Biblical Christian Dream Dictionary
People in dreams can mean many different things.
Family members (brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle) can be literal family members or they can represent someone with a similar name or similar qualities. An uncle can represent someone else’s uncle, a father can represent another father, etc.
Animals can be symbolic for people. Often a baby will be symbolized by a puppy or a kitten, especially when the dream is something difficult to face – such as a loss. Dogs and cats can symbolize people. People can be described as “catty” or as “dogs” because of their behavior. Click here for more on animals symbolizing people.
Babies are frequently a time marker. The age of the baby is a clue as to what the dream is referring to. See the baby theme page for a more thorough explanation.
Brother can be literally about your brother or it can represent Jesus or a fellow believer or any person that you would call “brother” or “bro” or it can be someone with a similar name.
Cowboy or Shepherd can represent the Lord, they can also represent a minister.
Famous people can represent other famous people or people who look like famous people. A dreamer had a dream of meeting someone famous and later met a different famous person. My daughter had a dream of dating a singer/movie star and later met someone who looked like him. Many people say that my husband reminds them of Bruce Willis, so when I dream of Bruce Willis I know that he is a symbol for my husband. Or it can be someone with a similar name
Your earthly father in dreams can symbolize your heavenly Father, especially if your father’s actions in the dream are in line with the character of your heavenly Father. They can also represent a father-figure or it can be someone with a similar name.
A former boyfriend/girlfriend or former husband/wife can represent a current or future boyfriend or it can be someone with a similar name.
Grandparents can be literal or represent other people with the same qualities or it can be someone with a similar name.
Hearing a voice clearly speak to you while you sleep is God speaking to you. Job 33.
Hearing about something but not seeing an actual dream is something that you will hear about.
Inanimate objects such as bundles of wheat, the sun, moon, and stars can all symbolize people.
Mother can represent your mother or another woman with similar qualities or a similar place in your life or it can be someone with a similar name.
People with similar names can represent other people with similar names.
People you know can represent strangers. My husband represents unknown people. For example, I had a dream about fires in California. In one particular dream, my husband was a symbol of someone who was not taking the situation seriously.
A pastor or the pastor’s family in a dream can symbolize a fellow church member whom you do not know. My pastor symbolized a person who fell. In my dream, he was driving a single-engine plane that crashed in the church parking lot. Two days later, a woman fell on the way into the church and broke her arm. A couple of helpful tips in determining if people you know are symbols or if they are literal are: Is the dream symbolic? My pastor doesn’t drive an airplane so the plane was used to symbolize a fall.
The pastor’s daughter represented a lady in our church. The interpretation that God gave me to the above dream was that the pastor’s daughter represented someone in the church who couldn’t conceive and who was going to become pregnant miraculously (and when I asked God how long it would be He said, Four months.) Four months exactly later, a woman in church who was told she wouldn’t have more babies went to a doctor’s appointment where she was told she was expecting.
The Lord revealed that the pastor’s daughter was a symbol for another Christian in the same way my pastor was a symbol in the plane dream.
A pastor can also represent the Lord or it can be someone with a similar name.
Places and people. People can be symbolic of places in dreams. For example, when I have a dream of a literal tornado coming in the future the people involved are an indicator of where the tornado will hit.
Person whom you do not recognize that causes you to feel incredible love, peace, joy, happiness, etc., is often the Lord.
Person in a dream who you sense the presence of but you cannot see – God
Sister can be literally about your sister or it can represent a fellow believer or any person that you would call “sister” or it can be someone with a similar name.
Teacher can represent the Lord, a teacher, or someone who is a mentor.
Unknown person with incredible blue eyes and who makes you FEEL his presence is usually the Lord.
Unknown Man – can be God or anyone, including people you know. See example below.
Example of Unknown People Symbolizing Someone We Know
My husband had a dream that I was choosing football players for a big game (side note, I know nothing about football). Anyway, he for some reason was bringing them to me, and then every time he brought me one, he had to go find a seal near the ocean and throw it back in the water. All the while, some man stood near him on the beach and fired off stupid comments on how he threw the seals. He did this a few times and had no problem with it.
Answer to the Dream
The dreamer is a dog breeder. She goes to dog shows and shows her dogs. I knew this about her and I could see how the football players and the big game represented the dogs and the dog shows. So, I asked, does your husband help you prepare for the dog shows and she said that he did. I asked if he would ask her which dogs were going and which dogs were staying, and she said that he would.
Throwing the seals in the ocean symbolized the husband helping her to prepare for the shows by putting the dogs in crates for travel.
At this point, she asked me, ‘Am I the guy on the beach criticizing his efforts?’
Ask your husband how he felt with the criticism.
He already told me, he felt annoyed.
Do you criticize him and does it annoy him?
Her answer was, ‘Yes, and probably.’
This dream was foretelling a future dog show where the identical thing would happen. She criticized his efforts but she remembered this dream and she understood how she was making her husband feel.
The moral of this story is that dreams with unknown people can symbolize someone we know.
If you need expert help understanding your dreams, please ask Mia in our Dream Forum. Mia has been interpreting dreams for twenty years. She has a proven track record and has helped thousands of people understand their dreams.