Greek for 'lifting the veil,' not destruction — the catastrophic meaning comes entirely from Revelation's content.
A catastrophic event involving widespread destruction; originally, a prophetic revelation, especially of the end of the world.
From Old French 'apocalypse,' from Late Latin 'apocalypsis,' from Greek 'apokálypsis' (ἀποκάλυψις, an uncovering, a revelation), from 'apó' (ἀπό, away from, off) + 'kalýptein' (καλύπτειν, to cover, to conceal). An apocalypse is literally 'an uncovering' — the removal of a veil to reveal hidden truth. The word originally had nothing to do with destruction; it meant divine disclosure. Its association with catastrophe comes
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