I had a vision because I wasn’t really sleeping in the early hours today. I saw the number 5963 written in words and I opened my eyes. I don’t know the meaning of these numbers. Can you clarify this for me please?
I have no idea what those numbers could mean, for they are not found anywhere in Scripture. If we think God is speaking to us in a vision or a dream we must always see if they “line up with the Word of God.” If they contradict Scripture or are not related at all to anything we read in Scripture, we should not believe that it is a message from God.
God did speak to men in visions and dreams throughout Old Testament times. One of the most well-known DREAMS FROM GOD in Scripture was to Joseph in Genesis 37:5-8, “Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, ‘Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, MY SHEAF arose and also STOOD UPRIGHT; and indeed YOUR SHEAVES stood all around and BOWED DOWN TO MY SHEAF.’ And his brothers said to him, ‘Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?’ So, they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” As you can see, Joseph’s dream had a simple meaning that he and his brothers could understand: Joseph would rule over them and they would bow down to him. If you read on in verse 9 you will see Joseph had another dream with the very same meaning. These were “prophetic dreams” for Joseph did indeed become a ruler over his brothers and they did bow down to him (see Genesis 44:14; 50:18).
In Daniel 7:1 we read that “Daniel had a DREAM and VISIONS OF HIS HEAD while on his bed. Then he wrote down the DREAM, telling the main facts.” In verses 2-14 Daniel gives a very detailed description of this dream yet he starts out by saying, “I saw in MY VISION…” Notice, he calls this “message from God” a dream and a vision, which tells me that the “vision was given to him in the dream.” The important thing is that he knew he had received a “prophetic message from God.” If you read on in verses 15-27 you will see that Daniel was very troubled by the vision (verse 15) but an angel came to him and “made known to me the interpretation of these things” (verse 16). It turned out that his vision lines up with many other scriptures, especially from the book of Revelation (where the Apostle John was given a prophetic vision that filled in many of the details of Daniel’s dream/vision). The main point I am making here is that if there is “a true dream/vision from God” it will have a definite meaning that can be interpreted, either from an angel or from comparing it with Scripture.
I also want to point out that after the book of Revelation was written the “canon of Scripture was completed” and that from that point on the Bible has been God’s normal way of communicating with mankind during this present “church age” (from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture of the church). I am not saying God can’t or won’t speak to men through dreams or visions, but we should not expect it. Yet after this present church age (during the 7-year Tribulation Period), God will once again speak to men through dreams and visions. We read of this in Acts 2:17-18 where the Apostle Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, quoted these words from the prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass in THE LAST DAYS, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall SEE VISIONS, your old men shall DREAM DREAMS. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” (DO) (566.3)