ABSTRACT
Seen in the context of psychology, the messianic ideal is an embarrassing problem. It must be something not related to everyday human ethics, and as man cannot look beyond ethics, it must be something supernatural that a mortal cannot perceive. The Revelation of St. John the Divine, however, had been conceived in an entirely different vein. In other words, the coming of the Messiah, though related to the performance of good words cannot be a reward. It must be something not related to everyday human ethics, and as man cannot look beyond ethics, it must be something supernatural that a mortal cannot perceive. The longing for sensation is, indeed, a very normal trait, though of dubious moral value. It may easily grow out to become an unhealthy interest in apocalyptic, eschatological fantasies. Only psychological enlightenment may prevent irreparable damage. Real bravery is the insight that one has to fulfill a moral duty against the odds of mortal danger.
