The Rudolf Steiner Archive

2. Christ at the Time of the Mystery of Golgotha and Christ in the Twentieth Century

[ 1 ] Of all mysteries, the Mystery of Golgotha is the most difficult to understand, even for those who are already advanced in occult knowledge, and of all the truths with which humanity can come into contact, it is the one most easily misunderstood. This is connected with the fact that the Mystery of Golgotha was a unique event in the entire evolution of the Earth, that it was a powerful impulse in the development of humanity on Earth, one that had never occurred in the same way before and will never be repeated in the same manner. The human mind, however, is always seeking a standard, a comparison, by which things can be understood. But something that is incomparable cannot be compared, and because it is unique, it is difficult to understand.

[ 2 ] We have now endeavored, within the Spiritual Science movement in which we work, to characterize this mystery of Golgotha from various perspectives. But new perspectives can continually be chosen, and new characteristics constantly brought to light, in order to describe this momentous event in the evolution of humanity on Earth.

[ 3 ] Such a perspective, such an aspect, is to be presented here today, and in particular, attention is to be directed toward what, in a certain sense, can be called the renewal of the Mystery of Golgotha in our time, in our present human cycle.

[ 4 ] If one wishes to thoroughly understand the Mystery of Golgotha, one should not regard it as something entirely separate from human evolution, to be considered only during its duration of three or thirty-three years, but one should consider how it occurred precisely in the fourth post-Atlantean epoch, the so-called Greco-Latin cultural epoch, and one should also take into account that this Mystery of Golgotha was prepared throughout the entire development of the ancient Hebrew people. Not only is what took place in humanity during the fourth post-Atlantean epoch of utmost importance for the Mystery of Golgotha, but what was prepared throughout the entire ancient Hebrew culture—namely, the worship of Jehovah—is also of significant importance. First of all, it is important to understand who the Being was who revealed Himself in ancient Hebrew times under the name Yahweh or Jehovah.

[ 5 ] Well, modern man is a being who, especially in terms of his reason and capacity for understanding, develops his intellect and loves to understand things from an intellectual standpoint.

[ 6 ] However, the moment one crosses the threshold from the sensory world into the supersensory worlds, it becomes impossible to grasp reality solely through the faculties of the intellect. The human intellect can render good service on earth, but the moment one enters the supersensible worlds, it is no longer sufficient as a means of gaining knowledge—even though it can still be regarded there as a useful instrument.

[ 7 ] This mind loves, above all, to make distinctions, and in order to understand something, it needs a definition. Those of you who have followed my lectures more frequently will have noticed the absence of almost any definitions. One cannot grasp the things of reality through definitions. There are certainly good and bad definitions, definitions that are comprehensive, and others that are less satisfactory. Definitions are necessary to understand earthly matters, but if one wishes to understand things that belong to reality—namely, things that belong to the supersensible reality—then one cannot define them. One must characterize, for then it is necessary to view the facts and entities from all points of view.

[ 8 ] Definitions are always one-sided and remind those who have studied logic of the ancient Greek school of philosophy, which once sought to define what a human being is. To give an idea of what a human being is, the following definition was established: A human being is a two-legged creature without feathers. The next day, someone brought in a plucked chicken and said: This is a two-legged creature and has no feathers; therefore, it is a human being. — One is often reminded of this when definitions are demanded for something so multifaceted and ambiguous that definitions are insufficient and one can only characterize it. But above all, in order to be able to distinguish the various beings in the supersensible worlds, people would like to have a definition. They ask: What exactly is such a being? — However, the further one penetrates into the supersensible worlds, the more the beings there interpenetrate; they are no longer distinct from one another, so that it is difficult to distinguish them from one another.

[ 9 ] Above all, one must not overlook evolution when considering the name Yahweh or Jehovah, especially when linking it to the name of Christ. Even in the New Testament you will find—and I have often pointed this out in my books—that Christ revealed himself through Jehovah, to the extent that he could before the Mystery of Golgotha.

