The primrose path

What would a new apocalypse look like? Apocalyptic was a common genre in ancient times. We read Revelation today and think, "how weird and unusual." Back then a reader might have thought, "not this shit again." What do you need for an apocalyptic? you need beasts: dragons, chimeras, goats, bulls, sphinxes; you need visions: women clothed with the sun, women running through the desert, etc; you need fire and smoke; you need angels and trumpets and bowls and scrolls. Repeat the phrase, "then I saw ..." Remember this: a vote or two going the other way and our bibles end with the Shepherd of Hermas: a wonderful apocalypse that begins with an episode of voyeurism: "I saw her bathing in the river."