Revelation

Natural (general) Revelation

In progress

Special (Specific) Revelation

What are the aspects of a special revelation? What sets that apart specifically? I talk about it through the mnemonic of The Three Rivers—the Revealer, the Revelation, and the Revealed—but I want to look at this from a bit more academic or theological perspective.

What is a revelation?  Quite simply, it is an event. It is something that occurs within a specific place and time within history. But it’s more than an ordinary event. It is an event of disclosure, through an avenue of inspiration, in an extraordinary manner, that is given to a specific person or persons by such means that is impossible to examine how it came about without contradictions. With a definition like this, it would be understood that revelation only occurs to individuals of exceptional disposition and only in particular circumstances.

But, the one thing that has to be made clear, is that a revelation will always be in the form of an unveiling of something that was previously veiled. It will be—to be perfectly frank about it—an apocalypse (Gk. apokálypsis, lit. uncovering). It is little wonder to me, then, that after asserting the primary metaphysical revelation of the aeon, the second verse of the Book of the Law goes on to state so clearly, "The unveiling [apocalypse] of the company of heaven."

The final conclusion about the disclosure of a revelation is that it must reveal something about an understanding of the nature of reality. It must provide a new significance to existence itself. Not necessarily new meaning, but certainly new significance to the ultimate concern of individual existence and humanity-at-large.

But what about the structural elements of revelation? In the simplest form, revelation is the concept of someone (or some thing) discloses something to someone else. This is really where the previous mnemonic comes into play and The Three Rivers is intended to fulfill this understanding: respectively, the Revelation, the Revealed, and the Revealer^[1]. I know that might come as a surprise to some to see the order in which that is arranged but it will become apparent as we move along the path of revelation here. But keep in mind that The Three Rivers and it’s components are merely what I’ve said: a mnemonic. A revelation, in full, is precise as defined: someone (or some thing) discloses something to someone else. It’s as simple as that.

The concept of revelation, however, can be expanded to be viewed in the manner of five elements; that is, that which contains content, an origin, a form, a recipient, and an effect.

CONTENT

What is the content of revelation? This was mentioned previous as the disclosure of an understanding of the nature of reality, something of a new significance to the ultimate concern of individual existence and humanity-at-large. It does not require that every aspect of reality be explicated in minute detail. That is absurd. A revelation offers a shift in the manner by which reality is perceived at its most fundamental level without the alteration of existence itself. A revelation, once disclosed, cannot be undisclosed. You cannot decide to swallow the Red Pill and then spit it back out again.

Though here is the nature of the content of a revelation that seems to escape most, and especially in a modern age: each individual, including the someone or someones to whom the revelation was disclosed initially, are never faced with a single understanding of the revelation. They will come to encounter that revelation multiple times in their life, again and again, and find that each time their understanding will be different in some manner. They will have to make a choice as to what they will do with that encounter with understanding—and they can do many things with it, but they cannot ignore it or escape it ever again.

ORIGIN

Disclosure of a revelation must have an origin. It was earlier stated that a revelation is an event of disclosure, through an avenue of inspiration, in an extraordinary manner, by such means that is impossible to examine how it came about without contradictions. It’s a complex sentence to untangle. This idea of the origin is that of a paradox. And regardless of how any religion will spin their doctrine, it will always be a paradox.

But here is one aspect of the disclosure, or rather the origin of the disclosure that isn’t discussed much. In a currently unpublished manuscript, I wrote

The Law of Thelema is the next in a line of successive revelations. There will be another revelation that comes after it. Our limitations of knowledge and understanding here in this new aeon are simply a given. However, in each aeon, some have been able to comprehend or infer the nature of the universe from a particular revelation and see past that aeon’s specific imagery to experience something transcendent. They have been called saints, saviors, mystics, magi, magicians, and more. They validate both the truth of the aeon and the lie of the revelation.

While this would appear to be more suited as a descriptor of recipients of a revelation, it is important to note that revelation is both a truth and a lie that is capable of being perceived by some and not others. It is a temporary temporal lie that has the form of a truth. The reason it is a lie is that it will eventually be superseded by another lie in the form of a new truth. Did I mention it’s a paradox?

FORM

Revelation will have a form. it always appears in a form. It is not bound to a specific or particular form, however. I want to stress the word 'form,' through. This is merely one term of many possible persons, places, or things, though, it is always in nature of a relationship between humanity and the disclosure of the revelation itself. The occasion of revelation that arises can take any form. Every revelation in history has also had an external "word," a Logos, something that could be handled by the senses. For the Law of Thelema, that was the Book of the Law and the word, Thelema itself—but more specifically in the symbol of θέλημα—as manifested through the prophet, Aleister Crowley.

RECIPIENT

It is important that we understand the concept of the recipient of a revelation. This occurs on two levels.

First, there is the person or persons to whom the revelation is first disclosed. For Thelema, this is to the persons of Rose and Aleister Crowley. Others are welcome to quibble all day concerning the details of such matters, but that goes back to the details of the paradox of the origin of a revelation rather than the fact of a recipient itself. In this case, there is truly no doubt that we have a recipient of the revelation through the Prophet and his bride.

Second, there is the nature of the continuing revelation in those that come to encounter the revelation itself; that is, those who are compelled through the nature of the Law into a new understanding of the universe in which they participate. They are also recipients of the revelation. In this manner, there can also be no dispute the revelation has occurred and we find confirmation of the disclosure itself through the life changing aspects of the revelation.

EFFECT

Revelation always has an effect. Whether that is a localised effect or a global effect, there will always be some kind of ripple. We are still feeling the effect of the previous revelation, both positive and negative, even when it is not explicit in nature. While we are starting to see the effect of the revelation of Thelema in the world, it may be centuries before we truly see the world manifesting true change in accordance with that revelation. Thelema does not have the guts or the glory to change the world through bile and blood—nor should it.

But here’s the interesting effect of this particular disclosure. In the past, revelation instilled faith and fanaticism. The Law of Thelema, however, turns that on its head and discloses "certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy" (AL 1.58). There is no faith in the hereafter that is promised through a revelation. The disclosure is not a "do or do not serve now, prosper or pay later." There is a revelation of certainty. It is "live now, full stop." Nothing like this has been provided before. There has been no effect given in a revelation like this before. The level of consciousness necessary for a revelation of this sort has not been achieved in humanity in the past. Only now are we ready for this kind of disclosure.

What does all this really mean? Nothing. Not really. Nothing in the long run. It provides a basis for understanding the finer details, certainly. But it really adds nothing to the final message of the Law of Thelema.

That said, what it does do is provide a far more grounded field of play when you want to go out with the big boys at the 18-hole but keep rolling up to the putt-putt castle. The above is, as mentioned, just a quick and dirty outline and not a fleshed out final workup. But it’s a start on at least one aspect of how we can look at Thelema from a more mature aspect of the revelation itself.

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