"Dreams & Visions that Prepare for the Future"

HOME
WebsiteTips
What's New
Free Newsletter
Feature Article
Previous Articles
Contact & Links

ABOUT US
Dennis Bennett Bio
Rita Bennett Bio
Press Articles
Photo Album

BOOKS & OTHER GIFTS
Emotionally Free
To Heaven & Back
Inner Wholeness
Bookstore Order Form

COURSES
Inner Healing Evaluation
Emotionally Free
Inner Wholeness
Teachers & Schedules
Be A Teacher

TOUR HEAVEN!

e-Mail Here

In Touch & Emotionally Free logo

Dreams & Visions that Prepare for the Future
by Rita Bennett, from the CRA Newsletter, Summer, 1999

Phil Pearlman, shofar trumpeter and singer, and Rita Bennett, TBN Host. (Photographer: Betty Bell).

I'm one of those people who believe that even though God speaks to us primarily through His written Word today, (and the study of His Word is the joyful foundation of my life), yet He also speaks to us in other, though secondary, supernatural ways. God is not silent. He is speaking to us if we have "ears to hear."

There are some Christians, however, who believe that experiencing anything supernatural automatically makes one either occult or new age. It's very easy for these people to "discern" who is of God and who is not. Basically they contend, "Anyone who has any supernatural experience other than salvation, is not of God." The list of things they discern as being wrong is very long. Just a few would be: speaking a supernatural word of knowledge, healing the sick, prophecying (not meaning here to preach), having spiritual dreams, or visions, praying in tongues, perceiving or seeing the Lord in prayer, or even having a near-death experience. How sad to throw all these powerful blessings out of the Church! Granted each gift must be tested, and that test is from the ancient, time tested, inspired Scripture.

What I'm going to share will not interest those of this cessationist viewpoint, though I love them and know God uses them in other ways. None of us has the total truth but I believe all these blessings, and more, are available to God's children.

The prophet Joel confirms this as he is quoted by Dr. Luke in the Book of Acts 2:17-21.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy"
(NKJV).

(Luke goes on to describe signs in the heavens which will happen in the future. They will signify where we are in God's timetable.)

Joel doesn't mean that only men will dream dreams or have visions, and only women will prophecy. But here he is speaking to the whole body of Christ, male and female alike.

God-Given Dreams

God has spoken to me in dreams over the years in ways that were very healing to me. Significant dreams don't happen to me constantly but conservatively speaking, several times a year. As the years add up, so do these experiences. I've told in my writings how God gave me a dream to prepare me for the death of my husband, Dennis. Fortunately I wrote it down. Nearly four years later I was prompted by The Rev. Don Goodheart through a dream he had, to look up this dream that I had literally filed away. I checked the dates and found that God's timing was exactly as He had given me in my dream. This helped to heal me as I was assured that Dennis's departure was in God's timing. (Details in "To Heaven and Back," chapter 2).

Every dream you or I have is not necessarily of God, but as you walk with God over the years you will be able to discern when He is speaking in this way. Some dreams are simply psychological. Some are REM dreams just filing away one's memories and sorting things out. It's healthy to have dreams. Some are from eating ice cream and cake before retiring. Others can be demonic dreams sent to frighten or upset. But, oh joy, there are Holy Spirit dreams, God-given dreams, where God actually speaks to you. My late husband, Dennis, once in a while used to have a dream of Jesus and would say, "Well that dream has set me up for a whole week!"

If you can't remember God speaking to you in this way, pray about your dreams before you go to bed at night. I pray something like this before retiring. "Dear Lord, if I have any dreams may they be dreams of You and from You. Keep all other dreams away from me. If you want to speak to me in my dreams, I am available to You."

Visiting Your Loved One's Home

In May 1996 I arranged a tour group of 25 people to travel to Israel. I guess our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) was pleased with my extraordinary efforts in taking the tour group to His earthly home and birthplace. I had numerous blessings while there, but right after I returned home I had a dream where Jesus appeared as my betrothed groom and said He was eagerly awaiting our marriage. Fantastic! Of course He would say the same to you, too, because scripture teaches that all Believers, Jews and Gentiles, will one day become the bride of Christ. But His personal message touched my heart deeply.

Some years ago I visited Dennis's home town of San Jose, California. We drove by his childhood home and he said, "It would be fun to go in to my old home and show it to you, but I'm not sure if the present owners would like me to barge in on them unannounced."

Because I loved my husband a whole lot I said, "I'll go to the door and ask them." The upshot was that they welcomed us with open arms, showed us around, and then served us tea and cookies. I was so happy for Dennis and was happy for my experience too.

