Apokalypsis literally means "uncovering" or "unveiling." It is what happens when something hidden is revealed. The last book of the Bible opens with the words "Apokalypsis Iesou Christou" — "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1). This book is not primarily about the end of the world (though it includes that); it is about the unveiling of Jesus Christ as the true Lord of history. The word is also used more broadly for God's self-disclosure: "When it pleased God... to reveal [apokalypsai] His Son in me" (Galatians 1:15-16). "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation [apokalypseos] in the knowledge of Him" (Ephesians 1:17). Paul speaks of "the revelation of the righteousness of God" (Romans 1:17). At the second coming, Christ will be revealed "in flaming fire" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8) — the final apokalypsis. Modern usage has flattened the word to mean only "catastrophic end of the world," which captures only a small slice of the biblical meaning. Every apokalypsis in Scripture is an unveiling of who God is and what He is doing. The book of Revelation is not primarily scary — it is primarily reassuring: behind the chaos of history, Christ reigns, and one day the veil will be pulled back and everyone will see it.