How can one know that such and such a dream is from the devil? This can be recognized by two signs. The first sign is if you dream of something contrary to the faith, or to the Holy Church, or to a pious life, or something similar, and yet before going to bed you had nothing of the kind in your head. The second sign is if, after waking up from such a dream, some kind of confusion of the soul, some kind of anguish in the heart is done to you. Now, if these two signs are present, then one can think that such a dream is a diabolical delusion.

Let us now pass on to dreams from good angels and from God Himself. That there are such dreams, it seems that there is nothing to say about it. There are so many such examples in the Holy Scriptures that it would be difficult to convey them all at once. We will cite only a few of them. For example, the holy Patriarch Jacob, when he was going to Mesopotamia and went to sleep in the desert, he saw in a dream a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, the angels of God ascending and descending on it, and at the top of it stood the Lord Himself, Who blessed Jacob and promised to give this land to him and his descendants. And this promise was fulfilled. This patriarch had 12 sons; one of them was Joseph, whom the brothers hated because his father loved him more than they did, because of his simplicity and innocence, and therefore secretly sold him to a distant land. But God will arrange all His own; before this, Joseph himself had two remarkable dreams: one was that he was tying sheaves with his brothers in the field, that his sheaf had become erect, and that the sheaves of his brothers had surrounded his sheaf and worshipped him. This dream meant that his brothers would bow to him. Another dream is that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down before him. This meant that not only his brothers, but also his father and mother would come to him with a bow. Both dreams came true in their time. Of course, these were righteous and holy people, but you will tell us, sinners, where to see such dreams? True, such extraordinary dreams can most often be experienced by the righteous, because even in reality they are incomparably closer to God, Who sends them such dreams. However, God is so merciful to everyone that sinners can have similar dreams. For example, let us take Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: he was a great sinner, and he also had wonderful dreams. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was also a great sinner, and he also had an extraordinary dream. "So let us remember that dreams are of three kinds: one is from God and good angels, and such dreams must be believed; others from evil spirits should not believe in such dreams; and still others are from ourselves, and such dreams should not be believed either, although sometimes it happens that in a dream our soul can have a premonition of something, only in this case we need to be very careful, because the wise son of Sirach said: "... As thou shalt eat behind the wall, and drive the winds, so thou shalt eat faith in sleep. Magic and charm and dreams are vain; Unless it be sent from the Most High to visit, do not give it into your heart: for many have been deceived by sleep, and have fallen away, trusting in it" (Sir. 34:2, 5, 7). This means: believing dreams is the same as grasping at the shadow and chasing the wind. Magic, fortune-telling, and dreams are vain, and if dreams are not sent from God, then do not believe them. you have a spiritual father, who, although he is not a saint, nevertheless knows more than we do, and understands the matter, moreover, the soul sees the dream, and the soul is entrusted to it from God, and therefore it is to him that you can turn in such cases with a request, and not to fortune-tellers or healers, who know no more than the rest of us, and only deceive simple-minded people.

(Из "Душеполезного чтения", 1881)

Когда сон бывает легче и приятнее?

1). После говения и поста.

2). После усиленной и теплой молитвы.

3). После сердечного примирения с врагом.

4). После исповеди, принесенной от сердца.

5). После трудного опыта самоотвержения.

6). После дел милосердия.

(Из "Воскресного чтения", 1873)

88. Беседа о сквернословии и о матерном слове

В одной из древних рукописей есть такое сказание: был один человек, именитый по званию и добродетельный по жизни, звали его Стефаном. Он имел одну дурную привычку — браниться нечистым словом. Раз пришел он откуда-то домой усталый и расстроенный и с гневом крикнул своему рабу: "Эй ты, диавол, разуй меня!" — И вот, лишь только произнес он эти нехорошие слова, как сапоги сами собой стали с великой силой сниматься, так что затрещали не только голенища, но и самые кости Стефановы... Стефан начал громко кричать, на его голос сбежались домашние, и тут-то стало всем понятно, что тот, чьим именем назвал Стефан своего раба, сам явился к его услугам и сорвал с него сапоги, сознал и Стефан свой грех и с ужасом взывал бесу: "Иди прочь от меня, злой слуга! не тебя я звал, а раба моего купленного!" Бес удалился, но и сапог уже не было, их потом нашли в непристойном месте... Сказание это очень поучительно.

Но ведь и Господь терпит, терпит тебя, да и перестанет терпеть... Он ждет твоего покаяния, он ожидает, пока ты образумишься, бросишь свою мерзкую привычку, а если ты не бросишь, то — смотри, чтобы Он не отнял от тебя благодати Своей.