Vision
VISION
A supernatural presentation of certain scenery or circumstances to the mind of a person either while awake or asleep, Isa 6:1-13 Eze 1:1-28 Dan 8:1-27 Mal 26:13 . See DREAM.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Vision
In modern English, vision, from Lat. videre, to see. is almost synonymous with sight, but in the older use of the word the conception is that of images presented to the more or less abnormal states of consciousness, and generally produced by supernatural agency. The latter is the sense in which the Bible uses the term. It is the distinctive function of the seer ( and ) to see visions, and those isolated and exalted persons are well represented by Samuel, who is the only seer known to us by his proper name. In his childhood, we are told, the vision () was not widely diffused (1Sa 3:1). The same word for vision is found in Pro 29:18 in the statement Where there is no vision, the people perish, or cast off restraint. Words from the same roots are frequently employed in Daniel and Ezekiel. Jeremiah warns the people against the visions of false prophets which are elaborated out of the uninspired minds of those whom God had not sent (Jer 14:14; Jer 23:16).
In the OT it is evident that visions, though often associated with dreams (Joe 2:28), are to be distinguished from them. Whilst dreams may be the medium for Gods revelations, by way of special providences during sleep, visions may occur during waking moments and by the exaltation or perhaps the transcendence of the natural powers of sight. A vision is thus the sight or perception of spiritual realities, communicated either by means of the illumination or exaltation of the natural senses or by immediate consciousness through the supersession of them. It may be said that the evolution of the prophet in the OT involves a change from the state of rapture or ecstasy to that of ethical interpretation. Some writers affirm that the imagery of the revelation is supplied, in the case of the later prophets, by their own illuminated thought, whilst the truths themselves in more abstract form were the material of the communication. Whether this be so or not it is difficult to determine, inasmuch as the cases of vision in the NT and in more recent times imply a direct presentation in a concrete or personal form, or as an image before the consciousness.
The usual words in the NT are and , the latter probably having a less objective significance than the former. In the report given to our Lord by the two disciples on their way to Emmaus of the vision of angels seen by the women, the word is used (Luk 24:23). When St. Paul referred before Agrippa to the heavenly vision he spoke of the (Act 26:19), but in the account of the actual occurrence given by St. Luke the word was used (Act 9:10; Act 9:12). That this word connotes a high degree of reality and objectivity is evidenced by the fact that it was used by our Lord when, referring to the Transfiguration, He warned His disciples to tell the vision () to no man (Mat 17:9). Peters vision, whilst it conveyed to him Gods revelation as to his treatment of the conscientious Gentile, was presented in a concrete form, the objectivity of which seems never to have been questioned (Acts 10). On the other hand, when he doubted the actuality of the presence of the angel (Act 12:9), and the deliverance which had been wrought, he thought he had seen a vision ().
Probably no recital of visions engaged the minds of the Christians in the 1st (if the earlier date be accepted) or the 2nd cent. more than that of The Shepherd of Hermas, in which, somewhat after the style of Dantes Divina Commedia, teachings are presented for the instruction of the Church. The Shepherd is the divine teacher, who imparts his lessons by means of precept and allegory, and the Church appears as an aged woman, whose features become increasingly youthful the oftener she is gazed upon.
Literature.-Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , articles Vision and Prophecy; Shepherd of Hermas (Lightfoot [Apostolic Fathers, London, 1891] and other editions); F. W. H. Myers, Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death, do., 1907.
J. G. James.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
VISION
The supernatural representation on an object to a man when waking, as in a glass which places the visage before him. It was one of the ways in which the Almighty was pleased to reveal himself to the prophets, Is. 1: 1. Is. 21: 2.
