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The Secret Book of Revelation: The Apocalypse of St John the Divine
The Secret Book of The Apocalypse of St. John the Divine
- GenresReligion
192 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1979
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About the author
Gilles Quispel
34 books16 followersSee also G.C. Quispel for works on 20thC migration, racism and anti-Semitism.
Gilles Quispel was a Dutch theologian, and historian of Christianity and Gnosticism. He became professor emeritus of early Christian history at Utrecht University.
After studies at Leiden and Groningen, his 1943 doctorate at Utrecht was on Tertullian's sources. He worked on the Gospel of Thomas, and was closely associated with the editing of the Nag Hammadi Library. He became quite famous after one of his statements with regard to gnosticism and early Christianity: "Gnosticism is about to become the 21st century world religion," having in view that most scholars and young researchers manifest a great interest in this religious-philosophical system, focused on esoteric knowledge as means of salvation, during a summer seminar at the University of Amsterdam, in 2000.
Gilles Quispel was a Dutch theologian, and historian of Christianity and Gnosticism. He became professor emeritus of early Christian history at Utrecht University.
After studies at Leiden and Groningen, his 1943 doctorate at Utrecht was on Tertullian's sources. He worked on the Gospel of Thomas, and was closely associated with the editing of the Nag Hammadi Library. He became quite famous after one of his statements with regard to gnosticism and early Christianity: "Gnosticism is about to become the 21st century world religion," having in view that most scholars and young researchers manifest a great interest in this religious-philosophical system, focused on esoteric knowledge as means of salvation, during a summer seminar at the University of Amsterdam, in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 6, 2014
This is my favorite book in my entire library. Quispel's classic exegesis of the Revelation of St. John is foundational for the study of the Western esoteric tradition and the ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS THING BLOW MY MIND.
October 23, 2020
I got this book years ago in an effort to understand The Book of Revelation. I failed back then, so I decided to give it another go. This edition is a brilliantly annotated version that tries to give historical context to this troublesome section of the Bible. Troublesome because countless people have chosen to take the violent symbolism as an excuse for all sorts of beastly behavior. This reading I didn't have much more success in coming to terms with Revelation. How persons can take this blood soaked screed as a blueprint for their lives escaped me. Christians tell me that The Bible is a great source of comfort and beauty. I could find neither in Revelation. Besides the violent imagery, the main message is submission to an angry and vengeful God. Not because you love him, but because failure to do so leads to horrible and eternal punishments. This is a long way from the Sermon on the Mount. It's no wonder that many horror movies use it as source material. I would suggest that you find a copy of this book and use it as a guide if you feel you must spend time in the nightmare world of The Book Of Revelation.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews