From Akashic Research
The Fifth Gospel
GA 148
10 December 1913, Munich
Translated by Steiner Online Library
The Fifth Gospel II
[ 1 ] Before I continue to share with you further insights from the Fifth Gospel, allow me to make a few remarks regarding the publication of this Fifth Gospel. The significance of what is to be brought to our time through occultism and spiritual science is by no means yet grasped in wider circles of the present, for there is still far too little inclination in wider circles to engage with those cultural elements of our time, namely the spiritual cultural elements and those that signify an ascent and are, in a sense, the beginning of a renewal of our spiritual life, and which yet can take no other form than that which leads to an acquaintance with the facts of concrete occult research—an acquaintance that is still so very frowned upon today.
[ 2 ] Above all, I would ask you to bear in mind, in connection with what has just been said, that such reports from concrete occult research must still be treated with a certain reverence today. Our age is not at all inclined to readily accept such things, and only the shared experience, the shared feeling arising from the life impulses we absorb within ourselves during our anthroposophical gatherings, makes our souls capable of seeing these things in the right light. But when they are conveyed to the unprepared, even what had to be disclosed under public pressure regarding the two Jesus boys shows how frenzied even the most well-meaning people became. I will completely disregard the numerous foolish attacks directed against such things. How wildly and passionately such things have been received! One cannot imagine today that insights from the spiritual world—insights that are less abstract and have such a concrete character as the research results communicated the day before yesterday—can truly be extracted as insights. This is connected—even if it is not immediately apparent that there is a connection—to that profound superficiality, particularly in thinking and imagination, which has taken hold of our contemporary literature on worldviews.
[ 3 ] I do not mention one thing or another within our own circles merely to be unnecessarily critical, but rather to draw our friends’ attention to how pitiful the state of pure logical thinking is in our time. Discernment is lacking in our time. People accept everything on authority—more readily than they realize, especially since they are always clamoring for emancipation from all authority—particularly in the circles that today often consider themselves the most educated. One experiences such things time and again—things that must be mentioned, even if only because they take up time that could otherwise be better spent—things such as I had to experience in Berlin during a lecture I gave at a philosophical society on Giordano Bruno, where I had to mention —it was a long time ago—how ill-suited our age is to truly grasp the thought structures of great figures such as Giordano Bruno. At the time, I drew attention to the intellectual aberration linked to a sensory aberration in a book famous at the time, Harnack’s *The Essence of Christianity*.
[ 4 ] I noted yesterday in my public lecture that when I mention something in order to refute it, I do not mean to imply that this person’s expertise or scholarly integrity should be disparaged. My intention is precisely to show how something significant can simultaneously have a devastating effect due to its suggestive power. Thus, one had to learn from experience at the time that this work, *The Essence of Christianity*, was regarded as something very significant by one of the most famous theologians of the present day. One does not go into details there. In this work, for example, the view regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ is presented, which goes something like this: Whatever may have happened back then in Palestine, we can no longer know today, so there is no need to reconstruct the concept of the Resurrection; but the belief in the Resurrection arose from this fact in Palestine. One should hold fast to this belief, regardless of what may have happened that could have led to it.
[ 5 ] The chairman of this ideological association told me after the lecture that he had read Harnack’s *The Essence of Christianity* carefully, but had not found that passage in the book. That would, of course, be a Catholic view. Catholics say: It does not matter whether the Holy Robe is in Trier, but rather the belief that it is the robe. He objected to this, but explained that it was not in the book. The next day I wrote to him, pointing out the page where it is, of course, clearly stated. The learned gentleman simply skims right over it. So devastating is everything today that exerts a suggestive influence as authority that one does not notice it; but those who call themselves anthroposophists in the true sense must take note of such things, for it is the most devastating aspect of today’s spiritual culture.
[ 6 ] Eucken is known as the man who revived idealism. He has been awarded a prestigious prize. He should not be envied for this. He wrote a book titled: “Can We Still Be Christians?” In it, one finds a passage stating: As educated people of the present day, we can no longer accept that people speak of demons, as they did in the time when Christ walked the earth. No educated person of the present day can believe in demons anymore.