Fuente: Theological Dictionary
Vision
(some derivative of , to behold, ; or of , to see, ), a supernatural presentation of certain scenery or circumstances to the mind of a person while awake. SEE DREAM. When Aaron and Miriam murmured against Moses (Num 12:6-8), the Lord said, Hear now my words if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. The false prophet Balaam, whose heart was perverted by covetousness; says of himself, that he hath seen the visions of the Almighty (Num 24:1; Num 24:16). In the time of the high priest Eli, it is said (1Sa 3:1), The wonder of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision; literally, the vision did not break forth; that is, there was no public and recognized revelation of the divine will. With this we may compare the passage in Pro 29:18, There is no vision, the people perish. SEE URIM. Vision is also sometimes used to signify the ecstatic state of the prophets when they were favored with communications, from Jehovah. SEE PROPHET.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Vision
(Luke 1:22), a vivid apparition, not a dream (comp. Luke 24:23; Acts 26:19; 2 Cor. 12:1).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
VISION
Many of the visions mentioned in the Bible seem to be little different from dreams (Gen 46:2; Job 33:15; Dan 7:1-2; Act 16:9). The main difference seems to be that a dream occurred while a person was asleep, but a vision may have occurred while a person was either asleep or awake (1Sa 3:3-15; Psa 89:19; Dan 2:19; Dan 8:1-26; Dan 9:20-23; Luk 1:22; Act 9:10-17; Act 10:3; Act 10:9-17). Also, dreams were a common experience among people in general, whereas visions were usually given by God to selected people for specific purposes (Gen 15:1; 2Sa 7:17; Nah 1:1; Dan 7:1; Dan 8:1; Act 11:4-18; Act 18:9). In such cases people were not to boast about their visions, but give glory to God (2Co 12:1-10). (Concerning the interpretation of visions see DREAM.)
Visions were often associated with prophets. Prophets were Gods messengers to the people, and God may have given them his messages through visions (Num 12:6; 2Sa 7:17; Isa 1:1; Amo 3:7). To say there was no vision in the land usually meant there were no prophets in the land; or, if there were prophets, they had no message from God. The people were going through a spiritual drought (1Sa 3:1; Pro 29:18; Lam 2:9; Eze 7:26; Amo 8:11-12; see PROPHET).
False prophets usually claimed to have seen visions. In this way they hoped to gain acceptance among the people, and consequently receive a good income (Jer 14:14; Jer 23:16-17; Mic 3:5-7).
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the taking of the Jewish people into captivity in Babylon, visions had a more prominent place in the prophetic ministry (Eze 1:4; Eze 1:15; Eze 8:1-4; Eze 37:1-6; Dan 7:1-4; Dan 8:1). This developed further after the people returned to Jerusalem (Zec 1:8; Zec 1:18; Zec 2:1), and continued to develop right through into New Testament times (Rev 1:12; Rev 4:1).
These visions were largely concerned with the persecution that Gods people suffered because of the ungodly nations who ruled them. The message of the visions was that all nations and all events were under the control of God. When his predetermined time had come, he would intervene in the affairs of the world, overthrow evil, set up his kingdom and bring in the era of the new heavens and the new earth (Dan 9:24-27; Zec 5:5-11; Zec 6:1-8; Revelation 18; Revelation 20; Rev 21:1-8; Rev 22:1-5). (For details see APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE.)
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Vision
VISION.See Dream.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Vision
VISION
1. In OT.In its earlier form the vision is closely associated with belief in dreams (wh. see) as the normal vehicle of Divine revelation. The two words are repeatedly used of the same experience, the dream being rather the form, the vision the substance (e.g. Dan 1:17; Dan 2:28; Dan 4:5, cf. Joe 2:28). The common phrase visions of the night embodies the same conception (Dan 2:19, Job 4:13, Gen 46:2; cf. 1Sa 3:1-15, Act 16:9). In the darkness, when the eye is closed (Num 24:3-4) and the natural faculties are suspended by sleep, God speaks to men. A further stage is the belief in an exalted condition of quickened spiritual discernment (ecstasy Act 11:5; Act 22:17, cf. Gen 15:12 [LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ]), detached from the dream-state and furthered by fasting, prayer, and self-discipline (Dan 10:2-9, cf. Act 10:9-11). But in the later OT books neither ecstasy nor the objective vision, with its disclosure in cryptic symbolism of future happenings (Daniel), or of the nature and purposes of God (Ezekiel, Zechariah), has a place in the normal line of development of mans conception of the methods of Divine revelation. The earlier prophets had already attained to the idea of vision as inspired insight, of revelation as an inward and ethical word of God (Isa 1:1; Isa 2:1 etc.; cf. 1Sa 3:1, Psa 89:19). Their prophetic consciousness is not born of special theophanies, but rather of a resistless sense of constraint upon them to discern and utter the Divine will (Amo 7:14; Amo 7:16. Isa 6:5, Jer 1:6, Eze 3:12-16). Ecstasies and visual appearances are the exception (Amo 7:1-9; Amo 8:1, Isa 6:1-13, Jer 1:11-13). In Isa 22:1; Isa 22:5 g hizzyn valley of vision (EV [Note: English Version.] ) is possibly a mistake for g Hinnm, Valley of Hinnom.
