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The Book of Revelation is History [Books]
_History H. S. Bellamy First published in mcmxlii (1942) FABER AND FABER 24 Russell Square London Second impression August mcmxlii Printed in Great Britain by Western Printing Services Ltd., Bristol All Rights Reserved
_The Book of Revelation is History H. S. Bellamy
_Contents Introduction
The Cosmological Basis of the Interpretation
Text and Commentary Prologue
First Section
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite
The First Cycle of Myths
The Second Cycle of Myths
The Third Cycle of Myths
Epilogue
Second Section
A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna
The Atlantis Myth
Conclusion Appendices
The Cosmological Myths in the Book of Ezekiel
The Cosmological Myths in the Book of Daniel
Mythological Material in the Fourth Book of Ezra
Mythological Material in the Book of Isaiah
Cosmological Myths in the Book of Enoch
Cosmological Myths in Various Minor Apocalypses
Fragments of an Atlantis Myth in the Book of Jeremiah
Mythological Material in the Book of Zechariah
Apocalyptic Material in Exodus
Notes Bibliography List of Passages Quoted and Commented Upon
Introduction The most intriguing book of
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
_From: The Book of Revelation is History by H. S. Bellamy CD Home | Contents Contents | Intro
Cosmological Interpretation
The First Cycle of Myths
The Second Cycle of Myths
The Third Cycle of Myths
Capture Cataclysm of Luna
Appendices Notes
First Section
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite
The First Cycle of Myths
_THE FIRST MYTH (Rev. i. 10-20) (i . 10) I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (11) Saying; I am Alpha and Omega ,the first and last: and what thou seest, write in a book ... (12) And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned I saw seven gold candlesticks; (13) And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man clothed with a garment down to the foot and girt ... with a golden girdle. (14) His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as aflame of fire; (15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. (16) And he held in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (17) And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead ... [And he said,] Fear not; I am the first and the last; (18) I am he that liveth, and was [declared] dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore ... ; and have the keys of hell and of death. (19) Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (20) The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven gold candlesticks....
_The first myth contains, as may be expected, a general survey of the scene of the great events which are about to happen in the course of the `Lord's Day', or the Day of Doom, or the Day of the Wrath of Yahweh, the day which, as Malachi says, `shall burn as an oven'; or, in the terminology of Hoerbiger's cosmological theory: the time of the breakdown of the former satellite. The narrator sees, with his mind's eye (l0a), a terrifying (17a) vision: the Commencer and Concluder (1 la, 17b) and Ruler (18a) of the aeon, a very happy and extremely graphic description of the satellite and, the part it played regarding life on earth. The passage 18 (a and b) perhaps also refers to speculations as to the 'fife' of the satellite, which had been regarded as 'dead', he as not capable of causing any harm; while now it was about
to reveal its real, dangerous, 'live' nature. The first preliminary examination of the surface features of the brilliantly lighted cosmic body reveals certain details, some of which are clear-cut and easily named, while others are more indistinct and allow only a general description. The clear-cut features are the ring-pits, or walled plains, or 'craters', which covered the surface of the former satellite as they do that of our present moon. They are addressed as `yellow, flat, roundish, wick-lamps' (12b); the expression `candlesticks' is a glaring mistranslation, while the word `gold' only means `brilliantly yellow'. Wax-lights, candles, were not known to the Greeks, nor to the Semitic peoples of Asia Minor: only terracotta rush lamps. The word `seven' used here must be regarded as an `indefinite numeral', meaning `all that there were' (cf. p 21). Another, larger, but only partly lighted crater (or a partly submerged one comparable to the Sinus Iridium on our moon) is addressed as a `broad, curved sword', Popyaia (16b). A crowd of brightly lit craterlets is described as a group of `stars' (16a). The features of more indistinct contour, wide, more or less connected expanses of irregular shape and various shading, are likened by the observer to fantastic anthropoid (13-16) and theroid (cf. Rev. iv. etc.) forms. We do the same with the dark patches of the maria on our present satellite, and see, or profess to see - with fancy's keener eye - a kindly face, a crooked man with a thorn bush, a woman lying snugly curled up and reading, or two faces kissing, or else a crayfish with very big claws, or a long-eared rabbit. The whole of this heavenly phenomenon was brilliantly lighted, whites and yellows pre-denominating. The chief impressions described in the first myth are all optic ones, as is to be expected, since the cataclysm, with its acoustic and, chiefly, physical impressions, has not yet started. For that reason I suggest that the passages which refer to powerful acoustic impressions, the rage and roar of the cataclysm (lob) and the surge of the waters of the deluge (15b), as well as the hint at the world-wide destruction (18c) which is about to begin (19c), are, strictly speaking, out of place in this first myth, and only appear in it from literary and rhetorical considerations.14 This supposition is greatly strengthened by the fact that the observer is expressly and repeatedly ordered to write only about what he sees (11b, 19a). Chapters ii and iii are an insertion written by the redactor of the Book of Revelation himself. They consist of `Letters to the Seven Churches' and contain numerous references to the private concerns of the Christian communities in Asia Minor. The discussion of these non-mythological, theological harangues, which are not connected at all with the text proper of the Apocalypse, is in every way beyond the scope and interest of the present book. The mythological detritus which we find scattered in chapters ii and iii is culled from different parts of the Apocalypse itself. Being artificially tacked on, this material is easily recognizable and separable. Most of these fragments deal with the new chances of life after the great cataclysm (ii. 7b, 11b, 17b, 26b-27a; iii. Sa, 10b, 12, 21a).
