will be continuing our study in the book of Revelation.
We're in Revelation chapter one and we're going to be starting around uh verse 11, well verse 10 in our study this morning.
But let's begin with a word of prayer.
Our gracious Father in heaven, we bow before your throne grateful for this day that you've blessed us with.
grateful for the life that we have and the opportunities that we have each and every day.
We're grateful for the opportunity to serve you and to worship your name.
We pray that as we go through this period of study and this period of worship, we might say things which are right in your sight in accordance with your will and with your word,
that they might uplift those who are present and encourage them to further their walk with you and to be
obedient to you and to do what's Lord, we pray that you be with us as we go throughout uh this day.
We pray that you be with those who are away from us and who are traveling.
Pray that you give them safety to their destinations and to return home.
Lord, we also are mindful of those who are ill and those who are facing upcoming surgeries or battling.
uh
difficulties on a daily basis we pray that you will give them the strength that they need and the ability to withstand the difficult days in this life help us to be an
encouragement to them help us to be a strength when they are weak that we might be able to uh...
help them to grow in spite of the difficulties that they face all this we pray and ask in Jesus name
So far in Revelation we've said that the text is a single revelation.
It is not a series of revelations, it is a single revelation.
We've also said that it is an epistle, it is a letter, just like many of the other books of the New Testament were letters.
Except this one is a letter to who?
Seven churches of Asia Minor, all right.
So these churches are going to be the recipients or the initial recipients of this letter.
Who is the penman?
John is.
Now is John writing this from a nice cushy office there in Jerusalem?
All right, John is exiled on the island of Patmos.
And the visions that he will see, the revelation which he sees will be that which he sees as the text is going to say in verse 9 on the Lord, or verse 10 on the Lord's Day, meaning
it was a Sunday morning, or it was a Sunday at least, whether it was morning or afternoon or evening, he doesn't specify.
ah But John was in the midst of worshiping on the Lord's Day when these things occurred.
And if you go back into the Old Testament and you read the book of Daniel, for instance, or Ezekiel, uh Daniel, Ezekiel, and others of the prophets will give you sometimes the
events surrounding or the time periods surrounding when they saw a particular vision.
so, matter of fact, let's do this for a moment.
Let's go back to the book of Daniel.
Daniel chapter, let's go to chapter seven.
Daniel chapter 7 verse 1, in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed, then he wrote down the dream telling the
main facts.
All right, so Daniel introduces
the vision that he has that he records in chapter 7 by telling you when it happened, where he was when it happened, and that he wrote down the things which he saw.
Verse 28, the end of that chapter, This is the end of the account as for me Daniel my thoughts greatly troubled me and my countenance changed But I kept the matter in my heart
then chapter 8 verse 1 as it opens in the third year of the reign of
King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, to me Daniel, after the one that appeared to me the first time.
I saw in the vision and it happened, and so he's going to describe what he saw, what he uh experienced in the vision.
But the point is, he's telling you, this vision came two years after the first vision.
You go to chapter 9, in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his
reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books, the word of the Lord, sorry, by the books.
uh I'm gonna get this right.
uh
I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the year specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolation
of Jerusalem." All right, so Daniel in this one is going to tell you and introduce you to the fact that it's
as a result of understanding the book of Jeremiah and the prophecy of Jeremiah that Daniel is going to understand what's going on in the days of the Medes and the Persians.
So all of these things are going to occur and as Daniel introduces the visions he's going to tell you the some surrounding details about what was going on and when it was when he
saw the vision.
John does the same thing.
John is going to say in verse 9, I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called
Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet.
So John says, this is where I was.
This is what I was doing.
Now, John doesn't tell us that he was exiled.
History tells us that he was exiled ah onto the island of Patmos.
Tradition tells us that, but he does make it clear that the reason he was there was because of the Word of God.
He didn't, so there's really only one of two ways that you can uh interpret that, and history sends us one direction over the other, but it could mean that, hey, you know what,
John is on a missionary trip.
He's there to spread the word of God on the island of Patmos, but the island of Patmos is not one of those places you'd necessarily take a missionary trip to.
It was primarily used for imprisonment.
And so as a result of that, he is not,
there as a casual visitor or even as a missionary.
Rather, he is there because of his testimony concerning the name of Jesus Christ.
And yet, John tells us that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.
That means he was worshiping on the first day of the week.
uh There's no, by the way, there's no argument among scholars.
uh There's no argument among scripture
students as to what on the Lord's Day means.
ah It's not the Sabbath day, it is the first day of the week.
And that is how it is used throughout the text and how it was used among the early Christians.