2. In NT.St. Paul once makes incidental reference to his visions (2Co 12:1), and perhaps confirms the objective character of the revelation to him on the road to Damascus (Gal 1:11-17, 1Co 9:1; 1Co 15:8). Visions are also recorded in Luk 1:1-80; Luk 2:1-52, Act 10:1-48; Act 11:1-30; Act 16:1-40; and the term is once applied to the Transfiguration (Mat 17:9; Mk. Lk. the things which they had seen). But the NT vision is practically confined to the Apocalyptic imagery of the Book of Revelation.
S. W. Green.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Vision
This word hath several significations in Scripture. In the first ages of the world the Lord was pleased to manifest himself to the children of God by vision; sometimes by open revelations, at other times by dreams in the night. (Gen 15:1 etc; Gen 46:2.) Beside these, the books of the prophets are called visions. (Isa 1:1) And even in the after-ages, when Jesus had finished his redemption work, and was returned to glory, the Apostle Paul speaks of visions. (2Co 12:1, etc.)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Vision
vizhun (, hazon, , hizzayon, , mar’ah; , horama, , optasa): Psychologists find that man is prevailingly and persistently eye-minded. That is, in his waking life he is likely to think, imagine and remember in terms of vision. Naturally then, his dreaming is predominantly visual; so strongly visual, we are told, that it is not rare to find dreams defined as trains of fantastic images. Whether man was made this way in order that God might communicate with him through dreams and visions is hardly worth debating; if the records of human life, in the Bible and out of it, are to be trusted at all, there is nothing better certified than that God has communicated with man in this way (Psa 89:19; Pro 29:18; compare Amo 8:11, Amo 8:12; Hos 12:10). If one is disposed to regard the method as suited only to primitive peoples and superstitious natures, it still remains true that the experience is one associated with lives and characters of the most saintly and exalted kind (1Sa 3:1; Jer 1:11; Eze 1:1; Dan 2:19; Act 9:10; Act 10:3; Act 16:9).
The vision may come in one’s waking moments (Dan 10:7; Act 9:7); by day (Cornelius, Act 10:3; Peter, Act 10:9 ff; compare Num 24:4, Num 24:16) or night (Jacob, Gen 46:2); but commonly under conditions of dreaming (Num 12:6; Job 4:13; Dan 4:9). The objects of vision, diverse and in some instances strange as they are, have usually their points of contact with experiences of the daily life. Thus Isaiah’s vision of the seraphim (Isa 6:2) was doubtless suggested by familiar figures used in the decoration of the temple at Jerusalem; Paul’s man of Macedonia (Act 16:9) had its origin in some poor helot whom Paul had seen on the streets of Troas and who embodied for him the pitiful misery of the regions across the sea; and Jacob’s ladder (Gen 28:12) was but a fanciful development of the terraced land which he saw sun-glorified before him as he went to sleep. Among the recurring objects of vision are natural objects – rivers, mountains, trees, animals – with which man has daily and hourly association.
The character of the revelation through vision has a double aspect in the Biblical narrative. In one aspect it proposes a revelation for immediate direction, as in the ease of Abram (Gen 15:2 and frequently); Lot (Gen 19:15); Balaam (Num 22:22), and Peter (Act 12:7). In another aspect it deals with the development of the Kingdom of God as conditioned by the moral ideals of the people; such are the prophetic visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Micah, and the apoealypses of Daniel and John. The revelation for immediate direction has many correspondences in the life of the devout in all ages; the prophetic vision, dealing in a penetrating way with the sources of national growth and decay, has its nearest approach in the deliverances of publicists and statesmen who are persuaded that the laws of God, as expressed in self-control, truth, justice, and brotherly love, are supreme, and that the nations which disregard them are marked for ultimate and speedy extinction.
From the nature of the vision as an instrument of divine communication, the seeing of visions is naturally associated with revivals of religion (Eze 12:21-25; Joe 2:28; compare Act 2:17), and the absence of visions with spiritual decline (Isa 29:11, Isa 29:12; Lam 2:9; Eze 7:26; Mic 3:6).
