Diagram 10

from Chapter VIII

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As an immediate follow up with our latest post, devoted to Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhyn and his ‘Nefesh haChayyim’ on the subject of ‘God, as the place of the World‘, we present a little musing exegesis of diagram 10: ‘The Alchemical Apocalypse: Von Welling’s Vision of Cosmic Renewal‘ from Chapter VIII, section 63 and providing its corresponding text, excerpted from Georg von Welling’s ‘Opus Mago-Cabbalisticum et Theosophicum‘, Frankfurt & Leipzig, 1760. From page 333 to 335. More to come soon!

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The Alchemical Apocalypse:

Von Welling’s Vision of Cosmic Renewal

In Georg von Welling’s ‘Opus Mago-Cabbalisticum’, the interplay of three textual parts and an enigmatic diagram reveals a grand hermetic narrative—one where Scripture, Alchemy, and Kabbalah converge to map the soul’s ascent from divine judgment to cosmic restoration. This little musing deciphers his layered system, showing how each element interlaces to form a potential manual for spiritual and material transmutation.

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I. The Divine Furnace: Judgment as Alchemical Dissolution

The first part opens with the breaking of seals: a temple unveiled, thunder shaking heaven, and the Ark of the Covenant radiating mercy amid wrath (Rev. 11:19). Here, Von Welling mirrors the alchemical nigredo—the blackening phase where base matter (the ‘godless’ multitudes) is tested by fire. The diagram’s upper triad (Weijsheir/Verstand, “Wisdom/Understanding”) presides over this dissolution, embodying the Kabbalistic pillars Chokmah and Binah. These divine forces, like a refiner’s crucible, separate pure from impure, echoing the 24 Elders who bow before the throne (opening part ). The numbers “26.8” (YHWH’s name + regeneration) and “Warmme” (fiery purification) encode this stage’s sacred geometry.

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II. The Millennial Crucible: Purification and the Sacred Marriage

The second part shifts to the 1,000-year reign (Rev. 20), where the ‘wise virgins’—souls tempered by trial—rule with Christ. This is the albedo, the whitening: a pause between cycles where light dominates, yet dross persists (the ‘foolish’ excluded). The diagram’s central cipher ‘(9) Hj = P ∩ .6Z’ hints at the union (∩) of spirit (Pneuma?) and matter (sulfur, ♂), while ‘Starbundal’ (star-bond) signals celestial forces stabilizing the interim kingdom. Von Welling’s numerical puzzles (e.g., ’29 Vy’) may mark durations or ratios for this liminal phase, akin to planetary alignments guiding laboratory work.

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III. The Golden Dawn: Archetypal Restoration

The finale part, proclaims Christ as the ‘seed of the woman’ (Gen. 3:15) who restores the Archetype—the primal design before the Fall. This is the rubedo: the diagram’s lower realm, where the ‘Otter‘ (serpentine chaos) is subdued, and ‘Verdem‘ (green life, Viriditas) erupts into golden perfection. Zechariah 14:9’s ‘one name’ unifies all opposites, dissolving even the ‘second death’ (Rev. 20:14). The cryptic ‘CAP. XXI’ (Chapter XXI) and ‘Küste Sieben’ (coast seven) may denote final instructions and operations, like the seventh metal (gold) or the Sabbath rest of creation.

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IV. The Diagram as Hieroglyph

Von Welling’s visual schema is no mere illustration but a functional mandala: Top (Divine): Wisdom/Understanding as the alembic’s lid, distilling celestial will. Center (Medial): Numbers and equations—laboratory notes for the adept. Base (Material): The serpent’s tail in its mouth (ouroboros), chaos cycled into order.

