Apocalypse Unsealed

Rating:
Summary: The book is truly unsealed
Review: All through my life I've come across various books and booklets claiming to "unseal" the Book of Revelation. Only this book, however, can truly claim to have "unsealed" the true meaning of the book. Not everyone will agree with Pryse's translation and commentary. Yet, for initiates who have actually experienced its meaning, it is very clear.

The opening of the Seven Seals are the seven chakras and the awakening of the Speirema (444), the uncoiled serpent, otherwise known as the Kundalini or Serpent Fire. Iaonnes used the cosmological imagery of ancient astrology to depict the titanic struggles of the initiate during the process of spiritual awakening. The end result is the "New Jerusalem," which as Pryse explains, is the Soma Heliakon or Solar Body. This is because 12,000 Roman Stadia is the equivalent of 1,600 Jewish miles, and 1600 happens to be the numerical equivalent in gematria to "to soma heliakon."

Thus we see that the inner teachings of early Christianity were in perfect harmony with those of the Hermetic Mysteries, the Philosopher's Stone of Alchemy, the Mithraic Mysteries, and the Kundalini Yoga of the Vedas and Upanishads. I cannot recommend a book more highly. Yet, I know full well that few are ready to understand its full value. ...

Rating:
Summary: An esoteric dissection of the "Revelation" of John
Review: Written in 1910, The Apocalypse Unsealed attempts to prove that the so-called "Revelation" of John (which in the original Greek was really named "The Apocalypse: The Initiation of John") is in reality a gnostic work that shows an individual's path to enlightenment and peace. Pryse shows how all of the symbols and mysterious figures in The Apocalypse (666, the Dragon, etc) are really (not so) hidden puzzles and clues, that once discovered and solved will enable the reader to use the book as a helpful guide in conquering the material world.

But if this is just a helpful guide, why is it so occultic? Pryse claims that John knew the church would one day get rid of it's esoteric foundation and become more exoteric - the 1958 discovery of portions of a so-called "Secret Gospel" of Mark, which was possibly kept hidden by the Church alone prove this, not to mention the Church's total subjugation of the gnostic sects. So John wrote his book in a code that could be understood by those with the gnosis, the knowledge, and he even made sure that it wouldn't be butchered by future editors by inserting a warning that the text should be left alone, in order to avoid God's wrath.

Some of the things Pryse uncovered are very interesting, such as his claim that 666 is nothing but the numerical transliteration of "he phren," ancient Greek for "the lower mind." The Lamb, 888, is Iesous (Jesus - be prepared for Pryse's usage of the original Greek names for all New Testament figures), the higher mind, whereas 1,000 is "ho nikon," Greek for "the conquerer." There are other numbers besides, such as 777: "stauros" - the Cross, and Pryse shows that there is a numerical chart hidden in the Apocalypse, showing in numbers the progress of a man's journey, from the lowest reaches of his carnal desires (333, "akrasia" - sensuality) to his total mastery over them, and return to his true spiritual self - "ho nikon," the conquerer. This number chart is one of the more interesting aspects of the book; ancient Greeks and Hebrews used letters for numbers, and so by figuring out the word equivalents to the numbers in the Apocalypse, and vice versa, Pryse was able to crack one of the book's many codes.

As I said, this was written in the early 1900s, and it shows. Pryse is about as prudish as an old maid. This book can be read as a code of its own, one which totally sneers at sex. For Pryse, sex is contemptible and profane; he very much has the celibate attitude of an old-school mystic. He also has that old-school mystic disregard for women. In ancient times, women were considered to be the source of all ills, for tempting men away from the pursuit of spirituality. Pryse is an adherent to this pattern of thought. For a better, more modern view of Pryse's thoughts, one which refutes his no-sex, anti-women beliefs, I would recommend Michael Wassil's "Dance of Ecstacy," which is available for free on-line. All you have to do is search for it.

I'm giving this book 5 stars because of the work and scholarship Pryse put into it. If you compare this to the paranoid works of Hal Lindsey or all those other people who put out their "end is near" books in 1999, Pryse's makes a lot more sense. However, I don't agree with all of the things he considers certainties - such as that John was really Jesus, and that Jesus wasn't a person at all, instead just a symbolic reference to the higher mind that lurks within all humans. Pryse also translates the Apocalypse to fit his needs, such as referring to the Seven-Headed Beast that rises out of the waters as a "constellatory Beast," so he can prove that in reality John is referring to a constellation of stars.

I could go on about this book...there are so many ideas and information in it that it's hard to grasp until you've read it at least a few times. It's also hard to explain what Pryse has written, unless you're talking to someone who's read the book. Also, I don't particularly like Kessinger's version of this; they're just selling a cheap-looking photocopy of the original manuscript. You might be better off finding a used copy of the original edition, or the 1972 trade paperback re-release, which will look a little better on your bookshelf.