Archetype of the Apocalypse: A Jungian Study of the Book of Revelation [Hardcover]

Edward F. Edinger (Author), George R. Elder (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

According to the author, we are in the midst of a monumental cultural change that will end the world as we know it. This, he maintains, is as a result of an increasingly powerful force of our collective unconscious, a force he calls "the apocalypse achetype". This archetype is manifesting itself with an intensity not seen since the fall of the Greco-Roman empire. With this book, he constructs a Jungian interpretation of the Bible's "Book of Revelation", and offers his view of the meanings of images that have intrigued our culture for over 2000 years. Within this context, he explores contemporary issues such as the violence of communities, the psychological meaning of AIDS, and the increase of terrorism. He argues that by understanding the symbolism of the "Book of Revelation" in modern terms and assimilating it as a psychological document one can grasp the unconscious currents of the present, guide future expectations, and find the meaning needed to ensure the impending uncertainty and fear of change.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a tool for textual criticism, Jungian analysis often reveals as much or more about Jungian analysis than about the text. Edinger's study of John's Apocalypse is no exception. Readers will learn a great deal about the Jungian concept of archetypes and their impact on individuation; they will learn less about the biblical book. Edinger was a founder of the C.G. Jung Institute of New York. This book grew out of a series of 10 lectures he delivered at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, beginning in 1995. Though edited and revised for publication, they retain some of the fragmentary and episodic character of popular lectures. The book is divided into chapters that follow the sequence of John's narrative. Edinger brings the narrative into dialogue with dream images gleaned from his own experience as an analyst and from reports of other psychiatrists. Most interesting are Edinger's extensive commentary on Jung's Answer to Job and his brief discussion of two contemporary cases of "possession" by the "apocalypse archetype"ADavid Koresh and the leaders of Heaven's Gate. These illustrate the explosive power of what Edinger calls "the coming of the Self." For the alienated ego, the eruption of the Self from the unconscious is not only explosive but destructive. The alternative Edinger proposes, quoting Jung, is the "broadening out of man to the whole man," a far cry from the book of Revelation but an indication of the social dimension of Jungian individuation.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Edinger, who died in 1998, was a Jungian analyst, author, and lecturer. His book will probably appeal more to Jungians than to New Testament exegetes, since Jungian analysis is not high on the list of methodologies used by New Testament scholars, if it makes the list at all. In a chapter-by-chapter explanation of the symbols in Revelation/Apocalypse in Jungian terms, Edinger argues that a significant cultural upheavalAread apocalypseAis coming, based on growing violence, belief in alien abduction, the spread of cults, and so on. The two appendixes make the interesting point that the strange behaviors of Waco's David Koresh and Heaven's Gate's Marshall Applewhite are adequately explained only by the archetype of the Apocalypse. This book is not light reading. Recommended as an alternative explanation of contemporary culture.AJohn Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Open Court Publishing Company (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812693957
• ISBN-13: 978-0812693959
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lucid description of apocalyptic psychology., October 4, 1999

By 

Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archetype of the Apocalypse: A Jungian Study of the Book of Revelation (Hardcover)

Once again Edinger turns his analyst's eye on a seminal topic--in this case, the apocalypse archetype--and provides useful interpretations and amplifications. The book's one drawback is the degree to which Edinger's rather fundamental Jungianism shows through...proving the book's thesis that it's easy to become possessed by this particular archetype. Recommended. -- Craig Chalquist, M.S., designer of the "To Thine Own Self" Web site.

9 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lots about Jung, less about Revelation, December 29, 1999

By 

"wjhb" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archetype of the Apocalypse: A Jungian Study of the Book of Revelation (Hardcover)

As the co-author of my own book on Revelation ("Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now" [Orbis 1999]), I am always interested in new approaches to this ancient text. While Dr. Edinger was obvious an expert in Jungian psychology, his skills as a biblical exegete are wanting. His interpretation relies almost exclusively on his impressionistic reaction to the text from a Jungian perspective, and the eclectic interpretation of Revelation from scholar JM Ford, whose work has been strongly critiqued by scholars.

If you are already a Jungian, you'll feel confirmed by this book. If you're looking for a reading of Revelation that respects both its historical and biblical contexts, look somewhere else.