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The Meaning of Apocalypse

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Abstract

Apocalypse is the ancient title for the final book of the New Testament usually translated into English as The Book of Revelation. The word evokes moral chaos, the breakdown of civilization, the wrath of the Almighty, vast destruction, a moment of transcendence from a final historical epoch to eternal bliss or damnation. These powerful Judaeo-Christian biblical associations – Armageddon, the End of Time, and a Final Judgment upon worldly life – survive with uncanny appeal in the modern secular vocabulary of metaphors for upheaval and disaster.

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© 2000 Paul E. Corcoran

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Corcoran, P. (2000). The Meaning of Apocalypse. In: Awaiting Apocalypse. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230597310_6

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