Where Does the Word Apocalypse Come From?
People love to throw around the word apocalypse. If you do a Google search of the words zombie apocalypse almost 3 million results come back! But what does the word apocalypse even mean? The word apocalypse comes from the Greek word apokalypsis (that’s easy enough to remember). The very last book of the Christian Bible, known as Revelation in English, comes from the Greek word apokalypsis.
Apokalypsis (Greek) ä-po-kä'-lü-psēs/noun: lay bare, disclosure of truth, instruction concerning things before unknown, manifestation, or appearance.
Apokalypsis appears 18 times in the Greek New Testament. The best way to really find out the truest meaning of this word is to look at how it is used in the New Testament.
New Testament Use of “Apocalypse”
Jesus is a light and apokalypsis to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32)
A day of wrath and apokalypsis is coming (Romans 2:5)
There is an apokalypsis of the sons of God that all creation waits for (Romans 8:19)
We are living in the time of the apokalypsis of the mystery of Christ that was kept secret for ages (Romans 16:25)
There is coming an apokalypsis of the Lord Jesus & His Glory that is different from his first coming (I Corinthians 1:7)
The assembly of the church brings different gifts including apokalypsis (I Corinthians 14:26)
The apostle Paul had visions and great apokalypsis of the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 12:1,7)
God is the author of a spirit of wisdom & apokalypsis of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7)
The Apostle John received an apokalypsis of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1)
The writers of the New Testament received great revelation or apokalypsis of the life, works, and role of Messiah Jesus. Some of the synonyms used in the New Testament scriptures for the word apokalypsis are: lighten, manifest, coming, reveal, and appear. Each of these words help us to form a proper New Testament definition of apokalypsis:
That which was hidden has now been revealed in Jesus the Messiah!
The word apocalypse doesn’t seem so frightening now, does it? So what’s all the fuss about the coming apocalypse? Well, even though the word itself means revelation, the actual book of Revelation does have some scary apocalyptic, earth-shattering, zombie-like events. The last day events recorded in the book of Revelation foretell a time of great distress for planet earth. Even the New Testament writer of a book addressed to the Romans promised a day of wrath and future apocalypse where God will judge an unrepentant world (Romans 2:5). The question begs, should you be worried about a coming wrath? That is a loaded question, but an excellent one! I will address this in part two. Should I Fear the Coming Apocalypse?