The One Dream Symbol You Should Never Interpret Figuratively

A fundamental principle we must always remember about dreams is that they are not usually literal; they are most often symbolic. They are pictures that represent something else, thus need to be interpreted. That is true with most dreams, and with most symbols, except for numbers. Every time in the Bible that someone had numbers in their dreams, those figures represented the exact same number in waking life. However, the number will probably be linked to something which needs to be interpreted symbolically.

For example, when Joseph dreamed of 11 stars, the 11 was literal, but the stars were symbolic and actually represented his brothers. Joseph was dreaming about his 11 brothers (Gen. 37:1-11). Likewise, the cupbearer's dream of three branches stood for three days (Gen. 39:12), and for the chief baker, the three baskets represented three days (Gen. 39:18). In Pharaoh's dream, the seven cows were seven years (Gen. 41:26).

We do not need to wonder if the number represents something else. Biblical numerology is fascinating, but let's not make this harder than it needs to be. We are already interpreting the other parts of the dream; we don't need to add any more work for ourselves. We can go with scriptural precedent and the way God interpreted dreams in the Bible: the number equals the number.

When a Symbol Is Not a Symbol

"With Anne-Laure flying out on Sunday, preparations reached a high-peak level; she's packed and ready to go! I had a dream two nights ago, though, and couldn't resist sharing it with you. In the dream, I saw – (minus) 211 on our bank account. That is, meaning that we were '211' indebted.

"As I woke up, at first I admit I was a bit worried. Then I talked about it with Holy Spirit and He reminded me of a dream you had recorded in your book: the one in which you compared money loss to weight loss for Leo. So I knew this literal number of being 211 off was to be connected to something else symbolic or figurative.

"The interpretation became perfectly clear today when Anne-Laure decided to weigh her suitcase for the flight, and guess what: It was 211 grams overweight!