_THE SECOND MYTH (Rev. iv. 1-8) (iv. 1) After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (2) And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. (3) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (4) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats were four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. (5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices [sounds]: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne ... (6) And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal ... and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. (7) And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast was like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (8) And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes: and they rest not day and night.... The second myth continues the optical survey of the features discernible upon the surface of the former satellite, with an occasional, misplaced, proleptic acoustic reference (1b, 5a). It is thus a parallel to the first myth, but it presents very much more detail. Also the second myth contains descriptions of small sharp-cut surface features which are likened to objects, and big less clearly defined ones, in which the eye of fancy saw a faint likeness to fantastic animals. The names given to the former again stress that the surface of the predecessor of our moon must have shown a relief very similar to that of our present companion. The numerous craters are now called `lamps' (5), others `crowns', or, rather, `wreaths' (4), larger ones `seats' (4), a very large one of central position is addressed as a `throne' (2), while a huge one (6a) is referred to as a `layer, basin, or pool'.15 It will be noticed that all these objects are of round form, and are descriptive of various sizes of craters. As regards the `throne' and the `seats' it should be borne in mind that oriental low cushions are meant, not chair-like things. All the numbers mentioned in the myth are again to be taken as indefinite numerals only (cf. also p. 21).16 The `beasts' (6b), literally `living things' or `beings', were figures which, with some imagination, could be traced in the dark markings on the fully lighted disk of the satellite, phenomena comparable to the dark mania, or `oceans', on our present moon. These `beasts' are the theroid counterparts of the anthropoid shapes: the hoary `elders', etc. The `beasts' were covered with eyes, the phrase `before and behind', or `within and without', is merely intensificative and means `all over' like the body of Argos Panoptes of Greek mythology, or of Purusha of the Upanishads; and they had `wings' which were covered with `eyes', too. In these `wings' we can recognize a certain lateral lighting effect of some of the bigger craters, which made arcs of the rings appear as `wings'. On the other hand, it is possible that the `wings' refer to half submerged arc-like craters, such as are frequently observed at the `shores' of the `oceans' on the surface of our moon, as, for instance, Fracastorius at the edge of Mare Nubium. The `eyes' are the innumerable minute craterlets which pin holed the entire surface of the satellite as they do that of our moon. The description is both powerful and graphic.17 The colours mentioned in the second myth are somewhat more glaring, but they are only such as tell us that the reflecting surface of the satellite consisted of ice: whites, yellows, greens,18 and iridescent tints. The `sea of glass like unto crystal' (6a) definitely points to ice, for the literal translation is `a pool of iridescent-transparent material like ice'. Greek word means primarily ice (literally: extremely cold material), and only secondarily colourless quartz. Formerly rock-crystal was generally believed to be a kind of petrified ice.19 In the Book of Job xxxviii.30 a cryptic passage referring to a strange heavenly phenomenon, in which we recognize the former satellite, runs: `The waters are hid as with a stone [i.e. of `stony' or hard consistency], the face of the deep [i.e. the `sea' in the sky] is frozen. The reference in verse 8c to the perpetual, and certainly also, quick, movement of the `beasts' does not mean that they moved individually or independently; it describes, rather, the rush of the satellite through the heavens. This can be inferred from the similar statements in the myths in the Book of Ezekiel, i. 12, 19, and x. 16, 17 (cf. Appendix A). The passage 1a is out of place in the second myth, and would probably better stand at the beginning of the fifth myth. The `door' in `heaven' describes the `opening' coming into existence in the centre of the satellite's disk, or face, at the beginning of the disintegration. The word `heaven', as used in many cosmological passages in the Bible (cf. Job xxxvii. 18, for instance) cannot mean `starry sky', but is used for something which `is above'. If this surmise is correct, then the lightnings' proceeding from the `throne', or central part, mentioned in 5a, refer to streams of satellitic material leaving the disintegrating companion. This passage, too, would be proleptic, and out of place here.
_THE THIRD MYTH (Rev. iv. 9-10; v. 1-14; vi. 9-11) (iv. 9) And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne ... (10) The four and twenty elders fall down ... and cast their crowns before the throne ... (v . 1) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. (2 ) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with aloud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? (3 ) And no man in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth was able to open the book, neither to look thereon ... (5) And one of the elders saith ... behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (6 ) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. (7 ) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. (8 ) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials ... (9 ) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain ... (10) ... and [therefore] we shall reign on the earth. (11) And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ... (13) And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb for ever and ever. (14) And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (vi. 9) And ... I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain ... (11) And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season.... The third myth is totally different from the two preceding ones. While those described things which were motionless, this one tells of a definite animation. This animation partly expresses itself in a certain centre-ward shift of some of the satellite's surface features, and partly in the appearance of new shapes. The static state is definitely over: the myth breathes, in description and language, of expectant interest in the developments which are to follow. The satellite had entered the threshold of that zone (`Roche's critical distance') within which the distortive, disruptive powers of the terrestrial gravitation outweighed the satellite's cohesion. [[The Roche limit is falsified by satellites of Jupiter etc that are within the so-called Roche limit.]] The satellite's glaciosphere now began to crack into slabs and floes, starting at the zenithal apex: the central point of the satellite's globe which was nearest the earth. A similar development took place at the (invisible) nadiral apex. The integrity of the glaciosphere being thus destroyed, the cracking into slabs continued concentrically. At the same time the slabs `crowded' towards the apex and were thus tilted, twisted, splintered. The whole aspect of the satellite's face now became completely changed. The `throne' of Rev. iv. 9, for the very reason of its name alone, must be regarded as a crater situated on, or near, the apex, i.e . in the centre. Towards this centre, from which disintegration was eventually to start, and which is being lifted up the higher the more the disruptive forces of the earth's gravitation distort the satellite, concentric rings of the satellite's ice-coat move or slant. This causes, besides certain distortions and destructions of the surface relief of these areas, also other conditions of lighting to come about. New features may thus be discerned giving new material for speculation to the imaginative eye. Our myth describes the centre-ward shift and distortion by saying that the `beasts give glory' (iv. 9), in the oriental fashion, by prostrating, extending, themselves on the ground, towards the `throne'. In connection with the craters in the neighbourhood of the centre and with the various surface configurations of that region, in which anthropoid beings were seen, a similar development becomes visible: the `elders' leave their `seats', and `fall down', likewise in throne-ward prostration, their `crowns' `rolling away' from them in the same direction (iv. 10; v. 14). At the same time new groups of craters come into prominence; fully lighted ones are addressed as `vials' or bowls, partly lighted ones as `harps' (v . 