Does God Speak Through Angels and Dreams Today?
Both times that an angel appeared to Joseph, it took place in a dream. In the Scriptures we sometimes see God communicate through angels, sometimes through dreams and visions, and sometimes - as with Joseph - through both together. Should we expect God to speak to us in these ways today?
There is nothing in Scripture that indicates that angels could not appear to us today as they did in the Bible. In fact, the writer of Hebrews seems to say that we should anticipate the possibility of an angelic visit. In Hebrews 13:2 he says, "Do not neglect to show hosp-itality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
That being said, it would be wrong to read of the many angelic encounters in Scripture and to infer that these were common events. Rather, there were often several centuries that passed by between Biblically recorded instances. We would be wise to note that in almost every occasion where the Bible speaks of someone encountering an angel that person is surprised and initially afraid. This indicates that angelic encounters were rare events - even in Biblical times.
Moreover, even in the rare occasions where humans receive messages from angels, the Bible warns that not every angel is to be trusted. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, claimed that he received much of his doctrine from an angel. If this is true, the angel he encountered was not an angel from God, but a demon. The Bible warns that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." Paul, seeming to anticipate the possibility of a devilish angel speaking false truth to humans, says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." Ultimately, the Bible must be our authority from which we test all other claims. If an angel or anyone else declares something to be true which the Bible claims to be false - or vice versa - the Bible is the truth. God's Word stands firm against the opinions of any person, whether he be a human or an angel.
But what about dreams? Might God choose to communicate to His children through a dream or vision? There is good reason to think that He might. The prophet Joel spoke about the days following the ascension of Christ by saying, "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." In Acts 2:14-21, Peter makes it very clear that Joel's prophecy was describing the time between Jesus' death and His second coming. Thus, we should conclude that God is using visions and dreams to speak to His children today.
This does not mean that every dream is a message from God. Most of my dreams are about silly things that have no discernable meaning at all. Even dogs and other animals dream. The Scriptures seem to show that when God chooses to give somebody a special dream or vision, they immediately recognize that this is no ordinary dream. In speaking with people who have experienced these things, they described themselves as being awake and alert, fully conscious during the vision. They have assured me that what they experienced was not like any regular dream, but was clearly from God.
Once again, let me assert that Scripture alone is our final authority for knowing God's truth. While God may sometimes use dreams or visions to communicate a specific aspect of His will, He will never call or command anyone to do something that is against His already revealed will. If someone claims to have been told in a dream or vision to do something immoral, we can be assured that this person is either lying or deceived.
Did Matthew Make A Mistake? (v. 15)
Some might say that Matthew did make a mistake in interpreting Hosea 11:1 as a prophecy concerning Jesus being taken to Egypt. Matthew is still trying to convince his fellow Jews that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, and in this passage he argues that "Out of Egypt I called my son" applies to the baby Jesus. The problem with this is that Matthew does not quote the entire verse of Hosea, which says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." In other words, the "son" in Hosea clearly referred to Israel, not Jesus! Did Matthew make a mistake?
No. Matthew knew exactly what he was doing. When Hosea spoke of Israel being called out of Egypt, he was recalling an event that had taken placed 700 years before him, and 1400 years before Matthew. Yet Matthew realized that Israel's exodus from Egypt was a picturesque prophecy of Jesus' exodus from Egypt.
God called Israel out of Egypt and chose them for Hi
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