|
 The Book
of Revelation, often called the Revelation to John, or the Apocalypse of
John, is a book of the New Testament that occupies a central place in Christian
eschatology. Its title is derived from the first word of the text,
written in Koine Greek: "apokalypsis", meaning
"unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of Revelation is
the only apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon although there are
short apocalyptic passages in various places in the Gospels and the Epistles.
The author names himself in the text as "John", but his precise
identity remains a point of academic debate. Second century Christian writers
such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria identify John the Apostle as
the "John" of Revelation. The bulk of traditional sources date the
book to the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81-96), and
the evidence tends to confirm this. The book begins with John, on the island
of Patmos in the Aegean, addressing a letter to the "Seven Churches of
Asia". He then describes a series of prophetic visions, including
figures such as the Whore
of Babylon and the Beast,
culminating in the Second
Coming of Jesus. Wikipedia has an excellent chronological list
of events in the Book of Revelation and an outline of
the book. The obscure and extravagant imagery has led to a wide variety
of Christian interpretations: historicist interpretations see in Revelation a
broad view of history; preterist interpretations treat Revelation as mostly
referring to the events of the apostolic era (1st century), or, at the
latest, the fall of the Roman Empire; futurists believe that Revelation
describes future events; and idealist
or symbolic interpretations consider that Revelation does not refer to
actual people or events, but is an allegory of the spiritual path and the
ongoing struggle between good and evil. As you will see, Cayce gives an
idealist interpretation to the Book of Revelation.
|
|
|
|
Table of Contents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
1. Introduction to Cayce's Interpretation of the
Revelation
|
|
|
|
Through his otherworldly journeys, Cayce learned the true interpretation
of the Bible. According to Cayce, the Bible is the symbolic account of the
fall of the human soul from its divine origins (as symbolically described in
the Book of Genesis) and restoration of the human soul to heaven (as
symbolically described in the Book of Revelation). In other words, Genesis is
the symbolic testimony of humanity's fall from heaven and paradise lost.
Revelation is the symbolic testimony of humanity's restoration to heaven and
paradise regained.
In the Book of Revelation, John records a vision he experiences,
probably while dreaming or meditating. This vision contains a tremendous
amount of symbolism; the same kind of symbolism one would see in a dream, a
vision of the spirit world. In fact, the Book of Revelation contains the same
symbolism found in the symbols in the Prophet Daniel's dream.
All Biblical
dreams, such as those of Joseph, Gideon, Daniel, Paul, and Peter, are
very symbolic and therefore had a hidden spiritual meaning rather than a
literal interpretation of the symbols. Such is the case with the Book of
Revelation.
 During
several of Cayce's
journeys into the spirit realms, he was able to unlock the secrets to the
symbolism in the Book of Revelation. He gave a large amount of information
specifically for the purpose of discovering the book's hidden meaning.
Cayce described the true nature between humanity and God. Cayce
revealed that humans have three different dimensions of human awareness: the
conscious mind (personality, the subconscious mind (soul) and the
superconscious mind (spirit). An important goal in everyone's life is to
awaken our superconscious mind to attain what Cayce called at-one-ment with
God.
The superconscious mind is called by many names by many
religions in many different cultures. Some of these names are: Buddha
consciousness, Christ consciousness, the Collective Mind, the Universal Mind,
the Collective Unconsciousness, the Holy Spirit, Brahman, God, the Clear White
Light, Allah, Higher Self, the Mind of Christ, etc.
Cayce's references to the Christ, the Christ consciousness and
the Mind of Christ has little to do with the personality known as Jesus.
Cayce revealed that Jesus became the Christ - a full manifestation of the
Christ consciousness - the perfect union of the human with the divine. It is
God's desire for all of humanity to become Christs (or Buddhas if you live in
the East). Such a condition will truly bring the Kingdom of God to the Earth.
Cayce revealed that the Book of Revelation is the symbolic story of how
humanity in general (and a human in particular) attains this manifestation of
the divine.
Cayce's symbolic interpretation about the Book of Revelation can
be contained in a book all by itself. In fact, a whole book has been
written about Cayce's interpretation of Revelation. It is entitled Edgar Cayce's
Commentary on the Revelation. There is also a video on this subject from
the ARE Foundation (the Cayce
organization).
