spiritual discernment – Sons of Issachar

504. Lucid Dreams and Divine Visions

Mike Parsons –

The difference between a lucid dream and a vision is really only that you are asleep rather than awake when you have it.

The difference between a lucid dream and a vision is really only that you are asleep rather than awake when you have it. They are basically the same thing, just in a different format, one being asleep and one being awake. If you are conscious of what is going on in the dream and you are engaging with the dream, there is no real difference to being conscious in a vision, having an encounter and engaging that vision.

Sometimes it is simply a way that God can engage with us when we are not in control of our conscious thinking, like when we are asleep. If it is a lucid dream and you are interacting with it, then is it a dream that God is giving you and you are in an encounter with God, and are the other people who come into the dream part of that encounter? Either they are visionary, in that God is showing you a person and interacting with you, or that person’s spirit is engaging in your dream.

Again, it all comes down to what God’s purpose is. Therefore you have to go back to God and ask him to show you what he was trying to communicate, what the significance was of a particular person, whether known or unknown, within your dream. Just like a lot of people have visionary experiences but do not know what they are about, they then have to go back to God and ask him.

If you are interacting with the dream and things are happening, those things can be actual things that are going on, or they could be symbolic of something that is going on. Again, you have to discern that. On many occasions where I was engaging things, visionary encounters and experiences, I was there engaging them and things were happening to me. If I was in conversation with God within that experience, then I could trust what he was saying. If God was not there and I was seeing things or doing things, then I would be more cautious in my interpretation of what was happening.

Usually I would then check out what happened with God to ensure that I was not putting my own spin on it. When I first encountered, for example, the high chancellors’ houses, and wisdom took me there and I engaged with the high chancellors and all of the houses, God was nowhere in that encounter. I believe God totally inspired that encounter and wisdom interacted with me in many different ways on God’s behalf. But I always went back and said, “Okay, I need deeper insight into this. What were you trying to show me?” I wanted to make sure that it was a pure experience, not something I was spinning through my own filters or trying to understand through my own experiences.

When God was with me, showing me something and speaking to me, I was more confident. I was sure this was God. Sometimes he told me things that were very clear. He has also told me things that were not very clear. I did not mistrust what he said, I just did not understand it at that point. That usually lodges in my heart and then works out in a future situation, where suddenly I understand what it was about. God will say something to stimulate my attention, where I think, I do not know what he is talking about, or I am not fully understanding this, and then I pursue the understanding of it.

When it comes to people, I have encountered people, or people have told me that they have encountered me in a vision or a heavenly experience. I did not remember those experiences because I was asleep at the time, usually at night, and my spirit engaged them. But when I focused on it, sometimes my spirit gave me information that affirmed that encounter. It was like my spirit said, yes, we did. Sometimes I would say, well, what did we talk about? When they described the conversation and what went on, it was very much in sync with what they said I had said. It was like, yes, that was exactly what I would have said if we had had that conversation.

There are different ways in which you experience and encounter things, and they are all good. Every time I go to sleep at night, I make my spirit available for whatever God might want me to do, outside of all the other things I am doing. It is simply saying, I am available for anything you might want me to engage with. That could include engaging other people. Often those people will gain something from the experience that they are seeking.

I cannot remember engaging a person in that type of visionary experience where I was seeking them, but I have engaged the cloud of witnesses for specific things where I felt there might be some insight. I have engaged people like Esther, David, Daniel, Jacob and Joshua at various times during my journey, and then gone back and re-engaged them at a future date to find out more. There is no real difference between a person who is alive and you engaging their spirit in a dream or a vision, and someone who is physically dead but you are still engaging their spirit and soul within a vision. Hebrews describes them as the firstborn enrolled in heaven. They are still active and we can still engage them.

One of the questions I would ask is whether I can have these experiences when I am awake and not sleeping, because then I can engage the experience more fully. I journal everything. I want a record of the things I have encountered. If you wake up having had that experience, it can be harder to journal exactly what happened in a dream or visionary setting. I have come back and written those things out, but mostly what I do is journal while I am having the experience, so that I am totally aware and completely lucid, writing down what is happening during that experience with God or any other encounter.

Occasionally I go back to an experience because I feel there may be some detail I missed. Often when I am listening and talking to God, I am not paying attention to what is going on around me unless he is pointing something out. Particularly in the early days, when all this was new, I would revisit experiences to make sure I had not missed something. As time went on, I became much more confident in my ability to discern, write down and engage.

So ask God whether you can have these experiences when you are not sleeping, and see what happens. If there is a particular person you are unsure about, ask the Father to show you what to do. Sometimes a person may appear in a dream and prompt you to pray for them, protect them, or respond in some way. Until you get into the flow of it and discover what was behind it, there can be many different specifics.