[ 7 ] When the “educated” person of today reads this, he feels very flattered. The one paying him this compliment is his kind of man. Does this educated person realize that a few pages further on in the same book there is another sentence: “The contact between the divine and the human gives rise to demonic powers”? This is accepted so readily. If one points this out as nonsense, one hears the reply: “He doesn’t mean that in the sense of the demonic.” When one hears this reply, one must be particularly saddened, for from this reply it becomes completely clear that today people use words in an unscrupulous manner, without thinking to give them the meaning they are supposed to have. That is the terrible thing.
[ 8 ] This is the only reason why such a distressing phenomenon has come to light as the book that, despite comprising three thick volumes, is already seeing a second edition: Fritz Mauthner’s *Critique of Language*, a work that has made him a household name for many through the compilation of a major philosophical dictionary. Such phenomena must be discussed today, even if it is not pleasant. “Critique of Language” is intended to be the last significant critique of all philosophical worldview endeavors. The book is highly significant in terms of the superficial cleverness of the present. It is not to be disputed that it is a significant book, full of witty insights. The entire past of humanity’s worldviews is dismissed there. In dismissing a worldview current—one that I, too, cannot find sympathetic—the critic quite seriously employs the following image: The one who speaks of this worldview is like a clown who climbs a freestanding ladder and then, having reached the top, tries to pull it up after him. He will tumble down. — But I ask you: How does one do that when one has set up a ladder vertically, climbed up, and then, at the top, tries to pull it up toward oneself and then tumbles down? How does one carry out such a thought without being thoughtless? Most people do not notice this hollow thought because there is little practice in logic today. Otherwise, one would notice that such non-thoughts are found in every other book on every twentieth page today. This must also be mentioned, because it is characteristic of how people think today, of how thinking is suggestively influenced. I have not cited this example without significance, for to those who can think, the entire book is written with the same logic, but one does not notice it. Many will not even notice the impossibility of this thought; rather, given the state of intellectual life today, such a literary phenomenon is trumpeted as something immensely significant, and many believe it to be so, study it, and from the ranks of those who can think in this way, the opponents of spiritual science are recruited.
[ 9 ] I find it brutal that I am compelled to say this, but it must be said at least once, because you should not be caught off guard by what is happening today. Even if not many will read the book, what stems from it finds its way into many books and lectures and is presented as logic. That is why it is so incredibly difficult, in the face of the immature thinking of our time, to come forward not only with ideas from the humanities, but with the positive results of Akashic research, which I spoke about last time. This compelled me to utter the words just spoken, that our friends should truly feel the necessity of thoroughly and deeply imbuing themselves—especially when it comes to dealing with matters where ordinary thinking can no longer suffice—with the conviction of the necessity of strictly trained thinking. Otherwise, it will of course be a long time before we reach the point where we can overcome the fog of thought in our time—which presents itself as so critical—through positive occult research. Of course, this can only be received by someone who has first prepared their soul through the results of spiritual science, which can be more deeply imprinted in thought. Only to such people can one speak of things that can no longer be grasped by mere thought, but must be told as they emerge from Akashic research. Although they are merely narratives—what I presented as the Fifth Gospel—they are not disconnected from what spiritual research has to offer within a rigorous framework of thought, even if this is not immediately apparent.
[ 10 ] The rejection of these specific research findings stems from nothing other than the fact that modern thinking is too dull to truly grasp the results of spiritual research. One should recognize that it is only natural that a person capable of forming thoughts such as those cited is not at all capable of truly penetrating spiritual science. This provides the guideline we should follow in relation to what today often presents itself as philosophical worldview literature. This makes it necessary that, especially when discussing such matters, we imbue ourselves with the thought that such ideas must at least reach a few souls at present, so that they may gradually flow into the spiritual life of the present in the right way.
[ 11 ] I have often referred to the Mystery of Golgotha, specifically to those aspects of it that must be comprehensible to rigorous thinking if such thinking is to be applied to the historical development of humanity. In truth, we do not really have a genuine understanding of the historical development of humanity. Today we have no history, no insightful understanding of what has happened. Once we have that, we will recognize how, in the time before the Mystery of Golgotha, human development was indeed a downward one, and how, through Golgotha, an impulse entered that gave humanity the rejuvenation which influenced the cultural forces that had grown old. By considering the specific events that took place in Palestine, this general idea is certainly not diminished; on the contrary, it is elevated through an understanding of the concrete events that occurred.
