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NASB | Revelation 22:18 ¶ I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 22:18 ¶ I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; [Deut 4:2] |
Subject: Does God speak to us in dreams today? |
Bible Note: Dear Mark, You wrote, "We know that the part about blood and fire and pillars of smoke, and the sun becoming black and the moon to blood has not been fulfilled, at least not as history records." There are many prophecies that "split" things. Daniel, for example, accurately predicts the coming of the messiah right down to the year, then, in the same prophecy, he predict the coming of the antichrist. Although a Preterist would not agree, I believe that we have not yet seen the antichrist, although more time has passed since the time of Christ than passed between the time of Christ and Daniel. Prophecy is like looking out over mountains. Two mountain peaks may appear ahead, but until you arrive at the first one, you might not realize that the second is still much farther ahead. Consequently, a "split" prophecy does not invalidate one mountain peak over another. If God can transmit His word faithfully through sixty-six books, some forty authors, spanning millenia, is it a difficult thing for Him to have arranged that the passage in Revelation 22 would contain the closing statements of John? Indeed, chronologically, those words were penned last of all. You wrote, "I do not believe that dreams rate higher than scripture." That is good. The question should then come to mind, what more do we need than Scripture? If it contains all that we need (the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture), then why would we look to anything else? Mishandling of Scripture can take place when one strings unrelated passages together in order to make it say something it does not say. This is called eisegesis. We are commanded to rightly divide the word of Truth. That Greek word means to cut a straight line. You wrote, "...whether or not we should discount any possibility of God speaking to us in a dream..." The question is not whether He can, but whether He does. Certainly He has the capability. Again, study the question of the closing of the canon. Look at those who still think it is open, and look at what they all have in common. You wrote, "what should be our scriptural response if we dream a dream that seems to be from God?" Now that is a useful question! First of all, for me personally, I'd discount it entirely. However, I'd encourage others to dig it out of the Scriptures. If the "message" is not affirmed in Scripture, chuck the dream. If the "message" is affirmed in Scripture, chuck the dream and hang onto Scripture! (After all, God puts it above His own name!) The Scripture is sure. Dreams can have all kinds of sources, from Satan, to self, to salsa! In Him, Doc |