8). The powerful impression which this centre-ward movement of `prostration' made is stressed by its being mentioned three times (iv. 10; v. 8 and 14).20 The new features which the marvelling eye of the observer could discern are interpreted as a `book' and as a `lamb'. The `book' (v . 1; but see note 21) is a development, or change, of part of the central ` throne' or its immediate neighbourhood, for the Greek word rendered as `in the right hand' may also mean `at, or, near'. The expression `book' does not illustrate a scroll-like phenomenon, for scrolls are never inscribed on both sides, but, rather, a tablet-like new form, a piece of the satellite's surface all cracked and splintered and looking as if covered with cuneiform or linear writing. Such extreme splintering would indeed only take place at the apex. The back of this `book' could not be seen, of course, nor does the passage really express this; for `written within and on the backside' should only be taken as referring to a phenomenon resembling a Babylonian clay-tablet and these were practically always inscribed on both sides. Several small craters near, or in connection with, this `book', are addressed as `seals', i.e. impressions of seals. The lighting effects resulting from the tilting of the slabs in the satellite's centre made the `book' an exceedingly brilliant object (v . 3). The rearrangement of the irregular dark patches, in which fancy had seen four `beasts', also caused a new theroid shape to be discerned between the `throne' and the `four beasts' (v . 6); a dead lamb' 22 with seven `horns' and seven `eyes', a literally very odd number for things which naturally go in pairs. But we want to stress again that here, as everywhere else in the Book of Revelation, the numbers have no numerical sense whatever; the numerals are part of a magical system which may, or may not, be the redactor's idea; the impression of quantity which the word
The Cosmological Basis of the Interpretation (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
have had quite a number of satellites before it captured Luna. What phenomena would the capture, the approach, and, the eventual disruption, of a satellite cause on our earth? We cannot discuss here all the happenings during the `approach age' of a satellite. The subject has been dealt with in the introductory chapters of the book mentioned above. Here we shall only say that the chief phenomenon of the approach age will be the gradual gathering of all the waters of the seas of the earth into the tropics, where they will eventually form a great water-belt, the `girdletide'. All land-life of the earth will by that time have withdrawn to the various `life asylums'. For high-lying land areas will continue to exist as islands in the girdle-tide, which is formed and held by the close satellite's powerful gravitational pull: the so-called `island refuges'. And the shore districts to the north and south of the great water-belt will be habitable, too, to a depth of, perhaps, a hundred miles or so, the so-called `zone refuges'. Beyond these relatively narrow girdles life will be practically impossible, because an enormous glaciation of the poles will extend far into the zones now called temperate. It is as certain as it can possibly be that man experienced the approach age of the satellite which was the predecessor of our present moon, Luna. Man at that time was already homo sapiens, that is, his mental abilities were comparable to ours. This does not exclude the possibility, of course, that there did not then also exist lower races, which were as far removed from the higher ones as regards their technical, mental, and spiritual development as, say, the Australian aborigines or the African Bushmen are from us. The water-movements of the approach age made the tribes shift their places of settlement, following the sea where it receded, withdrawing from it where encroached. At the beginning of this period, which probably lasted for hundreds of thousands of years; the changes in the water distribution were very small and were, perhaps, hardly noticed. They were comparable to the secular losses and gains which we register in our own times. Eventually, however, all the life of our earth was concentrated in the island refuges in the great girdle-tide - the Bolivian Meseta, the Mexican tableland, the Abyssinian highlands, the Tibetan plateau - and in the zone refuges, bordering the northern and southern shores of the great water-belt. The former were tropical paradises, but in the latter, which probably consisted only of tundra-like expanses, life must have been rather hard. All these problems I have generally discussed in Moons, Myths, and Man. The approaching satellite entered the threshold of the zone of the `critical distance' when the centre of the satellite was only about 1.8 terrestrial radii from the centre of our earth. Then the gravitational powers of the earth began to outweigh the cohesive powers of the satellite, and the disruption of the latter began at two places: the apices: the point nearest to the earth, and the diametrically opposite one. The former satellite was
A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
... Home | Contents Contents | Intro Cosmological Interpretation The First Cycle of Myths The Second Cycle of Myths The Third Cycle of Myths Capture Cataclysm of Luna Appendices Notes Second Section A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna The Atlantis Myth (Rev. xvii and xviii) (xvii 1) And there came one ... and talked with me
... 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.... Embedded in the great pageant of myths telling of the breakdown cataclysm of the former satellite and the end of an age of the world, there is a myth of certain aspects of the capture cataclysm of out present moon, Luna, and of the beginning of a new aeon of our earth. Both language and contents make it stand out from the context. Style, diction, and idiom, are different, and the subject matter is distinctly un-Semitic, or even non-Semitic, if a guess in this direction may be put forward. That is why chapters xvii and xviii of the Book of Revelation, and a' few stray passages from other chapters, have caused considerable difficulty to all interpreters and commentators up till now. And it is only when we consider the material of these chapters in the light of certain viewpoints of Hoerbiger's theory of the capture of satellites that its powerful pictures can be made to yield up their close, long-kept secret. The great myth now before us consists of three sections. The first, coinciding with chapter xvii, contains a general survey and introduction, while chapter xviii offers a description of a great catastrophe of peculiar nature, and a report of its world-wide consequences. The twenty-third myth had darkly intimated that with the cataclysm of the former satellite the series of cosmic dangers for our earth and its inhabitants was by no mean exhausted. Among terrific seismic and volcanic phenomena (Rev. xx. 3 and 10) the `Dragon, Old [= primeval] Serpent, Devil, or Satan' (Rev. xx. 2) had found its end. Now, after a certain lengthy spell of time (`a thousand years', in the parlance of Rev. xx. 2), the earth quaked again and the fiery mountains awoke to new activity (Rev. xviii. 