Is There a Deeper Biblical Meaning to My Nightmares?

Many of us have experienced nightmares, even during this past week. Some reading this may have had a nightmare even last night. 

These bad dreams can often leave us disoriented when we wake up. But are nightmares simply a way for us to cope with our greatest fears and anxieties, or is there something deeper happening?

The Bible has no shortage of dreams and visions, and this includes nightmares. How do we distinguish between a bad dream and a vision of something foreboding to come? And how can we find peace in God when we experience night terrors? Let’s dive in to what the Bible says about nightmares.

What Is a Nightmare?

It appears we have several different flavors of unsavory dreams that can haunt us at night. According to the National Sleep Foundation, we have distinct differences between something known as a nightmare and something known as a night terror. 

Nightmares are, as quoted in a WebMd article, “vividly realistic, disturbing dreams that wake you up from a deep sleep.” They often occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when the brains tends to experience the most vivid dreams, and those who have these tend to remember the contents of that dream upon waking.

Some researchers feel that nightmares can help the body prepare for “threat rehearsals.” In other words, the brain runs us through some worst case scenarios, so when we encounter them, we’ll know how to act. 

Night terrors, as discussed in the National Sleep Foundation article, occur more often in children. And those who experience these frightening dreams, that happen often during non-REM, may not remember the details.

Even certain nightmaric disorders can stem from these, explains Psychology Today. These often involve recurring nightmarish dreams that can affect day-to-day activities.

Now that we’ve established some different varieties of nightmares, where do visions fit in? We see (in examples below) that many people in the Bible experienced bad dreams that foretold bad events to come in the future. So how do we distinguish between a “threat rehearsal” and an actual threat? 

We do know that God most often speaks to us through his Word, through preachers, mentors, etc. It doesn’t seem that he will often reach us through a bad dream, especially if we have access to special revelation, like Scripture. Darren Carlson of the Gospel Coalition writes that Jesus has appeared to many people, such as Muslims, in dreams, but once a person has access to Scripture, these dreams tend to go away.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s distinguish between a vision and a nightmare.

Visions tend to be a bit more vivid than nightmares. Nightmares do have some distinguishing details, but visions tend to have more vivid, sensory details. Visions also tend to have more symbolic elements. 

Furthermore, upon prayer and guidance of a Christian mentor, even if you have a vivid dream, you may determine it is not from the Lord via the Holy Spirit’s answer to your prayer. All in all, although God does speak to us through dreams, we do need to exercise extreme caution. 

Nightmares in the Bible

Yes, people in the Bible had nightmares and there are stories of them in Scripture. Let’s dive into a few examples.

Nebuchadnezzar is our prime poster boy for bad dreams in the Bible (next to Daniel who experiences some terrifying visions in Daniel 6-12). First, this Babylonian ruler has a dream about a statue, made of various materials, that gets crushed by a huge stone. This turns out to be the various kingdoms of earth (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome/The Antichrist’s Kingdom, Daniel 2). 

He later has a vision about a tree that gets felled. This turns out to prophesy how Nebuchadnezzar would be driven mad and would live like an animal in the wilderness (Daniel 5).

Another ruler in Genesis, the Pharaoh, receives a disturbing nightmare about seven skinny cows gobbling up seven fat ones. This foretells about a seven-year famine that will take over Egypt after seven years of a bountiful harvest (Genesis 41).

Pilate’s wife in the New Testament experiences a bad dream on Good Friday and tells her husband to have nothing to do with Jesus (Matthew 27:19). 

We could list several other examples, but many people in Scripture experienced nightmares and nightmarish visions. 

Check out this fun infographic from Overview Bible about all the dreams in the Bible. 

What Does the Bible Say about Sleep/Sleeplessness?

As many people throughout Scripture experienced bad dreams and sleeplessness, we do have verses we can go to that discuss this topic. For instance:

Psalm 4:8, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Proverbs 3:24-26, “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

Psalm 132:4-5, “I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Job 7:4, “When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.”

What Does the Bible Say About Nightmares and Their Meaning?

How do we know the difference between experiencing a nightmare and a vision? After all, both seem to be so vivid. And Scripture does indicate that God will sometimes speak to his people through dreams (Acts 2:17).

First, we must establish if the dream aligns with what Scripture says. A dream will never contradict Scripture.

Second, if the dream is prophetic in nature, it needs to be fulfilled. If the dream never has a fulfillment, it is not a vision.

Third, we should pray for God to reveal to us if the dream has a deeper meaning and seek the guidance of a Christian mentor or seasoned Christian. Otherwise, we should give the dream to God and rest. If he wants us to glean something from it, he will make that clear to us. 

What Should I Do When I Have Nightmares?

Vision or not, what should we do if we experience nightmares? If you believe you’re experiencing something akin to a nightmare disorder, seek medical treatment via a nocturnal sleep study or stress and anxiety treatment. Nightmare disorders are categorized by repetitive nightmares, lack of sleep, and nightmares inhibiting one’s daily function.

Otherwise, for those of us who experience nightmares on occasion, once you awake from one, pray that God can fill you with peace. Peruse Scripture passages such as Psalm 23 and Psalm 103 to remind yourself of God’s goodness, provision, and power.   

Most nightmares we experience prepare us for situations which will never take place. They test our fight or flight responses and help us to work through anxieties that inhibit our day to day activities.

Whether God has sent us a vision, or we just experienced some concoction our REM created, we know that God is in control. We can hear his voice through Scripture, and know that bad dreams or not, he will bring us peace and comfort. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/demaerre

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.