I guess that was the way it was in visiting Jesus' homeland also, and I do know He was pleased. He will be pleased when you visit His earthly home too. Have you done it yet?

Sometimes God gives us warning dreams and in the times we are living I think we should all the more pay attention to our dreams. I recommend that you keep a journal for your dreams. To know what God says about dreams you should study the scripture examples of those who had God-given dreams. Study the last chapters in Genesis (37-50) where Joseph had prophetic dreams that were an overview of his entire life. See also how he interpreted two prisoner's dreams, eventually giving Joseph a fantastic leadership promotion. Also study the Book of Daniel and how he understood the ruler Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, and had angelic help to understand his own dreams.

Dream With A Trumpet Sound

I was much encouraged about a dream of Annette Hake's whom I met a few months ago. Here's what she said to me,

"September 26, 1998 I was awakened by the sound of the Shofar blowing (ram's horn). There were three blasts. This sound pattern I heard, though I did not know it then, was called the Shevarim. I had just heard the blowing of the Shofar at the Feast of Tabernacles but they didn't do this one pattern. I wasn't sure what to think about it. A week or two later I found out through a book my husband, Alan, had begun reading that the meaning of the sound was to 'break camp and prepare for departure.' It was also a command to 'break with the past with brokenhearted sorrow.' "

On Internet I asked her further, "What were the exact sounds or the blowing pattern of the shofar?"

Annette: "There were three blasts. Each one was a combination of a longer blast ending in a shorter, higher one. There was no break between the longer and the shorter higher one."

Rita: "Did the blasts wake you up physically or were you asleep during the whole event?"

Annette: "I awoke at the time as I started to hear the blast. Whether or not it woke me I cannot say. The Lord has been doing this with me for a while. He speaks to me in the short time between sleep, or dream and awakening. This time I don't remember dreaming anything leading up to the sound. All of a sudden, I was awake and was hearing this sound. I think my spirit heard it, rather than my ears, but I'm not sure. When you are in a dream the sounds seem real, as it does many times when you hear things by the spirit."

Rita: "How did it make you feel?"

Annette: "In awe. I knew it was the Lord, but I didn't understand what it meant so I didn't get the message, to break camp and depart, at that time. If the Lord was trying to tell me something to obey at that time, He would have given me the understanding along with the blasts. . . Confirmation came with the book my husband was reading. Then I heard it again in the video of The Feast of Tabernacles in Israel, and finally in the Movie, The Ten Commandments. I was then sure of the sound and meaning. Joshua blew the Shofar this way as they were leaving Egypt, in the movie. This part of the movie was certainly biblical.

"Even though I didn't realize it at the time, the Lord was giving the timing of our departure from the church we had been affiliated with. We knew we were to leave for quite a while but waited six months for confirmation from God. Finally we had the word to "Go now."

"This time the Shofar wasn't the 'final Word' but, some day it will be to all those who know His Voice!"

Annette's husband Alan said further, "It was a team effort; we both heard from the Lord, besides confirmation from others. The end result was we had a strong enough conviction that what we heard was Him, so that, in spite of any opposition, we would respond."

This is a good example of God speaking: through a dream, a biblical Old Testament meaning of the Shofar blowing the Shevarim pattern, through three witnesses connected to the Shofar message, through an inner witness in both their spirits, and through friends who prayed with them.

What thrilled me most about this dream or waking dream is that it is a witness of what it will be like when the trumpet sounds for the Church. That trumpet that says "It's time for our departure. Te Ta, Te Ta, Te Ta!" One of these days a trumpet will blow. You may be asleep or you may be awake but just like Annette you will hear it if you are God's child. Of course anyone can be included if he reads the following scripture and prayerfully applies what it says, making Jeshua (Jesus) Lord.

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 in the Complete Jewish Bible says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God's shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are still left alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord. So encourage each other with these words." Listen up!

In Conclusion

During my life span, this is the first time I've heard of a dream of a Shofar trumpet blowing other than John Barrett's when he heard trumpets blow the night Dennis died and was welcomed Home.

The Bible teaches that God does speak through dreams to people. He shows that this can be helpful guidance to us if we remain humble and seek Him for the interpretation, or even request understanding from those who are spiritually mature.

Luke the physician taught that Believers in the last days should expect to hear from God supernaturally and dreams are specifically mentioned. As with all supernatural giftings, we must walk in humility and learn the lessons of those who went before us as written in biblical history. To walk in these dimensions we are responsible to know and apply what scripture says.

God is speaking. Are you listening?

[Note: If God has given you a dream or vision that you feel would help others, or a dream of warning for the days ahead, please send it to Christian Renewal Association. We will pray and ask God's confirmation about printing it. If you want it returned send an SASE. Thank you.]