What follows is a very brief summary of the information he
received.
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
2. Chapters 1-3: Letters to the Churches
|
|
|
|
|
Literal meaning: John, on the island of Patmos, explains that he was in
the Spirit when Christ appears to him standing in the midst of seven
candlesticks. Christ then tells John to write down what he sees and hears
concerning seven churches.
Cayce Interpretation: While in meditation,
John's conscious mind becomes open to his subconscious mind and his
superconscious mind. The seven churches and the seven seals represent the
seven spiritual centers (i.e., chakras) of the body where the physical,
mental and spiritual forces all come together. The superconscious mind within
John, tells him that anyone who can regain control of these spiritual centers
within their bodies can access the superconscious mind and never need to
reincarnate again (Revelation
3:12). The following is a chart of the spiritual centers in the body
represented by the endocrine glands, the corresponding Chakra and Church, the
astrological influence, and the influence of the Lord's prayer upon the
spiritual centers of the body toward spiritual awakening.
|
|
|
|
Church
|
Gland
|
Chakra
|
Planets
|
Lord's Prayer
|
|
Laodicea
|
Pituitary
|
Third Eye
|
Jupiter
|
Heaven
|
|
Philadelphia
|
Pineal
|
Crown
|
Mercury
|
Name
|
|
Sardis
|
Thyroid
|
Throat
|
Uranus
|
Will
|
|
Thyatira
|
Thymus
|
Heart
|
Venus
|
Evil
|
|
Pergamos
|
Adrenals
|
Navel
|
Mars
|
Debts
|
|
Smyrna
|
Lyden
|
Lower Abdomen
|
Neptune
|
Temptation
|
|
Ephesus
|
Gonads
|
Root
|
Saturn
|
Bread
|
|
|
The following are other symbols of Revelation interpreted by
Cayce:
|
|
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
|
Angel of the Church
|
The intelligent force governing a spiritual center within the
body
|
|
False Apostles
|
Self-righteousness
|
|
Left first love
|
The fall from the spiritual ideal
|
|
Tree of Life
|
The spiritual centers of the body, such as the heart and the
pituitary, that becomes perfectly synchronized
|
|
Paradise of God
|
The original consciousness of humanity before its fall into
flesh
|
|
Satan
|
The force of self-centeredness, self-gratification,
self-indulgence, self-importance, self-righteousness, self-consciousness,
self-glorification, self-delusion, self-condemnation, self, ego, the
"false god," the "beast"
|
|
Synagogue of Satan
|
Falseness in self
|
|
Second death
|
Falling away, after having passed into the understanding
|
|
Where Satan dwells
|
Where there is jealousy, greed, hate, etc.
|
|
Hidden manna
|
Spiritual food: "You shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father."
|
|
The Morning Star
|
An awakening, the Light, spiritual awareness
|
|
Open door
|
The awakening, opening of the spiritual centers of the body
|
|
Throne
|
Within the head of the physical body, where we meet the Father
|
|
24 Elders
|
The 24 cranial nerves that control the five senses of the body
|
|
Book of Life
|
The collective unconscious record (memory) of all souls
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
3. Chapters 4-11: Christ Opens the Seals of the Book in
Heaven
|
|
|
|
|
Literal meaning: John now appears at the throne of God and sees four
beasts and twenty-four elders around it. On the throne sits God who has a
book with seven seals. John weeps when he learns that no one can open the
seals to the book. One of the elders tells John that Christ is able to open
the seals. Christ then opens the seals, resulting in many Earth changes.
The seventh seal unleashes seven angels who sound seven trumpets which are
sounded one by one.
 Cayce Interpretation: John has a mental awakening when he attains
the spiritual level of the superconscious mind, within the throne of his own
body. The four beasts are his four lower spiritual center's animalistic
desires and the twenty-four
elders are the twenty-four nerves from his brain leading to his five
senses. The superconscious mind, is now in full control of John's body. The
body is symbolized as a book
with seven seals which "no one has the ability to open on his
own" (Revelation
5:3). Only through the development of the superconscious mind within a
person, can these spiritual centers within the body be opened (i.e.,
spiritually activated).
