What does it mean when we dream about catastrophic events? People will sometimes ask me about “disaster dreams”: cities bombed; buildings brought down; plane crashes; terrorist attacks; scenes of destruction and natural violence, such as floods or earthquakes or other geographic calamities. If you’ve had a dream like this, what could it mean, and what are you supposed to do with it?
Literal dreams
It is possible that these dreams could represent potential events in the future. In this case, they would be warning dreams that provoke us to pray so that the disaster doesn’t happen.
Often we will sense in the dream that these things could happen but shouldn’t, and in that, God is putting a weight or a burden on us to pray that He will spare our city or country. Many people dream about bombings and explosions and find out later that there was some kind of terrorist plot that was foiled.
I was living in Brooklyn when three roommates from another part of the world decided they were going to bomb the subway system. At the last minute, one of them decided he didn’t want to do it, and on the day it was supposed to take place, he walked into the police station and told them the plan. The police arrested the other men, shut down the subway for hours, and the only negative thing that happened was my commute that day was something of a nightmare. When God gives people dreams about events that could happen and His people respond in prayer, the outcome often is like what happened in Brooklyn. The bombs didn’t go off. There are a lot of near misses I and other people have heard about, and there are likely a lot of near misses that we’ll never hear about.
A second reason we would have dreams like this is that God is showing us what is going to happen so that we can pray for His mercy. It may not prevent the situation, but it will probably save people’s lives and reduce the level of destruction.
For example, I have heard of several people who dreamed about planes hitting skyscrapers before 9/11. They may not have seen the situation exactly how it later occurred, but even if they didn’t fully understand, I’m sure that many of those people responded in prayer. This didn’t prevent the terrorist attack, but the devastation that happened was not as staggering as the devastation that was intended. There are dozens of stories of people who worked in those buildings but didn’t go to work that day, for whatever reason. Their kids were sick or they simply stayed home. Christians were praying, and the result was that some people just weren’t there or some got out in time.
The third literal possibility with these dreams is that you could be seeing events that will happen in the far future — that is, the End Times. You could see landmarks being destroyed or cities being bombed, but these things won’t happen for years. Your role may be to witness them in your dreams, and that is all.
Several times in Scripture, God showed people the future, but it was not necessarily so they could have any active role in changing it. For example, Abraham was told that Israel was going to be enslaved for 400 years. Daniel and John both saw catastrophic impending events. Why did God reveal these things to them? Because these men were His friends. We could have dreams about events so far in the future that they are essentially out of the scope of what He has given us to pray about. He could burden us to pray for them later, or when the time comes, He may tell someone else to pray.
Metaphoric dreams
On the metaphoric end of the spectrum, the dream could be showing you that there is, or will be, a spiritual attack against your city. You may see planes dropping bombs, missile launches, terrorist attacks or devastating geographic events, but they might not have anything to do with actual planes or actual bombs; instead, they
could reference an attack from the second heaven, where demonic principalities are located.
This sort of dream requires the same prayerful response as a dream that is literal. If there is an attack of depression coming to the city, we can pray that God would move on the city’s behalf and prevent it, or we can pray for mercy for those being affected. God may also be giving us a picture of what is going to happen in the future, and if He wants us to pray about it as it approaches, He will let us know.
Issues of clarity
Disaster dreams are usually not all that clear. I understand that many of the people who dreamed about 9/11 didn’t necessarily know the dream was about New York City or the World Trade Center. They just saw planes flying into skyscrapers. God normally doesn’t burden us with exact, precise understanding unless we’re ready for the substantial emotional weight involved; He doesn’t give us the full details because He doesn’t want us to be overwhelmed. So whenever He does make something very clear, it is usually because prayer can prevent it. This isn’t always the case, but it is the case 99% of the time.
I was living about 20 minutes from New York City when 9/11 happened. I don’t remember any dreams from that time period, but I do remember being in my living room and talking with some prophetic friends about whether or not something was going to happen to the World Trade Center. The idea was being discussed. There were even prophetic words about a time for going to work and a time for not going to work. Because of those words, some people didn’t go that day. I heard words like that being given, and I gave some myself, but I didn’t know what was going to happen. I think it was because the event was so horrific.