HOME WebsiteTips What's New Free Newsletter Feature Article Previous Articles Contact & Links ABOUT US Dennis Bennett Bio Rita Bennett Bio Press Articles Photo Album BOOKS & OTHER GIFTS Emotionally Free To Heaven & Back Inner Wholeness Bookstore Order Form COURSES Inner Healing Evaluation Emotionally Free Inner Wholeness Teachers & Schedules Be A Teacher TOUR HEAVEN! e-Mail Here
	Dreams & Visions that Prepare for the Future by Rita Bennett, from the CRA Newsletter, Summer, 1999
	Phil Pearlman, shofar trumpeter and singer, and Rita Bennett, TBN Host. (Photographer: Betty Bell). I'm one of those people who believe that even though God speaks to us primarily through His written Word today, (and the study of His Word is the joyful foundation of my life), yet He also speaks to us in other, though secondary, supernatural ways. God is not silent. He is speaking to us if we have "ears to hear." There are some Christians, however, who believe that experiencing anything supernatural automatically makes one either occult or new age. It's very easy for these people to "discern" who is of God and who is not. Basically they contend, "Anyone who has any supernatural experience other than salvation, is not of God." The list of things they discern as being wrong is very long. Just a few would be: speaking a supernatural word of knowledge, healing the sick, prophecying (not meaning here to preach), having spiritual dreams, or visions, praying in tongues, perceiving or seeing the Lord in prayer, or even having a near-death experience. How sad to throw all these powerful blessings out of the Church! Granted each gift must be tested, and that test is from the ancient, time tested, inspired Scripture. What I'm going to share will not interest those of this cessationist viewpoint, though I love them and know God uses them in other ways. None of us has the total truth but I believe all these blessings, and more, are available to God's children. The prophet Joel confirms this as he is quoted by Dr. Luke in the Book of Acts 2:17-21. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams, And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy" (NKJV). (Luke goes on to describe signs in the heavens which will happen in the future. They will signify where we are in God's timetable.) Joel doesn't mean that only men will dream dreams or have visions, and only women will prophecy. But here he is speaking to the whole body of Christ, male and female alike. *God-Given Dreams* God has spoken to me in dreams over the years in ways that were very healing to me. Significant dreams don't happen to me constantly but conservatively speaking, several times a year. As the years add up, so do these experiences. I've told in my writings how God gave me a dream to prepare me for the death of my husband, Dennis. Fortunately I wrote it down. Nearly four years later I was prompted by The Rev. Don Goodheart through a dream he had, to look up this dream that I had literally filed away. I checked the dates and found that God's timing was exactly as He had given me in my dream. This helped to heal me as I was assured that Dennis's departure was in God's timing. (Details in "To Heaven and Back," chapter 2). Every dream you or I have is not necessarily of God, but as you walk with God over the years you will be able to discern when He is speaking in this way. Some dreams are simply psychological. Some are REM dreams just filing away one's memories and sorting things out. It's healthy to have dreams. Some are from eating ice cream and cake before retiring. Others can be demonic dreams sent to frighten or upset. But, oh joy, there are Holy Spirit dreams, God-given dreams, where God actually speaks to you. My late husband, Dennis, once in a while used to have a dream of Jesus and would say, "Well that dream has set me up for a whole week!" If you can't remember God speaking to you in this way, pray about your dreams before you go to bed at night. I pray something like this before retiring. "Dear Lord, if I have any dreams may they be dreams of You and from You. Keep all other dreams away from me. If you want to speak to me in my dreams, I am available to You." *Visiting Your Loved One's Home* In May 1996 I arranged a tour group of 25 people to travel to Israel. I guess our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) was pleased with my extraordinary efforts in taking the tour group to His earthly home and birthplace. I had numerous blessings while there, but right after I returned home I had a dream where Jesus appeared as my betrothed groom and said He was eagerly awaiting our marriage. Fantastic! Of course He would say the same to you, too, because scripture teaches that all Believers, Jews and Gentiles, will one day become the bride of Christ. But His personal message touched my heart deeply. Some years ago I visited Dennis's home town of San Jose, California. We drove by his childhood home and he said, "It would be fun to go in to my old home and show it to you, but I'm not sure if the present owners would like me to barge in on them unannounced." Because I loved my husband a whole lot I said, "I'll go to the door and ask them." The upshot was that they welcomed us with open arms, showed us around, and then served us tea and cookies. I was so happy for Dennis and was happy for my experience too. I guess that was the way it was in visiting Jesus' homeland also, and I do know He was pleased. He will be pleased when you visit His earthly home too. Have you done it yet? Sometimes God gives us warning dreams and in the times we are living I think we should all the more pay attention to our dreams. I