As each spiritual center within the body is activated, different
parts of the body are purified and upheavals of the body occur mentally,
physically, and spiritually. The superconscious mind spiritually activates
the seventh spiritual center (the Pituitary, the master gland of the body).
As a result of this, it becomes "quiet in heaven for one half hour"
(Revelation
8:1). This is symbolic of the perfect control of the mind for one half
hour through meditation.
Here is a table of the seals of the Revelation corresponding to the opening
of the seals, the spiritual centers in the body represented by the endocrine
glands, and the four beasts representing the physical desires of those
glands:
|
|
|
|
Seal
|
Opening Seal
|
Gland
|
Beasts
|
|
7
|
Silence
|
Pituitary
|
----
|
|
6
|
Upheavals
|
Pineal
|
----
|
|
5
|
Souls Slain
|
Thyroid
|
----
|
|
4
|
Pale Horse
|
Thymus
|
Eagle
|
|
3
|
Red Horse
|
Adrenals
|
Lion
|
|
2
|
Black Horse
|
Lyden
|
Man
|
|
1
|
White Horse
|
Gonads
|
Calf
|
|
|
The following are other symbols of Revelation interpreted by
Cayce:
|
|
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
|
Seven Lamps
|
The wisdom of the seven spiritual centers within the body
represented by the seven endocrine glands
|
|
Four Beasts
|
The physical desires of the four lower spiritual centers: (1) self-preservation,
(2) sustenance, (3) propagation of species, (4) self-gratification
|
|
Book of Seven Seals
|
The physical body with the seven spiritual centers
|
|
Seven Seals
|
The seven spiritual centers within the body which may be
closed or opened
|
|
Lamb
|
Christ Consciousness
|
|
Four Horses
|
Four emotions
|
|
Nakedness
|
The exposure of faults
|
|
The Earth
|
The physical body in a state of transition
|
|
Mountain of fire striking the Earth, Earthquake
|
The forces within the physical body which are constantly
warring within
|
|
Fire
|
Purification
|
|
Sounding of Seven Angels
|
Experiences during physical purification
|
|
Angel with golden censer
|
Influence of good that goes out from each soul
|
|
Great star from Heaven
|
Influences from without, as "His star have we seen"
|
|
Third part of rivers and fountains
|
A third part of bodily activities getting a little better --
less of self
|
|
Third part of sun and stars smitten
|
Vibrations and emotions being aroused, getting a little better
-- less and less of self
|
|
Bottomless Pit
|
The gonads, the roots of the Tree of Life
|
|
Four Angels bound in Euphrates
|
The four influences of Air, Earth, Fire, Water
|
|
Temple
|
The mental body
|
|
Two Witnesses
|
The Subconscious and the Superconscious
|
|
Egypt
|
Release from bondage
|
|
Sodom, Gomorrah
|
A reckoning with sin
|
|
Reviving of Witnesses
|
Spiritual renewal
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
4. Chapters 12-14: A Woman, a Dragon, Two Beasts, and a
Lamb
|
|
|
|
|
 Literal meaning: John sees a woman with twelve stars about to bear a child. Next
to the woman is a dragon that is ready to devour the child she is giving
birth to. After the child is born, the child is taken to the throne of
God. Afterward, a war in heaven occurs and the devil and his angels are
cast out of heaven to Earth. John also sees a beast rise out of the sea which
the world worships. John then sees a lamb on the Earth and angels proclaiming
the fall of Babylon.
Cayce
Interpretation: John is shown a picture of the soul of humanity in its
development since the days of eternity. The woman symbolizes the soul of
humanity crowned with twelve stars, the
twelve basic patterns of human personality as described in the
zodiac. The child she bears is the conscious mind. As the conscious mind
is born, a rival force of the self occurs, which brings about recurring
periods of rebellion in humanity. Through divine intervention, the
conscious mind is protected while the unconscious mind, from which it sprung,
is withdrawn below the conscious level. This is the same story as
symbolized as the fall
of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Rebellion from the physical brings
conflict into the soul but the soul can remain above it by remaining
concealed from the forces of self will.