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V. Conclusion: The Initiate’s Work

This triad—Judgment, Reign, Restoration—is both prophecy & protocol. To engage it is to: Calcine the soul (opening’s trials), Coagulate wisdom in patience (second part’s millennial vigil), Conjoin with the Archetype (last part’s return). The diagram’s symbols, when read with textual keys, become a Rosetta Stone for sacred science—where Revelation’s thunder is the crackle of the athanor, and Christ the Lapis who turns all to gold. Thus, Von Welling’s oeuvre is whispering to us: The cosmos is a laboratory, and the alchemical apocalypse, the ultimate transmutation!

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A Working Translation of the corresponding text:

From Chapter Eight. Section 63

…Then the pleading angel sounded [his trumpet], and there followed mighty voices in heaven, which spoke (namely, from the saints in heaven): ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our LORD and of His Anointed; therefore, He (GOD, who will be ‘all in all,’ 1 Corinthians 15) shall reign for all eternity‘. (v. 16).

And the twenty-four Elders, who sat before GOD on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshiped GOD, saying (v. 17): ‘We give thanks to You, Lord GOD Almighty, […] that the nations have raged, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants‘  (v. 18).

And the temple of GOD was opened in heaven, and the Ark of His Covenant was seen in His temple (signifying the incomprehensible love and mercy of GOD in Christ). In Revelation 15:8, the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of GOD and His power, so that none could enter until the seven last plagues were completed. But here the temple is opened again to show that after the fulfillment of GOD’s judgments, His eternal love and mercy shall finally stand open to all creation, as clearly revealed through the Ark of the Covenant. (On the temple, see below.) And there followed lightnings, voices, thunders, earthquakes, and great hail […] (a repetition of the signs that will precede Christ’s advent).

From this twentieth chapter [of Revelation], it is also evident that during the 1,000-year reign of Christ with the saints on earth, there will still be many godless people, as verses 7–9 plainly attest. Now, how will the godless come to be on earth at that time? This is self-evident and requires no explanation.

As for the righteous, however, this merits deeper inquiry. The saying of Paul (1 Thess. 4:17) pertains to the end of the last age before the 1,000 years, when the Lord shall descend. As Scripture reveals, Jerusalem and all surrounding lands will be inhabited by restored Israel and believers from all nations (Ezek. 38:11–12), enjoying supreme blessedness—spiritual and physical peace—while the godless multitude likewise partakes of outward prosperity, as Isaiah 2:4 prophesies: ‘They shall beat their swords into plowshares… Nation shall not lift up sword against nation‘.

Only the martyrs of Jesus and those who slept in the Lord will be raised to join the Lamb’s marriage feast, together with the five wise virgins (those who overcame trial through active faith and love). Clothed with power from on high, they will commune with the triumphant Church in the heavenly Jerusalem, becoming kings and priests (Rev. 1:6)—a reflection of those reigning with Christ above. Meanwhile, the five foolish virgins (Rev. 19:19–21) will be excluded and sent to their appointed place.

Of this, we must speak sparingly now. Yet, note: After the Last Judgment (described in Chapter IV), the second death—the final enemy—begins its reign. As Paul writes (1 Cor. 15:24–28): ‘Then comes the end, when Christ delivers the Kingdom to the Father, having abolished all dominion (even in Hell). For He must reign until all enemies—including death (the second death)—are subdued. When Scripture says ‘all things,’ it excludes only Him who subjected all things‘.

(These verses trouble those who rely on human reason, doubting Christ’s divinity—a matter we defer for now.) We affirm only this: Christ’s mediation continues until all is renewed under its original head (Col. 1:16–17), ‘for through Him all things were created. Thus, the entire creation must return to its primal archetype’.

The Archetype having stood firm, all things shall return to the same order from which they were displaced by the Fall. ‘Thus, the Son—as the man born of the woman’s seed‘ (Gen. 3:15)—will restore this new creation to God the Father, so that the Father may be “all in all’ (1 Cor. 15:28) through the Son and Holy Spirit. As Zechariah 14:9 declares: ‘The LORD will be King over all the earth. On that day, the LORD will be one, and His name one‘. The remainder concerning the abolition of the second death is treated in the final chapter of the second part.

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 Original Corresponding German Text

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