[ 12 ] The day before yesterday, I reached the point in the narrative where Jesus of Nazareth, after the conversation he had with his foster mother—and where Zarathustra’s “I” had detached itself from the three bodies, which then, in a peculiar configuration, were without a human earthly “I”—encountered the two Essenes. I have attempted to describe this scene; I described it up to the point where Jesus, after speaking with them, stood facing them as if he were dissolving, and they beheld him like a mirage from which the words resounded: “Vain is your striving, for empty is your heart, because you have filled yourselves with the spirit that deceptively conceals pride within the guise of humility.” — When they heard this, these two Essenes, their eyes were as if clouded for a while. They saw him again only when he had already walked a distance further. I was able to ascertain from the Akashic Records that the two Essenes were deeply affected by what they had experienced, and from that day on they became silent and told the other Essenes nothing.
[ 13 ] After Jesus had walked a short distance further, he encountered a man who gave the impression of being in the deepest suffering, of being weighed down and oppressed. With his head bowed and his body physically stooped, the man walked toward Jesus. Then he heard that being—whom I described just the day before yesterday as the Jesus of that time—speak words to him that seemed to resonate from the deepest source of that being. This oppressed man heard Jesus say: “Where has your soul led you? I knew you once, thousands of years ago, many thousands of years ago; back then you were different.” — This distressed man felt compelled to say certain things to this apparition, for as earthly human beings we cannot describe such a being—which consisted only of the physical body, etheric body, and astral body, with the aftereffect of the Zarathustra-I in these three bodies—as such. We can only call it a being. The man in despair felt compelled to say to this being: I have attained high positions in my life, and always, when I rose to new positions, I felt so very much in my element, and often the feeling came over me: What a rare human being you are, that your fellow human beings exalt you so, that you have been able to achieve so much on Earth. What a rare person you are! I was happy above all else. But then it happened quickly that I lost this happiness. It came in a single night. And just as I had fallen asleep, a dream came over me in such a way that I brought into the dream the feeling that I was ashamed of myself for dreaming such a thing. I dreamed that a being stood before me and asked: Who has made you so great, brought you to such high honors? — I was ashamed that such a question could even be directed at me in a dream, for it was so clear to me that I was indeed a rare person and that I had, of course, attained these honors through my great virtues. And when the being had spoken to me in this way, I was completely overcome in the dream by an ever-growing sense of shame toward myself—in the dream—so said this man who found himself in despair. Then I took to my heels, but no sooner had I fled than the apparition stood before me again in a changed form and said: “I have exalted you, brought you to these positions of honor.” - Then I recognized in him the tempter of whom Scripture tells that he was already the tempter in Paradise. Then I awoke, and from that moment on I have had no peace. I left my honors, my home, everything, and have since wandered aimlessly through the world. And now my path leads me, a wandering man who sustains himself by begging, before you. - And at the very moment the man had spoken these words—so the Akashic Records reveal—the apparition appeared before him once more, standing before Jesus of Nazareth, who vanished from his sight at that very moment. Then the apparition dissolved, and the man was left to his fate.
[ 14 ] Jesus continued on his way. He then met a leper, and when the man approached him, he had to say: “Where has your soul led you? I saw you differently thousands of years ago, many thousands of years ago.” Yes, back then you were different.” The leper said: “People everywhere have cast me out because of my leprosy. That is why I had to wander the world, and no one took me in. I was glad when people threw scraps out the door or window to me, which sustained me barely. But I could not sit still anywhere; I had to wander from place to place. Then one night I came to a forest. There it was, as if from afar a tree that looked like a flame were shining toward me. The light drew me in. As I drew ever closer, a figure in the shape of a skeleton stepped out of the glowing tree and spoke these terrible words to me: “I am you! I feed on you.” — Then the most terrible fear overwhelmed me; and as it chilled me so deeply that I felt within myself how the scabs of leprosy brushed against one another and crackled, the being sensed what was happening within me and said: “Why are you so afraid of me?” You have lived through many a life before; then you loved the pleasures of life, many things that aroused desire in you, that brought you the joys of everyday life; then you could revel in the joys of everyday life; then you loved me, you loved me, you loved me deeply. You did not always know it, but you loved me, and because you loved me so, your soul was drawn to my being. I became you and may now feed upon you. — And my fear grew even greater. Then the skeleton transformed into a beautiful archangel; I looked upon him. “Yes,” he said, “you once loved me.”—Then I sank into a deep sleep, and in the morning I found myself, upon waking, lying by the tree, and wandered on through the world, and now I have found you. Since this apparition came to me, the leprosy has grown ever worse. - As he spoke, the skeleton stood there again, obscuring Jesus, who vanished and had to continue on his way, driven by the impulse within him. The man, too, had to move on.