You’d think that from a prophetic standpoint, it would be great to know about something like that ahead of time. But really, we are much better off knowing only what God wants us to know. In some situations, the emotional burden of knowledge could be heavy upon us.
What do we do with dreams like this?
Any time we receive revelation, we should seek to play the part God wants us to play in the situation. That should be our main concern. Whatever God has for us to do is what we are supposed to do. If you are having this type of dream, take it to God, spend time with Him in prayer, then see what you have a burden for and respond accordingly. If you need to pray for mercy, you will feel an urge to do that. If you’re supposed to pray that the event doesn’t happen, that will be on your heart to do.
As you do what He has asked you to do, you will feel the burden lift, and you will have peace. People who have had difficult dreams need to feel peace. The situation may still be disturbing, but they will know they are in sync with God, and that is what matters the most from a personal response standpoint.
When I have dreams like these, most of them are about events in the far future. With the rest, I usually don’t find out how close the event came to happening. I might hear of something a couple of years later and wonder if that was what God had me pray about, but I don’t necessarily get confirmation. Often, these dreams must be taken on faith alone. But this remains the key: Whatever revelation you are given, respond to it in the way God leads you to respond. Then you will have peace before Him, knowing that you did what He asked you to do.
As a people and the Bride of Christ, I think that when we respond according to the burden He puts on us, without undue fear, we will be prepared for His plans, both in that situation and in the future. Many of the dreams we have now are training dreams — not just so we can mature and have more responsibility later, but so that the Bride as a whole is trained in the ways of God.
The What are disaster dreams? by Jim Driscoll, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
This answeed several questions about a dream I had about 5 years ago. In the dream, a 747 was crashing into the superbowl stadium. This concerned me for some time but I finally decided that prayer was the only answer.
Jack
Had a lot of these type dreams. When I ask Him once after an event, as I was weeping about it actually happening, whether I was supposed to have prayed to change it (though it hadn’t felt like I should), He told me that He wanted someone to share His own anguish that the event had to take place the way it did. That the weeping was His weeping over the people. He hurt when they did. He brought to mind Jesus weeping over Jerusalme. This kind of dream happened much more until I tried to share the dreams with others, and finally, they didn’t want to hear one more disaster dream. I was discouraged and then I had a long dry spell from dreams then. After repenting about caring more about their thoughts, these type dreams have returned. I seem to have a 3 to 5 year window after the dream before the event occurs, though sometimes it is much shorter (a week) or much longer (hasn’t happened. Sometimes the dream includes lists of practical things a person would do if it happened. Later I’d do research and find that the list was dead on target for that event.
This was very informative and quite interesting. I used to dream alot (would wake up and go back to sleep and finish the same dream). That was in a time of my life that I was not walking with God. When my relationship with Him became wonderfully steady…I asked for the dreams to stop?? Not sure why. However, I truly relate to being able and willing to pray when He needs that of His kids. So I am no longer unsettled by dreams and visions. Thanks for this word in “good season”. In His service and His arms..Jane
Thank you Jim for sharing your ministry giftings with us. Every time I read your teachings I am trained and equipped for the work of the ministry. I can say that through your teachings I have learned the difference between Godly Biblical interpretations and the nature of God verses false burdens a soulish interpretation can bring.
Just saying thanks! While reading this article God gave me understanding about a dream I had several years ago but never understood – it was a forewarning of a coming spiritual attack on the church-at-large.
About 15 years ago I had a color dream about the
destruction of San-Fransisco by earth quake and
title wave. In the dream I rescued 3 people out of the City. I prayed disaster would not take place. So far it hasnt
That’s very helpful! I have been having these dream/prayer experiences. For each of the last two earthquakes, Haiti & Chile, I have had suffocating experiences in which the Lord asked me to pray for those who were buried alive. It seemed bizarre, but I did it anyway. And then the next day, with the earthquakes, heard all these stories about people who were buried alive but rescued miraculously.