Sometimes a person may speak to you and tell you something, just as a prophet might come and prophesy. Sometimes a person can be speaking on God’s behalf. That is something I believe I have done on a number of occasions when engaging people in that realm.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong in this. It is all part of learning to discover and journey through encounters and experiences, becoming more discerning and more able to pick these things up. If we are open and we have a lucid dream experience, then it is because God wants to speak to us that way. It may be more difficult for him to speak to us while we are awake, perhaps because we are distracted. When you are asleep there is less conscious activity to interfere.

So ask him, and see if he has insight for you and a purpose for each encounter you are having. I do not see a difference between lucid dreams and visions or lucid visions. They are essentially the same sort of encounter, one when you are asleep and one when you are awake.

If you enjoy these videos, would you please take a moment to like, comment and subscribe. It really does help. Thank you very much.

499. Hook, Line and Sinker: Why Do We Believe False Prophecies?

Mike Parsons –

No video? Please click here.

Once you are susceptible to programming because of the nature of the organisations you trust – being fed by your pastor, and being fed by the apostle, or being fed by the prophet – and that they hear from God and tell you that God said this, then you are susceptible to receiving beliefs which are clearly not true. But because you trust the system you’re in, you believe them.

Hence, all sorts of conspiracies.

Hence, all these prophetic people come out with all this political stuff. It gets bought hook, line and sinker by people because they are conditioned that those people must be right because they are prophets: they must hear God.

And the reality is, we need to hear God for ourselves.

And don’t buy anything anyone else says, including me and anybody else, unless God affirms it to you.

426. The Nature of God: Rethinking Our Beliefs

231. Meet the Real God

154. Grow Your Own

486. Take It Back To The Father

Mike Parsons

Not seeing the video above? Please click here.

We should weigh both what we feel and what we believe God has said. Does this align with love? If it does, we can wholeheartedly accept it. If it does not, then something has gone wrong in how we’ve understood it. In that case, we can take it back to the Father and ask why we misinterpreted it, recognising that often it is our own mindset that causes misunderstanding.

I had to do that many times when my experiences did not line up with what I thought to be true. When that happened, cognitive dissonance arose, and I was left with a choice: which should I trust—my experience, or my belief system? Over time I came to see that when my experience was aligned with love, that was what I needed to trust. And when it was not aligned with love, it was usually my interpretation of the experience that was the real issue.

330. Find Truth Within: Trust Your Own Connection with God

421. Belief to Reality | Living in the Truth

463. Buddhism: A Philosophy of Life Beyond Religion

Mike Parsons

If you do not see the video above, please click here.

Buddhism is more a philosophy of life than a religion, really—because essentially, they are not worshipping Buddha. They know Buddha died. It is a teaching philosophy, and actually, it contains a lot of similar teaching to Jesus: love one another, the golden rule, treat people the way you want to be treated.

I was in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand in March (2025), and I found it very interesting looking at the Buddhist temples, the philosophy, the culture—looking at how they did things and why they did them. I was not approaching it negatively. I did not go over there with an agenda. I was simply interested: what was this really about?

Seeing truth as truth

Now obviously, Jesus is not at the centre of it. But that does not mean there is no truth contained within it. In terms of meditation—how you focus, how you come to a place of rest—using music, using certain sounds or frequencies, those things can be helpful. But we are not applying Buddhist philosophy as Buddhists. We are seeing truth as truth, and applying that truth as it comes from Jesus through Jesus—not through a Buddhist principle or system. That is the difference.

And I know people will say, “Ah, yes, but if the root of it is evil, then you cannot use it.” But who says the root is evil? Why would it not be possible that Jesus, who is the Truth, might deposit truth in all sorts of places—so people could discover it and ultimately discover Him? There is even a story in Hinduism of a god who was crucified and wore a crown of thorns. Where did that come from? Well, I believe Jesus deposited something there—so that when people in that context later heard the story of His crucifixion, they might be drawn toward Him.

What we are doing is engaging with Jesus, the Truth. We are not embracing the whole of any other philosophy. If there is music that helps us focus or rest, we are engaging it with our own intention. Our use of it can cleanse it. We are choosing it for our good.

Eat the meat

This is not unlike the situation Paul addressed regarding meat sacrificed to idols. Some believers were afraid of being polluted by it. But Paul said, “The idols are nothing—they are just stone and wood.” Maybe there was something demonic behind them—but the meat itself? It was just meat. If you ate the meat, you were not worshipping a false god. You were just eating food. And Paul was trying to help them see—there was no power in it unless you gave it power. If you thought it was wrong and went against your conscience, then it became a problem for you. But the thing itself had no power unless you empowered it.

So Paul was saying, in effect: do not be in bondage to these things. If you want to eat the meat, eat it. If you do not, then do not. But either way, it is not going to harm you—unless you give it that power. The same principle applies to things like frequencies, sound bowls, music, intention. There is a lot of excellent Christian material out there too—music that has embedded intention, that carries a frequency of truth and peace and love.