recommend that you keep a journal for your dreams. To know what God says about dreams you should study the scripture examples of those who had God-given dreams. Study the last chapters in Genesis (37-50) where Joseph had prophetic dreams that were an overview of his entire life. See also how he interpreted two prisoner's dreams, eventually giving Joseph a fantastic leadership promotion. Also study the Book of Daniel and how he understood the ruler Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, and had angelic help to understand his own dreams. *Dream With A Trumpet Sound* I was much encouraged about a dream of Annette Hake's whom I met a few months ago. Here's what she said to me, "September 26, 1998 I was awakened by the sound of the Shofar blowing (ram's horn). There were three blasts. This sound pattern I heard, though I did not know it then, was called the Shevarim. I had just heard the blowing of the Shofar at the Feast of Tabernacles but they didn't do this one pattern. I wasn't sure what to think about it. A week or two later I found out through a book my husband, Alan, had begun reading that the meaning of the sound was to 'break camp and prepare for departure.' It was also a command to 'break with the past with brokenhearted sorrow.' " On Internet I asked her further, "What were the exact sounds or the blowing pattern of the shofar?" Annette: "There were three blasts. Each one was a combination of a longer blast ending in a shorter, higher one. There was no break between the longer and the shorter higher one." Rita: "Did the blasts wake you up physically or were you asleep during the whole event?" Annette: "I awoke at the time as I started to hear the blast. Whether or not it woke me I cannot say. The Lord has been doing this with me for a while. He speaks to me in the short time between sleep, or dream and awakening. This time I don't remember dreaming anything leading up to the sound. All of a sudden, I was awake and was hearing this sound. I think my spirit heard it, rather than my ears, but I'm not sure. When you are in a dream the sounds seem real, as it does many times when you hear things by the spirit." Rita: "How did it make you feel?" Annette: "In awe. I knew it was the Lord, but I didn't understand what it meant so I didn't get the message, to break camp and depart, at that time. If the Lord was trying to tell me something to obey at that time, He would have given me the understanding along with the blasts. . . Confirmation came with the book my husband was reading. Then I heard it again in the video of The Feast of Tabernacles in Israel, and finally in the Movie, The Ten Commandments. I was then sure of the sound and meaning. Joshua blew the Shofar this way as they were leaving Egypt, in the movie. This part of the movie was certainly biblical. "Even though I didn't realize it at the time, the Lord was giving the timing of our departure from the church we had been affiliated with. We knew we were to leave for quite a while but waited six months for confirmation from God. Finally we had the word to "Go now." "This time the Shofar wasn't the 'final Word' but, some day it will be to all those who know His Voice!" Annette's husband Alan said further, "It was a team effort; we both heard from the Lord, besides confirmation from others. The end result was we had a strong enough conviction that what we heard was Him, so that, in spite of any opposition, we would respond." This is a good example of God speaking: through a dream, a biblical Old Testament meaning of the Shofar blowing the Shevarim pattern, through three witnesses connected to the Shofar message, through an inner witness in both their spirits, and through friends who prayed with them. What thrilled me most about this dream or waking dream is that it is a witness of what it will be like when the trumpet sounds for the Church. That trumpet that says "It's time for our departure. Te Ta, Te Ta, Te Ta!" One of these days a trumpet will blow. You may be asleep or you may be awake but just like Annette you will hear it if you are God's child. Of course anyone can be included if he reads the following scripture and prayerfully applies what it says, making Jeshua (Jesus) Lord. I Thessalonians 4:16,17 in the Complete Jewish Bible says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God's shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are still left alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord. So encourage each other with these words." Listen up! *In Conclusion* During my life span, this is the first time I've heard of a dream of a Shofar trumpet blowing other than John Barrett's when he heard trumpets blow the night Dennis died and was welcomed Home. The Bible teaches that God does speak through dreams to people. He shows that this can be helpful guidance to us if we remain humble and seek Him for the interpretation, or even request understanding from those who are spiritually mature. Luke the physician taught that Believers in the last days should expect to hear from God supernaturally and dreams are specifically mentioned. As with all supernatural giftings, we must walk in humility and learn the lessons of those who went before us as written in biblical history. To walk in these dimensions we are responsible to know and apply what scripture says. God is speaking. Are you listening? [Note: If God has given you a dream or vision that you feel would help others, or a dream of warning for the days ahead, please send it to Christian Renewal Association. We will pray and ask God's confirmation about printing it. If you want it returned send an SASE. Thank you.]