Historical Examples and Evaluations of Visions and Dreams

This article asks whether there has been an ecclesiastical shift away from spiritual gifts—especially believing and accepting that God still sends visions and dreams during this present period in history? Is the Holy Spirit continuing to speak to humans through visions and dreams? These questions will be answered, and the seven-element biblical model will be used to evaluate visions and dreams. I will review documents from the Ante Nicene Fathers, will look at the works of Martin Luther and John Wesley, and Adventist pioneers William Miller and Ellen White concerning dreams and visions. Documented dream experiences from Muslim cultures and the Seventh-day Adventist Church will conclude the study in order to provide further insights for testing present-day visions and dreams

A Biblical Foundation for Visions and Dreams

This article looks at the biblical foundation that supports the idea that God is still speaking to human beings today through visions and dreams. God has not left communication of his will for humans today totally in the hands of Scripture since he continues to communicate with religious leaders, pastors, the church, unbelievers, and those who hate him through visions and dreams. This article illustrates that God continued to communicate his will through vision and dream experiences from the time of creation until today. Despite widespread skepticism among many toward visions and dreams, God continues to speak by these supernatural manifestations as he did during the Old and New Testament periods

A Biblical Model Testing Visions And Dreams In Christian Ministry In The Bahamas

Problem A survey conducted in Nassau, Bahamas, between December 2004 and January 2005, showed that of those surveyed, 80 percent believed in visions and dreams. This supports the idea that culturally, the majority of Bahamians accept most visions and dreams as divine in nature. However, many pastors show fear and doubt toward church members who are having such experiences which are viewed as wholly psychosomatic. Method The task of this dissertation is to develop and implement a biblical model for testing present-day visions and dreams. The model will be based on Bible principles and will be evaluated to determine its value among pastors and church members in Christian ministry in the Bahamas primarily, and in other fields of the Christian church. Results The results of the field-study indicated that in three different surveys conducted the biblical model was evaluated as: (1) ‘very helpful’ by 86% of the conference workers including, administrators and pastors; (2) ‘helpful’ by 93% of persons from mixed cultures, that is, North America, Africa, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico; and (3) ‘very helpful’ by 40% and ‘helpful’ by 28% of persons who responded in a random survey. Pastors are open to seminars and the use of the model within their churches. Conclusions Among the seven church groups surveyed it was unanimous that present-day visions and dreams are to be tested according to the Bible (Deut 13:1-5; 18:15-22; Jer 28:9, 32; Matt 7:15-22; and 1 John 4:1-3) in order to ascertain the true from the false. Testing visionary manifestations will affirm that God continues to speak to humans today by these means of communication in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32

Review of adjustable velcro wrap devices for venous ulceration

Compression therapy is the mainstay of treatment for patients with venous leg ulcers. Current gold standard is 4 layer bandaging, which has a significant impact on patients comfort, ability to wear their own shoes, and quality of life, as well as taking significant time to apply, and losing compression over time. This systematic review aims to evaluate the use of Velcro wrap devices for the treatment of venous ulceration. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to identify articles reporting the use of Velcro wrap devices in patients with venous ulceration. Sixteen articles were identified (14 case series, 1 randomised trial, and 1 audit) reporting on 192 patients. There were reports of improved time to healing, reduced cost by >50%, reduced number and duration of nursing appointments, and improved quality of life in patients in Velcro wrap devices. Although the evidence remains poor, Velcro devices have potential to improve outcomes for patients with venous ulceration and further good quality studies should be undertaken to evaluate these further