Five Dreams and Joseph: Prophetic Types of Christ and Israel

Based on Bible Mysteries Podcast Episode 296: Five Dreams of Joseph  | Prophetic Signs of Christ and Israel

Scripture contains patterns that are easy to overlook when passages are studied only as isolated events. The lives of two men named Joseph present one of those patterns. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was known for his dreams. Centuries later, another Joseph—the husband of Mary—was also the son of a man named Jacob and received dreams from God surrounding the birth and early life of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:16 establishes the connection:

“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

The similarities do not make the two Josephs the same person prophetically, but they invite us to examine the types. Joseph, the son of Jacob, dreamed of his brethren bowing before him and eventually went into Egypt. Joseph, the husband of Mary, received divine instruction through dreams and also took his family into Egypt. Both histories point beyond themselves toward Jesus Christ, Israel, and God's future restoration of His people.

Five Dreams and Joseph Begin With a Dreamer

Genesis 37 introduces Joseph, the son of Jacob, as a dreamer. In his first recorded dream, Joseph saw his sheaf standing upright while the sheaves of his brethren bowed before it. His brothers immediately understood the implication:

“Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?”—Genesis 37:8

Joseph then dreamed again:

“Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.”—Genesis 37:9

Jacob understood the imagery to represent the family. Historically, the dreams were fulfilled when Joseph became second only to Pharaoh in Egypt and his brethren eventually came before him during the famine.

Yet the imagery reaches farther. Joseph's brothers bowing before him presents a type of Israel ultimately bowing before Christ. The sun, moon, and stars also appear again in a remarkable prophetic setting.

Five Dreams and Joseph Connect to Revelation 12

Revelation 12:1 describes:

“A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”

The similarity to Joseph's dream is difficult to ignore. The woman is connected with Israel, and she brings forth a man child:

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”—Revelation 12:5

The man child points to Jesus Christ. Israel brought forth Messiah, and Christ ascended to the Father. But Revelation 12 does not stop with Christ's first coming. The chapter moves forward prophetically into the persecution of the woman and the remnant of her seed during the Tribulation.

The same imagery therefore connects Joseph, Israel, Christ's first advent, and events surrounding His second coming.

Five Dreams and Joseph Surround the Birth of Christ

There are five dreams surrounding the birth and early childhood of Christ in Matthew. Four are given to Joseph and one to the wise men. A recurring theme throughout these dreams is deliverance from death, accompanied by God's grace and protection.

Dream One: Take Mary as Thy Wife

Joseph's first dream occurs when he discovers Mary is with child. Knowing the child is not his, Joseph intends to put her away privately rather than make her a public example.

Then God intervenes.

“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”—Matthew 1:20

Joseph obeys. Mary brings forth Jesus, fulfilling the prophecy:

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.”—Matthew 1:23

Mary's virginity presents a picture of purity, while Joseph's obedience preserves the family through whom Messiah enters the world.

Dream Two: The Wise Men Are Warned

The second dream is given not to Joseph but to the wise men.

They had followed the star seeking the one “born King of the Jews.” Herod claimed that he also wanted to worship the child, but his true intention was murder.

After finding Jesus, the wise men were:

“Warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod.”—Matthew 2:12

They returned home another way.

Herod's attempt to destroy Christ presents a striking parallel to Revelation 12, where the dragon waits to devour the man child. Herod becomes a type of the satanic opposition that seeks to destroy what God has ordained.

Dream Three: Flee Into Egypt

God then warns Joseph:

“Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.”—Matthew 2:13

Joseph obeys immediately.

This fulfills another prophetic pattern:

“Out of Egypt have I called my son.”—Matthew 2:15

Matthew is drawing from Hosea 11:1:

“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”

Hosea speaks historically of Israel. Matthew applies the passage to Christ. The identities remain distinct, but the pattern is deliberate: Israel went into Egypt, and Christ went into Egypt. Israel came out of Egypt, and Christ came out of Egypt.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, was the reason his brethren originally entered Egypt during the famine. Joseph, the husband of Mary, brought Jesus into Egypt to escape Herod.

These are remarkable parallels.

Egypt as a Prophetic Type

Egypt repeatedly appears in Scripture as more than a geographical location. Abram came out of Egypt. Israel was delivered from Egypt through Moses. Jesus was called out of Egypt.

Egypt can also serve as a type of the world and its system of bondage. Israel's Exodus therefore becomes a picture of God's deliverance.

