Book of Revelation

==== Esoteric ====
Christian Gnostics are unlikely to be attracted to the teaching of Revelation because the doctrine of salvation through the sacrificed Lamb, which is central to Revelation, is repugnant to Gnostics. Christian Gnostics "believed in the Forgiveness of Sins, but in no vicarious sacrifice for sin ... they accepted Christ in the full realisation of the word; his life, not his death, was the keynote of their doctrine and their practice."<ref>R. [[Frances Swiney]] (Rosa Frances Emily Biggs) ''The Esoteric Teaching of the Gnostics'' London: Yellon, Williams & Co (1909) pp. 3, 4</ref>

[[James Morgan Pryse]] was an esoteric gnostic who saw Revelation as a western version of the Hindu theory of the [[Chakra]]. He began his work, "The purpose of this book is to show that the Apocalypse is a manual of spiritual development and not, as conventionally interpreted, a cryptic history or prophecy."<ref>James M. Pryse ''Apocalypse Unsealed'' London: Watkins (1910). The theory behind the book is given in [[Arthur Avalon]] (Sir John Woodroffe) ''The Serpent Power'' Madras (Chennai): Ganesh & Co (1913). One version of how these beliefs might have travelled from India to the Middle East, Greece and Rome is given in the opening chapters of [[Rudolf Otto]] ''The Kingdom of God and the Son of Man'' London: Lutterworth (1938)</ref> Such diverse theories have failed to command widespread acceptance. However, Christopher Rowland argues: "there are always going to be loose threads which refuse to be woven into the fabric as a whole. The presence of the threads which stubbornly refuse to be incorporated into the neat tapestry of our world-view does not usually totally undermine that view."<ref>Christopher Rowland ''Revelation'' London: Epworth (1993) p. 5</ref>