T H E A PO C A L ! P S E U N S EA L E D BE I N G A N ESOTER IC iNTER PRETAT ION T H E I N ITIATI O N O F IGANNES COM M’ON L ! CA L L E D JO H N T H E REVEL ATIO N O F [ST . ] W IT H A NEW TRANS L ATION E J AM E S M . P RY S NEW ! ORK PR SE J OH N M . Y - 5 9 1 M URRA! ST . 191-0 M a PREFACE INTRO DUCTION CH A PTER KE! OF T H E GNGS ls CH APTER T H E PATH OF POW ER CH A PT ER TH E RIDDL ES OF REVEL ATION - - - CH A PTER T H E. DRAM A OF SE L F CON! U ES T TH E INITIATION OF IGANNES LIST OF ILLU STRATIONS h K T e e y o f th e. Gnosis Co lo re d F ro ntispie c e Th e S e v e n Prmc xpal Gang lia Th e Tw e lv e Sig ns o f th e Zo diac Th e Gn ostic Chart Conc e ale d in th e Apo c alypse Th e Cubic al City Un folde d The Apo c alyptic Zodiac Th e Light o f th e Cosmos Th e S e v e n Citie s in Asia Kr on o s Ze us Ares Helios Aphr odite PREFACE The purpose of this book is to show that the Apo c a lypse is a manual of spiritual development and r not, as conventionally interpreted, a c yptic history or prophecy . In the following pages the reader will find the complete solution of the Apocalyptic W enigma , ith ample proof of the correctness of that As solution . the subject dealt with in the work is , however, familiar to only a comparatively few spe c ial students of the sacred science , which to the k many has ever been a sealed boo , the exposition here given is put in the form of an elementary trea ! tise . If it were written for the few , it would have been expanded to great bulk ; but as it is intended for the many, the author has kept within the limits of a small volume , avoiding everything mystical , scholastic and controversial , using plain , concise language , and employing technical terms only when they are required by the nature of the subject . The translation of the Apo c alypse here presented attempts no more than to reproduce the meaning of the original accurately and clearly in modern Eng f lish . But, while this translation di fers radically, in PREFACE in some respects , from the authorized version , the te rpre tatio n here offered is not based upon any pe ’ i r k c uliarit e s of the translato s wor , or upon any mere matter of details , but rests broadly upon the undisputed meanings of the Greek text . JAMES M . PRYS E . rk i S e e mb e r 1 91 0 . Yo C ty , pt , C a A A ! ’I Ow n v v o x o c o n a r t fu v m s , ”p A fl A I o ew c . v o v K my KAGLSO. ms v s ! I 3 I r o v e e o o v c ra nked “ Ka t. s w px p ev s W o e n o o u c o nv e n i n a is s fo r u t y , t o l t , yo u to o k away th e ke y o f th e sac re d s c ie nc e ; yo u did not go in and th ose w h o we re about to g o in you pre ve n e L k. x i. 52 t d . INTRODU CTION CHAPTER 1 TH E KE! o r TH E GNGSIS Every thoughtful student of the literature of the ancient religions , including that of early Christian ity, can not but be impressed by the fact that in each and all of them may be found very clear intimations of a secret traditional lore , an arcane science , handed down from times immemorial . This secret body of knowledge is repeatedly alluded to in the Ne w Tes amen anish ads t t, as also in the Up and other ancient writings , in whose pages a few of the arcane doctrines are cautiously unveiled ; and from the meagre glimpses thus afforded of the system it is clearly apparent that it was essentially the same c o nstitu in all the old religions and philosophies , in ting, fact, their common esoteric basis . In the primitive Christian Church , organized as a secret o society, this Gn sis , or secret science , was guarded with jealous care , being imparted only to a compara tive few who were deemed worthy of initiation , “ according to the maxim , Many are the called , but ” few are the chosen . Through corrupting political influences and the ultimate dominance by a selfish and decadent priesthood , the Christian Society in 2 THE APOCALYPSE UNSEALED the early centuries lost this esoteric knowledge, in place of which there grew up during the succeeding centuries a system of dogmatic theology formulated from the literal interpretation , the dead letter, of s On the books of the Old and New Tes tame nt . the hypothesis that the Bible , as a divine revelation , contains a record of God ’ s dealings with mankind throughout the ages , the historical element in it has been unduly emphasized, while books that are purely allegorical and mystical have been construed t as history . For several cen uries it was attempted to give - the Apoc alypse an historical interpretation ; and failing this , through the lack of any record of r past events that would serve the pu pose, it was next interpreted as history of the future, that is , At A o c al se prophecy . the present time, the p yp is the despair of theology ; the ablest scholars in the ranks of orthodoxy frankly admit that it must be l regarded as an unsolved, and possib y insoluble , ” enigma . They translate its title Revelation yet 0170 d it reveals nothing to them . Literally n “ ” “ ” means disrobing or unveiling ; but Isis wrapped in her peplum was not more safe from profane gaze i s A o cal se than the meaning of the p yp , nor is any book in all literature more heavily veiled . Yet the Apocalypse is the key to the Ne w Tes ta men t; more, it is in very truth the key of the Gnosis . Incomprehensible as the book may seem to the exo o teri scholar, however great his intellectual attain ments , keen his mental acumen , and vast his store of r e udition , to the mere tyro in the sacred science the general meaning of the Apo c alypse is perfectly clear. It is unintelligible to the conventional scholar TH E KE! ' OF THE Gnosxs a - simply because its subject matter, veiled in sym bolic al language, relates to the Mysteries of the early Christian Society, the esoteric teachings which it was not lawful to reveal . For secrecy has always been maintained regarding the sacred science, so a s to guard it from those who are morally unworthy to receive it ; since the power its possession confers would be destructive to them and injurious to their - fellow men . But so far as concerns the Apocalypse this reason does not apply very forcibly : much that is given in it had already been very clearly and penly state d in the writings of Plato (with which he Apocalyptist was evidently familiar) and of o ther Greek Initiates , as well as in the Buddhistic and Brahmanical scriptures . Moreover, although the Apoc alypse treats very fully of the spiritual and psychic forces in man , it nowhere gives even a clue to the process by which these forces can be aroused o m e to action ; in fact, in the introductory part l a n s clearly intimates that it is intended for the guidance of those who , without any esoteric instruction , find these forces awakened within them by the very pu rity of their‘ nature and the intensity of their aspira E tion for the spiritual life . vidently, then , he had another motive for resorting to the symbology and the ingenious puzzles which have baffled the pro fane for so many centuries ; and this motive is easily perceived . If he had written the book in clear lan guage, it . would almost undoubtedly have been de stroyed ; and it certainly would never have found a ' in . A place the Christian canon gain , from the con cluding portion of his Ev ang e l it is plain that l oan nés , the great Seer and Initiate , clearly foresaw the 4 THE APOCALYPS E UNS EALED fate of the Christian Church and its loss of the eso terio doctrine . It would seem , therefore , a reason able supposition that he wrote the Apo c alypse for the purpose of preserving that doctrine in the Chris tian records , carefully concealing it under the most k extraordinary symbols , chec ed off by a numerical “ ke y and by similar puzzles , so that the meanings could be conclusively demonstrated from the text itself, and concluding it with a dread imprecation against any one who should add to or take away anything from the book (a device which has un doubtedly helped to preserve the text from mutila tion) and having thus with marvellous ingenuity th prepared e book , which is unique in all literature, k he confided it to the eeping of the exoteric church , confident that in their ignorance of the real nature of its contents the e x ote ric ists would carefully pre serve it until the proper time should come for its meaning to be explained .