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The Apocalypse Unsealed: Being an Esoteric Interpretation of the Initiation of St. John
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1910
About the author
James Morgan Pryse
70 booksJames Morgan Pryse (Jr.) was an author and publisher, having operated for the Theosophical Society first the Aryan Press in New York and later the H.P.B. Press in London and the end of the 19th century.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 16, 2015
This is an old text from John Pryse from 1910 on the Book of Revelation, which he understands as depicting "the initiation of Ioannes" or John. The book's main points can be summarized as follows: (1) Revelation (or "Apocalypse") is actually an esoteric guide to Enlightenment under the figure of the raising of Kundalini where each of the seven "seals" (and corresponding lamps, various cities, etc. within Revelation) represents one of the seven chakras, and (2) there is a Greek Qabalah (one might say) hidden in the text and its intentionality is revealed by a series of terms within the text that add to multiples of 111 from 111 to 999 and a final term that equals 1000.
The first point, that of Enlightenment, the author gives various corresponding symbols beyond the 7 chakras, including the formation of the deathless solar body, the transcendental self-conquest, the evolving of a self-luminous immortal body, and other terms that are similar to many general occult notions.
In Chapter 69 of Aleister Crowley's 'Confessions', he discusses his preliminary (but never completed) work on a Greek Qabalah, essentially an equivalent of "Sepher Sephiroth" but for Greek instead of Hebrew. He writes, "That this Cabbala exists is nevertheless certain. The correspondences in the Apocalypse in connection with the series 111 to 999 is undeniably intentional." The reference to "the series 111 to 999" is a reference to Pryse's thesis in 'Apocalypse Unsealed.' These numbers are:
111 - Oixia (House)
222 - Aisia (Auspicious)
333 - Axrasia (Sensuality)
444 - Speirhma (The Serpent-coil)
555 - `Eppithumia (Desire)
666 - `H Phrhn (The Lower Mind)
777 - Stauros - The Cross
888 - `Ihsous (The Higher Mind, literally 'Jesus')
999 - `Episthmon (Intuitively Wise)
1000 - `O Nixon (The Conqueror, attributed to the 'Perfected Man' who has 'unsealed' or 'conquered' the chakras)
There are other Qabalistic investigations, such as into the numbers used to describe the size of the 'City', leading him to identify it with the Cube and that (unfolded into 6 squares forming a crucifix) being also a symbol of Man, the 12 gates of the City being the 12 orifices of the body similarly to how the Upanishads call the body "the twelve-gate city." Various 'characters' are attributed in various ways to different things, and they're all understood as parts of the 'neophyte.'
It is, overall, a somewhat interesting take on the Book of Revelation. The real error, I think, is that he essentially believes (or writes as if he believes) that Revelation is basically a Hindu text in Christian code. For example, the "two witnesses" are taken to be ida and pingala (the two vertical currents of energy or prana that entwine around the central column/spine in the body), whereas these symbols (the 2 witnesses, the 2 channels) are both particular expressions of a more underlying symbolism. The two witnesses can refer to the thieves crucified beside Christ, they can refer to the two pillars of the Tree of Life and the Temple of Solomon, they can refer to the entwined snakes of the Caduceus, etc. The particular system, both metaphysical and practical, of a certain type of Hinduism is not necessarily the only, let alone'correct', interpretation.
The first point, that of Enlightenment, the author gives various corresponding symbols beyond the 7 chakras, including the formation of the deathless solar body, the transcendental self-conquest, the evolving of a self-luminous immortal body, and other terms that are similar to many general occult notions.
In Chapter 69 of Aleister Crowley's 'Confessions', he discusses his preliminary (but never completed) work on a Greek Qabalah, essentially an equivalent of "Sepher Sephiroth" but for Greek instead of Hebrew. He writes, "That this Cabbala exists is nevertheless certain. The correspondences in the Apocalypse in connection with the series 111 to 999 is undeniably intentional." The reference to "the series 111 to 999" is a reference to Pryse's thesis in 'Apocalypse Unsealed.' These numbers are:
111 - Oixia (House)
222 - Aisia (Auspicious)
333 - Axrasia (Sensuality)
444 - Speirhma (The Serpent-coil)
555 - `Eppithumia (Desire)
666 - `H Phrhn (The Lower Mind)
777 - Stauros - The Cross
888 - `Ihsous (The Higher Mind, literally 'Jesus')
999 - `Episthmon (Intuitively Wise)
1000 - `O Nixon (The Conqueror, attributed to the 'Perfected Man' who has 'unsealed' or 'conquered' the chakras)
There are other Qabalistic investigations, such as into the numbers used to describe the size of the 'City', leading him to identify it with the Cube and that (unfolded into 6 squares forming a crucifix) being also a symbol of Man, the 12 gates of the City being the 12 orifices of the body similarly to how the Upanishads call the body "the twelve-gate city." Various 'characters' are attributed in various ways to different things, and they're all understood as parts of the 'neophyte.'