[ 15 ] After these three encounters—the encounter with the two Essenes, with the man in despair, and with the leper—which Jesus of Nazareth had experienced in the form I described last time, he continued on his way and came to the Jordan to John. What is known from the other Gospels took place: the Christ-essence descended from cosmic heights, took possession of the three bodies of Jesus, in which the Christ-essence was to remain for three years.
[ 16 ] The next thing I must recount is the story of the Temptation. Here, the Akashic Records present the matter in greater detail than the other Gospels. I must note in advance that I will present it as it has come to me, but it is quite possible—because it is difficult to investigate such matters and one must be cautious—that a correction may be necessary later on to alter the three stages of the temptation that I am about to describe. For the sequence can sometimes be easily jumbled in the Akashic Records, and I am not entirely certain of the order. I will only recount it to the extent that I know it precisely.
[ 17 ] After Christ Jesus—for now the Christ was within Jesus—had withdrawn into solitude, the first being to approach him was the one he immediately recognized as Lucifer, for two significant feelings first arose within his soul. He remembered—now with the I of the Christ and the etheric and astral bodies of Jesus of Nazareth—how Lucifer and Ahriman had fled from the Essene Gate to the other people when, after a conversation with the Essenes, he had passed through the Essene Gate. He could not help but think of this. The second sensation that swept through his soul reminded him of the desperate man he had encountered on the path to the Jordan, whom this figure had obscured and forced him, Jesus, to keep going. He now knew how to recognize such things through occult perception: it was Lucifer whom I saw fleeing with Ahriman before the Essene Gate back then; Lucifer stood between me and the desperate man; it is he who now stands before me again.
[ 18 ] This account gives us an idea of how occult perceptions are experienced when they relate to the past. They are truly not the kind of thing one can receive with detachment and objectivity, as one might with other stories one hears. These things express profound mysteries of the world, penetrate into all the forces of our soul life, and touch not only our imagination and ordinary understanding. That is why it is so difficult to distance the words so far from the corresponding occult perceptions, from these investigations, that one need not fall silent, but can nevertheless press the shattering results of the research into words of ordinary everyday language. Only when it is necessary to communicate such things are they communicated.
[ 19 ] And so Lucifer stood before Christ Jesus. What took place can be expressed in the words of the other Gospels—which are descriptions of spiritual processes: “If you acknowledge me, I will give you the kingdoms of this world.”
[ 20 ] This is roughly what Lucifer said to Christ Jesus, in whom, although the divine essence of Christ now resided—one who could understand Lucifer—he nevertheless had to make use of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth for this understanding, just as he had developed through the Zarathustra-I, which had permeated the astral body of Jesus, so that he could use it as an instrument. Therefore, he heard the words, so to speak, not as a god, but only as a human being imbued with the divine: “If you acknowledge me, my angels will guard your every step.”
[ 21 ] We must now refer to what I once said in a series of lectures that has since been published in print: that even in the old Sun Age, Lucifer was a being who was then equal to the Christ Being, so that the Christ Being, who had now taken on a human form, had to feel the high cosmic rank that Lucifer held and had to regard him as an equal despite everything that had happened to him until he became the Tempter. Thus it can already be understood how Lucifer could direct this demand to him: “Recognize me.” — When Lucifer speaks such words, truly says them in such a way that they pour into the human soul through occult channels, then everything that lives in the human soul as forces of arrogance and pride swells up mightily. Therefore, when the strongest temptation arises to succumb to feelings of arrogance and hidden pride, there is no other means than to resist it with the most concentrated power of the soul.
[ 22 ] “If you acknowledge me, I will give you all the realms you now see within my sphere.” These are vast realms of great splendor; these are entire worlds that Lucifer can unfold in such a moment. These realms have only this one peculiarity: that one can feel desire for them only out of the justified or unjustified pride of the soul. And one escapes, so to speak, only in the same way that Christ Jesus escaped back then: by seeing through it. For in such a moment one feels nothing but the arrogance and pride that lie within the human soul; all other feelings are paralyzed. But Christ Jesus escaped this temptation and cast Lucifer from himself.