One may see visions without being visionary in the bad sense of that word. The outstanding characters to whom visions were vouchsafed in the history of Israel – Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David, Isaiah, Jesus and Paul – were all men of action as well as sentiment, and it is manifest from any fair reading of their lives that their work was helped and not hindered by this aspect of their fellowship with God. For always the vision emphasizes the play of a spiritual world; the response of a man’s spirit to the appeal of that world; and the ordering of both worlds by an intelligent and compelling Power able to communicate Himself to man and apparently supremely interested in the welfare of man.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Vision
A mode of revelation
Num 12:6; 1Sa 3:1; 2Ch 26:5; Psa 89:19; Pro 29:18; Jer 14:14; Jer 23:16; Dan 1:17; Hos 12:10; Joe 2:28; Oba 1:1; Hab 2:2; Act 2:17
Of Abraham, concerning his descendants
Gen 15:1-17
Of Jacob:
– Of the ladder with ascending and descending angels
Gen 28:12
– At Beer-Sheba
Gen 46:2
Of Joshua, of the captain of the Lord’s host
Jos 5:13-15
Of Moses:
– Of Moses:
Exo 3:2
– Of the glory of God
Exo 24:9-11; Exo 33:18-23
Of the Israelites, of the manifestation of the glory of God
Exo 24:10; Exo 24:17; Heb 12:18-21
Of Balaam, in a trance
Balaam
Of Elisha, at the translation of Elijah
2Ki 2:11
Of Elisha’s servant, of the chariots of the Lord
2Ki 6:17
Of Micaiah, of the defeat of the Israelites; of the Lord on His throne; and of a lying spirit
1Ki 22:17-23; 2Ch 18:16-22
Of David, of the angel of the Lord by the threshing floor of Ornan
1Ch 21:15-18
Of Job, of a spirit
Job 4:12-16
Of Isaiah:
– Of the Lord and His glory in the temple
Isa 6:1-13
– Of the valley of vision
Isa 22
Of Jeremiah:
– Of an almond rod
Jer 1:11
– Of the seething pot
Jer 1:13
Of Ezekiel:
– Of the glory of God
Eze 1:3; Eze 1:12-14; Eze 23
– Of the roll
Eze 2:9
– Of the man of fire
Eze 8
– Of the coals of fire
Eze 10:1-7
– Of the dry bones
Eze 37:1-14
– Of the city and temple
Eze 40
– Of the waters
Eze 47:1-12
Of Daniel:
– Of Daniel:
Dan 7
– Of the Ancient of days
Dan 7:9-27
– Of the ram and the he goat
Dan 8
– Of the angel
Dan 10
Of Amos:
– Of grasshoppers
Amo 7:1-2
– Of fire
Amo 7:4
– Of a plumb line
Amo 7:7-8
– Of summer fruit
Amo 8:1-2
– Of the temple
Amo 9:1
Of Zechariah:
– Of horses
Zec 1:8-11
– Of horns and carpenters
Zec 1:18-21
– Of the high priest
Zec 3:1-5
– Of the golden candlestick
Zec 4:1-14
– Of the flying roll
Zec 5:1-4
– Of the mountains and chariots
Zec 6:1-8
Of Zacharias, in the temple
Luk 1:13-22
Of John the Baptist, at the baptism of Jesus
Mat 3:16; Mar 1:10; Luk 3:22; Joh 1:32-34
Peter, James, and John, of the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah
Mat 17:1-9; Luk 9:28-36
Of the people, of the tongues of fire at Pentecost
Act 2:2-3
Of Stephen, of Christ
Act 7:55-56
Of Paul:
– Of Christ, on the way to Damascus
Act 9:3-6; 1Co 9:1
– Of Ananias
Act 9:12
– Of a man of Macedonia, saying, »Come over into Macedonia, and help us«
Act 16:9
– In Corinth
Act 18:9-10
– In a trance
Act 22:17-21
– Of paradise
2Co 12:1-4
Of Ananias, of Christ
Act 9:10-12
Of Cornelius, the centurion, of an angel
Act 10:3
Of Peter, of the sheet let down from heaven
Act 10:9-18
Of John on the Isle of Patmos:
– Of Christ and the golden candlesticks
Rev 1:10-20
– The open door
Rev 4:1
– A rainbow and throne
Rev 4:2-3
– Twenty-four elders
Rev 4:4
– Seven lamps
Rev 4:5
– Sea of glass
Rev 4:6; Rev 15:2
– Four living creatures
Rev 4:6-8
– Book with seven seals
Rev 5:1-5
– Golden vials
Rev 5:8
– Of the six seals
Rev 6
– Four horses
Rev 6:2-8
– Earthquake and celestial phenomena
Rev 6:12-14
– Four angels
Rev 7:1
– Sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand
Rev 7:2-8