9-10). What better explanation was there than to suppose that the `beast that was, and is not' was still alive and had broken loose from its prison, the `bottomless pit', ready to ravage the earth as the `beast that yet is'? We know that the new havoc and destruction was wrought by another cosmic body, the planet Luna, which was just becoming the new satellite of our earth: but they did not hesitate to address the new destroyer as a reincarnation of the old one. An echo of this belief in the `beast that was, and is not, and yet is', is also to be found in the cryptic verse, Rev. i. 8: `I [the powerful being speaking I am the Alpha and Omega ... , which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty' (i.e. the Starter and Closer and Ruler of every age of our earth). The most important statement in this myth is that the chief victim of the cataclysm caused by the sudden appearance of `the beast that yet is' was a powerful and splendid `city', which is called My-Aery-Babylon'. This city, or, rather, state, had become great after the time of the `beast which was, and is not' (xvii. 8) by `sitting upon', or lording it over, the then world (xvii. 3-4.). The passage about the `scarlet-coloured beast with seven heads and ten horns', i.e. the former satellite, is plainly intrusive, and out of place here; it is merely a composite `echo' from the other myths of the Book of Revelation, and has no direct logical connection at all with the world-swaying `City of Babylon', as the first part of verse 8 sufficiently stresses. On the other hand, `Babylon' and the `beast that is', which `ascends out of the bottomless pit', i.e . the new satellite Luna, are definitely and closely related. Interpreters of chapters xvii and xviii of the Book of Revelation have experienced much difficulty with, this `mysterious Babylon' and its fate. They `marvelled' no less than the redactor himself owns that he did (Rev. xvii. 7). The school who equate the `beast' with Nero are forced to equate `Babylon' with Rome. Indeed, this seems also to have been the endeavour of the redactor. The idea is idle, however. But what `city', then, is actually meant? For the pictography and the style of this myth is closely related to similar passages in the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah, who could not possibly have referred to Rome. These prophets equated the `mysterious Babylon' with the actual Babylon, but their descriptions fit the Euphrates metropolis as little as John's do the City of the Seven Hills on the Tiber. A most essential point is: the `Babylon' of the Book of Revelation was a great maritime state, `sitting upon many waters'. Now Rome never was this, and Babylon still less. Moreover, the study of the text gives one the distinct impression that 'Babylon' was an island, small but mighty, the empire and emporium of the then world, a Britain of prehistoric days. This rich and powerful state was destroyed in one day (xviii. 8)72 nay, in `one hour', as is repeatedly-hyperbolically-stressed in the third part of the myth (xviii. 10, 17, 19). More than that: `Babylon' disappeared entirely from the earth, leaving no trace, except in memory. Such utter destruction can only have been due to a great convulsion of nature, not to the razing of a city by a host. For, in the latter case there would have been a great gain of spoils, for the victorious king, or kings, while not only no such enrichment is mentioned in our myth, but, quite on the contrary, we are told that a great, permanent, and almost irreparable, loss resulted for everybody in the then world. The political, cultural, and economic, life of many, if not all, nations, was fundamentally changed and lastingly impoverished. And the third significant feature of the myth is that `Babylon' disappeared from the face of the earth under peculiar cosmic aspects. Rev. xviii. 1 tells that then a `powerful angel', a supernatural messenger, `came down from [upper] heaven', and `lightened the earth with his glory and filled it with the strength of his voice'. And Rev. xviii. 21 reports the reason of the `city's' fall plainly, without even the slightest attempt at mythological interpretation: `The great Trowns was found no more because this angel had thrown into our sea a huge white round object, like unto a millstone'. Now when a solid becomes immersed in a liquid, the latter must rise. If it is the sea which rises low islands (and coast settlements, for that matter) will be submerged. That is why the myth tells us so concisely and dramatically that after the `plunging of the millstone into the sea' the `great city Babylon' suddenly and utterly disappeared from the earth. The suddenness of this complete loss under cataclysmic circumstances is repeatedly stressed. There are valuable passages in Jeremiah which augment the statements made in the Book of Revelation and probably constitute part of the original myth (Jer. xlvii.2): `Behold, waters rise up out of the north [!], and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein.' The foregoing allows us to advance confidently the theory that the `Babylon' of the Apocalypse is identical with the `Atlantis' of Plato, the lost prehistoric empire and emporium of the world. The equation, `Mystery-Babylon' = Atlantis, is helped by the fact that the one word is practically a translation of the other. The Semitic words Bab& mean `Gate of the God', while the constituents of the word Atlantis may be interpreted as `Divine Shore', or, `Land of the God'. If we accept this equation, then, the three points of Babylon being a powerful maritime state, of its entire disappearance from the face of the earth, and of its loss under singular cosmic-tellurian aspects, which commentators have up till now deemed of secondary value only, become statements of primary importance. Indeed, they reveal themselves as the key-points which alone allow an intelligent and satisfactory approach to, and solution of, the apocalyptic `Babylon' enigma. The report presented in this myth is a faithful picture of the capture of the formerly independent planet Luna by the earth, and its far-reaching consequences. Luna, being much smaller and lighter than the earth,73 felt the resistance of the interplanetary medium more than our own planet (cf. pp. 29 ff.). The effort needed for the overcoming of this resistance is financed out of the orbital momentum of each planet. Hence the orbits of planets cannot be continuous re-entering curves, ellipses, but must be involuting spirals. The coefficient of involution will depend on a number of factors, the chief being (apart from the density of the medium) the resistance-encountering cross-section and the resistance-opposing mass of each planetary body. Smaller outer planets, therefore, will spiral centre-ward, that is, sunward, more quickly than inner bigger ones. The relative coefficients of involution for the earth and our moon are something like 1:5-8. Hence, the further back in time we go the farther away would our moon move from our earth, the further forward we go into the future, the nearer it will approach. At the end of the latter line of development disintegration will result and the lunar material will become united with the earth's. The cataclysm of the predecessor of our moon was due to the same cause. If we could reverse the wheel of time, however, we should see our moon `screw' itself away from the sun, hence also from our earth, till at last a point would be reached at which the moon's gravitational tie with the earth would snap, and Luna would exist as an independent planet again. It appears probable that about 15,000 years ago the sunward spiralling planet Luna began first to trespass into the immediate gravitational realm of the earth at its conjunctions with our planet.