The "beast rising
out of the sea" is the selfish animalistic desires that arise which are
capable of ruling humanity. These desires spring from the self-will of the
unspiritual intellect of humanity whom the world worships as a symbol of
material success. The human intellect, lacking spiritual orientation, cuts
itself off from all that is divine. The lamb that John sees are the forces of
the superconscious mind in the world going into action. "Babylon,"
the human desire for earthly riches and success in the gratification of the
flesh, begins to be destroyed as humans are shown the consequences of their
prostitution of their higher faculties.
The following are
symbols of Revelation interpreted by Cayce:
|
|
|
|
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
|
Woman giving birth
|
The source from which all materiality is to become a conscious
thing
|
|
Child being born
|
The outgrowth of the application of the Word upon self
|
|
Word of God
|
The Gnostic "logos," the Christ consciousness, the
fully evolved pattern for humanity
|
|
Dragon
|
That through which man's rebellious forces against God arise
|
|
Book of Life
|
The record and knowledge of the soul's experience in time
|
|
Two Horns
|
Doublemindedness
|
|
Mark of the Beast
|
The unevolved animalistic influence within human beings
|
|
Mark of the Lamb
|
The evolved divine force within human beings, Christ
Consciousness
|
|
The New Song
|
A new understanding that comes to each soul when spiritually
awakened
|
|
Angels (in Revelation 14)
|
Those influences making aware of the necessity for active
spiritual service
|
|
Harpists playing Harps
|
Those souls that in the beginning were as the sons of God on
earth
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
5. Chapters 15-18: Seven Angels, Seven Vials of Seven
Plagues, and a Prostitute Riding Beast
|
|
|
|
|
 Literal meaning: John is shown
seven angels each of whom holds a vial containing a plague which they pour
upon the Earth one at a time. John then sees a woman sitting on a
seven-headed beast with ten horns. The woman wears on her forehead the name
Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the
Earth. John is told the seven heads symbolize the seven mountains on which
the woman sits and the ten horns symbolize ten kings. These make war against
the lamb and the lamb conquers.
Cayce Interpretation: John is seeing within the soul of humanity, the collective
unconscious, that the souls of individuals are purified and tested on seven
levels of consciousness symbolized by the seven plagues being poured out by
the seven angels. When all seven levels of consciousness have been purified,
then and only then can a person control the physical, mental, and spiritual
forces within his body.
Physical diseases arise from the misuse of the forces and
self-gratification of the flesh, wars against universal truth. This brings
about conflict in the world against groups and governments. The end of the
seven ordeals comes when humanity's social institutions and concepts
collapse, leaving universal truth to be realized.
The Prostitute of Babylon symbolizes humanity's desire lust for
riches and gratification of the flesh. The beast it rides on are man-made
ideas stemming from self-gratification. It is explained to John that
these forces have taken control of the seven spiritual centers of the human
body, thereby becoming possessed and ruled. However, as the highest forces of
evolving humanity overcome the forces of self, even the ten basic urges of
the body, symbolized by the ten horns, will in time fulfill the divine
pattern. As the divine nature in humanity becomes less realized, society is
destroyed by its own hand through self-gratification.
The following are symbols of Revelation interpreted by Cayce:
|
|
|
|
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
|
Seven plagues
|
The purification and tribulation experienced by souls in order
to overcome negative karma
|
|
Vials of God's wrath
|
Karma, eye for an eye, sowing and reaping, the consequences of
our negative acts
|
|
Armageddon
|
The spiritual conflict within humans
|
|
False prophet
|
Self-delusion
|
|
Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
|
The Akashic Record, or the Book of Life of the individual
|
|
Temple filled with Smoke
|
The final steps in the spiritualization of the body
|
|
Anti-Christ
|
The spirit that is opposed to the spirit of truth, the spirit
of hate, contention, strife, faultfinding, lovers of self, lovers of
praise, etc.
|
|
Babylon
|
Self
|
|
Scarlet-colored Beast
|
That which made for the projecting of man into matter through
the associations that brought carnal relationships
|
|
Seven Heads and Mountains
|
The seven spiritual centers
|
|
The Great Tribulation
|
The experiences of every soul, arising from influences created
by man
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
|
|
6. Chapters 19-22: Rejoicing in Heaven, the Devil Thrown
into a Pit, a New Heaven and Earth
|
|
|
|
|
 Literal meaning: John now sees much rejoicing in heaven and the appearance
of Christ. An angel casts the devil into a bottomless pit for one thousand
years. John then sees a new heaven and a new Earth come into being.