It is, overall, a somewhat interesting take on the Book of Revelation. The real error, I think, is that he essentially believes (or writes as if he believes) that Revelation is basically a Hindu text in Christian code. For example, the "two witnesses" are taken to be ida and pingala (the two vertical currents of energy or prana that entwine around the central column/spine in the body), whereas these symbols (the 2 witnesses, the 2 channels) are both particular expressions of a more underlying symbolism. The two witnesses can refer to the thieves crucified beside Christ, they can refer to the two pillars of the Tree of Life and the Temple of Solomon, they can refer to the entwined snakes of the Caduceus, etc. The particular system, both metaphysical and practical, of a certain type of Hinduism is not necessarily the only, let alone'correct', interpretation.
September 13, 2016
What a bizarre book. A little too redundant but incredibly informative for those who like to undertsand the bible as an esoteric/exoteric text. Just wild.
August 18, 2025
[March 31, 2025] I became aware of this book by reading the introduction to D. H. Lawrence’s landmark book Apocalypse where, it was claimed, Lawrence was greatly influenced by Pryse. After reading both books, I can say that I think this is more than justified. Pryse’s interpretation of the Apocalypse falls well outside the mainstream (of course, Lawrence’s interpretation is only slightly less off the beaten track). Rather than seeing the Apocalypse as a book of prophecy, Pryse, believes the Apocalypse outlines the journey of the psychic man from the lower regions, represented by the beast, to the higher regions, represented by Jesus. As a result, the book is filled with pagan and Vedic imagery and terminology. This book was New Age decades before New Age was cool! He even mentions the dawning of the age of Aquarius.
Pryse’s idiosyncratic reading of the Apocalypse leads to some very strange translation. This is evident from the translation of the very first word, where Pryse explains that "The word apokalypsis, 'unveiling', is clearly a substitute for epopieia, 'initiation into seership.' That Iôannîs could not possibly have intended the title of his occult treatise to convey the meaning of 'revelation' is evident from the nature of the work." Another translation that immediately struck me as bizarre was the translation of μου τὸν λόγον as "my arcane doctrine" in Revelation 3.8. Unfortunately, Pryse never explains his reasoning for this one.
Because Pryse sees Revelation as being a treatise on the ascent of the psychic self, he often sees the symbols of Revelation as representing the human body. Thus the broad street that runs down the center of the new Jerusalem is the spinal cord. The scroll with seven seals is the human body and the seals are the seven chakras. (Pryse is obsessed with the chakras; the seven churches also represent the chakras.) The expulsion of the dragon from heaven "allegorizes the exclusion from the mind of all impure thoughts, especially those relating to the subject of sex." The lake of fire represents the place where "the condemned elements of the physical and psychic natures ('Death and the Unseen')" are thrown. And so on.
One peculiarity in the book may seem trivial but bears mentioning. Pryse writes, "Plato speaks of chalkolibanon (Kritias, p. 114) [cf. Revelation 1.15] as a metal mined by the Atlantians and esteemed by them as the most precious of metals except gold — which it is, in the series of esoteric correspondences. He does not describe it, but says, 'Chalkolibanon is now only a name, but was then something more than a name,' a statement that is no more than a sarcastic comment on the spiritual degeneracy of the times." But in fact Critias 114e does not have the word χαλκολίβανον but rather ὀρείχαλκος. So where did Pryse get this idea from?
Eric Rowe from the Nerdy Biblical Languages Majors group traced down a possible answer. The Vulgate of Revelation translates χαλκολίβανον as orichalcum (perhaps relying on Plato?)
So is this book worth reading? Yes, I think so. It is currently rated 4.19 stars on Goodreads with 21 ratings and 5 reviews. If you are going to read D. H. Lawrence’s Apocalypse it is required reading, I think, since Lawrence borrows many of Pryse’s ideas.
