The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Eleventh Lecture

[ 1 ] Looking back over the development of our earth, we have seen that the earth is becoming more spiritual, that human beings can participate in this development, and that they can return to the sun. Evolution thus leads to an ever-increasing spiritualization, to a higher, devachanic state. All those beings who are too deeply entrenched in their materialization cannot participate in this spiritual Earth. First, everything must pass into an astral state. But the coarse material elements of humanity and the bad substances in the lower realms enter with human beings into a kind of lower astral world, which could be called the sub-physical astral world. So we have the devachan, the astral world, the physical world, and the lower astral world. This lower astral world is also the one that stands in the way of our development today. It is ruled by the spirit Mammon, that is, the spirit of obstacles. He is a power of the lower astral world.

[ 2 ] All beings who cannot ascend to the higher world must descend into this lower world, while all higher beings will enter the Earth state reunited with the Sun after the period of the seven trumpet blasts.

[ 3 ] In each earthly state, a certain group of beings has passed through its human state: on the moon, the angels; on the sun, the archangels; on Saturn, the good Asuras, also called Archai or Urbeginnings. There are also beings who did not complete their development. Such beings existed, for example, on the moon; these were then transferred to the earth. They were higher than humans, but at that time had not yet reached the human stage. These are the Luciferic spirits. They have entangled humans even more deeply in matter; they have been connected with humanity since the Lemurian era. Humans would have completed their development in a higher sphere if they had not become connected with them. But humans also owe them something good: freedom. The Luciferic spirits made a sacrifice, so to speak, for the good of humanity by linking their development to the earth at that time and remaining behind.

[ 4 ] But Saturn, the sun, and the moon lie before the middle of the earth's development; the beings who remained behind before the middle made a sacrifice. However, those who remain behind from now on, after the middle of Earth's development, would be an obstacle and not a sacrifice. But the Luciferic spirits also brought something positive to humanity; they permeated its astral body with their powers and brought it to independence.

[ 5 ] If we now consider that the physical body of the human being was prepared during the old Saturn state, the etheric body during the Sun state, and the astral body during the old Moon state, we see how this physical body is in its nature the most perfect member; it is the most developed. If we gain insight into the miraculous structure of the physical heart, the brain — which is still completely unexplained by physical science, so wisely is it arranged and organized. The astral body is indeed a higher member, but much less perfect; the etheric body is already more perfected; least perfect is the I. How little the ego knows, for example, about the structure of the physical body!

[ 6 ] This impact is described in detail in the Bible, where it is said: “Then Yahweh formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) This took place in the Lemurian epoch. At that time, the Luciferic beings were working into the astral body of man; but precisely because they had crept into the astral body, they were making up for what they themselves had neglected; they were doing in man, by proxy, what they should have done on the moon.

[ 7 ] When the Sun has reunited with the Earth, human beings will redeem the Luciferic beings by having purified their instincts, desires, and passions. The Luciferic beings that do not go with them to the Sun will remain in the state they were in; they will then appear as if cast out into the evil lower astral world. This is then the old serpent, and the first of the dragons emerges. When the Earth enters the Sun, a dragon appears. But there are others who remain behind: those human beings who are not really to blame for remaining in animality, who remain slaves to their animal instincts. While the other human beings go to the Sun, they form an evil power against the others. They form the second monster, and the apocalyptic writer says in his precise manner: the Luciferic dragon appears in the sky because it comes from higher worlds; the second beast rises out of the sea — these are the animalistic people who have been left behind. (See Rev. 12:3-13, 10)

[ 8 ] Now we have a third phenomenon: the black magicians. They do not remain in animality, but develop spiritual abilities within themselves. They have turned away in full consciousness and renounce their fleshly incarnation for the Sorat; this will be the incarnation of the sun demon.

[ 9 ] But now we see how, once again in the future, the earthly will emerge from the sun. If spiritual human beings were to remain united with the sun forever, those human beings who, through no fault of their own, remained behind in animality would no longer be saved. So these spiritual human beings will emerge once again and unite with those who have fallen away in order to try to save those who have been left behind.

[ 10 ] When the earth began to be “earth,” it had to briefly repeat the Saturn, sun, and moon states once again. Thus, it went through repetitions before becoming the earth we know today, and now, while still in its actual earth state, it must prophetically foreshadow Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan. Thus, within the actual Earth state, it goes through seven states, which are usually called rounds. During the foreshadowed Jupiter state, the Earth unites with the Sun. On this Jupiter Earth, all the great time cultures and the seven intermediate periods occur once again, only much less sharply indicated. On this Jupiter Earth, many beings still have the opportunity to be saved, even the black magicians.

[ 11 ] The same thing happens again on the Venus Earth; there we have a sixth planetary intermediate state. But even there, these backward beings stubbornly resist, and this state is decisive.

[ 12 ] On the volcanic Earth, nothing can be saved. On the Venus Earth, the last moment for salvation has come in the last sub-epoch. That is why the ancient Kabbalists coined the word “Sorat,” because it contains the number 666. This is also the number of those people who, out of their free, refined will, have become black magicians by placing spiritual powers at the service of their egoism.

[ 13 ] The first dragon is therefore not a human being; he came from the spiritual world; the second dragon is counted as animal nature, but in the most eminent sense, the Bible counts this number of the third group as human beings. Thus, 666 is not the sign of an animal, but the number of a human being.

[ 14 ] The Apocalypse is an outline of the entire development. The Venus Earth presents itself to the clairvoyant gaze in such a way that there is not much hope left for those who remain behind, for human powers will not accomplish much there. Therefore, it looks desolate there, and the worst vices will reign there in the worst way; they must be cast out during the Venus state of the Earth. On the Jupiter Earth, there are still many, many who will be saved and unite with the Sun.

[ 15 ] On the Venus Earth, however, evil must be overcome and cast down into the abyss; this is the “fall of Babylon” (Rev. 17 and 18). But those people who have saved themselves can continue to develop into a new solar state. That which has been purified and refined rises to the volcanic Earth.

[ 16 ] Man is already creative on Earth today. He can put the lifeless forces of nature at his service and compel them; he can build domes and carve marble; man has mastered lifeless nature today. What man has achieved during the evolution of the earth as art will, while the outer physical passes away and Raphael's Madonna paintings crumble to dust, once rise again in another form. The crystals we see today were once worked into shapes by the moon people, similar to the way we shape and create art today. What the spirits once worked out over infinite periods of time is now growing out of the earth, is now blossoming. So too with the matter of Raphael's Madonnas; in that distant future, everything that humans have now created will arise in crystalline brightness. The place that humans have prepared for themselves and will find is called by the apocalyptic writer “the new Jerusalem.” (Apoc. Chap. 21) A new world will arise, and it will be inhabited by people who will have attained maturity and who, in a new state, the Jupiter existence, will find the place where peace will reign through love and human work.