Christianity as Mystical Fact
GA 8
8. The Apocalypse of John
[ 1 ] At the end of the New Testament stands a remarkable document, the Apocalypse, the secret revelation of Saint John. We need only read the opening words to feel the esoteric character of this book. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God granted him, to show to his servants how the necessary events will shortly run their course; this is sent in signs by the angel of God to his servant John.”68Whenever Steiner quoted Martin Luther's translation of the Bible, the corresponding Authorized (King James) Version is given in this book. However, particularly in his quotations from the Apocalypse, Steiner's text sometimes coincides with neither the Greek original nor the Luther Version. In the first instance the present text as rendered in this book was translated directly from Steiner's German, and in the second, the Revised Standard Version proved to be nearer the German. What is revealed here is “sent in signs.” Therefore we must not take the literal sense of the words as they stand, but seek for a deeper sense, of which the words are only signs. But there are also many other things which point to such a “secret meaning.” John addresses himself to seven communities in Asia. This cannot mean actual, material communities. For the number seven is the sacred symbolic number which must be chosen because of its symbolic meaning. The actual number of the Asiatic communities would have been different. And its esoteric character is further indicated by the manner in which John arrived at the revelation: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a voice like a trumpet, saying; What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven communities.” Therefore we are dealing with a revelation received by John in the Spirit. And it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. What became revealed to the world through Christ Jesus appears in an esoteric form. Such an esoteric sense therefore must be sought in the teaching of Christ. This revelation bears the same relationship to ordinary Christianity as the revelation of the Mysteries in pre Christian times bore to the folk religion. Hence the attempt to treat this Apocalypse as a Mystery appears justified.
[ 2 ] The Apocalypse is addressed to seven communities. What does this mean? We need only single out one of the messages to perceive the sense. In the first of these is said: “Write to the angel of the community of Ephesus: The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lights. I know your deeds and what you have suffered and also your patient endurance, and that you will not support those who are evil, and that you have called to account those who call themselves apostles, and are not, and that you have recognized them as false. And you are enduring patiently and building up your work upon my name, and you have not grown weary of it. But I demand from you that you should attain to your highest love. Realize then from what you have fallen, change your thinking and accomplish the highest deeds. If you do not, I will come and move your light from its place, unless you change your thinking. But this you have, that you despise the deeds of the Nicolaitians, which I also despise. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the communities: To him who is victorious I will give food of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” (Rev. 2:1–7)—This is the message addressed to the angel of the first community. The angel, who represents the spirit of his community, has entered upon the path marked out by Christianity. He is able to distinguish between the false adherents of Christianity and the true. He wishes to be Christian, and has founded his work on the name of Christ. But it is required of him that he should not bar his own way to the highest love by errors of any kind. He is shown the possibility of taking a wrong course through such errors. Through Christ Jesus the path toward attainment of the divine has been marked out. Patient endurance is needed for further advancement in the sense of the first impulse. It is possible to believe too soon that one has grasped the right sense. This happens if someone allows himself to be led part of the way by Christ and then, after all, leaves this leadership by surrendering himself to false ideas about it. Thereby he relapses into his lower self. He has left the “first love.” The knowledge arising out of material perception may be raised into a higher sphere, becoming wisdom by being spiritualized and made divine. If it does not reach this height, it remains among transitory things. Christ Jesus has pointed out the path to the Eternal. With unwearied, patient endurance knowledge must follow the path leading to its apotheosis. Lovingly it must follow the steps which transform it into wisdom. The Nicolaitians were a sect who took Christianity too lightly. They saw but one thing: Christ is the divine Word, the eternal wisdom which will be born in man. Therefore they concluded that human wisdom is the divine Word. Hence it follows that one need only pursue human knowledge in order to realize the divine in the world. But the meaning of Christian wisdom cannot be construed thus. The knowledge which begins as human wisdom is as transitory as anything else unless it is changed into divine wisdom. You are not thus, says the “Spirit” to the angel of Ephesus; you have not relied merely upon human wisdom. You have trodden the Christian path with patient endurance. But you must not believe that the very highest love is not needed to attain this goal. For this a love is necessary which far surpasses all love for other things. Only this is the “highest love.” The path to the divine is an infinite one, and it must be understood that when the first stage has been reached it can be only the preparation for ascending to ever higher stages. In this way, through the first of the messages is shown how they should be interpreted. The sense of the others can be found in a similar manner.
[ 3 ] John turned and saw “seven golden lights,” and “in the midst of the lights the image of the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his loins; his head and his hair were gleaming white like wool or snow, and his eyes were sparkling in the fire.” We are told (Rev.1:20) that “the seven lights are the seven communities.” This means that the lights are seven different ways of attaining to the divine. All of them are more or less imperfect. And the Son of Man “had seven stars in his right hand” (verse 16). “The seven stars are the angels of the seven communities” (verse 20). Here the “guiding spirits” (daemons) of the wisdom of the Mysteries have become the guiding angels of the “communities.” These communities are represented as bodies for spiritual beings. And the angels are the souls of these “bodies,” just as human souls are the guiding powers of human bodies. The communities are the paths to the divine in the imperfect, and the souls of the communities should become guides along these paths. For this purpose they themselves must grow in such a way that their leader is the being who has the “seven stars” in his right hand. “And out of his mouth issued a two-edged sharp sword, and his countenance in its glory was like the shining sun.” In the Mysteries this sword is also found. The neophyte was terrified by a “drawn sword.” This indicates the situation of one wishing to know the divine by experience, so that the “countenance” of wisdom may “shine upon him with a glory like the sun.” Through this experience John also goes. It is to be a test of his strength. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his right hand upon me and said: Do not be terrified” (verse 17). The neophyte must go through experiences which otherwise come to man only when he goes through death. His guide must lead him beyond the region where birth and death have meaning. The initiate enters upon a new life, “and I was dead, and behold, I became alive throughout the cycles of life; and I have the keys of Death and the Realm of the Dead.”—Thus prepared, John is lead onward in order to learn the secrets of existence. “After this I looked, and behold, the door to heaven was opened, and the first voice which became audible sounded to me like a trumpet, and said Come up hither, and I will show you what will happen after this.” The messages of the seven spirits of the communities announce to John what is to occur in the material, physical world in order to prepare the way for Christianity; what he now sees “in the Spirit” leads him to the spiritual, primal source of things, hidden behind physical evolution, but which will be realized in a spiritualized age in the near future by means of physical evolution. The initiate experiences now in the Spirit what is to happen in the future. “And immediately I was withdrawn into the realm of Spirit. And I beheld a throne in heaven, and one seated on the throne. And he who sat there appeared like the jasper and carnelian stone; and a rainbow surrounded the throne that looked like an emerald.” In this way the primal source of the material world is described in the pictures in which it clothes itself for the seer. “And in the sphere around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated upon the twenty-four thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white flowing garments, and with golden crowns upon their heads.” (chapter 4, verses 1, 2)—Beings far advanced upon the path of wisdom thus surround the primal source of existence, to gaze on its infinite essence and to bear testimony to it. “And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second like a bull, the third looked like a human being, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. And each of the four living creatures had six wings, full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to proclaim: Holy, holy, holy, the God, the Almighty, who was, and is, and is to be.” It is not difficult to perceive that the four beasts represent the supersensible life underlying the forms of life presented by the material world. Afterward, when the trumpets sound, they raise their voices, that is, when the life expressed in material forms has been transmuted into spiritual life.