Cayce Interpretation: What was the final salvation of the bodily,
mental, and spiritual forces described within John, now are shown to take
place in collective humanity. When humanity recognizes the divinity within
them as the controlling force in the world, and turns away from their own
selfish pattern of living for self alone, the old pattern disappears and the
Christ pattern emerges.
John is told that the merging of the evolved self with the
divine superconscious, which has taken place in John, must also take place in
all humanity (Revelation
19:7). The fulfilled pattern of evolved humanity, the Christ (i.e.,
superconscious mind), is now shown in a position of power (the so-called
"second coming of Christ").
Now the archetype of humanity's continual rebellions, the
self-willed intellect symbolized as the "devil", is confined for a
time in the collective unconscious mind. During this period of one thousand
years (the 1000 year reign of Christ), only the evolved souls will be
permitted to incarnate the Earth (Revelation
20:4). At the end of this period, the remaining souls begin to incarnate,
bringing with them their unsatisfied ambitions and desires. This, of course,
brings about the former conditions of imbalance (wars and
plagues). These conditions, all man-made, are now themselves eliminated
and all mental forms and patterns not formed by divine will are purged (Revelation
20:14).
The "new heaven and new Earth" John sees is humanity's
perfected state of consciousness and regenerated body. The human mind at this
point is now one with the divine in the perfection of control and is free
from outside limitations. The human conscious mind merges with the
superconscious mind.
John states that if anyone adds or takes away from this book,
that person will experience the plagues in this book. The book is the body,
which is the vehicle for human experience in the world. Through it, the
lessons of the soul are learned. There can be no shortcuts or meanderings
without dire consequences to the body.
|
|
|
|
Symbol
|
Meaning
|
|
White Horse
|
The symbol of the messenger during spiritual awakening
|
|
The Rider of the White Horse
|
Jesus Christ, the messenger
|
|
The Bride
|
The body raised as a new being
|
|
Marriage of the Lamb
|
The union of the body and mind with the Christ Consciousness
|
|
Lake of Fire
|
The subconscious mind's area of repression, the "id"
|
|
Fire and Brimstone
|
Purification
|
|
The First Resurrection
|
The reincarnation of advanced souls to Earth
|
|
Gog and Magog
|
Worldly influences
|
|
The Dead in Judgment
|
Reincarnating souls
|
|
Hell
|
Remorse, self-condemnation, guilt and frustration
|
|
The Second Death
|
The destruction of all man-made unevolved conditions
|
|
12 Tribes of Israel,
12 Gates, 12 Angels,
12 Foundations,
12 Disciples
|
The 12 basic patterns of the human personality as revealed in
the Zodiac
|
|
Temple of God
|
The superconscious mind, the Christ consciousness
|
|
New Jerusalem
|
The superconscious mind awakened, the evolved soul in one-ness
with divinity
|
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
7. Conclusion by John Van Auken
|
|
|
|
 According to Cayce expert, John
Van Auken, John the Revelator’s experience was made possible because
Christ is a channel, a door, a mediation to the Father; and each of us can
apply this in our lives. The Revelation represented a new connection between
God and each of us through Christ. John’s vision reveals the transitions,
passages, and stages he went through and we may go through to make a new
relationship with God, similar to the one we originally had in the Garden
where we walked and talked with Him. Remember, in the Cayce paradigm,
characters and events in the Bible not only represent individual souls but
also all souls as a group. Adam therefore is an individual and a group. The
experiences recorded in the Bible are those that all souls experience.
Therefore, my soul and yours were created by God in the beginning, in God’s
image, and walked and talked with Him in that primeval Garden of the original
consciousness. Today, in this present incarnation which so captivates us, it
is hard to believe that somewhere within each of us is a godling created in
the image of God, who once had regular, conscious contact with its Creator.
|
|
Return
to Top
|
|
"The conquering of self is truly greater than were
one to conquer many worlds." - Edgar Cayce
|
|
|