Spiritual discernment: Lessons from a dream

D'you know it's possible for something to look spiritual, sound convincing, and still not be from God?

Not everyone or everything that appears to represent Christ actually does, and not every spiritual experience is from God.

This is why every believer MUST know God for themselves, know his Word for themselves, and develop the discernment to recognize truth from deception.

I had a vivid dream one night that reinforced these truths in a very significant way.

A man stood before me who looked very much like how people often imagine Jesus would look like—long brown hair, full beards, wearing a white robe. 

When I looked into his eyes, I was confused at the dullness I saw in them. There was no light or life in those eyes. 

In a lifeless voice, he said, "Don't tell people I'm coming. I'm not ready to come yet."

In the days and weeks that followed, I kept replaying the dream in my mind and reflecting on the total absurdity of it. After further reflection, the Bible and the Holy Spirit helped me pull several important lessons from this encounter. Here are three that I think every believer needs to hear:

1. Know the Lord for yourself. 

Know his voice. Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice.” Build an intimate relationship with God so that no one can deceive you by impersonating him. When you truly know him, you’ll recognize what is not him. I’ve never seen Jesus in person, but I knew the man I saw was not the Jesus I knew and loved, the Jesus that dwelt in my heart. 

In Rev 1:14, John said that Jesus's eyes "were like blazing fire". So those dull eyes? That was not Jesus. There was no light whatsoever in that presence. 

2. Know the Word for yourself.

In Matt 28:19-20, Jesus said to go into the nations of the world and share the good news of the gospel. John 14:1-3 and Rev. 1:7 also clearly say that he's coming again. No one knows the exact time, but his return is certain. And it is SOON. We have been commissioned by Jesus himself to preach the gospel and announce his second coming.

So the words, "Don’t tell people I’m coming," directly contradicts Scripture. When you know the Word, you won’t be easily misled. There's nothing that delights God more than seeing people hear the good news about Jesus and receiving him as their Lord. Sharing the gospel and leading others to Christ is close to God's heart. 

3. Be discerning.

Test the spirit. Don’t accept everything just because Jesus’s name is attached to it. If it doesn’t align with the Word of God, then it's not from God. It’s false teaching. There are many ideas that sound convincing, even intelligent, but are empty and hollow. Col. 2:8 warns about this—about deceptive and hollow philosophies.

Jesus mentioned in Mark 13:21-23 that false messiahs and false prophets would arise and perform signs and wonders with the goal of deceiving people, even the elect if that were possible. The enemy can appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), and many will be deceived because they don’t know the truth for themselves.

So, friend, my encouragement to you today is to seek him with all you've got. Read his Word—not just as part of a routine, but to actually know him through it. Ask the Holy Spirit to sharpen your discernment. Because the more intimately you know God, the easier it becomes to spot what isn't him.

In a time when so many voices are competing for our attention, may we be believers who remain sober, grounded, and discerning until the day Christ returns!

#becomingavessel