So it's a Sunday and he's worshiping.
And as he is doing so, he heard behind him a loud trumpet, right?
All right, when you're reading, it's important to get the picture, it's also important to read the words.
And so quite often we think, he heard a trumpet.
No, no, he didn't hear a trumpet.
He heard a voice as a trumpet.
What does that mean?
Extremely loud.
If you've ever been anywhere near someone who was blowing a trumpet, there's a reason why they use trumpets to uh get everybody up uh maybe at boot camp or some other places.
trumpets carry, don't they?
And they're loud.
They, you're going to be well aware of what is going on.
By the way, you go all way back in the Old Testament and trumpets were used in the early days of the Israelite nation to call people to worship, to call people to arms, to call
people to battle.
Trumpets were used in a number of scenarios.
You remember that as the children of Israel walked around the walls of Jericho.
On that seventh day after they had walked around the walls of Jericho seven times, what were they to do?
They were to shout and blow the trumpets.
And so these are symbolic of announcements.
They're symbolic of getting people's attention.
But it is the voice.
which is significant here.
Not the trumpet.
The trumpet is a comparison.
The voice is what he hears.
So he hears this voice as if there was a blast of a trumpet right next to it.
And what did it say?
When the declaration comes forth, when the announcement is presented and John hears it, it says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, what you see right in a book
and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
A visual that you could kind of keep in your head for how this is conveyed in the picture here in the record.
is if you've ever seen the visual or uh a recording of a drill sergeant standing in the face of a cadet yelling at the absolute top of his lungs the thing that the cadet needs to
remember.
right in his face.
Now he's not yelling because the cadet is hard of hearing.
cadet may be hard of hearing by the time he's done yelling, but he's not yelling because the cadet is hard of hearing.
Why is he yelling?
to emphasize the importance of the message.
John is in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and as he, as it were, turns around and hears this voice behind him, it's like the full blown blast of a trumpet.
And John says, if we were to understand the picture, do not miss this fact.
This is the crowning message of the book.
uh
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.
If you want to encapsulate the message of Revelation, it's right there.
God says, I'm the beginning, I am the end.
Specifically in the context as we're about to read it, Jesus Christ says, I am the beginning, I am the end.
and John, you're going to write the message.
And so the message is presented.
It's going to go to these seven churches.
And then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
As John
begins to present the visionary aspects of what he saw.
Same thing as Daniel.
Daniel says, here's where I was, here's what I was doing, here's when it was, this is what I saw.
There will be times in the book where John says, this is what I saw and this is what it means.
When we read, this is what I saw and this is what it means, what should we understand?
This is what it means.
If we ever disagree with John's interpretation in the book of what something means, we're wrong.
It's not that hard.
If we come to a conclusion that there's nuance to what he says it means, okay.
But when he gives the meaning, end of discussion.
When he only presents the picture, what are we supposed to do?
We're supposed to see what's in the picture and then what are we supposed to ask?
What's the context and what does it mean?
The picture is there for a reason.
The vision is there for a reason.
The vision communicates to us and it should because that's normal for humanity, right?
A lot of times we come to the book of Revelation and we think, this is to be really hard book, all right?
We're going to really struggle with it.
It's hard to understand.
There's so many disagreements on it.
We're just going to have to muddle through it and hopefully we get something out of it, which is the exact wrong way to approach the book of Revelation.
We've already said that the message was given so that people could understand it.
We've already said that the message was given because the time was at hand and the things were about to shortly take place after this, and John introduces the book that way and
ends the book that way.
He makes clear that the things that he's writing about are about to take place.
Now, furthermore, if you go back to Daniel, I want to note one other thing about the prophets.
think it's chapter 11.
m
No, Chapter 12.
Alright, so chapter 12 in the midst of these visions we read chapter 12 verse 1, at that time Michael shall stand up.
Alright, so we're in the midst of vision.
I'm not really as interested in the vision as what we read at the end of it.
Alright, at that time Michael shall stand up the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was
a nation even to that time and at that time your people shall be delivered every
one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end."
many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase." The vision's given, and then what's Daniel told to do with the vision?
Lock it up!
Why would you be given a vision and then be told to lock it up?
Alright, so he points out that the words are to be shut up until the time that is appropriate.
Now he says of the end,
He's giving an idea of the time that he has under discussion here.
He doesn't say the end of what, okay?
But he says until the things, by the way, what he means is until the things in the vision have occurred, until you see the things happening that you're told about in the vision,
time's not ready yet.
Just hold on to it.