[ 23 ] Then came the second attack. Now there were two of them. Once again, Christ Jesus had the sensations that allowed him to recognize who the two were. The sensations arose again, just as they had within him when the two were fleeing before the gates of the Essenes, and on the way to the Jordan during the apparition in conversation with the desperate man and the image of the skeleton that had transformed into the archangel. He knew that he now had the two tempters before him. The call, which the other Gospels also correctly record, was addressed to him: “Cast yourself down; nothing will happen to you!”
[ 24 ] In the face of such temptations, a courage that overcomes all fear manifests itself in a magnificent way within a person, a courage that can also make a person reckless. Christ Jesus was able to repel these two tempters as well.
[ 25 ] Then came a third attack. It came from Ahriman alone. He now stood alone before Christ Jesus. And then came the temptation, which can again be expressed in the words of the other Gospels: “Use my power to turn these stones into bread.”
[ 26 ] What needed to be answered in response to this Ahrimanic question—and this is what distinguishes the subsequent course of events in the Fifth Gospel from the account given in the other Gospels—could not be answered by Christ Jesus. This question remained partly unanswered, lingering as the final unresolved remnant of the temptation. This gave rise to an impulse that remained active in the further experience of the Christ within the body of Jesus of Nazareth. For the fact that he could not fully answer Ahriman’s final question during the temptation in solitude established the connection between Christ Jesus and the earthly events associated with Ahriman.
[ 27 ] If you recall how Ahriman is the Lord of Death, how through the kind of deception he brings about by spreading materiality before the soul, so that the soul accepts the material in this deception—if you recall what was said this summer about Ahriman’s deeds in the development of the Earth, you will understand that Ahriman’s deeds are embedded in the development of the Earth. And so it came to pass that a connection arose, through the unanswered remnant of this question, between the earthly life of Christ Jesus and the entire development of the Earth. Christ Jesus was, as it were, connected to the development of the Earth—insofar as Ahriman is woven into it—through this unanswered question.
[ 28 ] Sometimes one must describe things using trivial words; yet they are not meant to be trivial. Ahriman arranges everything so that it appears in the material world and is preserved within it. But because he handles things in this way, an event such as Christ Jesus turning stones into bread could not have taken place. It was precisely the Ahrimanic activity that prevented this. It is this very phenomenon that determines that certain stages connected with the development of the Earth—insofar as they are linked to Ahriman—can only be overcome in the course of time and through the complete permeation of the Earth’s evolution by Christ.
[ 29 ] What is said in the Cosmic Lord’s Prayer: “The debt of selfhood incurred by others, experienced in daily bread,” is expressed in the Ahrimanic forces, of which it is said in this Lord’s Prayer: “In which the will of Heaven does not reign,” but rather the will of Ahriman; this must therefore be dealt with within the framework of earthly laws and cannot be dealt with merely spiritually. These things are connected with this daily bread. In the outer social world, this is expressed in the fact that one does indeed need the material in the form of money, of Mammon—the coarsest image of Ahrimanic bondage—which then prevents stones from becoming bread in social life, making it necessary for human beings on earth to remain bound to the Ahrimanic, to the material.
[ 30 ] You must think this idea through for yourselves: how the command “Turn these stones into bread” relates to the function of money in social life. But because the Ahrimanic power thus remained connected to the earthly life of Christ Jesus, Ahriman was able to later enter the soul of Judas and, through the indirect path of Judas, lead to the events described in the other Gospels—events that, through the indirect path of Judas, ultimately revealed Christ Jesus to his persecutors. It was actually Ahriman in Judas who brought about Christ’s death, and that he was able to do so stems from the question left unanswered during the temptation.
[ 31 ] However, in order to understand the entire earthly life of Christ Jesus, one must take something into account. The Christ-being had entered the three bodies, but not in such a way that this Christ-I was connected to these three bodies in the same way that a human I is connected to them. At the beginning of the three-year earthly mission, the Christ-being was initially only loosely connected to the three bodies of Jesus, and then it was drawn more and more into the three bodies. The development over the three years consisted in the fact that this Christ-Essence, which at first permeated the Jesus-Essence only like an aura, was slowly and gradually pressed more and more into the three bodies. It was not until shortly before death on the cross that this Christ-being was pressed into them as densely as a human ego. But this pressing in was a continuous sensation of pain throughout the three years. The process of this complete incarnation, which lasted three years and led to the Mystery of Golgotha, was this being pressed into the three bodies; it was the pain of God that had to be felt on earth so that what was necessary could happen to introduce the Christ impulse into the development of the earth. To what I have said about Jesus’ pain and suffering in his youth, this must be added.
