Christianity
This section details the various ways the Beatific Vision has been shown, depicted and described across the centuries within Christianity.
Since I already spent time describing St. Peter’s first mystical experience, there’s not much else to discuss and how to view the imagery in these photos. The clouds or angels are usually swirling in the spiral form and in the middle is either God the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, which in case it’s still difficult to see or isn’t clear, the Holy Spirit as the dove represents the spoked wheel image in Christian imagery, just as the six-winged seraphim represented it in the vision Isaiah receives in the Old Testament.
If these aren’t the images being shown in the art then the spiral ring within the ring is shown as the glory behind the figure itself, surrounding them or resting behind the head, and the ancient way of showing the cross encircled, or the Chi Rho, is the easier way of seeing this imagery and symbolism in Christian works of art and architecture, since eventually it seems to have stopped and the crucifix took its place, or Jesus emerging out of the glory in heaven or things like that.
If you find the Hagia Sophia images of Christ, you’ll see the Chi-Rho behind his head. The only reason why I bring this up is that this method of showing the cross is incredibly important for understanding why Emperor Constantine followed the prophecy given in his vision and used the symbol of the Chi Rho to win his battle at the Milvian Bridge and then subsequently converted to Christianity. I’ll explain this further when I get to the Ancient Old-World section.
The only other thing to mention about visions in Christianity since it pertains to all such visions across all religions is that aspects to the entire vision are sometimes not remembered or written down. Again, there could be many reasons why, but especially due to the actual mystical experience not being your everyday type of experience. As I’ve said elsewhere and I’ll say again here, meditation itself is an aspect of mysticism and can create and or generate feelings and sensations that feel otherworldly and can lead to the actual mystical experience, but meditating is not in it of itself the mystical experience but is a path to the summit where the experience can potentially be experienced. Since being at the summit can be the equivalent of the Apostles falling asleep at the Garden of Gethsemane, so a lack of fortitude and waiting, or the reference to every parable from Christ about being alert and ready for the master to arrive for you know not when that will occur.
Meditation doesn’t just create the mystical experience. Or another way of putting it: one does not call down God or the spirit or angels just by meditating. In fact, those that believe such things are unfortunately in error, or to be generous, are not in search of the love of God, but their own power and divinity, as I explained in my first podcast on the Ascension to the Temple of the Father and will explain further in season two that this was the spiritual pride problem that arose in me from thinking myself my own God from erroneous teachings. Or again, falling into severe error to which I was lovingly punished severely for it to show me the error to which I instantly repented, and the severity was instantly lifted. God comes if and when God comes. It’s our job to be ready, if and when that occurs.
The most logical reason why details of the experience can be, and are frequently left out is that since it’s incredibly difficult to remember everything that’s occurring, some of the details may get missed if one is focusing on something in particular, like the tunnel or cone of light being seen, or the vibratory sound or voice that’s heard, or if the mind immediately falls into deciphering the meaning of the contents of what’s being shown, or if one becomes transfixed on seeing the eternity of thoughts streaming eternally. And the list goes on. . .