All Mike’s books, including Into the Dark Cloud and Unconditional Love, are available to order from online and local booksellers; or you can buy them as ebooks and download them instantly from our website.
More info at eg.freedomarc.org/books

Positive intention

I do not really listen to music that way myself, but I know Samuel—who is part of our ministry—writes and composes music with positive intention built in. That is what we often use for activations and meditations. And I know those are good, life-giving pieces of music. So if you are in any doubt, use something you know has come from a good source. If you are concerned, that is the safest thing to do.

But I do not necessarily believe you need to be concerned. Someone might say, “But what if the composer of the music intended something negative?” Well, yes, they might have—but that does not mean you will be affected by it, because you carry a higher truth. You can choose to cleanse something. You can choose a different intention. If the embedded goal of that music was negative, you do not have to receive that. But I would say this: if you are not in a place to know how to handle that—do not listen to it. Do not go there. Choose something else that you know is safe. Find some Christian music you trust. Use what you know carries positive intention. Because for those who are mature, these things may not affect you. But if you feel vulnerable, then avoid it—because your belief about it could actually empower it to affect you negatively.

So it comes down to what you believe. That is the key.

Would I buy into the whole of Buddhist philosophy? No. Because I do not believe in reincarnation. I do not believe we come back in another body to have another go. I believe we get one life—and we should make the most of it. And that life continues beyond death. In fact, I do not believe we even have to die—but that is another topic.

So we just need to take a view of everything through Jesus the Truth. That is our plumb line. Does it carry the right frequency? That is how I always check. Does it carry the frequency of love? If it does, then I know that God is love—and that will be aligned with Him. Whatever the source, if it resonates with God, I do not have a problem with it.

Because truth is truth. Love is love. Not eros or emotional love—but real agape, God love. That is the measure we use to discern what is good, and what is not.

Please remember to like, share, comment and subscribe, either here or on YouTube – it really helps us get the message out!

335. Resonating Truth

388. How Frequency Heals

387. From Sickness to Health… to Immortality

431. Breaking Free from Deceptive Teaching | Rediscovering God’s Love

Mike Parsons

Not seeing the video above? Please click here.

When people get drawn into deceptive teachings, it can completely distort their understanding of God. But the truth is, the very nature of God is love. Just think about it—some claim that if someone uses a different name for Jesus, or a Hebrew version, they’re going to hell. It’s absurd. But that’s the level of deception and depth of religious programming some people fall into.

Take the Hebrew Roots movement, for example. It’s just as deceptive as the Judaizers in the first century, who tried to pull followers of Jesus back under the law of Moses. Jesus warned us about the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees—the political and religious spirits. And sadly, that same spirit has infiltrated some mystical Christian groups today.

There’s a growing narrative that says you must understand Hebrew, take Hebrew classes or grasp the Hebrew language to understand God. But God is not Hebrew—God is God. Hebrew was simply the language of a people He chose for a time to demonstrate His desire for relationship. That doesn’t make it the one true language of divine understanding. In fact, many of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day—Pharisees, Sadducees, and others—had a deeply flawed understanding of God, and Jesus came to correct that.

Much of that misunderstanding came from syncretism. When the Jewish people were exiled in Babylon, they began to incorporate foreign beliefs and customs into their system. The same happened later under Greek influence. This led to writings like the Talmud—an oral tradition passed down and eventually written. Some of its content is shockingly harsh, treating non-Jews as lesser beings. It became equal in status to the Torah for many, yet it’s a book that contains things Jesus clearly came to oppose.

Jesus came to reveal who God truly is—a God of love. The Hebrew Roots movement, though, seeks to drag people back into a law-based, old covenant mindset. When people get into it, you often notice a lack of love in their attitudes. They become harsh, critical and defensive—clear signs of deception. Paul addressed this in his letter to the Galatians when he said, “Who has bewitched you?” They started with grace and were being tempted to go back under the law. But no one could keep that law, and that was the whole point.

Christianity is not Judaism plus Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion—He came to invite us into a new covenant relationship. He is the fulfilment of every old covenant promise and every feast that pointed to something greater. So why go backwards? Why follow the Jewish calendar or wear religious garments like kippahs or prayer shawls to seem more spiritual? It’s just mixing covenants and returning to bondage. And again, it often shows in how little love these teachings produce in people.

Some insist we must use the Hebrew name for Jesus. But God speaks to us in our own language. He’s spoken to me about Jesus using that name, because He meets us where we are. I’m not Hebrew—why should I feel compelled to use a Hebrew name? Unfortunately, many who fall into this movement become zealous, dogmatic and, sadly, unloving. They act as if God will condemn people for using the “wrong” name, which is utterly absurd. But that’s indoctrination. There’s a religious spirit behind it, trying to pull people out of the freedom found in Christ and back into bondage through law-keeping.

The Hebrew Roots movement, at its core, aims to reintroduce legalism. There’s even a wider agenda pushing something called the Noahide laws, attempting to bring the whole world under a religious legal system. But we’ve been called to freedom—not to religious control.

Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and will soon be available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.