[ 32 ] When one speaks of the pain of God, it is easy to be misunderstood today. Take Maeterlinck, for example, who says many beautiful things in his book *On Death*, which is sure to become famous, and who, after all, strove to explain matters of spiritual life with the means at his disposal; it could happen that he might say a disembodied soul cannot feel pain, that only the mortal body can feel pain. — That is the height of nonsense, for a body feels no pain, any more than a stone does. Pain is felt by the astral body with the “I” inside the physical body; moreover, there is also mental pain, and therefore pain does not cease after death. It can simply no longer be caused by disturbances in the physical body, but for the soul, it need not cease because of this.
[ 33 ] What took place as the three bodies of Jesus were permeated by the Christ-being was, for the Christ-being, the utmost pain. It will gradually become necessary for humanity to understand that, in order to carry on the development of the Earth from Golgotha onward, this Christ-being had to enter the Earth’s aura through suffering, and humanity will have to feel its destiny in connection with this Christ-suffering. Humanity’s connection with the Christ-pain will have to become ever more concrete. Only then will one understand how, within the Earth’s aura, this pain has continued to work in rejuvenating forces for the Earth’s development since the Mystery of Golgotha.
[ 34 ] Gaining an ever deeper understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha will be the task of progressive spiritual development. However, many aspects of contemporary culture that play a major role will have to be overcome. We are currently facing a crisis—a real crisis—in our understanding of Christianity. I am, of course, not referring to what may be put forward by this or that popular theology regarding Christianity. I merely wish to draw attention to fundamental instances of misunderstanding in the present day. At one of those gatherings in 1910 where the historical Christ was discussed, a well-known theologian spoke to emphasize that the words of the teachings of Jesus Christ were merely summarized doctrines that had already existed earlier: I would be grateful if you could show me just a single sentence among the sayings of Jesus Christ that was not already present in some form earlier. - If a liberal theological scholar today can substantiate what that man claimed, he is a great man in the eyes of our contemporaries, for how convincing it must seem if one can truly prove that all of Christ’s sayings had already been spoken by others before, that they were therefore nothing new. To the one who sees through things, such a statement appears in a different light. Imagine if Goethe had composed a poem, not yet written down, only spoken, and a child who was listening had cried out: “These are all words I have already heard.” - Like the child is the theologian who hears nothing but what he already knows and fails to grasp what really matters, for that stands above the sayings that were there before, as high as a Goethean poem stands above the individual words the child has already heard. If one does not know at all what one is to regard as the main thing, and can believe that one is practicing genuine theology today by clinging to words in this way, by clinging to what is true—that the sayings have already “been there”— this implies that we are in a profound crisis regarding our grasp of Christianity, from which one can already begin to understand that a true understanding of Christ can only come into the world once today’s theology—which holds the public office of guarding the understanding of Christ—has first died out. This is what matters: that one learns to feel the full magnitude of the events that took place at Golgotha.
[ 35 ] The Akashic Records reveal something else of significance: Since the Christ-being was not immediately and closely connected to the bodies of Jesus, but only loosely and externally, the following could occur in the early days: At times, the Christ-being was externally connected to the three bodies of Jesus of Nazareth, was present among the disciples and closest followers in such a connection, and spoke with them. But this was not always necessary. The outer bodies could be in various places, and the Christ-Being could remove itself from them; it could then appear as a spiritual being here or there, far away. Many of Christ’s appearances are such that only the Christ-Being appears to the disciples, the believers, and others as well. Later, he often wandered about the country with the disciples, teaching, speaking, and healing. As he walked thus with ten or fifteen or even more followers, and the Christ-essence pressed itself more and more into their bodies, yet another manifestation came to light. It happened on several occasions that one or another of the disciples suddenly felt seized by inspiration. Then his face would transform, so that one could see even from the outside how he took on a completely different physiognomy. And when something like this occurred and he spoke the most magnificent words of Christ, the actual outward appearance of Christ Jesus would transform in such a way that he looked like the simplest person in the circle.
