I have finally had time to finish the first in a series of Biblical expositions and translations of some of the more obscure prophetic passages. This one ties "the Beast" to ancient Rome, and various Christian empires through the ages, up to the European Union of our days. The "Dragon" mentioned is associated with USA.
You may also watch the video on YouTube (coming):
About Eschatological (End Time) Myths
For those who view it from this blog, however, there are some additional "perks" in the form of spiritual insights.
First of all, my theory on prophesies is that they are tied to the culture and mythology from where they originate. They are geocentric, ethnicentric and only marginally relevant to other cultures.
Thus the Norse eschatological myth of Ragnarok is about the end of the glory of Viking empire and not necessarily about the end of the world as such. It is a reflection on the imperial hubris, inherent violence and latent racism that led the Asa to ostracize and alienate Loki, turning him into "the god of evil."
An interesting novel by Jon Ayers titled Frost Giant relates to this by viewing Loki's incarceration and torture from a rather unique perspective, partly as a murder of justice or at least a trial gone wrong and partly as a what I see as a parable of failed integration.
Loki is, in other words, an immigrant, and seemingly one who has seerved national security on a high level. This corresponds well with my knowledge of Norse mythology - that Loki was, indeed, brought into the circle of gods by Odin himself.
In Ayers' account one cannot be sure if Loki is guilty of one or more of the rather fantastic accusations made against him, not even in this post-modern story, where space-time seems to be completely bent or dissolved, as it is the case in a lot of Ayers' writing.
To me, the story is revolutionizing on several levels: As much for "taking the side" or at least explaining the view-point of Loki, the arch-villain, through a cleverly composed inner monologue or stream-of-consciousness.
The story even ties this narrative technique to the mock trial, because the words are his defense, which he must prepare over and over again, since he was never afforded an opportunity to deliver it (Loki is punished for conspiracy to murder Baldur, the god of Innocence, by being chained to a mountain and having venom dripped into his eyes by a serpent - indefinitely...)
The End of the World As We Know it
This led me to think about how civilizations do crumble, and fall subject to disaster or conquest or decadence, or whatever the reason may be they stop evolving.
Similar to the story of Ragnarok, the eschatological myth of the Apocalypse or Judgment Day in the Judeo-Christian tradition may relate narrowly to the Judeo-Christian cultural sphere and represent a highly idealized, highly Manichaean representation of prescient impulses, dreams and visions of the future that may be true on a spiritual level of even have some level of universality to them.
However, they are first and foremost "true" to those who believe in and belong to the particular cultural and mythological sphere.
Judgment Day may simply be a depiction of the end of Judeo-Christian culture and its replacement with "a new heaven and a new Earth" based on the return of Christ in some new interpretation or symbolic form.
It is likely fostered by astrological speculations about the Age of Pisces, which is closely associated with the rise and fall of Christianity as the dominant world religion as well as political and military power.
The subject is touched upon in my first blog posts, When Pluto Attacks With High Powered Symbolism and Pluto Sacking Capricorn: Pruning the Top, which may also serve as good introductions to the astrological method.
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