[ 4 ] In the right hand of him who sits on the throne is the scroll in which the path to the highest wisdom is marked out (chapter 5, verse 1). Only one is worthy to open the scroll. “Behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” The scroll has seven seals.c9Regarding the significance of the number seven, enlightenment may be gained from my bookGeheimwissenschaft,Leipzig 1910. [26th edition, Stuttgart 1955.] The wisdom of man is sevenfold. That it is designated as being sevenfold is again connected with the sacred character of the number seven. The mystical wisdom of Plato designates as seals the eternal cosmic thoughts which come to expression in things.69Philo, De specialibus legibus, The Special Laws, I, 47. Human wisdom seeks for these creative thoughts. But only the scroll which is sealed with them, contains the divine truth. The fundamental thoughts of creation must first be unveiled, the seals must be opened, before what is in the scroll can be revealed. Jesus, the Lion, has power to open the seals. He has given a direction to the great creative thoughts which, through them, leads to wisdom. The Lamb who was strangled and sacrificed his blood for God; Jesus, who bore Christ in himself and who thus, in the highest sense, passed through the Mystery of life and death, opens the scroll (chapter 5, verses 9–10). And as each seal is opened (chapter 6) the four living creatures declare what they know. At the opening of the first seal a white horse upon which sits a rider with a bowc10The meanings of the apocolyptic symbols can be only very briefly indicated here. Of course one could enter much more deeply into all these things. However, this does not lie within the scope of this book., appears to John. The first cosmic power, an embodiment of creative thought, becomes visible. It is directed into the right course by the new rider, Christianity. Strife is quieted by the new faith. At the opening of the second seal a red horse appears, on which again there is a rider. He takes peace, the second cosmic power, from the earth so that through sloth humanity may not neglect to cultivate the divine. The opening of the third seal reveals the cosmic power of justice, guided by Christianity; the fourth brings the power of religion, which has received new dignity through Christianity. The meaning of the four living creatures thus becomes clear. They are the four chief cosmic powers which are to receive new leadership through Christianity, War: the lion; Peaceful Work: the bull; Justice: the being with the human face; and Religious Enthusiasm: the eagle. The meaning of the third being becomes clear when it is said at the opening of the third seal: “A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling,” and that the rider holds a balance. At the opening of the fourth seal a rider becomes visible whose name was “Death, and Hell followed him.” Religious justice is the rider (chapter 6, verses 6 and 7).
[ 5 ] And when the fifth seal is opened there appear the souls of those who have already acted in the spirit of Christianity. Creative thought itself, embodied in Christianity, is manifested here. But by this Christianity is at first meant only the first community of Christians, which is transitory like other forms of creation. The sixth seal is opened (chapter 7), it is evident that the spiritual world of Christianity is an eternal world. The people seem to be permeated by that spiritual world out of which Christianity itself proceeded. What it has itself created becomes sanctified. “And I heard the number of the sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand who were sealed of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (chapter 7, verse 4). They are those who prepared for the eternal before Christianity existed, and who were transformed by the Christ impulse. The opening of the seventh seal follows. What true Christianity should mean for the world becomes evident. The seven angels who “stand before God” (chapter 8, verse 2) appear. Again these angels are spirits from the ancient Mystery-conceptions transferred to Christianity. They are the spirits who lead to the vision of God in a truly Christian way. Therefore what is next accomplished is a leading to God; it is an “initiation” which is bestowed upon John. The announcements of the angels are accompanied by the signs necessary at initiations. “The first angel sounded and hail came out of fire mingled with blood, and it fell on the earth. And a third of the earth was burnt up, also a third of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up.” And similar things happen at the announcements of the other angels when they sound their trumpets. At this point we see we are not dealing with an initiation in the old sense but with a new one which should take the place of the old. Christianity should not be confined, like the ancient Mysteries, to a few elect. It should belong to the whole of humanity. It should be a religion of the people; the truth should be given to each one who “has ears to hear.” The ancient mystics were singled out from a great number; the trumpets of Christianity sound for every one who is willing to hear them. Whether or not he draws near, depends upon himself. This is why the terrors accompanying this initiation of humanity are so enormously enhanced. What is to become of the earth and its inhabitants in a distant future is revealed to John at his initiation. Underlying this is the thought that initiates are able to foresee in the higher worlds what is realized only in the future for the lower world. The seven messages represent the meaning of Christianity for the present age; the seven seals represent what is now being prepared for the future through Christianity. The future is veiled, sealed to the uninitiated; in initiation it is unsealed. When the earthly period is over, during which the seven messages hold good, a more spiritual time will begin. Then life will no longer flow on as it appears in physical shapes, but even outwardly it will be a copy of its supersensible forms. These latter are represented by the four animals and the other images contained in the seals. In a yet more distant future appears that form of the earth which the initiate experiences through the trumpets. Thus the initiate prophetically experiences what is to happen. And one who is initiated in the Christian sense experiences how the Christ impulse penetrates and continues to work in earthly life. And after it has been shown how everything that clings too closely to the transitory to attain true Christianity has met with death, there appears the mighty angel with a little scroll open in his hand, and which he gives to John (chapter 10, verse 9): “And he said to me Take it, and eat: it will be bitter to your stomach but sweet in your mouth like honey.” John was not only to read the little scroll; he was to absorb it, letting its contents permeate him. What avails any cognition unless man is vitally and thoroughly permeated by it? Wisdom should become life; man should not merely perceive the divine, but become divine himself. Such wisdom as is written in the scroll no doubt causes pain to the transitory nature: “it will be bitter to your stomach;” but so much the more does it make the eternal part happy: “but it will be sweet in your mouth like honey.”—Only through such an initiation can Christianity become actual on the earth. It kills everything belonging to the lower nature. “And their dead bodies will lie in the square of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Christ was crucified.” This refers to the believers in Christ. They will be mistreated by the powers of the transitory world. But it is only the transitory members of human nature that will be ill treated, which the true essence will then have conquered. Thereby their destiny is a copy of the exemplary fate of Christ Jesus. “Spiritually Sodom and Egypt” is the symbol of a life which clings to the external and does not change itself through the Christ impulse. Christ is everywhere crucified in the lower nature. Where this lower nature conquers, everything remains dead. Human corpses cover the squares of the cities. Those who overcome the lower nature and bring about an awakening of the crucified Christ, hear the trumpet of the seventh angel: “The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign from cosmic age to cosmic age” (chapter 11, verse 15). “And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple” (verse 9). In the conception of these events the initiate sees the old struggle between the lower and higher nature renewed. For everything the neophyte formerly had to go through must be repeated in the one who follows the Christian path. As once Osiris was threatened by the evil Typhon, so now the “great Dragon, the old Serpent” (chapter 12, verse 9) must be overcome. The woman, the human soul, gives birth to lower knowledge, which is an adverse power if it does not raise itself to wisdom. Man must pass through that lower knowledge. Here in the Apocalypse it appears as the “old Serpent.” In all mystical wisdom from the remotest times the serpent has been the symbol of cognition. Man may be led astray by this serpent, by cognition, if he does not bring to life in him the Son of God who crushes the serpents head. “And the great Dragon was thrown out, that old Serpent, whose name is Devil, and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world: he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (chapter 12, verse 9). In these words one can read what Christianity would be. A new method of initiation. In a new form was to be attained what had been attained in the Mysteries. In them also the serpent had to be overcome. But this was no longer to take place in the same way. The one, the archetypal Mystery, the Christian Mystery, was to replace the many Mysteries of antiquity. Jesus, in whom the Logos became flesh, was to become the Initiator of the whole of humanity. And this humanity was to become his own community of mystics. Not a separation of the elect but a linking together of all is to occur. Each is to be able to become a mystic according to his maturity. The message sounds forth to all; he who has an ear, hastens to learn the secrets. The voice of the heart is to decide in each individual case. This or that person is not to be introduced individually into the Mystery temples, but the word is to be spoken to all; then some will be able to hear it more clearly than others. It will be left to the daemon, the angel within each human breast, to decide how far he can be initiated. The whole world is a Mystery temple. Blessing is not only to come to those who see the wonderful processes in the special temples for initiation, processes which give them a guarantee of the eternal, but “Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believe.” Even if at first they grope in the dark, nevertheless the light may come to them later. Nothing is to be withheld from anyone; the way is to be open to all. The latter part of the Apocalypse describes graphically the dangers threatening Christianity through Antichristian powers, and how the Christian powers must be victorious nevertheless. All other gods are united in the One Christian Divinity: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it: for the revelation of God lights it, and its light is the Lamb” (chapter 21, verse 23). The mystery of the “Revelation of Saint John” is that the Mysteries shall no longer be kept hidden. “And he said to me: Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the Godhead is near.”—The author of the Apocalypse has set forth what he believes to be the relationship of his church to the churches of antiquity. He wished to express what he thought about the Mysteries in the form of a spiritual Mystery. He wrote his Mystery on the island of Patmos. He is said to have received the “Revelation” in a grotto. These details indicate that the revelation was of the character of a Mystery. Thus Christianity emerged from the Mysteries. In the Apocalypse its wisdom is itself born as a Mystery, but as a Mystery which transcends the frame of the old Mystery world. The unique Mystery is to become the universal Mystery. It may appear contradictory to say that the secrets of the Mysteries became revealed through Christianity, and that nevertheless a Christian Mystery is to be seen again in the experience of the spiritual visions of the writer of the Apocalypse. The contradiction disappears at once when we reflect that the secrets of the ancient Mysteries were revealed through the events in Palestine. Through these events was laid bare what previously had been veiled in the Mysteries. A new Mystery has been introduced into the evolution of the world through the appearance of the Christ. The initiate of ancient times experienced, in the spiritual world, how evolution points the way to the as yet “hidden Christ;” the Christian initiate experiences the hidden effects of the “revealed Christ.”
