Premonitions
Hello: I am currently a few weeks from completing my Master's degree in counseling. Today in class we had an interesting discussion I would like to hear the Christian view on. The discussion was on the presentation of mental disorders and if certain things could be classified as a symptom. In one case, the patient reported having a premonition a loved one would die the day before they did. While it could be considered a symptom of this patient's disorder, it started a discussion if premonitions could actually be a symptom since most people at one time or another have experienced them. The experiences discussed ranged from meeting a significant other and knowing they'd marry that person, feelings to take a different route only to learn later of an accident that occurred around the time they would have been there, feeling like a loved one was going to die before they did, thinking of someone only to hear from them, etc. The discussion proceeded to speculation where they come from - God, deceased loved ones, angels, Spirit guides, etc. I don't recall Scripture talking about premonitions. What is the Christian view on premonitions and where they might come from?
In the Bible, God certainly did speak directly to individuals about future events (Exodus 7:1-5) or through others (2 Kings 20:1; Acts 21:10-11).
While God can do anything, we do not have any promise from him—or expect him—to speak to us outside the Bible (Hebrews 1:1-2).
For a good treatment on the topic of information and the future, I would refer you to the first chapter of the book “Wizards that Peep.” It is available from Northwestern Publishing House.