Let's Talk About the Real Apocalypse
We’ve heard a lot of comments lately proclaiming that the Apocalypse is upon us! It is said with fear and trepidation, a prediction of the end of times. But did you know:
An apocalypse, from the Greek: apokálypsis, means an ‘uncovering’ or ‘disclosure of knowledge.’ It is the ‘lifting of the veil’ or a ‘revelation’ or ‘a revealing of something hidden.’ Apocalyptic writing, based on a “literalbot”* orientation, generally interprets the apocalyptic symbolism as forecasting the end of the world or the end of times.
Our preference is a more MetaSpiritual perspective about the Apocalypse, Revelation, and those pesky 4 Horsemen you hear about with such fear and horror! There's such a powerful, uplifting message hidden in this text that we can't wait to share!
But First -- Here's the Historical Background on Revelation
In John’s Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, the vision which John receives is that of the ultimate victory of good over evil which creates the end of the present age. A similar story is told by Jewish pseudepigraphicist Baruch ben Neriah in two distinct texts, the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (2nd century CE) and the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (4th century CE).
In the Old Testament Book of Daniel the apocalypse is described as ‘that which shall come to pass in the later days.’ (Daniel 2:28)
All of the ancient writings refer to the apocalypse as either the ‘restoration,’ ‘restitution,’ ‘time of fulfillment,’ or ‘time of redemption’ when it is explained positively. It will be a time of rejoicing and celebration when the Christ and Sophia reunite. The All will reunite with the many.When it is viewed from a negative standpoint it is referred to as ‘the resolution,’‘the consummation of an age,’ ‘the coming end of the Aeon,’ ‘the time of dissolution,’ ‘the appointed time,’ or ‘the last days.’ It is billed as a time of judgment, condemnation and punishment.
In an ancient Gnostic text called On the Origin of the World found among the works in the Nag Hammadi Library, an end of the world scenario is described:
The phoenix, a symbol for the savior, will appear as a sign: And the phoenix first appears in a living state, and dies, and rises again, being a sign of what has become apparent at the consummation of the age. Before the consummation of the age, the whole place will shake with great thundering. The angels will mourn for their mankind, and the demons will weep over their seasons, and humankind will wail and scream at their death. Then the age will begin, and they will be disturbed. Their kings will be intoxicated with the fiery sword, and they will wage war against one another, so that the earth is intoxicated with bloodshed. And the seas will be disturbed by those wars. Then the sun will become dark, and the moon will cause its light to cease. The stars of the sky will cancel their circuits. (122:29)
In another text from antiquity, the Sethian Gnostic text called Trimorphic Protennoia, also found in the Nag Hammadi Library, predicts signs of the end:
Then, when the great Authorities knew that the time of fulfillment had appeared – just as in the pangs of the parturient it (the time) has drawn near, so also had the destruction approached – all together the elements trembled, and the foundations of the underworld and the ceilings of Chaos shook, and a great fire shone within their midst, and the rocks and the earth were shaken like a reed shaken by the wind. (43:4)
The Gnostic Christian text, the Apocryphon of John, tells of a revelation Jesus Christ gave to the apostle John about the end of times. And in the Gnostic text, Concept of Our Great Power, the corruption of our physical body and our soul becoming enlightened once again and returning to the Light are emphasized.
These sentiments are repeated in the Gospel of Thomas, which has Jesus as the Savior of humankind saying, “I shall destroy this house (our corruptible physical body), and no one will be able to build it again.” (45:34-71). The Second Apocryphon of James corroborates this perspective, “This (house) I shall doom to destruction and derision of those who are in ignorance.” (60:20)
Next, The Typical Modern Interpretations
Today, there are many anthropogenic*** scenarios of humankind’s apocalyptic ‘extinction proneness.’ Anthropogenic extinction scenarios include: global war, overpopulation, global nuclear annihilation, global biological extinction, dysgenic gene manipulation, global pandemics, and total ecological collapse.
The implication in all of these apocalyptic scenarios is that there will be some kind of an end of time and/or or end of an era collapse and extinction of humankind – with no Noah’s ark to the rescue, we might add! Unfortunately, this kind of ‘global collapse thinking’ has been programmed into humanity’s guilt-laden collective consciousness since time began.
And Now ... A MetaSpiritual Perspective of the Apocalypse
The interesting thing about this collective doomsday thinking, in our opinion, is that it is based on a hidden truth that has been corrupted by the genealogical guilt trip we’ve laid on ourselves since the beginning of our time on Earth! We’ve perpetuated it by concocting scenarios like the ones we’ve mentioned above and producing movies that glamorize the end of the human race ad nauseam.
In our opinion, we, as spiritual beings, have invented our extinction psychology because we feel guilty for choosing a physical incarnation with all of its sensory delights instead of remaining as ethereal spiritual beings who consistently and perpetually express our conscious oneness with the Godhead! We’ve chosen separation instead of unity. So, the extinction scenarios we’ve invented are the imaginative punishments we’ve decided we deserve as a ‘fallen species.’
The good news is there will not be, nor has there ever been, a God-ordained mass extinction of the human race! (You may want to read that sentence again)! That kind of global apocalypse is a figment of our collective imaginations. That’s not to say there couldn’t be an anthropogenic extinction. We humans have been known to make a few poor choices throughout our skin school history.
The apocalyptic ‘restoration’ we predict will be humankind growing spiritually enough and enlightened enough to outgrow our egocentric worldly nature by remembering who we really are and becoming Self-Realized enough that we grow fully into and express our Divine Nature which has always been our birthright. It will be the end of the ego’s temporal rulership and the beginning our Divine Nature’s full expression. Peace (the apocalypse) will be established on earth (our unenlightened human consciousness) like it is in heaven (our fully illuminated super-consciousness).
What About Those Pesky 4 Horsemen? What Do They Mean?
Just like all MetaSpiritual Interpretation, we know that people, places, and things mentioned in scripture actually represent qualities within us. Our take on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is all about our movement in Spiritual Awareness:
- The pale horse represents the demise of our worldly, unenlightened, egocentric consciousness which does its best to resist the inevitable transformation which is occurring.
- The black horse symbolizes our going through the ‘dark night of the soul’ as old subconscious beliefs, habits, and life patterns are challenged and then released.
- The red horse stands for the chemicalization that occurs when our old beliefs and assumptions are rocked by cognitive dissonance. Our thoughts war against each other as we try to grasp compelling spiritual insights.
- The white horse represents our moving past religious and even scientific dogmas that limit our spiritual growth and blinds us to greater truths.
Here’s the most important part: It starts with YOU! that’s right! As each of us takes our responsibility seriously to make wise choices in expressing our Divine Nature in everything we do, we establish peace within — we eliminate any illusion of separation — our human self and our Divine Self are One — and only then will we manifest peace in our world … as we walk the spiritual path on practical feet!
You may want to see our metaphysical interpretation on the Book of Revelation: A Manual Describing the Unfoldment of Our Christ Nature which contends that the fabled ‘apocalypse’ is actually referring to the end of our worldly egocentric consciousness and the beginning of our ruling Super-consciousness! (It includes a metaphysical interpretation of the four Horsemen.)
* Literalbots are mainstream religious clergy and church members who interpret sacred scripture literally and believe that scripture is inerrant.
**Anthropogenic refers to any catastrophic human impact on the environment and the world.
Image Credits: dreamstime.com, with permission