Die Apokalypse des Johannes
[ 1 ] Als ein merkwürdiges Dokument steht am Ende des Neuen Testamentes die Apokalypse, die geheime Offenbarung Sankt Johannis. Man braucht nur die ersten Worte zu lesen, um das Geheimnisvolle der Schrift zu ahnen: «Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi, die Gott ihm dargeboten hat, seinen Dienern zu veranschaulichen, wie in Kürze sich das notwendige Geschehen abspielt; dieses ist in Zeichen gesandt durch Gottes Engel seinem Diener Johannes» (1,1). Was hier geoffenbart wird, ist «in Zeichen gesandt». Es darf also der wörtliche Sinn nicht als solcher hingenommen werden, sondern es muß ein tieferer gesucht werden, für den der Wortsinn nur Zeichen ist. Aber vieles deutet noch auf einen solchen «geheimen Sinn». Johannes wendet sich an sieben Gemeinden in Asien. Es können damit nicht sinnlich wirkliche Gemeinden gemeint sein. Denn die Zahl Sieben ist die heilige symbolische Zahl, die eben um dieser ihrer symbolischen Bedeutung willen gewählt sein muß. Die wirkliche Anzahl der asiatischen Gemeinden wäre eine andere gewesen. Und auf das Geheimnisvolle deutet ferner, wie Johannes zu der Offenbarung kommt: «Ich war im Geiste an dem Tage des Herrn, und hörete hinter mir eine Stimme wie eine Posaune, die sprach: Was du siehest, das schreibe in ein Buch und sende es den sieben Gemeinden» (1, 10-11). Also mit einer Offenbarung hat man es zu tun, die Johannes im Geiste erhalten hat. Und es ist die Offenbarung Jesu Christi. In einen geheimen Sinn gehüllt erscheint, was durch den Christus Jesus der Welt offenbar geworden ist. Ein solcher geheimer Sinn muß also in der Lehre Christi gesucht werden. Es verhält sich diese Offenbarung zu dem gewöhnlichen Christentum, wie sich in vorchristlichen Zeiten die Mysterienoffenbarung zur Volksreligion verhalten hat. Der Versuch erscheint dadurch gerechtfertigt, diese Apokalypse als Mysterium zu behandeln.
[ 2 ] An sieben Gemeinschaften wendet sich die Apokalypse. Was ist damit gemeint? Man braucht nur eine der Botschaften herauszugreifen, um den Sinn zu erkennen. In der ersten wird gesagt: «Schreibe dem Engel der Gemeinschaft in Ephesus: Dieses schreibt derjenige, welcher die sieben Sterne in seiner Rechten hält, der, welcher inmitten der sieben goldenen Lichter wandelt. Ich kenne deine Taten und was du ertragen hast, und auch deine Ausdauer» und daß du die Bösen nicht stützen willst, und daß du zur Verantwortung gezogen hast diejenigen, welche sich Apostel nennen, und es nicht sind, und daß du sie als unecht erkannt hast. Und du hast Ausdauer, und du hast deine Arbeit auf meinen Namen gebaut, und du bist darinnen nicht erlahmt. Aber ich verlange von dir, daß du zu deiner vorzüglichsten Liebe gelangest. Bedenke, wovon du abgefallen bist, ändere deinen Sinn und verrichte die vorzüglichsten Taten. Wenn aber nicht, so komme ich und bewege dein Licht von seiner Stelle, es sei denn, daß du deinen Sinn änderst. Aber das hast du, daß du die Taten der Nicolaiten verachtest, welche auch ich verachte. Wer Ohren hat, der höre, was der Geist den Gemeinschaften sagt: Dem Sieger gebe ich Speise von dem Baum des Lebens, welcher im Paradiese Gottes ist» (2, 1-7). – Dies ist die Botschaft, welche an den Engel der ersten Gemeinschaft gerichtet ist. Der Engel, welchen man sich als den Gemeinschaftsgeist zu denken hat, ist auf dem Wege, der im Christentum vorgezeichnet ist. Er vermag die falschen Bekenner des Christentums von den wahren zu unterscheiden. Er will christlich sein; und er hat seine Arbeit auf den Namen Christi gestützt. Aber es wird von ihm verlangt, daß er durch keinerlei Irrtümer sich den Weg zu der vorzüglichsten Liebe versperre. Es wird ihm die Möglichkeit vorgehalten, wie durch solche Irrtümer eine falsche Richtung verfolgt werden kann. Durch den Christus Jesus ist der Weg vorgezeichnet, um zu dem Göttlichen zu gelangen. Man braucht Ausdauer, um in dem Sinne weiter zu schreiten, in dem der erste Impuls gegeben ist. Man kann auch zu früh vermeinen, den rechten Sinn erfaßt zu haben. Das geschieht, wenn man sich durch Christus ein Stück des Weges führen läßt und dann doch diese Führerschaft verläßt, indem man sich falschen Vorstellungen über dieselbe hingibt. Man fällt dadurch wieder in das Niedrig-Menschliche zurück. Man kommt von der «vorzüglichsten Liebe» ab. Das am Sinnlich-Verständlichen haftende Wissen wird in eine höhere Sphäre gehoben dadurch, daß es zur Weisheit vergeistigt, vergöttlicht wird. Kommt es zu dieser Erhöhung nicht, so bleibt es im Vergänglichen. Der Christus Jesus hat den Weg gewiesen zum Ewigen. Das Wissen muß in ungeschwächter Ausdauer den Weg verfolgen, der es zu einer Vergöttlichung führt. Es muß in Liebe den Spuren folgen, die es zur Weisheit umwandeln. Die Nicolaiten waren eine Sekte, welche das Christentum zu leicht nahm. Sie sahen nur Eines: Christus ist das göttliche Wort, die ewige Weisheit, die im Menschen geboren wird. Also, so schlossen sie, ist die menschliche Weisheit das göttliche Wort. Danach brauchte man nur menschlichem Wissen nachzujagen, um das Göttliche in der Welt zu verwirklichen. Aber so kann der Sinn der christlichen Weisheit nicht ausgelegt werden. Das Wissen, das zunächst Menschenweisheit ist, ist ebenso vergänglich wie alles andere, wenn es nicht erst in göttliche Weisheit umgewandelt wird. So bist du nicht, sagt der «Geist» zu dem Engel von Ephesus; du hast nicht bloß auf menschliche Weisheit gepocht. Du hast in Ausdauer den Weg des Christentums betreten. Aber du darfst nicht glauben, daß nicht die allervorzüglichste Liebe nötig sei, wenn das Ziel erreicht werden soll. Es ist eine Liebe dazu notwendig, welche alle Liebe zu anderem weit überragt. Nur eine solche ist die «vorzüglichste Liebe». Der Weg zum Göttlichen ist ein unendlicher; und man muß begreifen, daß, wenn man die erste Stufe erreicht, dies nur die Vorbereitung sein kann, um zu immer höheren Stufen aufzusteigen. Damit ist an der ersten der Botschaften gezeigt, wie diese zu deuten sind. In ähnlicher Art kann der Sinn der anderen gefunden werden.
[ 3 ] Johannes schaute, da er sich umwendet, «sieben goldene Lichter» und «inmitten der Lichter des Menschensohnes Bild, mit langem Gewande und mit einem goldenen Gürtel um die Lenden; und sein Haupt und Haar waren weißglänzend wie weiße Wolle oder Schnee, und seine Augen funkelnd im Feuer». Wir werden belehrt (1, 20) «die sieben Lichter sind sieben Gemeinschaften». Damit ist ausgedrückt, daß die Lichter sieben verschiedene Wege sind, um zum Göttlichen zu gelangen. Sie sind alle mehr oder weniger unvollkommen. Und der Menschensohn «hatte sieben Sterne in seiner rechten Hand» (1, 16). «Die sieben Sterne sind die Engel der sieben Gemeinschaften» (1,20). Die aus der Mysterienweisheit bekannten «führenden Geister» (Dämonen) sind hier zu den führenden Engeln der «Gemeinschaften» geworden. Diese Gemeinschaften werden dabei als Leiber für geistige Wesenheiten vorgestellt. Und die Engel sind die Seelen dieser «Leiber», wie die Menschenseelen die führenden Mächte der Menschenleiber sind. Die Gemeinschaften sind die Wege zum Göttlichen in der Unvollkommenheit; und die Gemeinschaft-Seelen sollten die Führer werden auf diesen Wegen. Dazu müssen sie selbst so werden, daß der Führer für sie die Wesenheit dessen ist, der die «sieben Sterne» in seiner Rechten hat. «Und aus seinem Munde kam ein zweischneidiges scharfes Schwert, und sein Antlitz in seinem Glanze glich der leuchtenden Sonne» (1,16). Auch in der Mysterienweisheit ist dieses Schwert vorhanden. Der Einzuweihende wurde durch ein «gezücktes Schwert» erschreckt. Das deutet auf die Lage, in welche derjenige kommt, der zur Erfahrung des Göttlichen gelangen will, auf daß ihm das «Angesicht» der Weisheit «leuchte mit einem Glanze gleich der Sonne». Durch eine solche Lage geht auch Johannes hindurch. Sie soll eine Prüfung seiner Stärke sein. «Und da ich ihn sah, fiel ich zu seinen Füßen wie tot; und er legte seine Rechte auf mich und sprach: erschrecke nicht» (1, 17). Durch die Erlebnisse muß der Einzuweihende hindurchgehen, welche sonst der Mensch nur beim Durchgang durch den Tod macht. Derjenige, welcher ihn führt, muß über die Gebiete hinausführen, in denen Geburt und Tod eine Bedeutung haben. Der Eingeweihte beschreitet ein neues Leben, «und ich war tot, und sieh, ich bin lebendig geworden durch die Kreisläufe des Lebens hindurch; und ich habe die Schlüssel des Todes und des Totenreiches» (1,18). – Also vorbereitet wird Johannes zu den Geheimnissen des Daseins geführt. «Danach schaute ich; und sieh, es ward die Türe zum Himmel aufgeschlossen; und die erste Stimme, die hörbar ward, erklang gleich einer Posaune zu mir und sagte: Steige hieher, und ich will dir zeigen, was nach diesem geschehen wird» (4,1). Die Botschaften an die sieben Geister der Gemeinschaften künden dem Johannes, was in der sinnlich-physischen Welt geschehen soll, um dem Christentum die Wege zu bereiten; das folgende, was er «im Geiste» erschaut, führt ihn zum geistigen Urquell der Dinge, welcher hinter der physischen Entwicklung verborgen ist, aber als ein nächstes vergeistigtes Zeitalter durch die physische Entwicklung herbeigeführt werden soll. Der Eingeweihte erlebt das, was in der Zukunft geschehen soll, als geistiges Erlebnis in der Gegenwart. «Und sogleich ward ich in das Geistige entrückt. Und ich schaute einen Thron im Himmel, und auf dem Throne jemand sitzend. Und der Sitzende glich dem Stein Jaspis und Sardis; und ein Regenbogen umgab den Thron, der einem Smaragd glich» (4,3–4). Damit wird der Urquell der sinnlichen Welt in den Bildern beschrieben, in welche er sich für den Seher kleidet. «Und im Umkreis des Thrones waren vierundzwanzig Throne, und auf den vierundzwanzig Thronen saßen Älteste, bekleidet mit weißen, wallenden Kleidern, und mit güldenen Kronen auf den Häuptern» (4, 4). – Auf dem Weisheitspfade weit vorgeschrittene Wesenheiten umgeben also den Urquell des Daseins, zu schauen seine unendliche Wesenheit und von ihr Zeugnis zu geben. «Und inmitten des Thrones und um den Thron waren vier Lebewesen, besetzt mit Augen vorne und hinten. Und das erste Lebewesen glich einem Löwen, und das zweite glich einem Stier, und das dritte bot einen Anblick wie ein Mensch, und das vierte glich einem fliegenden Adler. Und von den Lebewesen hatte ein jedes sechs Flügel, im Umkreis und inwendig hatten sie Augen, und sie ließen ohne Unterbrechung bei Tag und bei Nacht den Ruf ertönen: Heilig, heilig, heilig ist der Herrscher, der Gott, der Allmächtige, der war, und ist, und der sein wird» (4, 6–8). Unschwer ist zu erkennen, daß die vier Lebewesen das übersinnliche Leben bedeuten, welches den sinnlichen Lebensformen zugrunde liegt. Sie erheben ihre Stimme später, da die Posaunen erklingen, das heißt, wenn das in sinnliche Formen eingeprägte Leben sich in das geistige umgewandelt hat.
[ 4 ] In der rechten Hand dessen, der auf dem Throne saß, findet sich das Buch, in dem der Weg zur höchsten Weisheit vorgezeichnet ist (5, 1). Nur einer ist würdig, das Buch zu öffnen. «Siehe, es hat überwunden der Löwe, der da ist vom Geschlecht Juda, die Wurzel David, aufzutun das Buch und dessen sieben Siegel» (5, 5). Sieben Siegel hat das Buch. Siebenfältig ist Menschenweisheit. Daß sie als siebenfältig bezeichnet wird, hängt wieder mit der Heiligkeit der Siebenzahl zusammen. 1Über die Bedeutung der Siebenzahl kann man sich aufklären aus meiner «Geheimwissenschaft», Leipzig 1910. [28. Aufl. Dornach 1968] Als Siegel bezeichnet die mystische Weisheit des Philo die ewigen Weltgedanken, die sich in den Dingen zum Ausdruck bringen. Menschenweisheit sucht diese Schöpfungsgedanken. Aber erst in dem Buche, das mit ihnen gesiegelt ist, steht die göttliche Wahrheit. Erst müssen die Grundgedanken der Schöpfung enthüllt, die Siegel geöffnet werden, dann wird offenbar, was in dem Buche steht. Jesus, der Löwe, vermag die Siegel zu öffnen. Er hat den Schöpfungsgedanken eine Richtung gegeben, die, durch sie hindurch, zur Weisheit führt. – Das Lamm, das erwürget ward, und das Gott erkauft hat mit seinem Blute, der Jesus, der den Christus in sich gebracht hat, der also im höchsten Sinne durch das Lebens-Todes- Mysterium gegangen ist, öffnet das Buch (5,9–10). Und die Lebewesen erklären, was sie wissen, bei jedem der Siegel (Kap. 6). Beim Öffnen des ersten Siegels wird für Johannes ein weißes Pferd sichtbar, auf dem ein Reiter sitzt mit einem Bogen. 2Es können hier die Bedeutungen der apokalyptischen Zeichen nur ganz kurz angedeutet werden. Man könnte natürlich in alle diese Dinge viel tiefer hineinweisen. Doch liegt dies nicht in dem Rahmen dieses Buches. Die erste Weltmacht, eine Verkörperung des Schöpfungsgedankens, wird sichtbar. Sie wird von dem neuen Reiter, von dem Christentum in die angemessene Richtung gebracht. Der Streit wird beschwichtigt durch den neuen Glauben. Beim Öffnen des zweiten Siegels wird ein rotes Pferd sichtbar, auf dem wieder ein Reiter sitzt. Er nimmt den Frieden, die zweite Weltmacht von der Erde, auf daß die Menschheit nicht durch lässiges Verhalten die Pflege des Göttlichen versäume. Beim dritten Siegelöffnen zeigt sich die Weltmacht der Gerechtigkeit, geleitet von dem Christentum; beim vierten die religiöse Macht, der durch das Christentum ein neues Ansehen gegeben wird. – Die Bedeutung der vier Lebewesen erscheint dadurch klar. Sie sind die vier Hauptweltmächte, die durch das Christentum eine neue Führung erhalten sollen, der Krieg: Löwe, die friedliche Arbeit: der Stier, die Gerechtigkeit: das Wesen mit dem Menschenantlitz, und der religiöse Aufschwung: der Adler. Die Bedeutung des dritten Wesens erhellt daraus, daß beim Öffnen des dritten Siegels gesagt wird: «Ein Maß Weizen um einen Groschen, und drei Maß Gersten um einen Groschen» (6, 6), und daß der Reiter dabei eine Waage hält. Und beim Öffnen des vierten Siegels wird ein Reiter sichtbar, des Name hieß «Tod, und die Hölle folgte ihm nach». Die religiöse Gerechtigkeit ist der Reiter(6,8).
[ 5 ] Und als das fünfte Siegel eröffnet wird, da erscheinen die Seelen derer, die schon im Sinne des Christentums gewirkt haben. Der im Christentum verkörperte Schöpfungsgedanke selbst kommt hier zum Vorschein. Aber mit diesem Christentum ist zunächst nur die erste christliche Gemeinschaft gemeint, die vergänglich ist wie andere Schöpfungsformen. Das sechste Siegel wird eröffnet (Kap. 7); es zeigt sich, daß die Geisteswelt des Christentums eine ewige ist. Das Volk erscheint erfüllt mit dieser Geisteswelt, aus dem das Christentum selbst hervorgegangen ist. Es ist geheiligt durch seine eigene Schöpfung. «Und ich hörete die Zahl der Versiegelten, hundert und vier und vierzig tausend, die versiegelt waren von allen Geschlechtern der Kinder Israel» (7, 4). Es sind dies diejenigen, welche auf das Ewige sich vorbereitet haben, bevor es ein Christentum gab, und welche durch den Christusimpuls verwandelt worden sind. – Es erfolgt die Öffnung des siebenten Siegels. Es wird ersichtlich, was das wahre Christentum der Welt wirklich werden soll. Die sieben Engel, die «vor Gott stehen» (8, 2) erscheinen. Diese sieben Engel sind wieder ins Christliche übersetzte Geister der alten Mysterienanschauung. Sie sind also die Geister, die auf wahrhaft christliche Weise zur Gottesanschauung führen. Was sich nun vollzieht, ist also selbst ein Hinführen zu Gott; es ist eine «Einweihung», die dem Johannes zuteil wird. Ihre Verkündigungen begleiten die bei Einweihungen notwendigen Zeichen. Der erste Engel posaunet. «Und es ward ein Hagel aus Feuer mit Blut gemenget, und der fiel auf die Erde. Und der dritte Teil der Erde verbrannte, auch der dritte Teil der Bäume verbrannte, und alles grüne Gras verbrannte» (8, 7). Und ähnlich geht es bei den Verkündungen, den Posaunentönen der anderen Engel. – Hier sieht man auch, daß es sich nicht bloß um eine Einweihung im alten Sinne handelte, sondern um eine neue, welche an die Stelle der alten treten sollte. Das Christentum sollte nicht wie die alten Mysterien für wenige Auserwählte sein. Es sollte für die ganze Menschheit sein. Eine Volksreligion sollte das Christentum sein; für jeden sollte die Wahrheit bereitet sein, der «Ohren hat zu hören». Aus vielen ausgesucht wurden die alten Mysten; die Posaunen des Christentums erklingen für jeden, der sie hören mag. Es ist seine Sache, herbeizukommen. Deshalb erscheinen aber auch die Schrecken, welche diese Menschheitseinweihung begleiten, ins Ungeheure gesteigert. Was aus der Erde und ihren Bewohnern in einer fernen Zukunft werden soll, enthüllt sich dem Johannes in seiner Einweihung. Es liegt der Gedanke zugrunde, daß für den Eingeweihten in den höheren Welten das vorauszusehen ist, was für die niedere Welt erst in der Zukunft sich verwirklicht. Die sieben Botschaften stellen die Bedeutung des Christentums für die Gegenwart dar, die sieben Siegel das, was sich in der Gegenwart durch das Christentum für die Zukunft vorbereitet. Die Zukunft ist für den Uneingeweihten verhüllt, versiegelt; in der Einweihung entsiegelt sie sich. Wenn die Erdenzeit vorüber sein wird, für welche die sieben Botschaften gelten, wird eine geistigere Zeit beginnen. Dann wird das Leben nicht mehr so verfließen, wie es in den sinnlichen Formen erscheint, sondern es wird auch äußerlich ein Abbild seiner übersinnlichen Gestalten sein. Diese übersinnlichen Gestalten werden durch die vier Tiere und die übrigen Siegelbilder repräsentiert. In einer noch späteren Zukunft tritt dann jene Gestalt der Erde ein, welche durch die Posaunen für den Eingeweihten zu erleben ist. So erfährt der Eingeweihte prophetisch, was geschehen soll. Und der im christlichen Sinne Eingeweihte erfährt, wie der Christusimpuls in das Erdenleben eingreift und fortwirkt. Und nachdem gezeigt worden ist, wie alles, was zu sehr am Vergänglichen hängt, um das wahre Christentum zu erlangen, den Tod gefunden hat, erscheint der starke Engel mit dem geöffneten Büchlein und gibt es Johannes: «Und er sprach zu mir: Nimm hin und verschlinge es; und es wird bitter sein im Magen; doch in deinem Munde wird es süß sein gleich Honig» (10, 9). Nicht allein lesen also soll Johannes in dem Büchlein; er soll es ganz in sich aufnehmen; er soll sich mit seinem Inhalt durchdringen. Was hilft alle Erkenntnis, wenn der Mensch nicht ganz lebensvoll von ihr durchdrungen wird. Leben soll die Weisheit werden; nicht Göttliches erkennen bloß soll der Mensch, vergottet soll der Mensch werden. Solche Weisheit, wie in dem Buche steht, schmerzt wohl die vergängliche Natur: «es wird bitter sein im Magen»; aber sie beglückt um so mehr die ewige: «aber in deinem Munde wird es süß sein gleich Honig.» – Durch solche Einweihung nur kann das Christentum auf