if a stranger comes to you in a dream,

[angliholic]

My anthropology professor told me if a stranger comes to you in a dream, you knew each other in a previous life.
... a stranger comes into your dream, ... the last life.


The second is how I render the first in the above to pinpoint its meaning. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.

[Anglika]

You could use your alternative for the first but it lacks the intention of the original; the second you cannot as it implies only the last previous life, whereas the original allows for any previous life.

[angliholic]

You could use your alternative for the first but it lacks the intention of the original; the second you cannot as it implies only the last previous life, whereas the original allows for any previous life.

Thanks, Anglika, for the helpful reply.
What do you mean by "it lacks the intention of the original?"

[Anglika]

A stranger comes to you in a dream - the stranger intended to enter your dream

A stranger comes into your dream - the stranger just happens to appear.

[angliholic]

A stranger comes to you in a dream - the stranger intended to enter your dream

A stranger comes into your dream - the stranger just happens to appear.

Thanks, Anglika.
I see eye to eye with you on the second, but I think the first one means the following to me: A stranger comes up to and meets you in person in a dream. Am I on the right track?

[Anglika]

Possibly, but to me it is [as happens in dreams]that a stranger just appears.

[angliholic]

Thanks, Anglika.