Angels and Visions

In Scripture, dreams are sources of divine revelation that indicate what someone should do, reveal what is going to happen, or explain current events [1]. An angel gave John the vision of Revelation. 

As Revelation 1:1-2 reads, 

This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, 2 who faithfully reported everything he saw… ~Revelation 1:1-2 (NLT) [2] 

Christ and the Father are One (John 10:30), and He is the head of every ruler and authority (Col. 2:10), including angels, therefore he has the authority to send them. (The angel belongs to the Father [Rev. 22:6], but Jesus also refers to him as His own [Rev. 22:16].)  

John’s revelation, of course, is not the only one in Scripture, as dreams and visions are one of the main ways in which God communicates with mankind. Angels are often depicted as revealing what the dreams mean, such as Gabriel, who explained Daniel’s dreams to him (Dan. 8:15-26, 9:21-23; 10:10-12). This shows the unified work of God’s spiritual beings, who work together to complete the missions and ultimate will of God. 

It should be noted that visions can be formed in an individual’s imagination (Ezek. 13:17), or presented by an ungodly source. This is why John, writer of Revelation, the Gospel of John, and the letters that bear his name, encouraged believers to test the spirit of those who claim to speak for God (1 John 4:1). As the angel told him, “the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus” (Rev. 19:10) [3]. God is not the author of confusion. He graciously allows Holy Spirit Mother and the angels to provide understanding.

REFERENCES 

[1] Andrew W. Litke, “Dreams and Visions,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). 

[2] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Re 1:1–2. 

[3] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Re 19:10.