Set it aside.
uh
As Daniel here is told, you write the words and you seal up the book, time is not yet for this vision to occur.
You go down to later on in the chapter, uh verse 7 of Daniel 12, then I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river when he held up his right hand and
his left hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time.
And the power of the Holy people has been the power of the Holy people has been completely shattered.
All these things shall be finished.
Although I heard I did
not understand.
Then I said, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
The messenger tells Daniel, Daniel, don't worry about it.
You don't even need to look into this.
It's not for your time.
It's for later.
Write the prophecy.
seal it up.
Time's not ready yet.
When John writes the same idea of a vision to the churches of Asia Minor, does he begin with, I was told to write and the time is not yet.
No.
Verse 1, he says, the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to show His servants things which must shortly take place.
Verse 3, blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written for the time is nearer.
as we're going through the book.
understand that this is set in contrast to the Old Testament prophets like Daniel who were told, write it but time's not ready yet.
Seal it up and wait and when the time comes you're going to see this fulfilled.
John is writing and saying time is here.
The time is at hand.
Do not mistake what John interprets the meaning of the book to be.
If you disagree with what John says, you're wrong.
When he gives you a meaning.
When he gives you a definition or when he explains something.
If he gives you just the vision, okay, now you gotta interpret it.
Now you've gotta do the hard work.
But when he gives you the meaning, the meaning is what he says it is.
Verse 12, "'Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.'" Now, where does this
term, Son of Man, come from?
Where do we see it in Scripture?
Alright, Christ called himself Son of Man.
Anybody know where the terminology has a lot of uh usage in the Old Testament?
All right, you're gonna read it in Daniel, you're gonna read it in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel and Daniel are the primary places where this terminology in the Old Testament originates.
Jesus brings forward that terminology and applies it to Himself.
One of the passages that is of interest is go to Daniel chapter three.
Daniel chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar, if you remember, has created an image.
He has gathered together all of his governors and all of the people around who are leaders to bring them together to bow down to this image.
And in Daniel chapter three, when Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not bow down to it,
We read in verse 20 of Daniel 3, and he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery
furnace.
Then those men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men.
who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell downbound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he rose in haste, and he spoke saying to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?
They answered and said, true, O King.
Look, he answered, I see four.
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Now Daniel here records these events and as Nebuchadnezzar
is witnessing this he says there's somebody in there who doesn't look like
the Son of Man.
He looks like the Son of God.
But in many of the other visions, you have a contrast where you have this message of the Son of Man.
The usage here is to give the connection to the humanity, not to declare him not to be deity.
uh It is to draw forward the significance of his connection to the humanity part of the Messiah.
uh
So as John is giving this, he says, turned and I looked and I saw one like unto the Son of Man.
He sees the connection to humanity, but this person doesn't exactly look like your everyday run-of-the-mill human.
As a matter of fact, he says,
I saw him and he was clothed with a garment down to the feet, by the way, in the Jewish society.
This is the garment that would be the picture of a priest.
uh He is adorned with the garment of a priest.
He's adorned with one with garment down to his feet, girded about the chest with a golden band.
His head and hair were white like wool as white as snow.
and his eyes like a flame of fire.
His feet were like fine brass as if refined in a furnace, his voice as the sound of many waters." All right, so when we began, there was a voice that spoke and it was as what?
A trumpet.
Now we hear a voice and John says, I heard him speak and it was as the sound of what?
Many waters.
Do you think he means a nice, soft, quiet, bubbling river that just gently flows?
Or you think this is more like Niagara Falls?
think this is more like Niagara Falls.
If you've ever been next to a large waterfall, what do you find to be true?
They are uh incredibly noisy.
uh Trying to have a conversation is a bit of a challenge because there is so much sound created as that waterfall is occurring.
So notice John says when he spoke,
Everything else pretty much just went silent.
The overwhelming presence of His voice drowned out everything else.
There's your picture.
He was as the sound of many waters.
It was the dominant sound, no matter what else was going on.
Okay?
So then He says, so His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, there's...
There's some Old Testament connections to this picture, by the way, but if we trace down every Old Testament connection, we're going to run into the book of Revelation.
We're going to be here for a year and half, and we're not going to be in chapter seven yet.
So there's a reason why I call Revelation the borrowed book, because all the pictures are borrowed from the Old Testament.
All the imagery is borrowed from the Old Testament.
And when you understood what the Old Testament meant, you begin to understand what the book of Revelation means.
but the picture here of the Messiah is not the picture of the Christ the last time John saw him on the earth.
And John's not trying to convey to you by saying his hair was white and his eyes uh were as a flame of fire.
