Because the heavenly and the earthly realm belong closely with one another—which is a way of asserting the presence of the creator god within his creation and in the midst of his people—it makes theological sense to think of penetrating the mysteries of the heavenly realm and emerging with information that would relate to the earthly realm. Granted this metaphysical belief, and granted the prophetic penchant for visionary images of various kinds, it is easy to see how a literary form could spring up which would sometimes make use of the metaphysical correspondence between the earthly and the
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