The Revelation of John (Moons, Myths and Man) [Books]
_From: Moons, Myths and Man by H. S. Bellamy CD Rom Home Last | Contents | Next 19 The Revelation of John A DOCUMENT OF THE OBSERVATION OF THE CATACLYSM CAUSED BY THE TERTIARY SATELLITE
_The Bible starts with a scant account of the creation of heaven and Earth; it ends with a detailed vision of the end of this heaven and this Earth, and the making of a new heaven and a new Earth. While the opening verses of the Old Testament are made obscure by their paucity of description, the closing chapters of the New Testament dazzle us by their extreme wealth of imagery. Many persons have expounded the creation myth in Genesis; the end
_History H. S. Bellamy First published in mcmxlii (1942) FABER AND FABER 24 Russell Square London Second impression August mcmxlii Printed in Great Britain by Western Printing Services Ltd., Bristol All Rights Reserved
_The Book of Revelation is History H. S. Bellamy
_Contents Introduction
The Cosmological Basis of the Interpretation
Text and Commentary Prologue
First Section
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite
The First Cycle of Myths
The Second Cycle of Myths
The Third Cycle of Myths
Epilogue
Second Section
A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna
The Atlantis Myth
Conclusion Appendices
The Cosmological Myths in the Book of Ezekiel
The Cosmological Myths in the Book of Daniel
Mythological Material in the Fourth Book of Ezra
Mythological Material in the Book of Isaiah
Cosmological Myths in the Book of Enoch
Cosmological Myths in Various Minor Apocalypses
Fragments of an Atlantis Myth in the Book of Jeremiah
Mythological Material in the Book of Zechariah
Apocalyptic Material in Exodus
Notes Bibliography List of Passages Quoted and Commented Upon
Introduction The most intriguing book of
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
_From: The Book of Revelation is History by H. S. Bellamy CD Home | Contents Contents | Intro
Cosmological Interpretation
The First Cycle of Myths
The Second Cycle of Myths
The Third Cycle of Myths
Capture Cataclysm of Luna
Appendices Notes
First Section
Myths of the Cataclysm Caused by the Breakdown of a Former Satellite
The First Cycle of Myths
_THE FIRST MYTH (Rev. i. 10-20) (i . 10) I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (11) Saying; I am Alpha and Omega ,the first and last: and what thou seest, write in a book ... (12) And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned I saw seven gold candlesticks; (13) And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man clothed with a garment down to the foot and girt ... with a golden girdle. (14) His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as aflame of fire; (15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. (16) And he held in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (17) And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead ... [And he said,] Fear not; I am the first and the last; (18) I am he that liveth, and was [declared] dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore ... ; and have the keys of hell and of death. (19) Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (20) The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven gold candlesticks....
_The first myth contains, as may be expected, a general survey of the scene of the great events which are about to happen in the course of the `Lord's Day', or the Day of Doom, or the Day of the Wrath of Yahweh, the day which, as Malachi says, `shall burn as an oven'; or, in the terminology of Hoerbiger's cosmological theory: the time of the breakdown of the former satellite. The narrator sees, with his mind's eye (l0a), a terrifying (17a) vision: the Commencer and Concluder (1 la, 17b) and Ruler (18a) of the aeon, a very happy and extremely graphic description of the satellite and, the part it played regarding life on earth. The passage 18 (a and b) perhaps also refers to speculations as to the 'fife' of the satellite, which had been regarded as 'dead', he as not capable of causing any harm; while now it was about
to reveal its real, dangerous, 'live' nature. The first preliminary examination of the surface features of the brilliantly lighted cosmic body reveals certain details, some of which are clear-cut and easily named, while others are more indistinct and allow only a general description. The clear-cut features are the ring-pits, or walled plains, or 'craters', which covered the surface of the former satellite as they do that of our present moon. They are addressed as `yellow, flat, roundish, wick-lamps' (12b); the expression `candlesticks' is a glaring mistranslation, while the word `gold' only means `brilliantly yellow'. Wax-lights, candles, were not known to the Greeks, nor to the Semitic peoples of Asia Minor: only terracotta rush lamps. The word `seven' used here must be regarded as an `indefinite numeral', meaning `all that there were' (cf. p 21). Another, larger, but only partly lighted crater (or a partly submerged one comparable to the Sinus Iridium on our moon) is addressed as a `broad, curved sword', Popyaia (16b). A crowd of brightly lit craterlets is described as a group of `stars' (16a). The features of more indistinct contour, wide, more or less connected expanses of irregular shape and various shading, are likened by the observer to fantastic anthropoid (13-16) and theroid (cf. Rev. iv. etc.) forms. We do the same with the dark patches of the maria on our present satellite, and see, or profess to see - with fancy's keener eye - a kindly face, a crooked man with a thorn bush, a woman lying snugly curled up and reading, or two faces kissing, or else a crayfish with very big claws, or a long-eared rabbit. The whole of this heavenly phenomenon was brilliantly lighted, whites and yellows pre-denominating. The chief impressions described in the first myth are all optic ones, as is to be expected, since the cataclysm, with its acoustic and, chiefly, physical impressions, has not yet started. For that reason I suggest that the passages which refer to powerful acoustic impressions, the rage and roar of the cataclysm (lob) and the surge of the waters of the deluge (15b), as well as the hint at the world-wide destruction (18c) which is about to begin (19c), are, strictly speaking, out of place in this first myth, and only appear in it from literary and rhetorical considerations.14 This supposition is greatly strengthened by the fact that the observer is expressly and repeatedly ordered to write only about what he sees (11b, 19a). Chapters ii and iii are an insertion written by the redactor of the Book of Revelation himself. They consist of `Letters to the Seven Churches' and contain numerous references to the private concerns of the Christian communities in Asia Minor. The discussion of these non-mythological, theological harangues, which are not connected at all with the text proper of the Apocalypse, is in every way beyond the scope and interest of the present book. The mythological detritus which we find scattered in chapters ii and iii is culled from different parts of the Apocalypse itself. Being artificially tacked on, this material is easily recognizable and separable. Most of these fragments deal with the new chances of life after the great cataclysm (ii. 7b, 11b, 17b, 26b-27a; iii. Sa, 10b, 12, 21a).
