The Aletheia Apokalypsis
Behind My Use of the Term
Some may have noticed that in my first political writing “Running With Stray Pups” I used the Greek term aletheia apokalypsis(ἀλήθεια ἀποκάλυψις). As far as I am aware this term does not appear anywhere else and is a novel invention. However, for the sake of clarity I must explain what exactly I mean by this term seeing as it is core to my Theology and Philosophy.
Those familiar with Greek may immediately notice a few things with the first word ἀ meaning “not-”, λήθη or lethe, means “forgetful” or “concealed” thus the word ἀλήθεια means something like “not concealed” or “unforgotten” both understandings of the word are accurate though it is important to view it universally as “unclouded”. Apokalypsis on the other hand should be immediately recognizable to most persons as relating to a revelation, or in it’s more definitionally accurate form “uncover the veil”. So the term aletheia apokalypsis means something like “The revealed truth”.
Heidegger used the word aletheia in his philosophy to communicate the process of which the being of a thing is revealed. Though, Heidegger uses the word aletheia to denote how truth is a process of revealing, similarly to how the Pre-Socratics used the same word and have similar ideas about truth. However, I disagree on this usage of aletheia and introduced the second word apokalypsis to show that truth exists before it is ever revealed. Truth is not the process of being revealed but truth is the actual thing that is being revealed in its totality(which includes those parts of the process of revelation that directly correspond to the thing).
This brings me to what the aletheia apokalypsis is. The aletheia apokalypsis is that fundamental underlying truth of all things; the eschatological culmination point of the one and the many. This truth can only be revealed in part by natural reasoning and is more often covered up and avoided so that myths whether they be religious, philosophical, fantastic/emotional, mystical, political, personal or what have you can take the place of this revelation. The Unclouded Truth or Aletheia Apokalypsis is the real thing behind all these other conflicting movements and things. Modicums of this truth are spread throughout all of the subjects I mentioned earlier but they are also spread throughout all reality in every concept, subject and thing. All of this has to do with the Divine Order of creation. Creation was created to be a specific way, and to be participated in, according to a specific manner. Creation in its fallen state still reflects the eternal truth even without actually having or knowing the eternal truth, thus things only reflect this truth in an incredibly dim and extremely clouded manner. All creation was intended to know this truth fully and/or have it reflected both within itself and to the ultimate source of all truth—He whom is truth—which is God. The core of the Aletheia Apokalypsis is the gospel, and Christ. Christ and His gospel is the fundamental underlying story of all creation which is revealed perfectly in the Divine Revelation of Scripture. Or to put it more succinctly, the Aletheia Apokalypsis is the hidden yet revealed totality of Christian doctrine as revealed in Christ, it is the underlying reality that all things were made for God and what God has done and will do to restore all things to Himself.
This is why it is particularly awful when we see and accept myths and designs that cloud the truth and why such things must be vehemently contended with. Truth as we know it in this world, is a reflection of the Divine(and Divine order) which is most clearly seen unclouded in scripture though we ourselves may be full of clouds. When we see ideas that are oppositional to scripture or even seem scriptural yet are not truth we permit these clouds to enter into our vision and if we allow ourselves to be filled with their lies, to even cloud us who have been illumined by the presence and revelation of the living God. This is why in my writing on politics I focused on the political art of myth making. The political art of myth making is functionally magic, in that it creates a spell that binds the soul to it. The fundamental evil art at work here is the ability to turn things away from their God given purpose and to steal what God given goodness and gifts are in the subject for one’s self and finally to project that clouding of the subject onto others. This occurs not only in politics or in any of the aforementioned subjects but is most apparent in our personal daily life.
The intent and purpose of the term aletheia apokalypsis is to turn us towards how scripture has revealed that all things are and are to be. In daily life we often only subject one little corner of our life, or one series of thoughts, or this series of tasks to the Divine Revelation of Scripture and to the beautiful order laid out therein(which order is also laid out in Natural Revelation). So when I use this term in reference to a subject, the point is to get you to think about the underlying Christological, mystical, temporal and eschatological truths about the subject, the purpose is to pierce the heart of the thing, and not look upon the externals, the titles and names, or the systematic application of philosophy to the thing but to understand the Divine relevance of the thing according to its scriptural revelation and order. Do not misunderstand me the externals are incredibly important to a degree that cannot be communicated. However, when we are talking about the fulcrum of truth such external things come secondary to the truth itself, they are only communicators of the thing and are to be put in the order to which they belong. For example, if we read scripture such that the theology textbooks contained a more important truth than the Divine Revelation we would be in grave error, though that’s not to say that that such things are not helpful, they absolutely are; when used correctly.
So when we apply this understanding to daily life we transform not only ourselves but our entire life and the world around us, dispersing those clouds which seek to gather over us and devour us. We begin to truly perceive and understand the aletheia apokalypsis as we begin to live the divine life. Not only are our minds and bodies transformed by the understanding of the eternal truth but we get to live in it, and it becomes as though it is a living and breathing thing. All of this comes through the application of the Divine Revelation to our intellect and our use of our capacities of every kind to see the fullness of the aletheia apokalypsis in every part of the creation and in our own personal lives and routines. Even the trees themselves suddenly appear differently when rightly understood according to the aletheia apokalypsis, as they appear as columns in the temple of God’s creation where He once walked in purity with Adam. It is my opinion that this is what the Lord meant when He spoke saying “the kingdom of God is within you.”, It is in this way that God illumines not only us and our souls, but that He also shows us what He has instore for us, and as we walk around in this life knowing and submitted to His truth we shine for others, dispelling the clouds as a bright city on the hill. This is part of our little foretaste of heaven, even though New Jerusalem from heaven is still coming we may get to see it all around us now, as God intended from the beginning and as we’ve come to know through His word, in our baptism and when we commune with the heavenly presence on earth every Sunday, for our Lord does not come alone but is ringed about by the angels and His saints.
This Epiphany let us remember the truth of the shining star that leads us to Christ and Him who is the light that shines even brighter than the stars. May no cloud hide God or the full totality of His revealed truth from you, up through the day of our Lord’s second coming. Amen.
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