The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Twelfth Lecture

[ 1 ] We cannot discuss everything there is to say about the Apocalypse, for otherwise we would have to talk about it for years. These lectures can therefore only aim to provide a sort of outline and some explanations that may help in understanding this monumental work. Today we would like to point out a few particularly important things. First, we must return to a specific aspect of human development.

[ 2 ] Between the Atlantean catastrophe and the great war of all against all, each period has its own very special task for our development. No human being ever has the same task in a new incarnation as in the previous one. From incarnation to incarnation, new tasks are set before him, and thus this post-Atlantean period of development has worked upon humanity in a special way. The Earth period exists to prepare humanity to develop the human “I” in a particular way. In the last third of the Atlantean period, humanity received the first predisposition to draw its “I”—which was in its earliest germ—toward the physical head. But the most significant impulse was exerted upon the “I” by the event at Golgotha. All preceding epochs, however, had already been working toward this in advance. When we look back at the last third of the Atlantean period, we see how, at that time, a certain point in the etheric head and in the physical head did not coincide, whereas today the etheric body of the head is ‘roughly equal’ to the physical head. As a result, human beings gradually came to develop their “I.” The entire remainder of Atlantean development was devoted to making human beings capable of becoming true bearers of the “I.” Even in the final period of Atlantean culture, the brain was still quite soft, much like hydrocephalus is still found today as an atavistic trait. It was only through the emergence of the etheric head that the physical brain could become firm enough. When, during the ancient Indian period, the etheric head was fully incorporated into the physical head, that head was still not yet a perfect bearer of the “I.” For this reason, the ancient Indian yearned for the spiritual world and had to be educated so that the “I” could gradually develop within him.

[ 3 ] Human beings consist, first and foremost, of the four constituent elements: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the “I.” However, if we wish to examine post-Atlantean development in greater detail, we must take into account the ninefold nature of the human being. This is the difference between Eastern and Northern mystery teachings. The I now works to transform the astral body into Manas, or the spiritual self; the etheric body into Budhi, or the life spirit; and the physical body into Atma—through the breath. The I thus transforms the astral body, the etheric body, and the physical body. But before this can take place consciously, it must be accomplished through higher beings.

[ 4 ] Today, conscious work toward this end takes place only in the mystery schools, in the schools of initiation. For example, during the last third of the Atlantean epoch, the physical body was transformed—albeit unconsciously—to the extent that it could become a bearer of the “I.” What has now been transformed in the astral body is called the feeling soul; the etheric body, thus transformed, is the intellectual soul; and the physical body, thus unconsciously transformed, is the consciousness soul. And only when a human being has developed the consciousness soul can the spiritual self gradually—unconsciously at first—be woven into him.

[ 5 ] Gradually, throughout the cultural epochs of Earth’s evolution, the process by which Manas enters the astral body takes shape. The consciousness soul, having been prepared during the last third of the Atlantean era, must be transformed once again in the coming cultural epochs through the Yahweh-Christ principle.

[ 6 ] In ancient Indian times, the etheric body is permeated by the “I” that has now entered into human beings; in the Persian era, the astral body is permeated by the “I”; in the Egyptian era, the sensory soul; in the Greco-Latin era, the intellectual soul; in our culture, the conscious soul; and in the “Philadelphia” era, the spiritual self or Manas. Then those who, through theosophical and spiritual teachings, have made themselves capable of recognizing Christ will be able to see him in a new form of existence—in his subtle etheric body—for he will return.

[ 7 ] Through wisdom, through theosophy, the “I” is trained in such a way that it receives Manas, or the mental self, and will be able to recognize the Christ. The theosophical teachings were not given to humanity to promote theosophy, but because they were necessary.

[ 8 ] During the period represented by the seven seals, increasing materialism will trigger something like a meteor shower, and the rest of humanity will ascend to a spiritual state. What the spiritualized people in our post-Atlantean culture have worked to achieve will permeate their innermost beings. When, during the period of the sixth seal, everything a human being possesses in terms of the feeling soul, the intellectual soul, and the conscious soul has been integrated into the other members of the being, then the human being will have attained the ability to create an outward expression of the inner self in his or her gestures, facial features, and entire life. Because they have worked on their development, they will be capable, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth periods of the Epoch of the Seals, of working on themselves through the permeation of these three soul forces—the feeling soul, the intellectual soul, and the conscious soul—in order to be able to receive Manas.

[ 9 ] When a person has truly gone through a cycle so that nothing remains, this is denoted in occultism by 0 or zero. Thus, people will have gone through the 3 and the 4. For the next period, this interpenetration of 3 and 4 is expressed by multiplying 3 by 4; they have passed through three cycles, that is, through three zeros. This is expressed as follows: 12 with three zeros: 12,000. “And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom it had been given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from all the tribes of the sons of Israel—twelve thousand sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben...” (Rev. 7:2–5) Now the various groups of people who have reached maturity are united in the church of Philadelphia to attain maturity in brotherhood, because one soul feels compassion for another. All those who have separated themselves from the various groups may now be multiplied together, because they will live in such harmony that they do not disturb one another, so that soul works its way into soul: 12 times 12,000 equals 144,000.

