The biblical meaning of a dead person talking to you can be a sign of demonic manipulation, a sign of grief, or it can have a spiritual message. Also, the Bible cautions against seeking out the dead.
Dreaming is a natural human experience triggered by events, encounters, and thoughts.
Dreaming about people we have seen, met, or thought about is normal.
Many people have it. However, dreaming about dead people talking to us is a strange dream because the Bible teaches that once a person dies, it’s over.
So, seeing such a person talking in a dream means something is wrong. Many people seek answers to what seeing a familiar face known to be dead talking in the dream means.
This article will provide Bible-based answers.
Can the dead talk to us in the dream?
Many people, including believers, have been visited by a dead relative in the dream.
Some claim that they see them in a good or bad state, while others report that they tell them certain secrets or basic information about their welfare and well-being in the great beyond.
Whether this is true or not is not the concern.
We believers should focus on the Bible’s position about the dead talking to the living.
Psalm 115:17 says, “The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave.”
If this is the case, who are those appearing to people in the dream?
The Bible showed that the enemy has many tricks in his books.
He can make false things appear as though they were real. He is like a master illusionist.
For example, he created a false reality of divinity in Eve’s mind just to deceive her into eating the forbidden fruit. At the end of the day, Adam and Eve lost their rightful place and plunged into sin, suffering, and death.
Therefore, we must be careful not to be tricked by the devil.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” How is the one judged allowed to move about or communicate with people in dreams?
Back to the question, can the dead speak?
The story of Lazarus and the rich man proves that the dead or those who have died can speak.
The Bible records that the rich man spoke to Abraham from the belly of hell, crying out for help and water to quench his thirst.
The rich man also asked for Lazarus to be sent to the earth to warn his family members of the reality of heaven and hell. However, all this happened in hell and not in a dream.
The story was not Jesus’ figment of imagination or a vision He saw in a dream. Instead, it is the reality of life in heaven and on earth.
Did the dead appear or speak to anyone in the dream?
The Bible records many stories of people being visited or instructed by a being in a dream.
The Bible also talks about people seeing the dead. But it is not recorded that anyone saw a dead relative or familiar face in the dream or conversed with such a person.
In Genesis 28:10-22, Jacob slept and saw a ladder and angels ascending and descending on it.
Finally, God appeared and spoke to Him. Also, God appeared to Solomon in the dream after he offered a one-of-a-kind offering. God asked him to ask for anything he wanted, and he would grant him (1 Kings 3:5-15).
Likewise, in the New Testament, Joseph, the husband of Mary, dreamed about an angel twice.
At first, the angel told him to take Mary as his wife after discovering she was pregnant despite claiming to be a virgin.
The angel convinced him she was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20).
In Matthew 2:13, God’s angel also appeared to Joseph, telling him to escape with his family to Egypt when Herod started killing little babies in his evil quest to kill Jesus.
Also, the Bible records the appearance of Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Moses and Elijah had died many years before Jesus was born. However, they appeared in the sky, and Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James, and John, saw these two men (Matthew 17:1-19).
These stories and many more prove that those who appear and talk to us in the dream are not dead people but mostly God or His angels, who serve as His messengers.
Moses and Elijah never uttered a word on the Transfiguration Mount.
However, most people will say Samuel’s spirit spoke to Saul. Correct. Samuel spoke to Saul but not in a dream.
Second, the process involved demonic manipulation.
God had warned Christians not to have a hand in it.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “… one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord …”
King Saul disobeyed this law and sought a witch to conjure Samuel’s spirit (1 Samuel 28).
Going through ungodly means to facilitate dream encounters or make dead people talk to you in the dream is a sin and opens the portal for demonic possession.
The unfortunate thing about visiting witch doctors to conjure up the dead is that the one who appears might not be whom you are seeking. They might not be your loved one you miss but a demon.
The devil knows you desire to see or hear from a loved one so he can disguise himself as them.
He can wear their face, appear in your dream, and talk to you. “But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Do not be deceived by the enemy’s lie. God can send His angels to instruct you on what you do. Or He can come himself.
Biblical meaning of a dead person talking to you in a dream
Demonic manipulation
Saying you saw a dead relative talking to you in the dream might sound good. However, you must be careful because the enemy might be behind it.
We have discussed that the Bible did not record a situation of the dead speaking to anyone in the dream except in cases of angelic appearance or God showing up Himself.
