The Rudolf Steiner Archive

77. Events in the Second Half of Lemurian Racial Evolution

[ 1 ] The Lunar Epoch is also called the Epoch of “cosmic wisdom.” On Earth, it was succeeded by the Epoch of “cosmic love.” With regard to love, human beings are just as dependent on beings higher than themselves as they once were with regard to wisdom. The wisdom involved manifests as Manas, and the quality that is infused is love. Therefore, esoterically speaking, the God of Wisdom is superseded by the God of Love.

[ 2 ] The powers acquired the ability to infuse beings with sexuality through the lesson they learned with wisdom on the Moon. What they were now able to bring to humanity was the spark of Manas, and from the outside they had to work to infuse the human body with love. In particular, it is so clear that Jehovah was connected to human love through humanity.

[ 3 ] It has become possible to impart wisdom from above because certain beings had advanced further in their development. They were the noble guides of the human manas, the first initiated Arhats. Wisdom would have been bestowed upon him in a serene revelation from above. There were other beings who, using human Kama, now achieved what they had not yet attained on the Moon: they endowed him with a passion for wisdom. These beings had to ascend with humanity, sharing their destiny, to attain what they had not yet achieved on the Moon. At the same time, they became humanity’s best friends. This is the Luciferic principle.

[ 4 ] Through the divine love embodied in the Christ principle, the Luciferic principle has been transformed. This will provide us with the key to understanding the story of the Fall in Paradise. The fact that Lucifer is, so to speak, the opposite of Christ was a self-evident truth to all religions before Christ’s Incarnation. And the fact that the time would come when humanity would redeem Lucifer within itself is a beautiful process that has not yet come to an end. And this whole concept also underlies Christianity. It is best expressed in the legend and the significance of the Christmas celebration. Christ sends the Spirit of Light, the Paraclete, who fights for humanity. An explanation of the Luciferic principle can be found in the Vatican archives.

[ 5 ] If you combine this with what I started from, you will see that Lucifer has yet another meaning. He is undergoing a development that he should actually have undergone during the Lunar Epoch. Consequently, the great gift of human freedom has brought with it something out of place—and this is where moral evil has its origin. Humanity owes its next stage of development to the capacity to do evil.

[ 6 ] At an even higher level, we are once again confronted with the mystery that higher evolution can only be achieved by something else remaining behind at a lower level. The higher Dhyan Cohans had to expel the Luciferic principle from within themselves in order to gain the ability to shape beings endowed with Manas. Lucifer remained behind so that the Deity could ascend higher. Thus, the Deity owes its level in the present cycle to him.

[ 7 ] Humanity exists so that it may become the image of God. But the Godhead had to leave something behind in order to move forward. When the Luciferic principle within humanity is redeemed, the Godhead will be redeemed from having cast Lucifer out. Human beings are not here for their own sake, but to contribute to the glory of God—so says the Apostle Paul. A good God, as such, could never create free human beings; to do so, He had to be a God who endowed human beings with impulses from only one side, and had to leave behind a being that endowed human beings with impulses from the other side.

[ 8 ] The Pythagorean disciples first had to create the necessary conditions for addressing the highest questions before they could pose them.

[ 9 ] Now you will also understand that there are different levels of the Luciferic principle within these backward beings. Wisdom can be sought for its own sake, but it can also be put in the service of Kama.

[ 10 ] The Luciferic principle has therefore also created the arts and sciences, which can likewise be put to use in the service of sensual gratification.