In spirituality including religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythical being, and are believed (by followers of certain religions) to come from a deity, sometimes directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an epiphany. Many mystics take the word vision to be synonymous with apparition. For religious visions as a literary form, see apocalyptic literature.