Categories of Dreams and Visions
By: Denise N. Fyffe
My dreams and visions fell into many categories. I have seen and encountered demons in part and fully themselves or being represented by symbols or animals (Warfare dreams). I have seen past, present, and future events.
However, the categories which I can now identify, include:
- Revelatory dreams
- Instructive dreams
- Warning dreams
- Spiritual warfare dreams
- Prophetic dreams
- Dreams providing guidance
- Dreams giving directions
- Dreams of deliverance
- Dreams referencing purpose, destiny, or calling
Processing Information
It is important to first identify this category of dreams. Our brains are intricate supercomputers that are continually processing information and cataloging data and transferring them from short to long-term memory. We not only process everything we see, hear, smell, touch, and interact with, but we process spiritual information and encounters as well.
Therefore, at night when our body is resting, our brains conduct integral processes to sort, store, interpret or permanently dispose of all that data.
Sometimes, our dreams are a representation of those internal processes. I believe that our brain sequences several categories of dreams at night, especially if you are the type of person that God is constantly communicating with. For example, if you are a prophet, apostle, or teacher and if you are a dreamer with a kingdom assignment.
Spiritual Warfare Dreams
These dreams can be intense but revealing in nature. I consider them a true gift of grace from God because he is allowing us to see the unseen enemy.
Calder (2022) states that these spiritual warfare dreams have three purposes. These include:
- To set us free
- To bring us closer to God
- To allow us to pray effectively
- To expose hidden strategies of the enemy
There is one foundational principle that many of us are not aware of and therefore, are at a disadvantage when we do not take advantage of this kingdom principle.
God gave man dominion over the earth. As such, God needs a man to pray, make declarations or speak commands into the spiritual realm. This sanctions and calls upon God to act on our behalf. If you notice, in the bible, God is always using a servant to do His will on the earth – prophets, apostles, judges, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, or the normal person without a call or spiritual gift.
Remember, God created these everlasting principles as he is a God of order. These rules also safeguard us from the looming siege from the demonic powers if it was not in place.
Furthermore, this is why demons try to influence or possess a person so that they can take control of that person, speak through them, and exert their demonic will or agenda on the earth.
An example of a spiritual warfare dream occurred earlier in 2022. I remember sleeping, but I saw a snake moving around my bed. Just as it was about to strike or come onto my bed, I grabbed it and it bit into my palm. Just as instantly a sword cut off its head.
I got up to remove the head and fangs from my palm, and someone asked if I was Ok. I answered that I was and threw away the head of the snake into the rubbish bin. I prayed accordingly afterward.
Deliverance Dreams
The dream I mentioned previously, can be classified as a discernment dream, a spiritual warfare dream, and a deliverance dream, because God was able to show and destroy my enemy. He allowed me to see the unseen and he demonstrated his power and protection.
Another dream, which I had several years ago, was terrifying, and yet in my dream, I knew they would not arm me.
I recall being among an army. I saw a fierce being with a sword. His body was like a human, but his face was not. As I was moving away, I note the army was watching him as if he was the leader. He had a woman captive and a huge horse.
He took out his sword and slashed the underbelly of the creature. As I walked away, he had the woman in hand and she looked at me, without remorse and I guess with loathing.
When I woke, my heart was beating about 200 beats per minute, because the features of this being were ferocious. He was not one to be trifled with and power radiated from him.
During this period of my life, I was experiencing immense warfare. My dreams had progressively and constantly been showing me the presence of demonic activity and harassment in my life. Every dream was more revealing as God tried to alert me to the attacks which were occurring in the spiritual realm. I prayed increasingly and had spiritual support as well.
Soon after this dream, my physical life changed and while the world was having the worst year ever, I was experiencing great blessings. Such is the manifold power of God when he sends his angels to fight for you and destroy your enemies.
Prophetic Dreams or Visions
You may understand prophetic to connote a foretelling or predictive information. Something that states what will happen in the future or is occurring, with no possibility of the person/prophet gleaning that information by some other means.
Prophetic dreams operate in the same way. Remember, God communicates constantly with his servants and an ‘auditory’ prophet can also be a ‘visual’ prophet. Communicating both what they see and hear from God.
This is where the term ‘Seer’ comes from about prophets, who see visions and have dreams.
I previously shared that I received a dream from God, where I saw Prince Harry and his media blitz circa 2020-2021. This dream was a part of a series of images that I was shown, and it came before the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview.
In my dream, I recall seeing him in an open field or mountainside and I was viewing him through the camera lens. Then, in the months to come, the Prince and his wife Megan Markle were all over the traditional and social media.
Also, in December 2021, I had a dream of an immense explosion at a hospital. I remember viewing the building from across an open area, in another building. It was like I was transported inside and could see a child in an empty room. Then, I was transported back to the other building in an instant. As I was closely examining the area, the building blew up.
I was shocked. I could see people trying to evacuate.
Because of the devastation, I shared this prophecy on my website cautiously. Then, in March 2022, Russia bombed a children’s hospital in Ukraine.
These dreams are prophetic dreams, where the Lord showed me what was to come in the new year and the events or people that would be of central focus. These are major and transitory events because they cause shifts or impacts in both the physical and spiritual realms.
Dreams Giving Directions
Joseph, husband to Mary and earthy father of Jesus Christ received several dreams giving directions. God demonstrated his supernatural power to counter the tactics of the enemy to try to kill Jesus Christ when he was a small child.
Hence, several times Joseph had dreams giving directions. They were so that he would marry Mary despite her being pregnant, take Jesus to a safe place, and flee the country.
Matthew 1:20 (ESV)
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 2:13 (ESV)
“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Matthew 2:19-23 (ESV)
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
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Be encouraged.
*****
About the writer: Denise N. Fyffe is a published author of over 50 fiction and non-fiction books. She started Revealing the Christian Life Ministry to help other Christians and provide support. She is also a trainer and mentors aspiring writers towards achieving their goals.
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