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The Soul Always Knows

The True Meaning of Apocalypse

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Mayan Apocalypse.  Remember last year,  as the days ticked down to December 21, 2012?  12/21/12 was the day the ancient Mayan calendar ended,  which led many  to fear that the world as we knew it  would come to a fiery, spectacular end on that very day.  Well,  the worst did not come to pass.  Our world did not end.  Some were relieved, while others simply laughed at the Apocalypse watchers who were perpetually on edge,  scanning the heavens for signs of the Four Horsemen.

For those open to all possibilities, we are left to ponder what the ending of the Mayan calendar might have meant. The world obviously did not stop turning,  and there was no spectacular hail of fire and brimstone to signify the end of the ages.  But could an apocalypse of another kind have quietly begun on that date,  so quietly we hardly even noticed?

In today’s vernacular, the word Apocalypse has frightening connotations.  Those can be traced to the last book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation. In the classic, religious,  Biblical interpretation of the Apocalypse,  the Apostle John foresaw the end of the world in a dream.  In his visions, he described a time of war,  when good ultimately  triumphed over evil and Christ would return to earth to judge all of mankind.

I cannot pretend to know the exact meaning of the obscure and complex visions described by John the Apostle, but I suspect that they are not to be taken literally.  Instead, they seem to be allegories for the ongoing struggle between good and evil,  which we are certainly actively battling in today’s broken world.

I do know that the Book of Revelation was written in Koine Greek, and its title is derived from the first word of the text, apokalypsis, meaning “unveiling” or “revelation.”  In the days since Christ walked the earth and left us with his simple but profound commandment to love one another,  our world has changed.  And, in keeping with the true meaning of apokalypsis, one could conclude that the apocalypse John described is well underway.  Now, more than ever, much has been revealed that was hidden.

Evil hidden in the hearts of mankind has been revealed in stark contrast to Christ’s simple message of love and kindness.  Today’s modern world often reveals rampant greed, an imbalance of power among nations, a willingness to put corporations ahead of the well being of people,  and a pervasive belief that the earth will continually absorb the pollution and byproducts we call commerce and progress.  Man’s willingness to subjugate entire races, ignore poverty and dire need and pour resources into war reveal the hidden nature of man’s capacity for degradation of the human soul.

Deep down, we instinctively know these choices can not continue. Our world and lives become imbalanced when the natural laws of the universe are continually ignored and abused.  Fear  has become a way of life.  We fear that life as we know it is not sustainable; that a peaceful, healthy planet won’t exist for our children and our children’s children.

The ideals we strive for as a society seem to elude us, and more than ever,  we sense that this desperate cycle cannot go on.  Change must come,  in word and deed, and it must come soon.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564289/Bodies-litter-streets-Kiev-plunges-new-savagery.html

Perhaps, then, the Apocalypse did begin on 12/21/12.  Not in the way we expected it,  with fire raining down from the heavens and black horseman thundering on the horizon.  Instead,  as with many profound shifts, change came quietly, softly, hidden deep inside the hearts of people who yearn for peace.

In a just society that adheres to the principles of love and fairness, the people are the ones who must make change happen.  God is there to stir hearts,  but the people are the ones who must make the changes.  That is the Apocalypse.  The revealing,  the pulling back of the curtain to show what has been,  what could be,  and what must be done.

More than 2000 years ago,  change came to the world in an unlikely, unspectacular and humble way;  as a tiny baby, born in a manger in Bethlehem.  The ancient world was watching for a king of  all kings, a war like , fearsome deliverer. They certainly didn’t expect a small, innocent babe in swaddling clothes.

God is the author of miracles,  and of quiet but profound shifts in the depths of hearts.  When Christ was born, he spread his message of universal love and acceptance, but he did not arrive on a flaming chariot.  He was born in a stable,  among cows and sheep, in a small town, to humble parents.

Perhaps God’s Apocalypse has begun as gently, softly and humbly as the loving messenger He sent more than 2000 years ago.  As God reveals our hidden faults, the injustice in our ways and imbalance in our actions, the true Apocalypse may have already begun. From above, God is watching,  waiting for his people to reveal and heal their brokenness.  When we do our part to bind the wounds of the world, to right the wrongs and heal the broken hearted, then and only then will God move to restore the world to its rightful state of glory and perfection.

If we live every day as if the Apocalypse has already begun,  perhaps the revelations we find hidden in our hearts will have the power to heal the world.

Meaning of the Apocalypse

Melissa Tapper Goldman and DoTell

Thank you for allowing me to share my sister’s story on DoTell.  It’s an amazing and safe place for women to share their stories and find true healing.

On Shame at The Attentive Soul | DO TELL