der Erde gegenwärtig werden. Es tötet alles, was der niederen Natur angehört. «Und ihre Leichname werden liegen auf dem Platze der großen Stadt, die da heißt geistlich die Sodoma und Ägypten, da auch ihr Christus gekreuzigt ist» (11,8). Die Bekenner des Christus sind damit gemeint. Sie werden mißhandelt werden von den Mächten des Vergänglichen. Was aber mißhandelt werden wird, sind nur die vergänglichen Glieder der Menschennatur, über welche sie in ihren wahren Wesenheiten dann gesiegt haben werden. Ihr Schicksal wird damit ein Abbild des vorbildlichen Schicksals des Christus Jesus sein. «Geistlich Sodom und Ägypten», ist das Symbolum für das Leben, das im Äußeren beharrt und sich nicht durch den Christusimpuls wandelt. Christus ist überall in der niederen Natur gekreuzigt. Wo diese niedere Natur siegt, da bleibt alles tot. Die Menschen bedecken als Leichname die Plätze der Städte. Die solches überwinden werden, die den gekreuzigten Christus zur Erweckung bringen, die hören die Posaune des siebenten Engels: «Es sind die Reiche der Welt unseres Herrn und seines Christus entstanden; und er wird regieren von Weltzeit zu Weltzeit» (11,15). «Und der Tempel Gottes ward aufgetan im Himmel, und die Lade seines Bundes ward in seinem Tempel gesehen» (11,19). In der Anschauung dieser Ereignisse erneuert sich für den Eingeweihten der alte Kampf der niederen und der höheren Natur. Denn alles, was vorher der Einzuweihende durchzumachen hatte, das muß sich in dem wiederholen, der die christlichen Wege wandelt. Wie einst Osiris bedroht war von dem bösen Typhon, so muß auch jetzt noch der «große Drache, die alte Schlange» (12,9) überwunden werden. Das Weib, die Menschenseele, gebiert das niedere Wissen, das eine widrige Macht ist, wenn es nicht zur Weisheit sich steigert. Der Mensch muß durch dieses niedere Wissen hindurch. Hier in der Apokalypse erscheint dies niedere Wissen als die «alte Schlange». Von jeher war in aller mystischen Weisheit die Schlange das Symbol der Erkenntnis. Von dieser Schlange, von der Erkenntnis, kann der Mensch verführt werden, wenn er nicht den Gottessohn in sich hervorbringt, der der Schlange den Kopf zertritt. «Und es ward ausgeworfen der große Drache, die alte Schlange, die da heißet der Teufel und Satanas, der die ganze Welt verführet, und ward geworfen auf die Erde, und seine Engel wurden mit ihm geworfen» (12,9). Man kann es aus diesen Worten lesen, was das Christentum sein wollte. Eine neue Art der Einweihung. Es sollte in einer neuen Form erreicht werden, was in den Mysterien erreicht wurde. Denn auch in ihnen sollte die Schlange überwunden werden. Aber nicht so sollte das geschehen wie früher. An die Stelle der vielen Mysterien sollte das Eine, das Urmysterium, das christliche treten. Jesus, in dem der Logos Fleisch geworden, sollte der Initiator einer ganzen Menschheit sein. Und diese Menschheit sollte seine eigene Mystengemeinde werden. Nicht Absonderung Erwählter, sondern Zusammenschluß Aller sollte stattfinden. Nach Maßgabe seiner Reife sollte jeder ein Myste werden können. Allen erklingt die Botschaft; wer ein Ohr hat, sie zu hören, der eilt herbei ihre Geheimnisse zu vernehmen. Die Stimme des Herzens soll bei jedem einzelnen entscheiden. Nicht hineingeführt in die Mysterientempel soll dieser oder jener werden, sondern zu allen sollte das Wort gesprochen werden; der eine vermag es dann weniger stark, der andere stärker zu hören. Dem Dämon, dem Engel in der eigenen Brust des Menschen wird anheimgegeben, wie weit er eingeweiht werden kann. Die ganze Welt ist ein Mysterientempel. Nicht nur jene sollen selig werden, die in den besonderen Mysterientempeln die wunderbaren Verrichtungen schauen, die ihnen eine Gewähr geben sollen für das Ewige, sondern «Selig sind, die nicht schauen und doch glauben» (Joh. 20,29). Mögen sie auch zunächst im Finstern tappen, vielleicht kommt doch noch das Licht zu ihnen. Keinem soll etwas vorenthalten werden; jedem soll der Weg offen stehen. -Anschaulich werden dann weiter in der Apokalypse die Gefahren geschildert, die dem Christlichen von dem Antichristlichen drohen können, und wie dann das Christliche dennoch siegen muß. Alle andern Götter gehen auf in der Einen christlichen Göttlichkeit: «Und die Stadt bedarf keiner Sonne, noch des Mondes, daß sie ihr scheinen; denn die Offenbarung Gottes erleuchtet sie, und ihre Leuchte ist das Lamm» (21,23). Es ist das Mysterium der «Offenbarung Sankt Johannis», daß die Mysterien nicht mehr verschlossen sein sollen. «Und er spricht zu mir: Versiegle nicht die Worte der Weissagung in diesem Buche; denn die Gottheit ist nahe» (22,10). – Was der Verfasser der Apokalypse für einen Glauben hatte über das Verhältnis seiner Kirche zu den alten Kirchen: das hat er dargelegt. Er hat sich über die Mysterien selbst in einem geistigen Mysterium aussprechen wollen. Auf der Insel Patmos hat der Verfasser sein Mysterium geschrieben. In einer Grotte soll er die «Offenbarung» erhalten haben. In dieser Mitteilung ist selbst der Mysteriencharakter der Offenbarung ausgedrückt. Also aus den Mysterien ist das Christentum hervorgegangen. Seine Weisheit wird in der Apokalypse selbst als ein Mysterium geboren; aber als ein Mysterium, das über den Rahmen der alten Mysterienwelt hinausgehen will. Das Einzelmysterium soll universelles Mysterium werden. – Es könnte ein Widerspruch darin gefunden werden, daß hier gesagt wird, die Geheimnisse der Mysterien seien durch das Christentum offenbar geworden, und daß dann doch wieder in dem Erleben der geistigen Schauungen des Apokalyptikers ein christliches Mysterium gesehen wird. Der Widerspruch löst sich, sobald man bedenkt: die Geheimnisse der alten Mysterien sind durch die Vorgänge in Palästina offenbar geworden. Dadurch hat sich enthüllt, was vorher verhüllt in den Mysterien war. Ein neues Geheimnis ist nun, was in die Weltentwicklung durch die Erscheinung Christi eingefügt worden ist. Der alte Eingeweihte erlebte in der geistigen Welt, wie die Entwicklung auf den noch «verborgenen Christus» hinweist; der christliche Eingeweihte erfährt die verborgenen Wirkungen des «offenbaren Christus».
The Apocalypse of John
[ 1 ] The Apocalypse, the secret revelation of St. John, is a strange document at the end of the New Testament. You only need to read the first words to get a sense of the mysterious nature of the writing: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God has given to him to show his servants how the necessary events will shortly take place; this is sent in signs by God's angel to his servant John" (1:1). What is revealed here is "sent in signs". The literal sense must therefore not be accepted as such, but a deeper meaning must be sought, for which the literal sense is only signs. But much still points to such a "secret meaning". John addresses seven churches in Asia. This cannot be referring to real churches. For the number seven is the sacred symbolic number, which must be chosen precisely for the sake of its symbolic meaning. The real number of the Asian churches would have been a different one. And how John comes to the revelation also points to the mysterious: "I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord, and I heard behind me a voice like a trumpet saying, 'Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches'" (1:10-11). So we are dealing with a revelation that John received in the Spirit. And it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. What has been revealed to the world through Christ Jesus appears shrouded in a secret meaning. Such a secret meaning must therefore be sought in the teaching of Christ. This revelation relates to ordinary Christianity in the same way that mystery revelation related to popular religion in pre-Christian times. The attempt thus seems justified to treat this apocalypse as a mystery.
[ 2 ] The Apocalypse is addressed to seven communities. What is meant by this? You only need to pick out one of the messages to recognize the meaning. In the first, it says: "Write to the angel of the community in Ephesus: This is written by the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lights. I know your deeds and what you have endured, and also your perseverance," and that you will not support the wicked, and that you have called to account those who call themselves apostles and are not, and that you have recognized them as false. And you have perseverance, and you have built your work on my name, and you have not grown weary in it. But I require of you that you attain to your most excellent love. Consider what you have fallen away from, change your mind and do the most excellent deeds. But if not, I will come and move your light from its place, unless you change your mind. But you have this, that you despise the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also despise. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the communities: "To the victor I will give food from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (2:1-7). - This is the message addressed to the angel of the first community. The angel, who is to be thought of as the community spirit, is on the path that is marked out in Christianity. He is able to distinguish the false confessors of Christianity from the true ones. He wants to be Christian; and he has based his work on the name of Christ. But it is demanded of him that he should not obstruct the way to the most excellent love by any error. The possibility is held up to him of how a wrong direction can be pursued through such errors. Through Christ Jesus the way is marked out to reach the divine. We need perseverance in order to progress in the sense in which the first impulse is given. You can also think you have grasped the right meaning too early. This happens when one allows oneself to be led by Christ part of the way and then abandons this leadership by giving in to false ideas about it. As a result, one falls back into the lowly human. One departs from the "most excellent love". The knowledge clinging to the sensual-understandable is lifted into a higher sphere by being spiritualized, deified into wisdom. If it does not achieve this elevation, it remains in the transient. Christ Jesus has shown the way to the eternal. Knowledge must follow the path that leads to deification with undiminished perseverance. It must follow in love the traces that transform it into wisdom. The Nicolaitans were a sect that took Christianity too lightly. They saw only one thing: Christ is the divine word, the eternal wisdom that is born in man. So, they concluded, human wisdom is the divine word. According to this, one only needed to pursue human knowledge in order to realize the divine in the world. But this is not how the meaning of Christian wisdom can be interpreted. Knowledge, which is initially human wisdom, is just as transient as everything else if it is not first transformed into divine wisdom. You are not like that, says the "Spirit" to the angel of Ephesus; you did not merely insist on human wisdom. You have persevered on the path of Christianity. But you must not believe that the most excellent love is not necessary if the goal is to be reached. What is needed is a love that far surpasses all other loves. Only such a love is the "most excellent love". The path to the divine is an infinite one; and one must understand that when one reaches the first stage, this can only be the preparation for ascending to ever higher stages. Thus the first of the messages shows how they are to be interpreted. The meaning of the others can be found in a similar way.
[ 3 ] John, turning around, saw "seven golden lights" and "in the midst of the lights the image of the Son of Man, with a long robe and a golden belt around his loins; and his head and hair were shining white like white wool or snow, and his eyes were sparkling with fire". We are instructed (1:20) that "the seven lights are seven communions". This expresses that the lights are seven different ways to reach the divine. They are all more or less imperfect. And the Son of Man "had seven stars in his right hand" (1:16). "The seven stars are the angels of the seven communities" (1:20). The "leading spirits" (demons) known from mystery wisdom have here become the leading angels of the "communities". These communities are presented as bodies for spiritual entities. And the angels are the souls of these "bodies", just as the human souls are the leading powers of the human bodies. The communities are the paths to the divine in imperfection; and the community souls should become the guides on these paths. To do this, they themselves must become such that the leader for them is the Being who has the "seven stars" in his right hand. "And out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face in its splendor was like the shining sun" (1:16). This sword is also present in mystery wisdom. The one to be initiated was frightened by a "drawn sword". This points to the situation in which the one who wants to reach the experience of the divine comes, so that the "face" of wisdom "may shine for him with a brightness like the sun". John also passes through such a situation. It is to be a test of his strength. "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead: and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Be not dismayed" (1:17). The one to be initiated must go through the experiences that a person usually only goes through when passing through death. The one who guides him must lead beyond the areas in which birth and death have meaning. The initiate enters a new life, "and I was dead, and behold, I have come to life through the cycles of life; and I have the keys of death and of the realm of the dead" (1:18). - Thus prepared, John is led to the mysteries of existence. "After this I looked, and behold, the door to heaven was opened; and the first voice that was heard sounded to me like a trumpet, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you what will happen after this'" (4:1). The messages to the seven spirits of the communities announce to John what is to happen in the sensual-physical world in order to prepare the way for Christianity; the following, which he sees "in the spirit", leads him to the spiritual source of things, which is hidden behind the physical development, but is to be brought about as a next spiritualized age through the physical development. The initiate experiences what is to happen in the future as a spiritual experience in the present. "And immediately I was raptured into the spiritual. And I saw a throne in heaven, and someone sitting on the throne. And the one seated resembled the stone jasper and sardis; and a rainbow surrounded the throne, like an emerald" (4:3-4). This describes the primal source of the sensual world in the images in which it is clothed for the seer. "And around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the twenty-four thrones sat elders clothed in white flowing robes, with crowns of gold on their heads" (4:4). - Beings far advanced on the path of wisdom thus surround the source of existence, to behold its infinite essence and to bear witness to it. "And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living beings with eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second like a bull, and the third was like a man, and the fourth like a flying eagle. And each of the living creatures had six wings, and they had eyes within and without, and they cried out without ceasing by day and by night, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come' (4:6-8). It is not difficult to recognize that the four living beings signify the supersensible life that underlies the sensual forms of life. They raise their voices later, when the trumpets sound, that is, when the life imprinted in sensual forms has been transformed into spiritual life.
[ 4 ] In the right hand of him who sat on the throne is the book in which the path to the highest wisdom is marked out (5, 1). Only one is worthy to open the book. "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book and its seven seals" (5:5). The book has seven seals. Sevenfold is the wisdom of man. The fact that it is described as sevenfold is again connected with the holiness of the number seven. 1The meaning of the number seven is explained in my "Geheimwissenschaft", Leipzig 1910 [28th ed. Dornach 1968] The mystical wisdom of Philo describes the eternal world thoughts that express themselves in things as seals. Human wisdom seeks these thoughts of creation. But divine truth is only found in the book that is sealed with them. First the basic ideas of creation must be revealed, the seals opened, then what is written in the book will become apparent. Jesus, the Lion, is able to open the seals. He has given the thoughts of creation a direction that leads through them to wisdom. - The Lamb who was slain and whom God purchased with his blood, the Jesus who brought the Christ into himself, who has thus passed through the life-death mystery in the highest sense, opens the book (5:9-10). And the living beings explain what they know with each of the seals (chapter 6). When the first seal is opened, John sees a white horse on which a rider is sitting with a bow. 2The meanings of the apocalyptic signs can only be hinted at very briefly here. One could, of course, go much deeper into all these things. But this is not within the scope of this book. The first world power, an embodiment of the idea of creation, becomes visible. It is brought in the right direction by the new rider, by Christianity. The dispute is appeased by the new faith. When the second seal is opened, a red horse becomes visible, on which a rider is again sitting. He takes peace, the second world power from the earth, so that mankind does not neglect the care of the divine through lax behavior. At the third victory opening, the world power of justice appears, guided by Christianity; at the fourth, the religious power, which is given a new prestige through Christianity. - The meaning of the four living beings thus becomes clear. They are the four main world powers that are to receive new leadership through Christianity: war: the lion, peaceful work: the bull, justice: the being with the human face, and religious upsurge: the eagle. The significance of the third being is clear from the fact that when the third seal is opened it is said: "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny" (6, 6), and that the rider holds a pair of scales. And when the fourth seal is opened, a horseman becomes visible whose name was "Death, and hell followed him". Religious justice is the horseman (6:8).