[ 36 ] This happened over and over again. That is what the Akashic Records show. As a result, the pursuers never knew which member of the wandering group was the one they were actually looking for, so they faced the danger of seizing someone who was not the right person at all. Then the right one would have escaped. That is why Judas’ betrayal became necessary. As it is usually told, the story is not told very insightfully. For if one thinks oneself into the situation, one asks: Why was Judas’ kiss necessary? It was necessary precisely for the reason I have just indicated.
[ 37 ] Much that is mysterious is connected with the earthly, human life of Christ, but what makes the most profound impression becomes clear when one turns one’s gaze to his death. Here one must say what I state without hesitation, because it is a fact of occult knowledge: that at the most crucial points of historical-spiritual events, the moral and physical orders of the world—which otherwise flow separately—once again come into contact. When this was most strongly the case in the development of the Earth, the Mystery of Golgotha took place.
[ 38 ] When Christ was crucified, an eclipse spread far across the region. The Akashic Records have not yet revealed where it came from, or whether it was of earthly or cosmic origin. But it was there, and the significance of such a darkening can be observed occultly during a solar eclipse. I do not mean to say that it was a solar eclipse at that time; it could also have been a significant cloud-induced darkening. But it is one thing when the sun stands eclipsed in the sky during the day, and quite another when it is simply night. The effect of such a general eclipse, however, can already be seen, for example, in a solar eclipse caused by the moon. At such times, great occult changes take place in all living beings—humans, animals, and plants; the entire structure, for example, between the physical body and the etheric body of plants changes, the whole world looks completely different, and with it the Earth’s aura. The last time, it made a particularly profound impression on me when I was able to observe it during a solar eclipse while giving a short lecture series in Stockholm. It is indeed the case that in the section of the Earth’s aura where the eclipse is greatest, major changes are taking place. And through such an affected section of the Earth’s aura, the Christ impulse flowed into the Earth’s evolution at the time when Christ Jesus died on the cross. This is the wondrous, sacred event of the eclipse extending far around the cross on Golgotha.
[ 39 ] The other point is what I have already hinted at in Karlsruhe and what is also stated in the printed cycle from Karlsruhe, which the Fifth Gospel also illustrates: how the physical body of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ was, as it were, absorbed by the physical earth, for when the body was laid in the tomb, an earthquake-like shaking of the earth did indeed take place, accompanied by a storm, so that a fissure opened in the earth and took in the body. The storm swirled in such a way that it actually resulted in the peculiar winding and arrangement of the cloths described in the Gospel of John. The fissure formed by the earthquake then closed, and so the body could naturally not be found. Those who sought it could only be given the answer from occult realms: The one you seek is no longer here. - A similar event occurred later, when many in Europe set out as crusaders to seek the memory of Christ on Golgotha. To them, too, though inaudible to their ears, came the answer: “The one you seek is no longer here.”
[ 40 ] For the Christ impulse flows spiritually through the souls of human beings; it acts as a reality even in those who do not understand it. One must not speak merely of the great Teacher. What happened acts as a reality and provided the great impulses for humanity’s future development. This will be the task of genuine occult research in this field: to learn to understand ever more deeply how to seek Christ in a different way, so that one is not forced to receive the answer: “The one you seek is no longer here.”—But if one seeks him in an ever more spiritual way, one will be able to find the true answer that corresponds to reality.
[ 41 ] This is what I wanted to tell you today, and I believe that these accounts carry the greatest weight in describing the Mystery of Golgotha, as opposed to the abstractions of theologians. As these facts appear in the Akashic Records, they reveal that something of the utmost importance took place at that time.
[ 42 ] The occultist is convinced of the following: Once the minds of humanity have risen in a somewhat different direction than before, above all that which today dominates souls with such intellectual arrogance and illogic—as I had to characterize it at the outset—once minds have been imbued with true thinking ability, then—even though some might believe: What does thinking have to do with receiving such messages and attempting to understand them? — then minds will thereby become ready to truly understand even those things that seemingly have nothing to do with thinking, because it is precisely through true thinking that souls are imbued with the genuine sense of truth, which does not regard what is presented in these two lectures as ridiculous, but strives to accept it as carefully conducted research from the Akashic Records.