_THE SECOND MYTH (Rev. iv. 1-8) (iv. 1) After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (2) And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. (3) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (4) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats were four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. (5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices [sounds]: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne ... (6) And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal ... and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. (7) And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast was like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (8) And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes: and they rest not day and night.... The second myth continues the optical survey of the features discernible upon the surface of the former satellite, with an occasional, misplaced, proleptic acoustic reference (1b, 5a). It is thus a parallel to the first myth, but it presents very much more detail. Also the second myth contains descriptions of small sharp-cut surface features which are likened to objects, and big less clearly defined ones, in which the eye of fancy saw a faint likeness to fantastic animals. The names given to the former again stress that the surface of the predecessor of our moon must have shown a relief very similar to that of our present companion. The numerous craters are now called `lamps' (5), others `crowns', or, rather, `wreaths' (4), larger ones `seats' (4), a very large one of central position is addressed as a `throne' (2), while a huge one (6a) is referred to as a `layer, basin, or pool'.15 It will be noticed that all these objects are of round form, and are descriptive of various sizes of craters. As regards the `throne' and the `seats' it should be borne in mind that oriental low cushions are meant, not chair-like things. All the numbers mentioned in the myth are again to be taken as indefinite numerals only (cf. also p. 21).16 The `beasts' (6b), literally `living things' or `beings', were figures which, with some imagination, could be traced in the dark markings on the fully lighted disk of the satellite, phenomena comparable to the dark mania, or `oceans', on our present moon. These `beasts' are the theroid counterparts of the anthropoid shapes: the hoary `elders', etc. The `beasts' were covered with eyes, the phrase `before and behind', or `within and without', is merely intensificative and means `all over' like the body of Argos Panoptes of Greek mythology, or of Purusha of the Upanishads; and they had `wings' which were covered with `eyes', too. In these `wings' we can recognize a certain lateral lighting effect of some of the bigger craters, which made arcs of the rings appear as `wings'. On the other hand, it is possible that the `wings' refer to half submerged arc-like craters, such as are frequently observed at the `shores' of the `oceans' on the surface of our moon, as, for instance, Fracastorius at the edge of Mare Nubium. The `eyes' are the innumerable minute craterlets which pin holed the entire surface of the satellite as they do that of our moon. The description is both powerful and graphic.17 The colours mentioned in the second myth are somewhat more glaring, but they are only such as tell us that the reflecting surface of the satellite consisted of ice: whites, yellows, greens,18 and iridescent tints. The `sea of glass like unto crystal' (6a) definitely points to ice, for the literal translation is `a pool of iridescent-transparent material like ice'. Greek word means primarily ice (literally: extremely cold material), and only secondarily colourless quartz. Formerly rock-crystal was generally believed to be a kind of petrified ice.19 In the Book of Job xxxviii.30 a cryptic passage referring to a strange heavenly phenomenon, in which we recognize the former satellite, runs: `The waters are hid as with a stone [i.e. of `stony' or hard consistency], the face of the deep [i.e. the `sea' in the sky] is frozen. The reference in verse 8c to the perpetual, and certainly also, quick, movement of the `beasts' does not mean that they moved individually or independently; it describes, rather, the rush of the satellite through the heavens. This can be inferred from the similar statements in the myths in the Book of Ezekiel, i. 12, 19, and x. 16, 17 (cf. Appendix A). The passage 1a is out of place in the second myth, and would probably better stand at the beginning of the fifth myth. The `door' in `heaven' describes the `opening' coming into existence in the centre of the satellite's disk, or face, at the beginning of the disintegration. The word `heaven', as used in many cosmological passages in the Bible (cf. Job xxxvii. 18, for instance) cannot mean `starry sky', but is used for something which `is above'. If this surmise is correct, then the lightnings' proceeding from the `throne', or central part, mentioned in 5a, refer to streams of satellitic material leaving the disintegrating companion. This passage, too, would be proleptic, and out of place here.
_THE THIRD MYTH (Rev. iv. 9-10; v. 1-14; vi. 9-11) (iv. 9) And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne ... (10) The four and twenty elders fall down ... and cast their crowns before the throne ... (v . 1) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. (2 ) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with aloud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? (3 ) And no man in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth was able to open the book, neither to look thereon ... (5) And one of the elders saith ... behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (6 ) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. (7 ) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. (8 ) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials ... (9 ) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain ... (10) ... and [therefore] we shall reign on the earth. (11) And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ... (13) And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb for ever and ever. (14) And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (vi. 9) And ... I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain ... (11) And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season.... The third myth is totally different from the two preceding ones. While those described things which were motionless, this one tells of a definite animation. This animation partly expresses itself in a certain centre-ward shift of some of the satellite's surface features, and partly in the appearance of new shapes. The static state is definitely over: the myth breathes, in description and language, of expectant interest in the developments which are to follow. The satellite had entered the threshold of that zone (`Roche's critical distance') within which the distortive, disruptive powers of the terrestrial gravitation outweighed the satellite's cohesion. [[The Roche limit is falsified by satellites of Jupiter etc that are within the so-called Roche limit.]] The satellite's glaciosphere now began to crack into slabs and floes, starting at the zenithal apex: the central point of the satellite's globe which was nearest the earth. A similar development took place at the (invisible) nadiral apex. The integrity of the glaciosphere being thus destroyed, the cracking into slabs continued concentrically. At the same time the slabs `crowded' towards the apex and were thus tilted, twisted, splintered. The whole aspect of the satellite's face now became completely changed. The `throne' of Rev. iv. 9, for the very reason of its name alone, must be regarded as a crater situated on, or near, the apex, i.e . in the centre. Towards this centre, from which disintegration was eventually to start, and which is being lifted up the higher the more the disruptive forces of the earth's gravitation distort the satellite, concentric rings of the satellite's ice-coat move or slant. This causes, besides certain distortions and destructions of the surface relief of these areas, also other conditions of lighting to come about. New features may thus be discerned giving new material for speculation to the imaginative eye. Our myth describes the centre-ward shift and distortion by saying that the `beasts give glory' (iv. 9), in the oriental fashion, by prostrating, extending, themselves on the ground, towards the `throne'. In connection with the craters in the neighbourhood of the centre and with the various surface configurations of that region, in which anthropoid beings were seen, a similar development becomes visible: the `elders' leave their `seats', and `fall down', likewise in throne-ward prostration, their `crowns' `rolling away' from them in the same direction (iv. 10; v. 14). At the same time new groups of craters come into prominence; fully lighted ones are addressed as `vials' or bowls, partly lighted ones as `harps' (v . 