[ 5 ] And when the fifth seal is opened, the souls of those who have already worked in the spirit of Christianity appear. The very idea of creation embodied in Christianity comes to light here. But this Christianity initially only refers to the first Christian community, which is transient like other forms of creation. The sixth seal is opened (chapter 7); it is shown that the spiritual world of Christianity is an eternal one. The people appear filled with this spiritual world, from which Christianity itself has emerged. It is sanctified by its own creation. "And I heard the number of them that were sealed, an hundred and four and forty thousand, of all the families of the children of Israel" (7:4). These are those who prepared themselves for eternity before there was Christianity and who were transformed by the impulse of Christ. - The seventh seal is opened. It becomes clear what the true Christianity of the world is really to become. The seven angels who "stand before God" (8:2) appear. These seven angels are spirits of the old mystery view translated back into Christian terms. They are therefore the spirits that lead to the view of God in a truly Christian way. What now takes place is therefore itself a leading to God; it is an "initiation" that is granted to John. Their proclamations accompany the signs necessary for initiations. The first angel trumpets. "And there was a hail of fire mingled with blood, and it fell on the earth. And the third part of the earth was burned up, and the third part of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned up" (8:7). And it is similar with the proclamations, the trumpet sounds of the other angels. - Here we also see that it was not merely a matter of an initiation in the old sense, but of a new one, which was to take the place of the old one. Christianity was not to be for a select few like the old mysteries. It was to be for the whole of humanity. Christianity was to be a popular religion; the truth was to be prepared for everyone who had "ears to hear". The ancient mystics were chosen from among many; the trumpets of Christianity sound for everyone who wants to hear them. It is up to him to come. For this reason, the horrors that accompany this initiation of mankind appear to be magnified to a tremendous degree. What is to become of the earth and its inhabitants in the distant future is revealed to John in his initiation. It is based on the idea that for the initiate in the higher worlds it is possible to foresee what will only be realized in the future for the lower world. The seven messages represent the significance of Christianity for the present, the seven seals that which is being prepared for the future in the present through Christianity. For the uninitiated, the future is veiled, sealed; in the initiation it is unsealed. When the time on earth for which the seven messages apply is over, a more spiritual time will begin. Then life will no longer flow as it appears in sensual forms, but will also be an outward reflection of its supersensible forms. These supersensible forms will be represented by the four animals and the other sigils. In a still later future, the form of the earth will appear, which the initiate will experience through the trumpets. Thus the initiate experiences prophetically what is to happen. And the initiate in the Christian sense experiences how the Christ impulse intervenes in earthly life and continues to have an effect. And after it has been shown how everything that is too attached to the transient to attain true Christianity has found death, the strong angel appears with the open booklet and gives it to John: "And he said to me, 'Take it and devour it; and it will be bitter in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey'" (10:9). So John should not just read the booklet; he should take it all in; he should penetrate himself with its contents. What good is all knowledge if a person is not completely imbued with it? Wisdom should become life; man should not merely recognize the divine, man should become deified. Such wisdom, as it is written in the book, hurts the perishable nature: "it will be bitter in the stomach"; but it makes the eternal nature all the more happy: "but in your mouth it will be sweet like honey." - Only through such initiation can Christianity become present on earth. It kills everything that belongs to the lower nature. "And their dead bodies shall lie in the place of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, whose Christ also was crucified" (11:8). This refers to the confessors of Christ. They will be mistreated by the powers of corruption. But what will be mistreated are only the perishable members of human nature, over which they will then have triumphed in their true nature. Their fate will thus be a reflection of the exemplary fate of Christ Jesus. "Spiritual Sodom and Egypt" is the symbol for life that persists in the external and does not change through the impulse of Christ. Christ is crucified everywhere in the lower nature. Where this lower nature prevails, everything remains dead. People cover the squares of the cities as corpses. Those who will overcome this, who will bring the crucified Christ to life, will hear the trumpet of the seventh angel: "The kingdoms of the world of our Lord and of his Christ have come into being, and he will reign from age to age" (11:15). "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple" (11:19). In the contemplation of these events, the ancient battle between the lower and higher natures is renewed for the initiate. For everything that the initiate had to go through before must be repeated in the one who walks the Christian paths. Just as Osiris was once threatened by the evil Typhon, so even now the "great dragon, the old serpent" (12:9) must be overcome. The woman, the human soul, gives birth to the lower knowledge, which is an adverse power if it does not increase to wisdom. Man must pass through this lower knowledge. Here in the Apocalypse this lower knowledge appears as the "old serpent". In all mystical wisdom, the serpent has always been the symbol of knowledge. Man can be seduced by this serpent, by knowledge, if he does not bring forth the Son of God within him, who crushes the serpent's head. "And the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (12:9). You can read from these words what Christianity wanted to be. A new kind of initiation. What was achieved in the mysteries was to be achieved in a new form. For in them, too, the serpent was to be overcome. But not in the same way as before. The many mysteries were to be replaced by the one, the original mystery, the Christian mystery. Jesus, in whom the Logos became flesh, was to be the initiator of an entire humanity. And this humanity was to become his own mystery community. Not the separation of the chosen ones, but the unification of all was to take place. According to his maturity, everyone should be able to become a Myst. The message resounds to all; he who has an ear to hear it hastens to hear its secrets. The voice of the heart should decide for each individual. This one or that one should not be led into the mystery temples, but the word should be spoken to all; one person will then be able to hear it less strongly, another more strongly. It is up to the demon, the angel in a person's own breast, how far he can be initiated. The whole world is a temple of mysteries. Not only those shall be blessed who see in the special Mystery Temples the miraculous performances that are to give them a guarantee for the eternal, but "Blessed are they that see not, and yet believe" (John 20:29). Even if they initially grope in the dark, perhaps the light will still come to them. Nothing should be withheld from anyone; the way should be open to everyone. -The Apocalypse then goes on to describe the dangers that can threaten the Christian from the Antichrist, and how the Christian must nevertheless triumph. All other gods are absorbed into the one Christian divinity: "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to give it light, for the revelation of God enlightens it, and its lamp is the Lamb" (21:23). It is the mystery of the "Revelation of St. John" that the mysteries should no longer be closed. "And he saith unto me, Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the Godhead is at hand" (22:10). - The author of the Apocalypse explained his belief about the relationship between his church and the old churches. He wanted to speak about the mysteries themselves in a spiritual mystery. The author wrote his mystery on the island of Patmos. He is said to have received the "revelation" in a grotto. This message itself expresses the mystery character of the revelation. Christianity therefore emerged from the mysteries. Its wisdom is born in the Apocalypse itself as a mystery; but as a mystery that wants to go beyond the framework of the old mystery world. The individual mystery is to become a universal mystery. - A contradiction could be found in the fact that it is said here that the secrets of the mysteries have been revealed through Christianity, and that then again a Christian mystery is seen in the experience of the spiritual visions of the apocalyptic. The contradiction is resolved as soon as one considers that the secrets of the ancient mysteries were revealed through the events in Palestine. This has revealed what was previously concealed in the mysteries. A new mystery is now that which has been introduced into the development of the world through the appearance of Christ. The old initiate experienced in the spiritual world how the development points to the still "hidden Christ"; the Christian initiate experiences the hidden effects of the "revealed Christ".