Numbers 15:41 states:

“I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God.”

God did not simply bring Israel out of Egypt to change their location. He brought them out to be their God.

Jeremiah later describes a future deliverance of Israel so great that the Exodus itself will no longer be the primary event by which God's deliverance is remembered. Israel will be gathered from the countries where God scattered them and will dwell again in their own land.

That restoration points forward to the return of Christ.

Five Dreams and Joseph Point Toward Israel's Travail

Revelation 12 moves from the birth and ascension of the man child to the woman fleeing into the wilderness:

“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”—Revelation 12:6

The 1,260 days equal three and a half prophetic years. Later the dragon persecutes the woman, and ultimately:

“Went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”—Revelation 12:17

This is believing Israel during the time of Jacob's trouble. Herod's slaughter of the children surrounding Christ's first coming presents a type of the dragon's persecution surrounding His second coming.

Once again, Scripture establishes a pattern and later expands it.

Dream Four: Return to Israel

After Herod dies, Joseph receives another dream:

“Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.”—Matthew 2:20

Joseph obeys and returns.

The family coming out of Egypt and entering Israel presents another picture of restoration. That brings us to one of the more misunderstood prophetic passages concerning Israel.

When Will Israel Be Born in a Day?

Isaiah 66:7-8 states:

“Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.”

Then:

“Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

Notice the sequence.

The man child is brought forth before the travail. Christ came before Israel's future time of Jacob's trouble.

But the children are brought forth when Zion travails.

This distinction matters.

The passage continues into the restoration of Jerusalem, followed by the Lord coming in judgment:

“For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury.”—Isaiah 66:15

The context places the nation being born in a day in connection with Zion's travail, God's judgment upon His enemies, and the Lord's intervention. For that reason, this prophecy should not simply be assigned to the political establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948. The prophetic conditions described by Isaiah were not fulfilled then.

The birth Isaiah describes is still future.

Dream Five: He Shall Be Called a Nazarene

Joseph's final dream directs him away from Judea:

“Notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.”—Matthew 2:22

Joseph settles his family in Nazareth, fulfilling Matthew's statement:

“He shall be called a Nazarene.”—Matthew 2:23

There is no single Old Testament verse stating that Messiah would be called a Nazarene. Matthew says this was spoken by the prophets, plural, suggesting that he may be drawing together a prophetic theme rather than quoting one passage directly.

One possible connection is particularly interesting.

Five Dreams and Joseph Reveal the Branch

Isaiah 11:1 declares:

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

The Hebrew word translated “Branch” here is netser. The consonantal similarity between netser, Nazareth, and Nazarene has led many to see intentional wordplay connecting Jesus of Nazareth with the promised Branch. It cannot be proven conclusively, but the connection fits Matthew's emphasis on the prophets and Messiah.

Jesus is the righteous Branch from the line of David.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 gives the prophetic destination of that Branch:

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”

Then comes Israel's restoration:

“In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely.”

This has not yet happened.

Israel does not presently dwell in the peace described by the prophets. But when the Branch returns as King, He will judge the nations, restore Israel, and establish righteousness.

The Pattern Comes Full Circle

The pattern that begins in Genesis reaches all the way into prophecy.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, dreamed dreams and went into Egypt. His brethren eventually bowed before him.

Israel went into Egypt and was later delivered by the power of God.

Joseph, the husband of Mary and himself the son of a Jacob, received dreams from God and took Christ into Egypt.

Christ came out of Egypt, grew up in Nazareth as the Branch, was rejected, crucified, raised from the dead, and caught up to the Father.

Yet the prophetic pattern is not finished.

Israel must still pass through her travail. The believing remnant will face the dragon's persecution. The nation will be brought forth according to God's prophetic timetable, and the righteous Branch will return to reign.

Isaiah 60 describes the result:

“Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”—Isaiah 60:21

Jeremiah then points to a future restoration so great that Israel's ancient deliverance from Egypt will no longer be the defining comparison. God will gather His people from the nations and restore them to their land under the righteous Branch.

The Five Dreams and Joseph reveal how consistently God uses prophetic types. What begins with a dreamer in Genesis appears again surrounding Christ's first coming and ultimately points toward His return.

The details are separated by centuries, but the pattern remains: Joseph, dreams, Egypt, Israel, death, deliverance, the Branch, and restoration.

God declared the pattern beforehand.

And He will finish what He began.