God has given all of us the time and opportunity we need to share our thoughts, feelings, and ideas with people in our lives.
Those who do not cease moments to express themselves will not be given the opportunity again when they are gone.
However, the devil uses false beliefs, like the appearance of the dead in the dream, to manipulate us. We must not allow ourselves to become a tool in the enemy’s hands.
Everything we must know about ourselves, relationships, and God is in the Bible. Studying it will reveal more than we can imagine.
We can also seek God’s face in prayers and ask Him to visit or send His angel to us in the dream if we desire to know certain truths or want peace after the loss of a loved one.
Only God can give us peace that surpasses human understanding and joy (Philippians 4:7, Nehemiah 8:10).
A sign of grief
Sorrow is a powerful emotion. It can mess up our minds and alter our reality.
The truth about some dreams is that they reflect our thoughts, obsessions, and desires. Accepting the death of a loved one can be difficult. Most people live in denial for a long time before accepting that a person has died.
One can dream about a dead person talking to them in the dream if they spend a significant part of their time thinking about talking to them or the sweet memories they shared.
Unresolved emotions can trigger dreams about loved ones. It shows you are missing them and are impacted by their demise.
Therefore, such a dream is a natural way of being comforted.
Spiritual message
Seeing a dead person talking might be a spiritual message.
Pay attention to the statement: dead person talking, not dead person talking to you.
When you dream about a dead person talking, notice where they are and what they are saying, like in the case of poor Lazarus and the rich man.
Lazarus was on Abraham’s bosom, a place likened to devoid of torment. However, the rich man was in hell.
If the person you see talking in the dream is in distress, pain, or agony, it could mean they are not in a good place in eternity. It might be they did not make it to heaven.
In this situation, you are warned to live according to God’s Word and not to end up like such a person.
But if the person you see talking in the dream is in joy and happiness, it might mean he is in a better place or heaven.
This is a cue to be assured of where the person is and for you to work out your salvation.
Understand that God’s Word about spending eternity with Him is true.
Everyone will be judged based on their lives on earth.
What to do when a dead person talks to you in a dream?
Check the Word of God
1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Do not be too excited that a familiar face is talking to you in the dream.
Do not be carried away by the fact that you have missed such a person or that God has answered your prayer by permitting them to talk to you in the dream.
You can never be sure if the person talking to you is indeed the deceased you know or a demon using their face.
Therefore, ensure you test such spirits to know if they mean well for you or evil. How do you do this? By comparing what they have told you with what the scripture says.
If what they say to you does not correspond with God’s Word, rest assured an evil spirit is at work.
Many people have had dreams of a dead person telling them they would soon join them in the land of the dead, even when they were still young.
That is not God’s plan for you.
The Bible says God will satisfy us with a long life.
We shall live and not die (Psalm 91:16, Psalms 118:17 & Isaiah 65:20). Therefore, always check the scriptures to test what you have heard in the dream.
Check how you feel.
Many people wake up with fear and terror after dreaming about the dead speaking with them.
This may be because of the message they got or the dead person’s state. Godly things do not bring fear but peace.
Only the devil uses fear to break and attack people. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Did you wake up covered in sweat, vibrating out of fear, with your heart pounding like someone who has run a hundred-meter race because you dreamed about a dead person speaking to you? Something is obviously wrong.
Pray hard.
What did you do before seeing the dead in the dream?
Grief can make us do irrational things.
It can make us find peace, comfort, and relief in the wrong places.
Sorrow caused by the death of a loved one has pushed many people who claim they have the power to communicate with the dead or make the dead appear to their loved one physically or in the dream.
That is not only satanic but a deadly act that leads to demonic possession or even death.
God warns us, saying, “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:31).
Forcing contact with the dead is not biblical.
Therefore, allow them to rest.
Find peace in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and do things that will make your deceased loved ones proud and happy.
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Bulgarea Anca is a devout Christian and the founder of Bible Wings, a comprehensive resource for Christians seeking to deepen their faith and understanding of the Bible. Raised within the Christian faith, Bulgarea Anca’s spirituality was nourished by her grandparents, who were cantors in their local church. Her Christian upbringing was further solidified by her education at a Christian school. Today, she uses her in-depth knowledge of the scripture to provide insightful and meaningful content through Bible Wings.