The Revelation of Saint John: The Path to Soul Initiation

By Zachary F. Lansdowne

The Revelation of St. John, the last book of the canonical Bible, has been a mystery since it first appeared. No other part of the Bible has caused more controversy. Traditional interpretations of the book fall into one of three categories: the major prophecies that are supposed to have been fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.; the historical view that Revelation predicts the course of human events from the founding of Christianity to the end of the world; or the futurist view that Revelation predicts events that will occur at the end of the world.It's actually none of the above, writes Zachary F. Lansdowne, a leading expert in the field of spiritual initiation. In the Introduction to this rich and complex interpretation, he writes, "According to its own verses, the Revelation is concerned with the present time, which is whatever time we happen to be reading it, and contains information that we can apply immediately to become blessed."This is not a book about "end times" or Armageddon and when it might come. This is a book written entirely in symbols, concealing a path for early Christians, and for the contemporary reader. Lansdowne has applied a unique psychological method of interpretation that takes each symbol as depicting some aspect of human consciousness rather than an eternal event, thus showing that the Revelation is actually a detailed instruction for the spiritual journey--a map to the wakening of higher consciousness. Moreover, while the Revelation appears in the great lineage of Judeo-Christian tradition, Lansdowne shows that its instruction can be appreciated and applied to seekers from any tradition.Lansdowne's line-by-line and verse-by-verse interpretation--presented here in an easy-to-read side-by-side format--is a manual for the true seeker who would follow teachings of Jesus as they were and are laid out, rather than as they have been interpreted by theologians and biblical historians. The Revelation of St. John, when unlocked by the key of psychological methodology, is revealed to contain ideas from many diverse wisdom traditions and philosophies--archangels in Judaism, chakras and kundalini in Hinduism, Buddhist mindfulness, the redemptive power of love in Christianity, and absolute standards of comparison in Platonic philosophy. Zachary Lansdowne's revelatory text makes these teachings of the path to true soul initiation available to seekers from every spiritual tradition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9781609256661

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. (Rev. 1:1)

The Revelation of St. John, the last book of the Bible, has been a mystery ever since it appeared about 2000 years ago. Sometimes called the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation, this enigmatic work is written entirely in symbols. Its vivid dramatic images have engendered praise from its admirers and scorn from its critics. No other part of the Bible has caused more controversy. Many think that it provides a key that unlocks the mysteries of life; others think it should be dropped from the Bible.

The Revelation is actually a veiled statement of an esoteric, or hidden, doctrine of early Christianity. When interpreted psychologically, it provides detailed and practical instructions for the spiritual journey—a roadmap to the awakening of higher consciousness. That spiritual journey can be characterized as the path of liberation or enlightenment, because it leads to complete freedom from sorrow and to a purely intuitional life. Although the Revelation appears in the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition, its instructions can be appreciated and applied by aspirants in all religious traditions.

TRADITIONAL INTERPRETATIONS

The Revelation has had a significant impact on Western civilization throughout the past two thousand years. Human fears and hopes are often expressed through words and images taken from it—apocalypse, millennium, four horsemen, hallelujah, Armageddon, and New Jerusalem. Many theologians, poets, scholars, painters, musicians, filmmakers, and politicians have been influenced by the rich imagery of the book.

The vast majority of published commentaries on the Revelation fall into three categories:¹

• The preterist view holds that the Revelation describes issues and events in the first century. In particular, the major prophesies of the book are believed to have been fulfilled with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The principal difficulty with this position is that the decisive victory of good over evil and the inauguration of the eternal reign of God portrayed in the latter part of the book seems not to have occurred.

• The historical view argues that the Revelation predicts the whole course of human history, from the founding of Christianity to the end of the world. Historical events and prominent leaders are identified as symbols in the visions. Proponents of this view find references to Roman emperors, various popes, Charlemagne, the Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution, and Mussolini in the symbolic narrative. A major difficulty with this approach is its subjectivity, as shown by widely diverse interpretations of the symbolism.

• The futurist, or eschatological, view contends that the Revelation predicts the events that will occur at the end of the world. It is characteristic of futurists to believe that the end of the world will occur very soon after they write. This view encompasses the difficulties of both the preterist and historical views, since the time line is subjective and many of the events predicted did not, in fact, occur. Moreover, this view fails to identify any real significance the book may have had for the people to whom it was initially addressed—namely, the persecuted Christians of the first century.

These three traditional approaches can all be characterized as external-temporal, because they all assume that the characters and episodes in the Revelation denote events that occur in the external world at definite past or future times.

Yet none of these approaches seems consistent with what the Revelation says about itself. According to Rev. 1.1, its purpose is to show things which must shortly come to pass. Likewise, Rev. 1:3 states: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." Thus, according to its own verses, the Revelation of St. John deals with the present—that is, with the present of whoever may be reading it. It thus contains information that any reader—including you or I—can apply to become blessed.

PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

This commentary embodies a psychological interpretation of the Revelation that differs radically from the foregoing external-temporal approaches. This interpretation is based on the following four principles:

• Each of John's visions is similar to a dream. John's visions contain symbols, just as dreams do. In fact, ancient Jewish scriptures often used the terms vision and dream interchangeably.² It is important to distinguish here between the John who is a writer and disciple of Jesus, and the John of the visions. An analogous distinction can be made between a person who is dreaming and the character that the person plays in the dream itself. For example, you may be a physician in your professional life and yet appear in the role of a teacher, clown, or carpenter in your own dreams. Making this distinction helps resolve one of the major puzzles of the Revelation—an incident in which John appears to be rebuked twice for the same thing, namely, worshiping an angel. The first rebuke applies to the character that John plays in one of his visions (Rev. 19:10). The second applies to John himself in his normal consciousness (Rev. 22:9).

• Each episode in a vision describes a stage on the spiritual journey. Travelers on this journey include anyone who aspires to a higher way of life, no matter what religious tradition they follow. The name and connotations of any given symbol may lie in John's religious background (the Judaism of the Old Testament), but the specific meaning or denotation of the symbol may be part of other religious or philosophical traditions. Thus, in this commentary, analysis of the symbols refers to the Old Testament and to related concepts found in other traditions.

• Each symbol represents some aspect of the consciousness of an aspirant who is at a corresponding stage on the spiritual journey. Just as any part of a dream can represent a fragment of the dreamer's personality, the various beasts, seals, books, places, and angels that appear in John's visions depict fragments of an aspirant's inner life. For example, wars may refer to the internal struggles you face when trying to gain self-mastery. Even though some symbols may refer directly to external persons, places, and things, they do not represent anything that occurs outside of an aspirant's own consciousness.

• John's role in the visions represents the aspirant's conscious attitude; the other symbols represent aspects of the aspirant's subconscious and super-conscious natures. Here, conscious attitude refers to what aspirants know about themselves—their qualities, characteristics, and powers. Subconscious nature refers to the instinctual life of the physical body, as well as to suppressed or unrecognized desires and guilt. Super-conscious nature refers to powers and capacities that aspirants hold in potentia that are as yet unactivated or unrecognized.

THE Revelation AS MAP

The psychological interpretation of John's visions reveals the esoteric meaning of the Revelation. It provides detailed and practical instructions for a spiritual journey whose goal is what Christian mystics call conscious union with God. Buddhists call it enlightenment; Hindus call it self-realization; transpersonal psychologists call it self-actualization.

This spiritual map follows a logical plan. Chapter 1 gives introductory material. Chapters 2 and 3 present the intuitive instruction that aspirants will receive at seven different stages along the spiritual journey. Chapters 4 through 11 present the seven stages of the journey, along with experiences aspirants can expect to undergo if they follow the earlier instruction. Chapters 12 through 21 provide yet another description of the entire spiritual journey, but with a different emphasis, while chapter 22 summarizes the benefits of the spiritual journey and encourages aspirants to embark on it. The Revelation thus describes the same seven stages three times. Analysis of any one of these sections, therefore, provides support for and insight into an analysis of the other two. Topics treated briefly and obscurely in one section are often given extensive treatment in another.

From the third century to the present, commentators have noted that various episodes in the Revelation are repeated or occur in parallel, rather than follow a linear path. Most modern commentators agree with this view, called the theory of recapitulation, even though they do not agree with the psychological method of analysis used in this commentary.³

Each numbered chapter in this commentary corresponds to a like-numbered chapter in the Revelation. The commentary provides text from the King James Version, also known as the Authorized Version. Although about four centuries old, this is still the most widely used biblical text in the English language, because it combines beauty in language with literal accuracy.⁴ This original text is presented with verse-by-verse interpretations based on the psychological model discussed above. These interpretations are supported by footnotes that contain citations of related material from earlier Jewish scriptures, as well as quotations that are similar in meaning from various religious and philosophical traditions. Unless noted otherwise, all biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version (KJV). Two appendices explore earlier interpretative efforts and questions of authorship.

The Revelation of St. John, when seen through a psychological lens, contains ideas associated with many diverse traditions—the redemptive power of love, the efficacy of chakras and kundalini, the way of mindfulness, and the absolute idealism of Platonic philosophy. Thus the Revelation reveals more than the hidden wisdom of esoteric Christianity. It reveals the essential harmony and unity that binds the great world religions and philosophies together as one spiritual truth.

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1.  A. W. Wainwright, Mysterious Apocalypse: Interpreting the Book of Revelation (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1993) provides a survey of the interpretive approaches to the Revelation that have been made from the second century to the present day.

2.  In 1 Enoch 85:1, the visions of 83:1–3 are called dreams. In the Testament of Levi 8:18, the vision of 8:1 is a called a dream. In 4 Ezra 12:10. 13:21 and 25, the dreams of 11:1 and 13:1 are called visions. The texts for these ancient scriptures are given by J. H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. I (New York: Doubleday, 1983).

3.  The basic structural question is whether the events depicted in the Revelation are meant to occur in a strict chronological order or whether some form of recapitulation is involved. R. H. Charles, The Revelation of St. John, vol. I (1920; reprint; Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1985), p. xxiii, says, the theory of Recapitulation…from the time of Victorinus of Pettau (circa 270 A.D.) has dominated practically every school of interpretation from that date to the present. R. H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (revised; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), p. 31, says, The continuous chronological approach is not accepted by the majority of contemporary writers.

