The Degrees of the Apocalypse - A Study of the 17th and 19th Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

Many degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite have been inspired by one or other of the Books of Scripture. Among these, Revelation holds a special place. It is, par excellence, an initiatory book due to its esotericism and eschatology.
The "Degrees of the Apocalypse" correspond to the 17th and 19th degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Originally, around 1760, the first degree was called Knight of the West and the second Sublime Scotsman. Upon their incorporation into the Rite of Perfection, they became Knight of the East and West and Sublime Scotsman or Grand Pontiff. Both can be analyzed as symbolic paraphrases of the Apocalypse, in its first part, that of calamities, for the 17th degree, and in its last part, that of the heavenly Jerusalem, for the 19th degree.
Claude Guérillot allows us to follow the evolution of these degrees over the centuries, and offers avenues for initiatory understanding.
The Apocalypse has inspired the greatest artists, particularly Albrecht Dürer whose engravings illustrate the rituals of the "Degrees of the Apocalypse" so perfectly that it seems impossible that they were not known to the Brethren who first elaborated them.