[edit: August 18, 2025] It is typical for me to edit previously posted reviews after a reread. I considered just leaving this review as it stood, because the original review is a pretty good summary of the book. Still, I thought of a few things I wish to add. First of all, I like the format of the book as a section by section commentary on the text of Revelation with an extended introduction. The introduction is worth reading as a stand alone work and I may do that some lazy Sunday afternoon. Next, I think it is important to point out the importance of astrology in this text, something I neglected to do in my original review. Since Pryse imports many new age concepts into his understanding of Revelation, it is no surprise that astrology permeates his book. One should compare the astrological references in this book to the ones in Frederick Carter's Symbols of Revelation, another interpreter of Revelation as an occult text. Someday when I have nothing better to do I may do this and write up the results.
One thing I found rather amusing was the different astrological signs these two authors assign to the seven seals. Of course, the first seal has to be Sagittarius the archer and the third seal has to be Libra the scales. But what of the others? Pryse and Carter both assign Scorpio to the second seal and Virgo to the fourth seal, following the signs as they appear in the solar calendar in reverse order. But after this they go their separate ways. Carter continues around the zodiac, pairing the fifth, sixth, and seventh seals with Leo, Cancer, and Gemini. Pryse pairs them with Cancer, Capricorn, and Leo. This just confirms to me that whatever signs you assign to the seals is arbitrary and the author of Revelation most likely didn’t have the zodiac in mind at all when he wrote this section.
In my original review I pointed out a problem with Pryse's handling of the Greek word χαλκολίβανον. On the reread of the book I found a few more, which are worth pointing out. Pryse writes, "the word orgê, although signifying colloquially and in ordinary literature any violent passion, as anger and the like, has a more technical meaning in the terminology of the Mysteries, where it signifies the fecundating power or parturient energy in nature." I ran this idea past my Nerdy Biblical Majors group and none of those scholars and students could find any such reference in their resources. One person did an internet search, and Google AI confirmed Pryse's definition, but only by referring to Pryse himself! (Which is why we should not trust ChatGPT overly much.)
Another example of bad Greek was this beaut: "The seventh Divinity pours out his saucer into the air (the aureola), and the enthroned God announces, 'He has been born' (gegone). The authorized version gives the strained empirical translation, 'It is done.' But genesthai means 'to be born,' 'to become,' and is often (sic) used in the New Testament in the former sense, as in Galatians iv. 4, 'born of woman.'" But according to the Biblehub website, the NASB translates forms of ginomai as "born" only *two* times, as opposed to "become" 83 times and "happened" 46 times. To state the obvious, two times is not often, especially for a word used hundreds of times in the NT.
Anyway I am very glad to have this book in my Kindle library so that I can refer to it anytime I like. Maybe next I will read Carter's Symbols of Revelation and start making notes in the Pryse book of astrological parallels between the two writers.
Pryse’s idiosyncratic reading of the Apocalypse leads to some very strange translation. This is evident from the translation of the very first word, where Pryse explains that "The word apokalypsis, 'unveiling', is clearly a substitute for epopieia, 'initiation into seership.' That Iôannîs could not possibly have intended the title of his occult treatise to convey the meaning of 'revelation' is evident from the nature of the work." Another translation that immediately struck me as bizarre was the translation of μου τὸν λόγον as "my arcane doctrine" in Revelation 3.8. Unfortunately, Pryse never explains his reasoning for this one.
Because Pryse sees Revelation as being a treatise on the ascent of the psychic self, he often sees the symbols of Revelation as representing the human body. Thus the broad street that runs down the center of the new Jerusalem is the spinal cord. The scroll with seven seals is the human body and the seals are the seven chakras. (Pryse is obsessed with the chakras; the seven churches also represent the chakras.) The expulsion of the dragon from heaven "allegorizes the exclusion from the mind of all impure thoughts, especially those relating to the subject of sex." The lake of fire represents the place where "the condemned elements of the physical and psychic natures ('Death and the Unseen')" are thrown. And so on.
One peculiarity in the book may seem trivial but bears mentioning. Pryse writes, "Plato speaks of chalkolibanon (Kritias, p. 114) [cf. Revelation 1.15] as a metal mined by the Atlantians and esteemed by them as the most precious of metals except gold — which it is, in the series of esoteric correspondences. He does not describe it, but says, 'Chalkolibanon is now only a name, but was then something more than a name,' a statement that is no more than a sarcastic comment on the spiritual degeneracy of the times." But in fact Critias 114e does not have the word χαλκολίβανον but rather ὀρείχαλκος. So where did Pryse get this idea from?
Eric Rowe from the Nerdy Biblical Languages Majors group traced down a possible answer. The Vulgate of Revelation translates χαλκολίβανον as orichalcum (perhaps relying on Plato?)