– Of the seventh seal and seven angels
Rev 8
– Of the censer
Rev 8:5
– Hail and fire
Rev 8:7
– Mountain cast into the sea
Rev 8:8-9
– Falling star
Rev 8:10-11; Rev 9:1
– The third part of sun and moon and stars darkened
Rev 8:12
– Bottomless pit
Rev 9:2
– Locusts
Rev 9:3-11
– Four angels loosed from the Euphrates
Rev 9:14
– Army of horsemen
Rev 9:16-19
– Angel having a book
Rev 10:1-10
– Seven thunders
Rev 10:3-4
– Measurement of the temple
Rev 11:1-2
– Two witnesses
Rev 11:3-12
– Court of the Gentiles
Rev 11:2
– Two olive trees and two candlesticks
Rev 11:4
– The beast out of the bottomless pit
Rev 11:7
– Fall of the city
Rev 11:13
– Second and third woes
Rev 11:14
A woman clothed with the sun; birth of the man child
Rev 12
– A red dragon
Rev 12:3-17
– War in heaven
Rev 12:7-9
– The beast rising out of the sea
Rev 13:1-10
– The beast coming out of the earth
Rev 13:11-18
– The Lamb on Mount Zion
Rev 14:1-5
– The angel having the everlasting gospel
Rev 14:6-7
– The angel proclaiming the fall of Babylon
Rev 14:8-13
– The Son of man with a sickle
Rev 14:14-16
– Angel reaping the harvest
Rev 14:14-20
– Angel coming out of the temple
Rev 14:17-19
– An angel having power over fire
Rev 14:18
– The vine and the winepress
Rev 14:18-20
– Angels with the seven last plagues
Rev 15:1-8
– Temple opened
Rev 15:5
– The plague upon the men who had the mark of the beast
Rev 16:2
– Sea turned into blood
Rev 16:3
– The seven angels with the seven vials of the wrath of God
Rev 16
– Destruction of Babylon
Rev 18
– Of the multitude praising
Rev 19:1-9
– Of Him who is faithful and true riding a white horse
Rev 19:11-16
– Angel in the sun
Rev 19:17-21
– Satan bound a thousand years
Rev 20:1-3
– Thrones of judgment, the resurrection, and the loosing of Satan
Rev 20:1-10
– Great white throne
Rev 20:11
– Opening of the book of life
Rev 20:12
– Death and hell
Rev 20:14
– New Jerusalem
Rev 21
– River of life
Rev 22:1
– Tree of life
Rev 22:2 Dream
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Vision
“that which is seen” (horao), denotes (a) “a spectacle, sight,” Mat 17:9; Act 7:31 (“sight”); (b) “an appearance, vision,” Act 9:10 (Act 9:12 in some mss.); Act 10:3, Act 10:17, Act 10:19; Act 11:5; Act 12:9; Act 16:9-10; Act 18:9.
“sense of sight,” is rendered “visions” in Act 2:17; Rev 9:17. See LOOK, B.
(a late form of opsis, “the act of seeing”), from optano, “to see, a coming into view,” denotes a “vision” in Luk 1:22; Luk 24:23; Act 26:19; 2Co 12:1.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Vision
the act of seeing; but, in Scripture, it generally signifies a supernatural appearance, either by dream or in reality, by which God made known his will and pleasure to those to whom it was vouchsafed, Act 9:10; Act 9:12; Act 16:9; Act 26:13; 2Co 12:1. Thus, in the earliest times, to patriarchs, prophets, and holy men God sent angels, he appeared to them himself by night in dreams, he illuminated their minds, he made his voice to be heard by them, he sent them ecstasies, and transported them beyond themselves, and made them hear things that eye had not seen, ear had not heard, and which had not entered into the heart of man. The Lord showed himself to Moses, and spoke to him when he was at the mouth of the cave. Jesus Christ manifested himself to his Apostles, in his transfiguration upon the mount, and on several other occasions after his resurrection. God appeared to Abraham under the form of three travellers; he showed himself to Isaiah and Ezekiel, in the splendour of his glory. Vision is also used for the prophecies written by the prophets. The beatific vision denotes the act of angels and glorified spirits beholding in heaven the unveiled splendours of the Lord Jehovah, and privileged to contemplate his perfections and plans in and by himself.