Mystic Echoes: The Apocalypse

The book of Revelation gets its name from a translation of the Greek word apokalypsis, aka the apocalypse, which appears in the first line of the book. This word refers to something revealed or uncovered. In this case, Jesus is revealed to be one who is leading humanity out of exile and inviting all of humanity to sit with him on the divine throne of a restored Eden. As humanity is liberated from this exile, the unjust power structures of the world that divide humanity are stripped of their power and destroyed.

The book of Revelation was likely written after the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem which occurred in 70 A.D. With the temple destroyed, the author has a vision of the heavens opening up and a divine throne appearing in the sky. If you've read previous posts from this series, all of the Eden temple metaphors from prior apocalyptic dreams and visions are here again: a human "son of man" or "child of Adam" sitting on the throne, fire, swords, rivers, precious gems, rainbows, and of course winged angels with animal and human faces. True to the universal scope of the Edenic hope, every tribe, language, and nation is invited to sit upon this divine throne as co-rulers of a unified kingdom where heaven and earth are one.

Contrary to modern usage, an apocalypse isn't the end of the world. Instead, an apocalypse reveals the true nature of reality and in doing so we can no longer see the world in the same way. The old way is gone forever. Our dualistic ways of seeing are transcended by a greater reality. Rather than dividing and separating the world into good and bad categories, the focus is instead on revealing what is ultimately true. The things that divide us are exposed as the lies of a false and deceptive empire. As that empire falls, then every tribe, language, and nation becomes unified in the one through whom "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things." (Col. 1: 19-20) Rather than our apparent differences being used to divide us, we can now see ourselves as different parts of one body.

As with all mystic religions, the ultimate goal is a lived and embodied union with God and, by extension, union with all that exists. This union also exposes the ways in which we cut off parts of humanity and create suffering. Union will inevitably bring us into a solidarity of suffering as we work towards the liberation of all creation. To ignore this suffering is to remain in exile ourselves, since God is revealed as one who suffers with us and for us. Only once we return from exile together will every tear be wiped from our eyes.

At the end of the book, the author of Revelation envisions a new Jerusalem joining together heaven and earth and sees the tree of life connecting the land on both sides of the river. The days are no longer divided by darkness, the waters that divide heaven and earth are gone, and the divided nations are healed. Every distinction of the created world from Genesis 1 (day/night, heaven/earth, land/sea) is now fully united together in an eternal sabbath rest, the holy seventh day of which there is no end. This same eternal rest is continually offered to us as a present reality when we are done dividing the world against itself and finally see it all as one. In doing so, we become a walking temple in which heaven and earth are one.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" - Martin Luther King Jr.