8). The powerful impression which this centre-ward movement of `prostration' made is stressed by its being mentioned three times (iv. 10; v. 8 and 14).20 The new features which the marvelling eye of the observer could discern are interpreted as a `book' and as a `lamb'. The `book' (v . 1; but see note 21) is a development, or change, of part of the central ` throne' or its immediate neighbourhood, for the Greek word rendered as `in the right hand' may also mean `at, or, near'. The expression `book' does not illustrate a scroll-like phenomenon, for scrolls are never inscribed on both sides, but, rather, a tablet-like new form, a piece of the satellite's surface all cracked and splintered and looking as if covered with cuneiform or linear writing. Such extreme splintering would indeed only take place at the apex. The back of this `book' could not be seen, of course, nor does the passage really express this; for `written within and on the backside' should only be taken as referring to a phenomenon resembling a Babylonian clay-tablet and these were practically always inscribed on both sides. Several small craters near, or in connection with, this `book', are addressed as `seals', i.e. impressions of seals. The lighting effects resulting from the tilting of the slabs in the satellite's centre made the `book' an exceedingly brilliant object (v . 3). The rearrangement of the irregular dark patches, in which fancy had seen four `beasts', also caused a new theroid shape to be discerned between the `throne' and the `four beasts' (v . 6); a dead lamb' 22 with seven `horns' and seven `eyes', a literally very odd number for things which naturally go in pairs. But we want to stress again that here, as everywhere else in the Book of Revelation, the numbers have no numerical sense whatever; the numerals are part of a magical system which may, or may not, be the redactor's idea; the impression of quantity which the word
The Cosmological Basis of the Interpretation (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
have had quite a number of satellites before it captured Luna. What phenomena would the capture, the approach, and, the eventual disruption, of a satellite cause on our earth? We cannot discuss here all the happenings during the `approach age' of a satellite. The subject has been dealt with in the introductory chapters of the book mentioned above. Here we shall only say that the chief phenomenon of the approach age will be the gradual gathering of all the waters of the seas of the earth into the tropics, where they will eventually form a great water-belt, the `girdletide'. All land-life of the earth will by that time have withdrawn to the various `life asylums'. For high-lying land areas will continue to exist as islands in the girdle-tide, which is formed and held by the close satellite's powerful gravitational pull: the so-called `island refuges'. And the shore districts to the north and south of the great water-belt will be habitable, too, to a depth of, perhaps, a hundred miles or so, the so-called `zone refuges'. Beyond these relatively narrow girdles life will be practically impossible, because an enormous glaciation of the poles will extend far into the zones now called temperate. It is as certain as it can possibly be that man experienced the approach age of the satellite which was the predecessor of our present moon, Luna. Man at that time was already homo sapiens, that is, his mental abilities were comparable to ours. This does not exclude the possibility, of course, that there did not then also exist lower races, which were as far removed from the higher ones as regards their technical, mental, and spiritual development as, say, the Australian aborigines or the African Bushmen are from us. The water-movements of the approach age made the tribes shift their places of settlement, following the sea where it receded, withdrawing from it where encroached. At the beginning of this period, which probably lasted for hundreds of thousands of years; the changes in the water distribution were very small and were, perhaps, hardly noticed. They were comparable to the secular losses and gains which we register in our own times. Eventually, however, all the life of our earth was concentrated in the island refuges in the great girdle-tide - the Bolivian Meseta, the Mexican tableland, the Abyssinian highlands, the Tibetan plateau - and in the zone refuges, bordering the northern and southern shores of the great water-belt. The former were tropical paradises, but in the latter, which probably consisted only of tundra-like expanses, life must have been rather hard. All these problems I have generally discussed in Moons, Myths, and Man. The approaching satellite entered the threshold of the zone of the `critical distance' when the centre of the satellite was only about 1.8 terrestrial radii from the centre of our earth. Then the gravitational powers of the earth began to outweigh the cohesive powers of the satellite, and the disruption of the latter began at two places: the apices: the point nearest to the earth, and the diametrically opposite one. The former satellite was
A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna (The Book of Revelation is History) [Books]
... Home | Contents Contents | Intro Cosmological Interpretation The First Cycle of Myths The Second Cycle of Myths The Third Cycle of Myths Capture Cataclysm of Luna Appendices Notes Second Section A Myth of the Capture Cataclysm of Luna The Atlantis Myth (Rev. xvii and xviii) (xvii 1) And there came one ... and talked with me
... 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.... Embedded in the great pageant of myths telling of the breakdown cataclysm of the former satellite and the end of an age of the world, there is a myth of certain aspects of the capture cataclysm of out present moon, Luna, and of the beginning of a new aeon of our earth. Both language and contents make it stand out from the context. Style, diction, and idiom, are different, and the subject matter is distinctly un-Semitic, or even non-Semitic, if a guess in this direction may be put forward. That is why chapters xvii and xviii of the Book of Revelation, and a' few stray passages from other chapters, have caused considerable difficulty to all interpreters and commentators up till now. And it is only when we consider the material of these chapters in the light of certain viewpoints of Hoerbiger's theory of the capture of satellites that its powerful pictures can be made to yield up their close, long-kept secret. The great myth now before us consists of three sections. The first, coinciding with chapter xvii, contains a general survey and introduction, while chapter xviii offers a description of a great catastrophe of peculiar nature, and a report of its world-wide consequences. The twenty-third myth had darkly intimated that with the cataclysm of the former satellite the series of cosmic dangers for our earth and its inhabitants was by no mean exhausted. Among terrific seismic and volcanic phenomena (Rev. xx. 3 and 10) the `Dragon, Old [= primeval] Serpent, Devil, or Satan' (Rev. xx. 2) had found its end. Now, after a certain lengthy spell of time (`a thousand years', in the parlance of Rev. xx. 2), the earth quaked again and the fiery mountains awoke to new activity (Rev. xviii. 