Odyssey of the Apocalypse

*** The Revelation of St. John has existed in the misty corridors of time for 2,000 years, and its beasts and dragons have taxed the imagination of the human world just as long. Although it was not the only apocalypse to have been written by a disciple, as Paul and Thomas both tried their hand at monsters and Satan's burning torment, it was St. John's work which struck the fancy of the Nicene Council and they who selected it to take its place in the chronological records of holy dispensation. However, it would not remain there long because the Council soon removed it. Later, for whatever reason, they chose to include it again. Obviously, at the time of apocalyptic controversy, the Council little realized that the text contained Christendom's most guarded secrets; or they would have taken elaborate precautions to protect the sacred document from the eyes of the world. Since the final inclusion of John's Revelation, thousands of writers and scholars entered the bottomless pit of the apocalypse to fight its mighty earthquakes and brimstone, but few have risen victorious from its fiery inferno. Twenty centuries have now passed and still the multi-headed dragon rules over the dark shadows of ignorance and superstition, challenging anyone who dares enter into the apocalyptic abyss to ferret the meaning of life's most sacred call.

*** The primary question concerning the mystery of the Revelation, which is clearly one of the most misunderstood writings of all time, is why is this work so complex? One answer is obvious; the writing is almost completely in symbols. The second reason is more obscure, for it relates to the spiritual transformation of human to divine, known as the Resurrection of the Dead, the most guarded secret of the early Church. Although the Resurrection, under such names as Soul Consciousness, Transformation of Human to Divine, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Messianic Initiation, and last, but not least, Spiritual Mastership, has been the central focus of philosophical and religious studies for over six thousand years, it has primarily been taught in secret and passed from master to disciple.

*** The inextricability of the apocalyptic mysteries produces yet one final task, and that is to present St John's Revelation to the world in a comprehensive, but interesting form. In some ways this is almost as difficult as interpreting it, for to break down every single symbol into lengthy explanations and multitudinous footnotes would product a book so massive that only an occasional scholar would condescend to read it. Revelation is so beautiful and holds such an inspiring promise, long drawn out procedures will simply not do it justice. For this reason, the book will be presented in a readable fashion and in a style similar to that which appears in the standard King James version of the Holy Bible, although it must be kept in mind that the King James version was a modification and therefore does not exactly match the first century Aramaic text.

*** At first glance it will appear that everything has been changed in the scriptural interpretation of the Odyssey, and in some ways it has, but only to the extent that every scripture now appears in its true meaning rather than shrouded in symbolism. Since no piece of the puzzle will remain concealed and all of the pieces will fit perfectly, and because the conclusions are logical as evidenced through the systematic progression of natural law, there should be little doubt as to its accuracy. A summary is included in the beginning of each chapter, thereby reducing the cyclopean number of footnotes required. To further simply the presentation of the work, the new Odyssey scripture will appear on the left and King James version on the right. This will provide a constant means of comparison and eliminate the inconvenience of switching from one book to another.