I don’t know what anyone else is feeling right now, but I have this “disaster pending” feeling that is REALLY uncomfortable & kind of frightening. Not sure what to do with it besides just keep interceding for disasters to be averted.
This is so on time…I have a 13yr. and 20yr. sons and they had the exact same dream on the morning of Feb. the 25th.
Here is the dream:
they where looking at the sun as it was dim and didn’t hurt their eyes to look at. Then a large solar flare came out of the center of the sun and they heard a lound explosion and this woke them up.
My 20yr. told me before he went out the door that morning and then I was sharing it with my 13 yr. later that afternoon. He kept saying no way…no way. and that he had the same dream…I had just pray in there rooms that morning for God to give them visions and dreams…God is so good!
I will print this letter out and share with them and encourage them to seek God on their part.
Thank you and Blessing to you!
when I was a young believer, I had many disaster dreams. I did not know what to make of them, and felt they were about the end times. no one was doing dream interpretation in those days, and I would just go to the Lord and say, “what is this? i don’t understand?” and that is the feeling I would get. most of them had to do with great tidal waves that swept people away, and some were left holding on to the rocks. thank you for this teaching…I have often wondered about this. God is so good all the time!
The dream i had was about smoke in my car and i thought that my car was on fire, but i didn’t see fire, just smoke and aunt Fay come cross my mind. I don’t understand this. Someone asked me about a trip and i was going to Gergoria.
My very first prophetic dream was in 1967 when we were living in Detroit. I dreamt a terrible, huge tornado came over Detroit. Within a few weeks the riots took place in Detroit near where we had lived. God moved us out shortly before that. I did not understand at that time what the dream was about. I still have problems understanding some. I took the two dream courses from Streams and that has helped tremendously.
THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! THE TIMES ARE HERE! YOUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WILL PROPHESY YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS, I KNOW THAT INCLUDES ALL OF US!!!! THIS IS A POWERFUL ! MINISTRY! FOR THE END TIMES! PLEASE!!! GIVE US MOREEEEEE!!!!! MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MORE!!!!!!BLESS YOU, IN CHRIST NAME ETZIE
Good morning, since Israel has taken Jerusalem completely in June 1967, the count down began, the Word says that this generation(believers and Jews) will not pass away until He, Blessed be He, returns! I beg you to change your mind on the latter days, it is not in the far future it is NOW! thank you for your article it is always a interesting to read them.
Yes, I feel too that if the Lord shows us something bad, we should pray that it will not happened. About 9 years ago, I had the sense that something would happen on that day that would change our lives in a big way. I casually shrugged it off, but I should have prayed it would not be so. My daughter got in an accident that resulted in days and hours at the hosp. Even now we still have to go once a year.
My wife sometimes has a very vivid dream. When she has those types, we know that the event IS happening at that moment. These types have been 100% accurate so far. We usually pray for the outcome or whatever is needed and have so far seen that prayer answered ‘as it happens”.
I on the other hand have dreams that are about 60% accurate to the interpretations. ; ( Sometimes if they are very vivid then they are quite corrct but the interpretation comes from someone else totally and before we tell them the dream.
Sometimes my dreams are too much pizza the night before!
Jim. I always appreciate your insights. Thank-you for sharing them.
Hi, Thank you for the explaination of disaster dreams. I also have had these dreams, especially the Tsumami’s. Shared with some people by never really got the right interpretations. So i prayed & in my dreams i was saving the children & telling people to run back run high up go to the mountain. When I heard about the tsunami, although it was sad but there was a sense of peace inside of me. God is in control of everything & we are just called to do what we can do. Pray Pray Pray.God bless.
