Sunday, March 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Apocalypses and Visions
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Texts
The Apocalypse of PeterThe earliest and most influential Christian apocalypse outside the New Testament, with vivid visions of paradise and torment that became the literary ancestor of Dante's Inferno.The Apocalypse of Peter - Akhmim FragmentM.R. James's critical assembly of all surviving witnesses to the Apocalypse of Peter, combining the Akhmim Greek fragment, a Bodleian leaf, and the fullest Ethiopic version with its doctrine that sinners may be saved through the prayers of the righteous.The Apocalypse of the VirginA late apocryphal vision in which the Virgin Mary is shown the torments of the damned and intercedes on behalf of sinners until the Son grants the damned rest during Pentecost.The Apocalypse of ThomasAn apocalyptic epistle from Christ to Thomas describing the seven signs heralding the end of the world, condemned by the Gelasian Decree and lost for centuries until rediscovered in multiple medieval manuscripts.The Revelation (or Vision) of PaulAn apocryphal apocalypse describing Paul's guided tour of heaven and hell, whose vivid catalogue of punishments and rewards became the foundational template for medieval visions of the afterlife including Dante.The Revelation of John the TheologianA Byzantine apocalypse in which John questions God about the last days, receiving vivid revelations of Antichrist's defeat, the resurrection of the dead, and the renewal of the earth.The Revelation of StephenAn apocryphal account of Stephen's martyrdom far more elaborate than Acts, preserved in a Slavonic romance with debates, tortures, miraculous healings, and the conversion of Pilate.The Vision of AridaeusPlutarch's vision of the afterlife from 'On the Delay of Divine Justice' -- the most detailed account of Hades from classical antiquity, exceeding even Plato's Vision of Er in scope.