He's not trying to say, he got really old once he went to heaven.
Now he's got white hair.
That's not the picture here.
The white hair is not that of age, it is that of purity.
When you see white in the book of Revelation, you should immediately think purity.
You should think holiness.
Colors have meaning in the book of Revelation.
Numbers have meaning in the book of Revelation.
And we don't have to guess on them.
Yeah, there's a lot of historical thoughts about what certain numbers mean, what certain colors mean.
But it's pretty well been settled because all the rest of scripture uses some of these numbers the exact same way and then they interpret what it means.
When scripture tells you what it means, that's what it means.
So notice, his head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow.
and his eyes like a flame of fire.
His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.
He had in his right hand seven stars.
Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." John doesn't say, saw a guy.
John says, saw someone who had a relationship to humanity.
I saw him as the son of man.
But I'm not aware of any human whose presence is like the shining of the sun.
I'm not aware of any human that his mouth opens and what comes out is a sound so dominant that it's like being at the presence of a massive waterfall.
I'm not aware of any human that when I see him, his eyes are like a flame of fire.
I'm not aware of any human who can hold stars in his hand.
So question.
Did John literally see what he saw?
And I use the term literally for a reason.
We need to be careful about saying something did or did not literally happen.
When what we really mean by that is did it physically?
Or did it spiritually happen?
Or was it only figurative?
And here's why.
Because if we just say it was literal or figurative, we sometimes confuse whether it was physical or spiritual or imaginary.
Did John hear a voice behind him?
Was it physical or spiritual?
Well, he said he heard it.
Now, we could argue if it was he was caught up in the vision already when he heard it and then it was spiritual.
Okay?
We could go with that.
Let's take an example from another passage.
uh When Saul was on the road to Damascus and the light shone down from heaven, there were others with him as
that event occurred.
And the text says, in one text, that they heard a voice.
But another text says they didn't hear it.
How do we understand that?
Well, if you pay attention to what is being stated in those two texts, they heard the sound.
They didn't understand it.
They didn't understand it if you kind of unravel that because the one speaking was speaking in Hebrew in a language that
Saul understood and they didn't.
So they heard a voice.
Have you ever been in a room with a bunch of people who speak a language you don't understand?
You hear voices?
You understand anything that's Nope.
Why?
So it could be said you didn't hear it.
When they tell everybody stand up in a language you don't understand and you're the only one sitting now, didn't you hear?
Yes and no.
Heard the command, didn't understand it.
Wasn't in a language I understood.
Those who were traveling with Saul heard the voice, audibly.
They didn't understand anything that was said.
They saw what happened.
They heard the voice.
They didn't understand what happened.
They didn't know the conversation that had occurred between Saul and Jesus.
John here says, I heard
a voice.
I saw these things.
But does that, should that be intended for us to mean or to understand that it was a physical person in John's presence?
That it was a physical star like out of one of the constellations in the person's hand?
And the answer is no.
The reason?
Because the text tells us it's not.
Okay?
Watch.
Verse 20.
When you're reading the text, you're going to have these questions.
You're go, wait a minute, is this physical or is this spiritual?
Is it representing something or is it something?
Verse 20 is one of those passages where it tells us, the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands.
What's he just seen?
Seven golden lampstands, seven stars in the right hand of the Son of Man.
He says, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
Now the term angel here is one of those times where we've got to be careful with a term because we hear it and we think one thing and the text doesn't always use it that way.
um Let me ask it this way, for sake of comparison.
What is a prophet?
Okay, someone who foretells something that may occur in the future, that's one function of a prophet.
Okay.
A spokesperson for God.
then why was Aaron Moses' prophet?
because the book of Exodus tells us, verbatim, specifically using those words, that Aaron was the prophet of Moses.
If a prophet is always, and at all points, a spokesperson for God, then is Moses God?
No.
It's one of those occasions where you have to be careful with language, because the term for a prophet is one
who speaks on behalf of another.
Biblical context is almost exclusive that every time you see the word prophet, it's either someone who's speaking on behalf of a false god, a false prophet, or it's someone who's
speaking on behalf of God, God's prophet.
But...
A prophet is simply someone who speaks on behalf of someone else.
So he is a messenger.
Is everything that a prophet speaks about the future?
No.
Are some things that a prophet speaks simply a condemnation of the past?
Yeah.
So a prophet in function could be speaking about the future, the present, the past.
but the prophet is always speaking on behalf of someone else.
But the context tells you who he's a prophet of.
