Apocalypse Now!

I realize that many of my recent blog posts begin with the phrase, “I have recently begun reading…” It is true that I often read several books simultaneously. This is sometimes difficult for me to believe, especially since I did not enjoy reading when I was much younger. In fact, in high school, English literature was the only class in which I got less than an ‘A’ simply because I did not like to read. That was before I realized there is so much I want to learn.  I find that now I can’t limit myself to one book at a time.

So, I recently began reading a book by Unity minister, Rev. Ed Townley, entitled Kingdom Come.  The book’s subtitle is “Understanding the Book of Revelation.”  He has tackled a topic that many would rather avoid due to the proliferation of misinformation, confusion and even fear associated with it.  Kudos Rev. Townley.

Townley says that he was inspired to write the book, in part, as a response to the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jennings that have enjoyed wide-spread popularity over the past nearly twenty years.  The books, which I understand have now been made into movies, are based on a conservative Christian interpretation of the Book of Revelation. According to their version, Revelation predicts the end times when those who are “good Christians” will be taken up to heaven, leaving the rest behind to suffer the wrath of a vengeful God as punishment for sins.

I have not read any of the Left Behind series, but I am familiar with the premise of this Christian eschatology, referred to by some as the “rapture.”  I have seen artists’ depictions of planes plummeting to the earth because the pilot was taken, people floating up into the sky leaving cars on the freeway, and the ensuing death and destruction experienced by those who are left behind.  The plot of a current HBO series, “The Leftovers,” seems to hint at this theme as well.

 

Some believe that the Book of Revelation is a prophecy about what will happen in the last days before Jesus returns to establish a reign of peace on earth, a foretelling of “the end of days.”  Sadly, some are now pointing to the tragic situations now occurring in the Middle East as signs of the imminence of the fulfillment of this prophecy, thus adding to the fear of what is already, for many, a terrifying state of affairs.

Rev. Townley approaches the Book of Revelation from an entirely different and refreshingly positive perspective. Rather than an end of the world horror story, he presents the text as a guide to personal, practical spiritual growth. He explores each of the twenty-two chapters as steps to our own process of awakening to and embodying our Christ nature.

He explains that contrary to what many in traditional Christianity believe, which is that the Book of Revelation portrays the cataclysmic final destruction of the world, often referred to as ‘the apocalypse’ that the word ‘apocalypse’ in the original Greek actually means “revelation” or “lifting of the veil.”  The Book of Revelation, when interpreted from this perspective and applied to our spiritual growth, can assist us in experiencing our own apocalypse.  As St. Paul said, 

“For now we see as through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Corinthians 13:12) 

When the veil of separation is lifted, we will no longer see “through the glass darkly;” rather, we will see ourselves as the reflection of the Christ that we are.

 

As seen through Rev. Townley’s perspective, the Book of Revelation is not about “the end of days,” but rather “the end of daze.”  Applied as practical spiritual tools, the lessons in this Scripture can help us to awaken from the daze we have been living in, and we can begin to live in the light of clarity and enlightenment. We can each have our own apocalypse now.

I highly recommend this book.  In fact, I am considering using it as the basis for a class and a series of talks. I would love to hear from you.  Are you interested in understanding the Book of Revelation?