So is this book worth reading? Yes, I think so. It is currently rated 4.19 stars on Goodreads with 21 ratings and 5 reviews. If you are going to read D. H. Lawrence’s Apocalypse it is required reading, I think, since Lawrence borrows many of Pryse’s ideas.
[edit: August 18, 2025] It is typical for me to edit previously posted reviews after a reread. I considered just leaving this review as it stood, because the original review is a pretty good summary of the book. Still, I thought of a few things I wish to add. First of all, I like the format of the book as a section by section commentary on the text of Revelation with an extended introduction. The introduction is worth reading as a stand alone work and I may do that some lazy Sunday afternoon. Next, I think it is important to point out the importance of astrology in this text, something I neglected to do in my original review. Since Pryse imports many new age concepts into his understanding of Revelation, it is no surprise that astrology permeates his book. One should compare the astrological references in this book to the ones in Frederick Carter's Symbols of Revelation, another interpreter of Revelation as an occult text. Someday when I have nothing better to do I may do this and write up the results.
One thing I found rather amusing was the different astrological signs these two authors assign to the seven seals. Of course, the first seal has to be Sagittarius the archer and the third seal has to be Libra the scales. But what of the others? Pryse and Carter both assign Scorpio to the second seal and Virgo to the fourth seal, following the signs as they appear in the solar calendar in reverse order. But after this they go their separate ways. Carter continues around the zodiac, pairing the fifth, sixth, and seventh seals with Leo, Cancer, and Gemini. Pryse pairs them with Cancer, Capricorn, and Leo. This just confirms to me that whatever signs you assign to the seals is arbitrary and the author of Revelation most likely didn’t have the zodiac in mind at all when he wrote this section.
In my original review I pointed out a problem with Pryse's handling of the Greek word χαλκολίβανον. On the reread of the book I found a few more, which are worth pointing out. Pryse writes, "the word orgê, although signifying colloquially and in ordinary literature any violent passion, as anger and the like, has a more technical meaning in the terminology of the Mysteries, where it signifies the fecundating power or parturient energy in nature." I ran this idea past my Nerdy Biblical Majors group and none of those scholars and students could find any such reference in their resources. One person did an internet search, and Google AI confirmed Pryse's definition, but only by referring to Pryse himself! (Which is why we should not trust ChatGPT overly much.)
Another example of bad Greek was this beaut: "The seventh Divinity pours out his saucer into the air (the aureola), and the enthroned God announces, 'He has been born' (gegone). The authorized version gives the strained empirical translation, 'It is done.' But genesthai means 'to be born,' 'to become,' and is often (sic) used in the New Testament in the former sense, as in Galatians iv. 4, 'born of woman.'" But according to the Biblehub website, the NASB translates forms of ginomai as "born" only *two* times, as opposed to "become" 83 times and "happened" 46 times. To state the obvious, two times is not often, especially for a word used hundreds of times in the NT.
Anyway I am very glad to have this book in my Kindle library so that I can refer to it anytime I like. Maybe next I will read Carter's Symbols of Revelation and start making notes in the Pryse book of astrological parallels between the two writers.
October 26, 2021
Interesting interpretation of Revelation. Pryse is very knowledgeable on esoteric history and ancient writings and he claims Revelation is about something completely different from other scholars interpretations. The blatant Greek translation mistakes by John are intentional for the adept to pick up what he is really trying to say. Pryse claims if John didn’t use symbols and allegory’s and said outright what he wanted to say this book wouldn’t be in the Bible.
It’s interesting but must be taken with a grain of salt because Pryse could be using bias to sway some of the symbols and numerology to fit his narrative.
My understanding in what Pryse says is that through YEARS of meditation aligning all power centers of the body with celibacy one can unlock energy in their mind and gain divine wisdom and unlock unused areas in the brain. This is in a nutshell and obviously Pryse uses scripture from Revelation with symbols, numerology, and allegories to support this claim
It’s interesting but must be taken with a grain of salt because Pryse could be using bias to sway some of the symbols and numerology to fit his narrative.
My understanding in what Pryse says is that through YEARS of meditation aligning all power centers of the body with celibacy one can unlock energy in their mind and gain divine wisdom and unlock unused areas in the brain. This is in a nutshell and obviously Pryse uses scripture from Revelation with symbols, numerology, and allegories to support this claim
May 25, 2016
I'm unlikely to write a better review than did Phil Hine on enfolding.org.
August 14, 2014
Amazing reference for occult seekers!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews