The Revelation of Saint John: The Path to Soul Initiation; Understanding the True Meaning of the Apocalypse by Zachary F. Lansdowne   

As seems to happen with me lately, just when I decide what I want to study next, I run across a book that is a commentary on the very topic I've chosen to study.  In this case, the study I'm beginning to pursue is the Book of Revelations.  The book "The Revelation of Saint John" is a verse-by-verse psychological interpretation of Revelations.  The author has written this book to counter the pervasive belief spread by the fundamentalists that the Book of Revelation is a set of doomsday predictions for the future, which they always believe to be right around the corner. Zachary Lansdowne describes the Book of Revelations as a code of symbols describing the soul's journey through the spiritual enlightenment experience, which is in complete agreement with the Sophian tradition's view.  As with all spiritual books, canonical and extra-canonical, the Book of Revelations is a multi-level work.  A literal interpretation of Revelations really wouldn’t make much sense, which is why church leaders and scholars have always been a bit puzzled by it and have argued many different interpretations, from historical events of the past, to a doomsday description of the future.  Where Revelations really begins to make sense is at the inner and esoteric level.  “The Revelation of St. John” covers part of this esoteric interpretation in that it describes the metaphysical and psychological aspect, but the work fails to recognize the Kabbalistic symbolism and meaning that would jump out at anyone versed in Kabbalah, including Sophian Initiates.  The author spends a lot of time linking the various verses to the chakra system and kundalini energy, eliminating the ego and spiritual transformation. What I really liked about this book and found both interesting and helpful for an independent study were the footnotes giving more detailed reasoning behind the psychological interpretation, references to other Bible verses that are linked to the particular verse in Revelations, other Bible versions' wording for some passages, and other sources of esoteric information.  Over all, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an alternative interpretation of the Book of Revelations that they might have received from the outer church, or for anyone interested in Revelations and the evolution of the soul.  While not a complete interpretation, it's a good start and step in the right direction.  I'll certainly be referencing this book in my own independent study of the Book of Revelations.