- Author:gospel
- Category:Sermons
It is a pleasure to connect once again. Apologies for the delays in posting due to competing activities, but as mentioned earlier, there are many posts to follow. And plenty of thanks to all readers because they provide the inspiration for continued posting. Since this topic was introduced in the previous blog post, it is in order to continue from where the story stopped. Today some focus on color is in order. Dreams are fascinating because from time to time one is confronted with coded language as it has been over the centuries and millennia. It may be interesting to discover how little has changed in the language of the holy spirit by examining one’s own dreams.
The image posted above is just for illustration and also meant to be used as a filler. It is the Kenya National Flag – which contains three of the most important colors to observe, and from which meanings can also be compared – do the meanings of the colors in this flag, or any other that you may know, or meanings in traffic lights that some of our dedicated readers in South Africa call ‘robots’? Do they tally with the meanings explained as taught in church apostles of Jesus of as contained in the scriptures? Also to be mentioned or examined where applicable are the meanings that people presently attach to these colors in corporate entities or elsewhere. This episode begins by examining the color red and then moves on to a few others
Do people dream or see visions in colour?
Beginning with the scriptures, there are dreams that were documented in colour – as well as visions. Why is this question important? In the more recent past many believed, led by incomplete science that dreams were mostly in black and white. Overall, researchers and study participants agreed that black and white dreams were the norm, and rare cases of colored dreams were “dubbed' Technicolor' dreams (Calef, 1954, Hall, 1951), highlighting their perceived artificiality”. But by the 1960s due to further research, it was found out that over 80% of persons saw colour in their dreams at least occasionally. This transition from widespread black and white to colour dreams is believed to have had something to do with the transition from the time movies and television were largely black and white, to present times when they are in color. This probably influenced the way minds process information.
The Colour Red
The color red is one significant color to observe in visions or dreams. In the scriptures it will be about sins that are red as scarlet (Isaiah 1:18) to redhorses (6:4), a red dragon (Revelations12), a woman in purple and scarlet red (17:4). In fine art it is taught that red was one of the warm or hot colors – probably associated with burning coals or metals that are red hot. It is for this reason that a hot water tap may have a red label as opposed to green or blue for one with cold water. Overall, red is associated with danger – just like in the traffic lights. In the Kenya Flag, it is associated with bloodshed – that came with the deaths occasioned by the struggle against colonial rule. The reader may also make comparison with any other flag or object where meanings are assigned to color for comparative purposes.
There are also cases where red is associated with royalty. Like the red carpets associated with welcoming VIPs. A famous cleric from the Nation of Islam (a mostly African American Muslim sect), Louis Farrakhan may have hit the nail on the head by saying that the rulers of the earth walk on red carpets because their Kingdoms are created through bloodshed and are sustained by bloodshed.
Is there anything positive about the color red: In a vision or dream? Some would want to argue that it depicts the blood of Jesus, but from experience that would be a very rare application. For indeed in visions and dreams, at least the vast majority of them, red is one of those colors that rarely take on a positive meaning. How likely is one to see a red horse in a dream for instance? Well, may not be very likely for most in the present times, but suppose one saw a horse with a red saddle, or a red car, from experience, it is rather unlikely that the meaning can be positive. If there were a rare positive exception, that would be handled by prophets.
InRevelations chapter 19, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is seen riding on a white horse. Notably his robes – which must have been white are seen withstains has having been dipped in blood. Why are the robes appearing to have been dipped in blood or red? Clearly, he is seen coming at a time of war –followed by the armies of heaven. There are some who might want to say that this would be the blood of Jesus who died in the cross. However, there is no name given – only mention that he had a name written on him known to none but theLORD himself. As discussed earlier, this is not a depiction of Jesus of Nazareth. This is about as Revelations 1 puts it, he who was and is and who isto come, and the seven spirits in front of his throne … only then does it mention and Jesus Christ – meaning that the second coming is about the Kingdom of Godin total. And it is the second coming of Christ – as he is united with his father– whom he tells us would come next and take the vineyard and give it to a Nation who would keep it.