He's a prophet of Baal, he's a prophet of Asheroth, he's a prophet of Jehovah, or in Aaron's case, he spoke on behalf of Moses.
Why is it that Moses said he couldn't complete the mission God sent him to go on in Egypt?
Slow speech, um I am not qualified, I'm not eloquent, I am not qualified to stand before a king and speak.
God says, fine, I'll give you a prophet.
His name's Aaron, he's your brother.
He'll go and speak for you before the king.
Okay, so prophet in the text is one of those words where you go, wait a minute.
Just because I see he's a prophet doesn't mean I know who he's speaking on behalf of.
I have to use the context to know who he's speaking on behalf of.
Now I know whose prophet he is.
Same thing is true about angel.
The term angel simply means messenger.
Is this a spiritual being who is a messenger from the spiritual realm on behalf of God?
Well, sometimes it is.
Is this an individual who is a messenger sent by God, but it's a physical person?
Sometimes it is.
We have to be careful with the term angel because in our minds, thanks to culture, we hear the word angel and we suddenly think flying person with white wings.
That's not biblical.
What we ought to be saying is, messenger.
Notice the text again.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
And the seven lampstands, which you saw, are the seven churches.
when the book of Revelation tells you what it means.
That's what it means.
So when John saw the seven stars in the right hand of the Son of Man, did he see physical stars or visionary stars?
Visionary stars.
Why?
Because they represented the churches.
Sorry, the angels.
The messengers.
When he saw seven lampstands, did he see seven physical lampstands or did he see seven visionary lampstands?
Visionary lampstands, why?
Because what he was seeing was a picture that represented the seven churches.
We know that, we don't have to guess at it.
How do we know it?
The text tells us that's what it means.
Mm-hmm.
just going to confuse with the spirit.
Matthew 7-2.
Ah, 17-2.
Alright, 17 is different because chapter 7 is in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount and I was getting confused.
so...
Matthew 17, great context.
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became as white as the light, and behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.
Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here if you wish,
Let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
Hear him.
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise and do not be afraid.
When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." All right, so let's go through the
context and let us examine the questions.
Is it literal, figurative, physical, spiritual?
Okay, let's ask the questions.
From the text, Peter, James, and John.
Are they people in the text?
Are they physical people?
All right.
Are they on a physical mountain?
Yes.
Who are they with?
Jesus in His physical form, right?
All right.
He's transfigured before them.
Does it say they saw a vision of Him being transfigured?
No, the text is very clear that they're staring at him one moment and he looks like he always has in the flesh.
They're staring at him in another moment and he looks entirely different.
Continue.
His face shone like the sun, his clothes became, notice the term, not had the appearance of, they became as white as the light.
You're getting the impression that they're standing there physically and they're watching this occur right before their eyes.
Then, behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them." Does it say that there was some vision like Moses and Elijah?
No.
It says right there were Moses and Elijah as though they could have reached out and shook hands with them.
It's not a vision.
Where were Moses and Elijah?
They were physically manifested in that very moment in their presence.
All right, continue in the text.
What were Moses and Elijah and Jesus doing?
Talking.
Normally, matter of fact, Luke tells us what they were talking about.
They were talking about his death that was going to occur in Jerusalem.
Then we read Peter answered and he could talk normally to the three who were there.
It's physical.
He says it's good for us to be here, and he says, while he was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them.
Was it a visionary cloud or was it a cloud?
It was cloud.
How do we know?
The text tells us it is.
This is one of those reasons why we pay attention to what the text actually says.
And then we're necessarily going to ask in what context is the terminology being used.
We'll get into this more next week because we're out of time, but when you understand that there's sections of scripture
that are intended to be assumed to be literal unless the text tells you otherwise.
In other words, when you read, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and
the spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters, you're supposed to assume that is literal unless the context tells you otherwise.
That it's physically literal.
But when you're in a vision, you're supposed to assume it is spiritual and figurative unless the text tells you otherwise.
Why?
Because you're in a vision.
You're not in normal, everyday, physical interaction space.
You're in a vision.
So you reverse things.
In a visionary context, you assume it is visionary and figurative, spiritual with meaning unless the text tells you otherwise.
So you gotta kinda take your brain and reverse it.
When you're in the book of Revelation, the last half of book of Daniel, some of the prophets of the Old Testament, when it tells you, hey, this is vision time, you say, okay,
I'm not supposed to assume any of this physically happened unless the text tells me it did.
Okay?
That's all we've got time for, and I appreciate your attention.
Hopefully you don't go home scratching your head and wear out of space bald spot or anything as a result of it.
Have a great one.