Dreams are strange, awkward, horrific, inspiring, divine, judgmental, or even depressing. Each person has the experience of having a dream that marks the story of his or her life. However, no one can escape the reality of avoiding a specific dream even he or she tries to think about something else. According to Psychology, dreams are hidden in the subconscious of the person, and the person, who finds himself asleep, begins to see things rise to the surface the conscious. The conscious, then, begins to reveal the things in the imagination. Thus, the imagination provides a picture frame or scene of something that almost looks real. On the contrary, a dream can be interpreted in many ways that will help the person improve in his or her life; they also can be a sign of warning or judgement. In the book of Genesis, God speaks to the patriarch Abraham in a vision. A vision can also be interpreted as a dream. The speculation begins when God begins to speak to man in a dream as he is asleep. God directed his Word to Abraham in a dream. He said to him, "Do not fear Abraham! I am your shield! Your recompense shall be great!"(15:1-2). Abraham is asleep, and the narrator does not explicitly describe the image of God. The only thing that is said in this scripture verse is that God spoke to him personally. The question begins to grow in how does Abraham know that God is speaking to him. Abraham must of had some experiences that allows him to recognize the voice of the living God. On the contrary, the reader cannot know exactly what Abraham saw in his vision because it does not go into details. In addition, there is no way to enter the mind of the patriarch and jot down everything that the Patriarch saw. It is said that God speaks to the person in a deep sleep where the person is able to pay full attention to the message. Abraham was probably in a deep sleep, and he was able to hear, with clarity, the voice of God. Yet, in every dream, there is a dialogue. Abraham questions God about him being childless. He tell God, "What do want to give me?"(Gn. 15:2). Again, the scripture states that the word of God came to him. This is very interesting because it seems that the Word of God comes from somewhere unknown.
As Abraham awaits for God to respond, scripture states that the Word of God comes to meet Abraham in a dream twice. Here, the Word of God can be interpreted as things that were brought into existence from the very beginning of time. The Word, as it is known in the Gospel of John, is meant to be Jesus. Abraham has encounter with a Person whose name is Jesus. Scripture states that, after Abraham questioned his offspring, Yahweh took Abraham outside and told him to look up at the heavens and count the stars if he could (Gn. 15:5). Then, God tells Abraham that his descendants will be like the number of the stars. In the scene, the narrator does not explicitly say that it was daylight or nighttime, but the scene took place during the night. Thus, Abraham's dream was taken place in the night where God appeared to him and gave him a message that his offspring will be great. On the other side, Abraham has an encounter with God within his tent. In the dream, Abraham awaits patiently for God to visit him during the night. It seems that Abraham was already accustomed to the fact that God speaks clearly to him in dreams.
The picture scene is already painted for the reader. Abraham is asleep on the floor within his tent. He waits for the Lord to give him a sign or a message for his given situation. He, then, has an encounter with Jesus as known to be the Word that came to Abraham in the night. Furthermore, Jesus takes Abraham by the hand and walks him outside of his tent. The scene begins to develop as the scripture states that the day was night because Abraham was able to look at the stars in the sky. In the dream, there is also peace, hope, and faith. Abraham has peace when he listens to the voice of Jesus. He has hope when he hears the promise of his offspring. He has faith and has not given up on the One that gave him life and protection throughout his life.
Dreams are part of the human experience, and they can teach every person something valuable. Nowadays, dreams have fallen into the psychological level of understanding that describes the psyche of the person. However, scripture also attest that a man should never place his hopes or faith in his dreams because he will be like the waves in the ocean. It takes a lot of discernment just to know exactly whether God is speaking to someone in a dream. Some of the Church Fathers have stated that dreams can sometimes confused people by demons that disguised themselves as angels of light. The only difference between a demon and a angel is that a demon tries to bring false light to a situation and a angel brings judgment and peace. Saint John Climacus, in his Latter of Divine Ascent, states,
"For angels reveal torments, judgments, and separations and when we wake up we find that we are trembling and sad. As soon as we begin to believe the demons in dreams, then they make sport of us when we are awake too. He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man. Only believe dreams that warn you of torments and judgments. But if despair afflicts you, then such dreams are also from demons" (67-68).
No comments:
Post a Comment