apocalypse

n. [ L. apocalypsis, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to uncover, to disclose; &unr_; from + &unr_; to cover, conceal: cf. F. apocalypse. ] 1. (Eccl.) One of a numerous class of writings proceeding from Jewish authors between 250 b. c. and 150 a. d., and designed to propagate the Jewish faith or to cheer the hearts of the Jewish people with the promise of deliverance and glory; or proceeding from Christian authors of the opening centuries and designed to portray the future. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Specifically, the revelation delivered to St. John, in the isle of Patmos, near the close of the first century, forming the last book of the New Testament (called Revelation or the Apocalypse). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything viewed as a revelation, especially one that is highly significant for the person receiving it; a disclosure. Often used of a realization or revelation that changes a person's goals or style of life. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

The new apocalypse of Nature. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. the final battle between good and evil, as foreseen in Saint John's Apocalypse; the time when God conquers the powers of evil, attended by cataclysmic cosmic events, and sometimes thought of as the end of the world; an Armageddon. [ PJC ]