The Color White
The color white stands for purity it is associated with light – which it also reflects in abundance. The dominant or corporate colour for the Kingdom of God is white. In the Kenya Flag depicted above, white stands for peace.
Whenever heavenly beings are seen, they tend to be dressed in white. It is in recognition of this fact that white is the main color also worn as dresses, prayer shawls, headscarves, and other attire worn in church, especially during worship is white. White colour seen in dreams tends to have meanings associated to purity, and holiness. Some individual recounted from early dreams where anything white such as a paper, or book or person dressed in white removing obstacles were pointers to success or favorable answers to prayers.
Even for those who see visions, heavenly beings are always seen dressed in white or very bright radiant colours. It was therefore a bit of a surprise to hear that even the devil and other evil beings can also disguise themselves in white to cause deceit. It was however explained that this kind of scenario may only manifest itself to those who are very well grounded in the word of God – and also with exceptional gifts and anointing. It is unlikely most would be confronted with such a scenario in a dream.
The Colour Black
As the reader may have guessed, black is synonymous with darkness. The black horses in revelations and elsewhere in the scriptures take on negative meanings. In Revelations six, it depicts starvation, distress, calamity and mourning. Generally black colour conveys negative meanings. However, like with white or any other visual, there can be exceptions. A dream was encountered from a Christian born Muslim woman where she saw girls wearing black dressed. But in this dream the message was about her upbringing and her colleagues who tended to dress that way in her home country. That is why as much as general meanings may nearly be obvious in many cases, but again the reader is reminded that visions and dreams are the domain of prophets. It is a specialization like any other – where a lot of knowledge and direction from the holy spirit is involved.
Black colour need not be negative depending on the context – especially speaking in a world where racism exists. When talking about color it is important to know that this is not about black or white people. It does not even mean that a horse that was created black or brown is inferior to a white one. This is about how things appear in vision and dreams and not about their biological or genetic composition – for God in his wisdom created them with diverse looks.
For those who read the book of Enoch or may care to refer to it, Enoch saw a vision of animals with white wool or fur (1 Enoch 90: 38 … The verses may appear in Chapter 89:46 … in some texts). The animals were sheep and bulls. These whites (fur and wool) were equivalent to white dresses or clothes. The first among the bulls became a lamb – and that lamb became an animal with great black horns on its head. If we are to revise something from this point going forward, the meanings of white have already been discussed and they apply. The black horns in this case were a pointer to a black man – but it is not a negative meaning for the very reason that the LORD of the sheep rejoiced over the animals.
Blue, Green and Yellow
Some people have learned associate blue colour with security. It is for this reason that banks, logos, police forces, and security companies tend to have blue on their logos or uniforms or elsewhere. Green color has related meanings leaning towards growth. A good number of firms also have green or a mixture green and other colors on their logos. A good Kenyan example is Safaricom. These colours tend to have positive meanings. While the colors are not rare, they are not so often noted or mentioned in spiritual lingua. Without much research, the colour yellow appeared in a vision or dream and was indicated to denote the meaning of knowledge.
Dark, Light and Contrasting Colours
The meanings of colours can vary depending on their shades. Colours that are rather dark such as a very dark blue for instance can have a meaning bordering on black and verse versa. In a dream someone saw snakes of multiple colours including pink, green and a lot of others. The translation that came to this dream courtesy of the holy spirit was that the snakes represented temptations and the pink ones were the more visible and easy to detect.
Metallic Colours
These looks can include gold, iron, silver or bronze. Where they apply, their meanings are related to the properties of these metals. For example, in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream the Kingdoms depicted of Gold and silver were about their wealth and value. The kingdom depicted of iron and clay was about its fragmented and contrasting strengths and weakness.
To cut an endless story short, it shall be prudent to pause on the matter of colours. In the next post, the issue of symbols will be visited. It may take one post or more to pass the message across.