[ 10 ] These are the ones who will form human society during the period of the sixth seal. The apocalyptic writer knows the secrets of the entire process of development, and he recounts them in a language that is generally so difficult to understand precisely because it is through the effort required to penetrate these mysteries that people will be able to develop their conscious soul.

[ 11 ] What is presented today as Theosophy is appropriate for the present era. In later times, a completely different form of wisdom will be presented. The souls who are preparing themselves today by embracing theosophy will embrace new forms of wisdom in the next age. What is exoteric culture today was mystery wisdom in ancient times.

[ 12 ] In all the ancient mysteries, there was a final stage in which the initiate experienced the Mystery of Golgotha. Thus, the coffin—in which the initiate experienced the crucifixion and the burial, and from which he experienced the Resurrection—was given the shape of a cross. Since the Mystery of Golgotha, this fact has become exoteric.

[ 13 ] The conservative mindset always resists the idea of making the esoteric exoteric. Thus, Christ was regarded as someone who brought the esoteric out into the open. But the esoteric must always be brought out into the open when the time is right. If we could have followed the apocalyptic writer to the place where he spoke to his disciples, we would all have been able to hear what is being spoken to us today.

[ 14 ] During the period when the sixth seal is broken, the Twelve-fold human beings will appear, and likewise, in the sixth state, the salvation of the “Great Whore of Babylon” will take place. In this sixth state, the Earth will have gone through the Saturn, Sun, and Moon Earths, as well as the actual Earth state, the Jupiter Earth, and will finally have completed the five rounds on the Venus Earth. Then the sixth state will have arrived; yet the Volcanic State has not yet come for the Chosen Ones. That is why it is written: “Five have fallen”—and what remains: “one is”—and the seventh: “the other has not yet come.” (Rev. 17:10) Thus we see how we find Theosophy reflected in the revelations of the Apocalyptic writer.

[ 15 ] But those who proved immature during the Venus-Earth era, who placed themselves under the rule of Sorat, must now separate themselves onto a special globe, while the other seven descend and then ascend again. Thus the colony of Sorat is cast out. The black magicians inhabit this eighth sphere, which moves to the left, and the Beast harbors all that is cast out: this is the eighth state. Thus we could find all theosophical teachings in the Apocalypse.

[ 16 ] The more people advance, the more power is needed to spiritualize those who have been left behind. Therefore, those who are the most deeply initiated—Moses and Elijah—are called upon, for powerful forces are needed. They were already deeply initiated; therefore, in that distant future, they will be able to stand so high that they can work in a special way. But karma is a law to which all are subject; therefore, those who were initiated before the event at Golgotha must make up for the following:

[ 17 ] The three and a half days during which the old initiate was initiated were omitted from his evolution. After all, the initiate had to leave his body during those three and a half days. Thus, during that time, the “I” could not work on the transformation of his physical body, his etheric body, and his astral body. That is why, in the future, they must leave their physical bodies to the outside world for three and a half days. Thus we read: “And… their corpses will be seen for three and a half days.” (Rev. 11:9) Even the deeds that were offered as sacrifices to humanity must find their cosmic balance.

[ 18 ] Thus, spiritual seers have spoken to one another across the millennia, and we find everything—except for the names—reflected in the Book of Revelation. As Paul says, “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (cf. Gal. 2:20); we find this there as well. Christ shines into the “I.” Thus, the “I” will be permeated by Christ; the one who can enliven the “I” with his name—that is Christ: “...and a name is written that no one knows except himself” (Rev. 19:12)

[ 19 ] We are also told that the earth will be spiritualized in the New Jerusalem. Then there will no longer be an external sun; it is the corresponding spiritual beings who will radiate light. It says there: “... and the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it.” (Rev. 21:23)

[ 20 ] The apocalyptic writer always depicts the evolution of humanity in his writings; he sees the Leader, who was first proclaimed as Vishva Karman and then as Ahura Mazdao, and he points to Him—to Christ.

[ 21 ] To shed light on what is written in the Book of Revelation, we must also point out the transformation of the organs that develop within the human being in order to take on a different form; they now possess, so to speak, the potential to transform themselves.

[ 22 ] The heart muscle differs from other muscles under human voluntary control in that the heart is an involuntary muscle and yet is striated like all voluntary muscles. The heart is on its way to becoming an organ that functions quite differently; we can already see hints of this.

[ 23 ] What emanates from the vocal organ grows ever more powerful; what we speak to express our thoughts transforms the air—it already shapes it according to our thoughts. But the word will become ever more powerful. Through the word that emerges from the throat, humankind will one day create its own kind. That Being who is the Alpha and the Omega is symbolized by the one who carries the sword in his mouth.

[ 24 ] The Lamb, who will be Lord over the lower realms, forms one of the seals. Just as Sorat is cast out into the eighth sphere by the woman who shows us another Rosicrucian seal, so too can the seer see this today in the spiritual world. Thus, these Rosicrucian seals have an awakening effect when one immerses oneself in them with understanding.

[ 25 ] But we have seen that religious texts must be taken literally. Theosophy is the only possible commentary on the Apocalypse, and it is indeed meant to prepare the church in Philadelphia; it is therefore part of the plan for the Earth’s evolution that theosophy exists.

[ 26 ] Thus, great individuals are at work at various points on our Earth to impart theosophy to those who are capable of receiving it.