you had a dream about your bedroom or a bedroom; well, what does a bedroom represents? It represents privacy, intimacy, peace, covenant (husband & wife). Overall the message of the dream is pointing to the private areas of one's life.
Attic/ceiling/roof: thoughts, mind, meditation, covering, complete
Basement: things that are forgotten, hidden, secret, depression
Garage: storage, not letting go of something's that are not needed
Kitchen: preparation, distribution, sharing
Dining room: communion, sharing, imparting, feeding
Front porch/front yard: indicating things of the future
Back Porch/back yard: things behind or things of the past
Bathroom: confession, repentance, forgiveness, cleansing indicating a change
Dirty house: suggests a need for attention
New house: change for the better, a fresh start, a new beginning
Old house/childhood home/ former residence: indicates things of the past spiritual generational inheritance, traditions. Something from the past that is influencing the individual today. Setbacks, delays, starting over, non-progress, etc.
These are just general symbols. Like I said, not every symbol and sign would have the same meaning to everyone. One's culture plays a heavy role in the understanding of symbols aided by the Holy Spirit.
The majority of dreams would be about yourself. This is also important to note because most folks make the error of dream interpretation by not figuring out who is the subject of the dream. They would automatically assume that because other folks are in the dream, it's about others. For the most part, dreams deal with either your past, current, or future situations such as your relationships, finances, health, especially things that concern you a lot. Below is a list of biblical references to how one deciphers if a dream is about themselves or others. If you follow the principle of these references, it will become easier to interpret if it's you the dream is referring to or someone else:
Gen. 15:1-21: Abraham in interaction with God & sleeps = dream about himself
Gen. 20:1-18: Abimelech and God in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 28:10-22: Jacob being spoken to by God = dream about himself
Gen. 31:10-29: Jacob and God in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 37:1-11: Joseph and brothers in interaction = dream about himself
Gen. 40:1-23: Cupbearer and Baker = dreams about themselves
Gen. 41:1-49: Pharaoh's dream of 7 cows = dream for others
Gen. 46:1-7: Israel in dialogue with God = dream about himself
Judges 7:9-18: Loaf of bread hitting camp = dream about himself
1 Kings 3:5-28: God and Solomon interact = dream about himself
Daniel 2:1-49: Statue hit by stone = dream about others
Daniel 7:1-28: Four beasts = dream about others
Daniel 8:1-27: Ram and goat = dream about others
Daniel 10:1-12:13: Terrifying vision = dream about others
Matt. 1:20-25: God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself
Matt. 2:3-15: God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself
Matt. 2:19-23: God spoke to Joseph = dream about himself
I will end here for now, but our following teaching will deal with people in our dreams and their meaning. Again I am more than excited about these teachings, and I trust that you are as well. If you have any questions or need clarity, do let me know. I certainly enjoy this gift of teaching that God has given me and enjoy even more the idea of sharing it. I welcome comments.
Written by: Kevin LA Ewing
kevinewing@coralwave.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com
http://youtu.be/Mevu-16sNLc