9-10). What better explanation was there than to suppose that the `beast that was, and is not' was still alive and had broken loose from its prison, the `bottomless pit', ready to ravage the earth as the `beast that yet is'? We know that the new havoc and destruction was wrought by another cosmic body, the planet Luna, which was just becoming the new satellite of our earth: but they did not hesitate to address the new destroyer as a reincarnation of the old one. An echo of this belief in the `beast that was, and is not, and yet is', is also to be found in the cryptic verse, Rev. i. 8: `I [the powerful being speaking I am the Alpha and Omega ... , which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty' (i.e. the Starter and Closer and Ruler of every age of our earth). The most important statement in this myth is that the chief victim of the cataclysm caused by the sudden appearance of `the beast that yet is' was a powerful and splendid `city', which is called My-Aery-Babylon'. This city, or, rather, state, had become great after the time of the `beast which was, and is not' (xvii. 8) by `sitting upon', or lording it over, the then world (xvii. 3-4.). The passage about the `scarlet-coloured beast with seven heads and ten horns', i.e. the former satellite, is plainly intrusive, and out of place here; it is merely a composite `echo' from the other myths of the Book of Revelation, and has no direct logical connection at all with the world-swaying `City of Babylon', as the first part of verse 8 sufficiently stresses. On the other hand, `Babylon' and the `beast that is', which `ascends out of the bottomless pit', i.e . the new satellite Luna, are definitely and closely related. Interpreters of chapters xvii and xviii of the Book of Revelation have experienced much difficulty with, this `mysterious Babylon' and its fate. They `marvelled' no less than the redactor himself owns that he did (Rev. xvii. 7). The school who equate the `beast' with Nero are forced to equate `Babylon' with Rome. Indeed, this seems also to have been the endeavour of the redactor. The idea is idle, however. But what `city', then, is actually meant? For the pictography and the style of this myth is closely related to similar passages in the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah, who could not possibly have referred to Rome. These prophets equated the `mysterious Babylon' with the actual Babylon, but their descriptions fit the Euphrates metropolis as little as John's do the City of the Seven Hills on the Tiber. A most essential point is: the `Babylon' of the Book of Revelation was a great maritime state, `sitting upon many waters'. Now Rome never was this, and Babylon still less. Moreover, the study of the text gives one the distinct impression that 'Babylon' was an island, small but mighty, the empire and emporium of the then world, a Britain of prehistoric days. This rich and powerful state was destroyed in one day (xviii. 8)72 nay, in `one hour', as is repeatedly-hyperbolically-stressed in the third part of the myth (xviii. 10, 17, 19). More than that: `Babylon' disappeared entirely from the earth, leaving no trace, except in memory. Such utter destruction can only have been due to a great convulsion of nature, not to the razing of a city by a host. For, in the latter case there would have been a great gain of spoils, for the victorious king, or kings, while not only no such enrichment is mentioned in our myth, but, quite on the contrary, we are told that a great, permanent, and almost irreparable, loss resulted for everybody in the then world. The political, cultural, and economic, life of many, if not all, nations, was fundamentally changed and lastingly impoverished. And the third significant feature of the myth is that `Babylon' disappeared from the face of the earth under peculiar cosmic aspects. Rev. xviii. 1 tells that then a `powerful angel', a supernatural messenger, `came down from [upper] heaven', and `lightened the earth with his glory and filled it with the strength of his voice'. And Rev. xviii. 21 reports the reason of the `city's' fall plainly, without even the slightest attempt at mythological interpretation: `The great Trowns was found no more because this angel had thrown into our sea a huge white round object, like unto a millstone'. Now when a solid becomes immersed in a liquid, the latter must rise. If it is the sea which rises low islands (and coast settlements, for that matter) will be submerged. That is why the myth tells us so concisely and dramatically that after the `plunging of the millstone into the sea' the `great city Babylon' suddenly and utterly disappeared from the earth. The suddenness of this complete loss under cataclysmic circumstances is repeatedly stressed. There are valuable passages in Jeremiah which augment the statements made in the Book of Revelation and probably constitute part of the original myth (Jer. xlvii.2): `Behold, waters rise up out of the north [!], and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein.' The foregoing allows us to advance confidently the theory that the `Babylon' of the Apocalypse is identical with the `Atlantis' of Plato, the lost prehistoric empire and emporium of the world. The equation, `Mystery-Babylon' = Atlantis, is helped by the fact that the one word is practically a translation of the other. The Semitic words Bab& mean `Gate of the God', while the constituents of the word Atlantis may be interpreted as `Divine Shore', or, `Land of the God'. If we accept this equation, then, the three points of Babylon being a powerful maritime state, of its entire disappearance from the face of the earth, and of its loss under singular cosmic-tellurian aspects, which commentators have up till now deemed of secondary value only, become statements of primary importance. Indeed, they reveal themselves as the key-points which alone allow an intelligent and satisfactory approach to, and solution of, the apocalyptic `Babylon' enigma. The report presented in this myth is a faithful picture of the capture of the formerly independent planet Luna by the earth, and its far-reaching consequences. Luna, being much smaller and lighter than the earth,73 felt the resistance of the interplanetary medium more than our own planet (cf. pp. 29 ff.). The effort needed for the overcoming of this resistance is financed out of the orbital momentum of each planet. Hence the orbits of planets cannot be continuous re-entering curves, ellipses, but must be involuting spirals. The coefficient of involution will depend on a number of factors, the chief being (apart from the density of the medium) the resistance-encountering cross-section and the resistance-opposing mass of each planetary body. Smaller outer planets, therefore, will spiral centre-ward, that is, sunward, more quickly than inner bigger ones. The relative coefficients of involution for the earth and our moon are something like 1:5-8. Hence, the further back in time we go the farther away would our moon move from our earth, the further forward we go into the future, the nearer it will approach. At the end of the latter line of development disintegration will result and the lunar material will become united with the earth's. The cataclysm of the predecessor of our moon was due to the same cause. If we could reverse the wheel of time, however, we should see our moon `screw' itself away from the sun, hence also from our earth, till at last a point would be reached at which the moon's gravitational tie with the earth would snap, and Luna would exist as an independent planet again. It appears probable that about 15,000 years ago the sunward spiralling planet Luna began first to trespass into the immediate gravitational realm of the earth at its conjunctions with our planet.
The Revelation of John (Moons, Myths and Man) [Books]
_From: Moons, Myths and Man by H. S. Bellamy CD Rom Home Last | Contents | Next 19 The Revelation of John A DOCUMENT OF THE OBSERVATION OF THE CATACLYSM CAUSED BY THE TERTIARY SATELLITE
_The Bible starts with a scant account of the creation of heaven and Earth; it ends with a detailed vision of the end of this heaven and this Earth, and the making of a new heaven and a new Earth. While the opening verses of the Old Testament are made obscure by their paucity of description, the closing chapters of the New Testament dazzle us by their extreme wealth of imagery. Many persons have expounded the creation myth in Genesis; the end