I had a profound dream aprox. 1 yr. ago where I watched 2 Asian Christians be martyred for their faith. I woke up just sobbing. They had been tortured, and then injected with blood thinner that caused them to bleed to death in a horrible way. (The Lord shielded my eyes from the gorey part.) Then, the Lord told me that they had just become Royalty in the Kingdom as I watched their spiritual parts step out of their bodies, and with GREAT JOY, arm in arm, walk into the Father’s love. I was devastated with this dream and sobbed and sobbed. Now that I read your article on disaster dreams this one makes more sense. The Lord wanted me to share His joy at His Faithful Ones Homecoming, and to let my heart feel His sorrow at their sufferings. It seemed like an honor to be given that dream. I can’t wait to meet those guys in Heaven.
Thanks to all for sharing your dreams. I had a dream several years ago. I was in a brick bldg., with windows on two street sides. There many people inside the bldg., talking to each other when suddenly the bldg., began shaking everyone was screaming and frightened. You could see bricks and other construction debris falling outside. I was trying to calm the people and keep them away from the windows.
Then the dream was over.
i had adream a week ago iwas sitting with my daughter on atrain and a nuclear bomb exploded i felt the blast which awoken me breathless we survived as it seemed we were sought of under ground in the train it felt real there were like 2 stages 1st the blast then this strong wind that took my breath away i woke up terrified and breathless i dreamt about the tsunami boxing day one many many times for many many years it dint shock me when it happend and ive never dreamt of it sinse
i am not a christian. i do believe in God, but at one point in time, i pretty much completely lost faith and began to explore other options of belief and reality. about two years ago, i had multiple dreams, occurring almost every night, about disasters. the ones i distinctly remember were very vivid and frightening. one involved myself being on a bridge over water. the sky was an odd color, and the sun was ridiculously huge (close to the earth) and fireballs were shooting out of it. these balls of fire were crashing into the water, and onto the bridge, obliterating people, vehicles, and everything else in my view. as i made my way off the bridge frantically, the sun began it’s descent onto the earth, and ultimately crashed into it. at that point, i had reached a shelter, which seemed to be some sort of underground shopping mall with posters of barack obama everywhere. they were seemingly goofy advertisements about retail products. there were only a select few people in this structure with me, and we knew that everyone else was dead.
another dream i had involved another disaster. i was standing on a street talking to a friend, and i heard an explosion. i looked over to where the freeway was, and saw cars and trucks being tossed into the air. there was smoke, and fire filling the sky. and then i saw lights, kind of like lightning strikes in mid-day, shooting toward the earth, and causing more explosions. i tried to tell my friend that we needed to take cover, but he didn’t seem to notice what was going on.
both of these dreams, and the rest that occurred, were very real to me, and messed me up for days. i did not have a normal waking day for a long time while this went on. i would wake up sweating, crying, screaming, yelling. my boyfriend thought that perhaps i had watched “aliens” and “the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy” one too many times, and perhaps he was correct, but i felt there was more to these dreams.
i have regained some of my faith now, and one of my friends whom i told of these dreams shared this article with me, so i figured i would give my input.
Hi Jim
That was most helpfull
Thank you very much
Cyntha
the lord woke me up at 3:30 am or does. will take my hand to scripture and as im reading shows me what hes about to do. in 2008 he showed me hurricane gustav and showed in 2010 there would be disaster in gulf wiping out hinder part of state. im from louisiana. sometimes dark cloud will come over my head and surrounded in total peace and words come from my mouth. what comes out of my mouth he does. sometimes he speaks and shows me things in dreams, many stories. sometimes he,ll speak to me to tellsomeone something and put on huge pressure till i do, then what he tells me to tell them he immediately does. even the impossible.