4.  The King James Version (KJV) provides a word-for-word translation of the original Greek text. When the KJV includes additional words that are not found in the Greek text, those additional words are italicized.

CHAPTER 1

THE SOUL

In John's initial vision, the aspirant becomes aware of the soul, which is the inner divine voice, and receives guidance concerning the seven chakras.

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1.  The Revelation in verse 1 and elsewhere (1:3; 2:16; 3:11; 22:6, 7, 10, 12, 20) states that it is concerned with events that will or can happen immediately. This emphasis on immediacy is not consistent with the traditional methods of interpretation that treat the work as a chronicle of events in the distant past or future.

2.  Angel is a translation of the Greek word (aggelos) that means messenger, envoy, or one who is sent. In verse 1, the angel of Jesus is interpreted as inspiration that imparts instruction from Jesus. R. Steiner, The Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest (London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), p. 61, has a similar perspective when he refers to the apocalyptist, writing through Inspiration. More generally, Paul, in 2 Tim. 3:16, says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." Unless stated otherwise, all biblical quotations come from the KJV.

3.  The phrase word of God is taken to be an intuition, which is the immediate knowing of something without the conscious use of reasoning. Heb. 4:12 appears to use this phrase in the same way: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

4.  The Revelation contains seven beatitudes, that is, phrases that begin with the word blessed in the KJV. Some other versions (e.g., the New English Bible (NEB)) translate this word as happy. Verse 3 contains the first of these seven beatitudes.

5.  C. W. Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path (1925; reprint; Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), pp. 260–262, says that the Seven Spirits of God in the Revelation are the seven archangels. In the Jewish tradition, the archangels are the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One (Tobit 12:15, Revised Standard Version (RSV)). See also 1 Enoch 20:1–7. H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, vol. I (1888; reprint; Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1977), pp. 38, 339, 429, sometimes refers to the seven archangels as the Dhyan Chohans, which literally means Lords of Light, or as the Elohim.

6.  A throne is a point of contact with a king. In verse 4, the throne of God is taken to be what is sometimes called the heart of God. For example, A Course in Miracles (ACIM) (second edition; Glen Ellen, CA: Foundation for Inner Peace, 1992) uses the expression Heart of God several times; e.g., vol. I, p. 340. A. A. Bailey uses this expression many times, such as in Discipleship in the New Age, vol. II (1955; reprint New York: Lucis Publishing Company, 1972), p. 437, The ‘light of love' which flows from the Heart of God. The role and functions of the heart of God are provided later, especially in chapters 4 and 7.

7.  The three-part title in verse 5 is based on earlier scriptures: John 18:37, Col. 1:18, and Psal. 89:27. A Commentary on the Book of the Revelation Based on a Study of Twenty-Four Psychic Discourses by Edgar Cayce (1945; reprint; Virginia Beach, VA: A.R.E. Press, 1969), p. 127, says that it was Jesus…who first fulfilled the pattern of man's evolution. This quotation is not from Cayce himself, but is an interpretation that a study group made based on Cayce's messages.

8.  The blood in verse 5 is interpreted as love for the following reason: it is able to remove sin, which is separation from God. But 1 John 4:7 states that every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, indicating that love can remove sin. O. M. Aivanhov, The Book of Revelations: A Commentary (second edition, Los Angeles: Prosveta, 1997), p. 36, and A. A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic (1934; reprint; New York: Lucis Publishing Company, 1979), p. 351, also consider blood to be a symbol of love.

9.  In Exod. 19:6, God promised the Israelites that he would make them a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation, if they obeyed his voice and kept his commandments. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) provides a translation of verse 6 that is closer to the promise in Exodus: and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. The early church understood itself to be the inheritors of the blessings promised Israel (1 Pet. 2:9).

10.  James 1:17 speaks of God as the Father of lights, meaning the source of both physical and spiritual illumination.

11.  The first part of verse 7 is based on Dan. 7:13: "one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven." Several scriptural passages (Exod. 19:9, 34:5; Num. 11:25; Matt. 17:5) describe a divine voice that comes out of a cloud to provide revelation, and so a cloud symbolizes the conveyance of inspired revelation. A. A. Bailey, Glamour: A World Problem (1950; reprint; New York: Lucis Publishing Company, 1973), p. 189, says, "This is the significance of the words in the New Testament, ‘every eye shall see Him'; humanity as a whole will recognise the revealing One."

12.  Verse 7 is partly based on Zech. 12:10: "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son." The piercing in verse 7 is taken as hostility, because a sharp arrow is sometimes used as a metaphor for false witness, wickedness, anger, or bitter words (Prov. 25:18; Psal. 11:2, 38:2, 64:3).

13.  The mourning is taken as a sign of repentance, as in James 4:9–10: "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." See also Matt. 5:4.

14.  Verse 8 is similar to Isa. 44:6: "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." See also Isa. 41:4 and