The apocalypse is nothing more than a revelation. If I would take the following scripture in Ephesians 1:17 and remove the word revelation and replace it with apocalypse your fear or perception of the word apocalypse will change.
Ephesians 1:17 (KJV)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and apocalypse(revelation) in the knowledge of him:
God wants you to experience the apocalypse.
I would like to take this scripture a bit further and add four pillars of knowledge to establish the understanding of the word revelation or apocalypse.
There are four words in this part of scripture that I want to replace to give it greater impact and understanding. The four words are spirit, wisdom, revelation, and knowledge.
The Greek word translated as spirit is – pneuma – which is used to describe wind, breath, or spirit. In the context of this scripture, I will use the word breath.
(DETAIL) word is spirit. You might ask how one word like -Pneuma- in Greek could mean wind, breath, or spirit. In English, each of these words has a different meaning to each other. If you would connect these three words in English with the spirit of man you will understand that they are all just different components of who you are. You are a spirit being created by God. In Genesis God breathed a breath into you to give you life.
Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
We are spirit
Romans 8:9
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
1 Corinthians 15:45
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The Greek word translated as wisdom is – sophias – which is used to describe wisdom, insight, skill, and intelligence. In the context of this scripture, I will use the word insight.
The Greek word translated as revelation is – apokalypseos – which is used to describe an unveiling, uncovering, revealing, or revelation. In the context of this scripture, I will use the word uncovering.
The Greek word translated as knowledge is – epignosei – which is used to describe recognition, which is the full discernment and acknowledgment of an individual, a first-hand knowledge by first-hand relationship and experience.
It is like when you give your spouse recognition and acknowledgment on their birthday and make a speech thanking them for what they have done and mean to you because you have a close and intimate relationship experience through all your trials and tribulations in life. (More detail) In the context of this scripture, I will use the word recognition.
The four words replaced in Ephesians 1:17 will read like this:
Ephesians 1:17 (KJV)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians 1:17(VKV)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a breath of insight an uncovering in recognition of him:
I have earlier explained the word revelation when you get that aha moment in your life. You might have experienced this when you try to apply your mind to a matter whether at work or while reading the bible and try to gain understanding and then the penny drops. The first thing you do is take a breath and say – ahh now I see. You have found insight into the matter. Once you have found that breath of insight, what was hidden is now revealed, it has been uncovered, an uncovering took place which is also known as a revelation or apocalypse. Paul is praying to God our Father that the Ephesians will find that breath of insight of who and what God our Father is to them, that He will be uncovered and they will see Him for who and what He is because they give him recognition. They have a first-hand relationship with experiential knowledge of Him. They acknowledge what God has done through His Son Jesus Christ and desire more.
To give someone recognition you need that close and intimate one on one small coffee table relationship to know their heart. To have this with God our Father we need to discern and obey His voice in our life. I will discuss this further in the chapter of – The Voice.