Wished I’d have come across this site 30 yrs ago, or even 3 yrs ago when my ‘visions’, dreams, experiences and whatever other descriptions one wants to tag them as was nonstop and very disturbing. A psychologist tagged it “facinating”, grouping me in a small percentage of brains with “my ability”. I finally risked being deemed crazy and explained to her there was an intense fight above me between Gods most fierce angels confronting the most wicked of all evil satan had to send into the battle hovering within arms length or souls length of me. I also bravely told her of a heavy feeling that I had been given the ability to lead a large number of souls to God or to satan, pending the winner of what was being fought above me…. I see you’ve covered dreams, but what I haven’t seen anyone cover are the “awake dreams”…the things one sees when you close your eyes and you are not asleep. The one way to explain this to understanding of those that haven’t experienced such, it’s like watching a movie only you are there, like a witness to an event. For several years these awake dreams were disturbing, even violent. Of murders, natural disasters and man made disasters, always with a bright light or the blackest of black llingering in the background as if watching and waiting. As I saw children being hurt in the most horrific of ways I was never allowed to intervine in any way, I was only permitted to watch. When it became to heavy for my heart to bear I was allowed to leave and either was sent to another “scene” or if I couldn’t continue, I was allowed to be pulled back within my body and become aware of reality again. Sometimes only to be pulled back into the depths of this “awake dream”. So, what would my experiences fall under? How do I use them for the good of humanity when they are so frightening? I was always left wondering from who am I seeing these things through, God? Satan? I have the power to speak, asking questions and I have the power to hear the answers during such times, but have never thought to ask the question, “who is Jesus to you” like I read in another blog. Thank you, the moment I read those words I realized those were the words I’ve never asked at the start of these ‘visions’ or ‘awake dreams’.
wow, thats amazing, reading through the responses, (and the article of corse), it reminded me of a few things i forgot, but ‘Linda’s” really reminded me, i know what you mean by ‘waking dream’ once my hubby and us were getting ready to go to the store, as i was getting ready i saw just plain as day, a motorcycle fly over our car and crash in front of us, its like i watched it from mid air over the car to the ground, and was if the Lord say “what would you do?” i said ‘i would pray for them’ then as we were coming back from the store, there was a truck or camper, pulling a trailor stopped at the yeild sign of the on ramp, i caught my attention, its like i knew the driver was thinking ‘can i make it?’ it ended up staying put and waiting, and RIGHT as we passed the truck/camper, i heard a loud CRASH, and had to look around to see where it came from, a motorcycle had hit the drivers side of the trailor the truck/camper was pulling and fell over sideways, and i saw the motorcycle driver starting to get up as we were passing, i cant describe how i felt, on one hand i felt bad that i didnt do more, or pray more, but then realizing from the article that, it didnt happen the way i saw,cause what i saw before we left home, no way the motorcycle driver survived, in that i didnt see it hit the ground, but saw the fire ball go up. then not too long after that happened, i had another vision the exact same way as i saw the first one, me and one of our boys was in the house, i couldnt tell which one of the boys though, and a stray bullet came flying through the window, but i couldnt tell if one of us got hit, or if it just missed us, before that, (i just realized this) when my husband was deployed, he had a dream, in the dream he was driving on his way home to me, there was a man in the passenger seat with him who was a judge, he pulled into a convient store or pit stop type place to call me, there was a woman in the back seat behind the judge and she was trying to hide from the judge, and as my husband was about to enter the store she pulled out a gun and tried to shoot him, he jumped back and it just missed him, all the while she was ducking thinking the judge couldnt see her, that was the end of that dream. we knew who the woman was, and what she was trying to do (in the natural) but its like God was saying, ‘I know everything that is going on, and nothing nothing nothing is hidden from me, she thinks i dont see’ i started praying ‘let her know its YOu that she faught with’.
as far as the ‘Who is Jesus to you?” i never thaught of that before either, another thing is i know my personality is sorta mellon colly, so its easy to get me discouraged, or depressed or down, one day i was going through one of those moments and out of my mouth came, “i loose and destroy those evil forbodens, and bind the spirit trying to bring those thaughts to me” i heard about ‘evil forbodens’ once, and cant find it again, anyone i’ve asked doesnt seem to know what im talking about, but thats what came out of my mouth.
there was another one, years ago my husband had a dream where he was standing in the street and no one else was there, but there were coffins lining the street on the right and left, they were all open and you could see coffins for miles, then suddenly they all slammed shut at once and he woke up, not long after was the oklahoma bombing. and thank you for explainging the sorrow, or the pain, grief that comes, and sometimes we just meant to share it with our father, theres been a few times when all i could do was cry, nothing else, i couldnt speak, or pray, just weep.