The Apocalypse Of St. Loophole

The following text is from M.R. James' translation of and notes for The Apocalypse of Peter (link provided). I shall explain and expound after the quote.

"'Peter opened his mouth and said to me: Hearken, my son Clement, God created all things for his glory,' and this proposition is dwelt upon. The glory of those who duly praise God is described in terms borrowed from the Apocalypse: 'The Son at his coming will raise the dead . . . and will make my righteous ones shine seven times more than the sun, and will make their crowns shine like crystal and like the rainbow in the time of rain (crowns) which are perfumed with nard and cannot be contemplated (adorned) with rubies, with the colour of emeralds shining brightly, with topazes, gems, and yellow pearls that shine like the stars of heaven, and like the rays of the sun, sparkling which cannot be gazed upon.' Again, of the angels: ' Their faces shine more than the sun; their crowns are as the rainbow in the time of rain. (They are perfumed) with nard. Their eyes shine like the morning star. The beauty of their appearance cannot be expressed.... Their raiment is not woven, but white as that of the fuller, according as I saw on the mountain where Moses and Elias were. Our Lord showed at the transfiguration the apparel of the last days, of the day of resurrection, unto Peter, James and John the sons of Zebedee, and a bright cloud overshadowed us, and we heard the voice of the Father saying unto us: This is my Son whom I love and in whom I am well pleased: hear him. And being afraid we forgat all the things of this life and of the flesh, and knew not what we said because of the greatness of the wonder of that day, and of the mountain whereon he showed us the second coming in the kingdom that passeth not away.'

Next: ' The Father hath committed all judgement unto the Son.' The destiny of sinners -their eternal doom- is more than Peter can endure: he appeals to Christ to have pity on them.

And my Lord answered me and said to me: 'Hast thou understood that which I said unto thee before? It is permitted unto thee to know that concerning which thou askest: but thou must not tell that which thou hearest unto the sinners lest they transgress the more, and sin.' Peter weeps many hours, and is at last consoled by an answer which, though exceedingly diffuse and vague does seem to promise ultimate pardon for all: 'My Father will give unto them all the life, the glory, and the kingdom that passeth not away,' . . . 'It is because of them that have believed in me that I am come. It is also because of them that have believed in me, that, at their word, I shall have pity on men.' The doctrine that sinners will be saved at last by the prayers of the righteous is, rather obscurely, enunciated in the Second Book of the Sibylline Oracles (a paraphrase, in this part, of the Apocalypse), and in the (Coptic) Apocalypse of Elias (see post)."

The Apocalypse of Peter was among the many documents being considered for inclusion in the Christian Canon. It was seen by the Committee For Deciding What God Did Or Did-Not Say as being far more likely Of Divine Origin than the Revelation of St. John. However, what finally sealed its fate as Non-Canonical Apocrypha was the presence of the Damnation Loophole. The notion that the damned would be relased from Hell if the Blessed of Heaven were to simply ask for it.

This effectively states that punishment & suffering only exist because we allow them to.

All we need do is say "Cut the crap," and the crap shall be cut.

Of course, torment, punishment & suffering are the primary industry of Hell. When the primary industry of any region collapses, the community follows suit. It becomes a wasteland. A husk whose residents are left to languish without the umbillicus of money or purpose.

Of course, even with the re-annexing & social collapse, the population would, necessarily, continue to grow. Within this it would be necessary either for Hades to invent new industry (with the resources at hand) for gentrification to begin. Either way it would be the spark of Eternal Corruption.

Heh.

But... though it is an awful lot of fun to build glib tales around such devilments, it is actually important to look more closely at the fact that Peter's Apocaclypse was more highly regraded as being of Divine Origin than John's.

You see, the real problem provided by the afore-mentioned Damnation Loophole is that the Church would never have been able to market itself with that out in the open.

It is impossible to sell salvation without fear.

A bear ain't gonna cut off its own balls.

Sleep well.

Oh, wait, one other thing; The Dr. got a job out at Yale.

I'm moving to New Haven, Connecticut at the beginning of June.

<--Back The Fuck Up!____Move On!-->

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