[ 10 ] If one wishes to draw a comparison between Jehovah and Christ, it is helpful to use the image of sunlight and moonlight. What is sunlight, and what is moonlight? They are one and the same, and yet very different. Sunlight streams forth from the sun, but in moonlight, the sunlight is reflected back by the moon. In the same way, Christ and Jehovah are one and the same. Christ is like sunlight; Jehovah is like the reflected light of Christ, insofar as it was able to reveal itself to the earth under the name of Jehovah before the Mystery of Golgotha took place. And again, when a being as exalted as Jehovah-Christ is in question, we must seek his true meaning in the sublime heights of the supersensible worlds. In reality, it is presumptuous to approach a being such as Jehovah-Christ with everyday concepts.

[ 11 ] The ancient Hebrews then sought to find a way out of this difficulty. Human reasoning is limited, but it attempts to form a concept of this sublime being. Attention was not directed directly toward Jehovah—a name considered in and of itself to be unpronounceable—but toward the being referred to in our Western literature as Michael. Of course, this assertion may give rise to some misunderstandings, but that is unavoidable. One might perhaps say that this will reawaken the prejudices of Christians; another wants nothing to do with such things. But the being whom we may call Michael and who belongs to the hierarchy of the Archangels—no matter what name we may give this being—does indeed exist. And there are many such beings who belong to the same rank. But this particular being, known esoterically by the name Michael, is as exalted above his companions as the sun is exalted above the planets—above Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and so on.

[ 12 ] He, Michael, is the most outstanding and significant being in the hierarchy of the archangels. The ancient Hebrews called Michael “The Face of God.” Just as a person reveals himself through his gestures and the expression of his face, so in the mythology of the ancients, Jehovah was understood through Michael. Jehovah revealed himself to the initiate in such a way that the initiate could grasp something he could never have comprehended before with his ordinary faculties, namely, that Michael is the face of Jehovah. Thus the ancient Hebrews spoke of Jehovah-Michael: Jehovah, the Unapproachable One, whom one could not reach, just as one cannot reach a person’s thoughts, sufferings, and sorrows that lie behind his outward expression. Michael is the outward manifestation of Yahweh or Jehovah, just as one recognizes the manifestation of a person’s self on his forehead and face.

[ 13 ] And so we can say that Jehovah revealed himself through Michael, one of the archangels. Knowledge of the one we have described as Yahweh was not limited merely to the ancient Hebrews; it was much more widespread. And if one examines the last five centuries before the Christian era, one finds that a revelation through Michael took place throughout that entire period.

[ 14 ] We can find this revelation in a different form in Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, in Greek philosophy, and even in the ancient Greek tragedies during the five centuries preceding the events at Golgotha.

[ 15 ] If we strive, with the aid of occult knowledge, to shed light on what actually took place, we can say that Christ-Jehovah is the Being who has accompanied humanity throughout its entire evolution. But during the successive epochs, Christ-Jehovah always reveals himself through various beings of the same rank as Michael. He always chooses, so to speak, a different face with which to turn toward humanity. And depending on whether one or the other is chosen from the hierarchy of archangels to be the mediator between Christ-Jehovah and humanity, very different ideas and conceptions, impulses of feeling, impulses of will, and so on are revealed to people. We can describe the entire period surrounding, so to speak, the Mystery of Golgotha as the time of Michael, and we can regard Michael as the messenger of Jehovah.

[ 16 ] During that period, which preceded the Mystery of Golgotha by about five hundred years and continued for several decades afterward, humanity’s dominant culture bore, so to speak, the stamp of Michael. Through his qualities and his power, he poured into humanity that which was to be given to it at that time. And then came other beings who, likewise from the spiritual worlds, were the inspirers of humanity—other beings of the rank of archangels.

[ 17 ] As has already been mentioned, Michael was the greatest, the most powerful, and the most significant, so that an epoch such as that of Michael is always the most significant—or one of the most significant—that can occur in the evolution of humanity. For the epochs of the various archangels repeat themselves. And the fact of the utmost importance is that each such being from the hierarchy of the Archangels imparts the fundamental character to the age. They are primarily the leaders of the various peoples, but because they all become the leaders of specific epochs and because they were the leaders of past ages, they have, in a certain sense, also become the leaders of all humanity.

[ 18 ] As for Michael, a change has taken place up to our current cycle of evolution, for Michael himself has undergone a process of development. And this is of great importance, for according to occult knowledge, in the last few decades we have once again entered an epoch inspired by the same being who inspired the age in which the Mystery of Golgotha took place. Since the end of the 19th century, we may once again regard Michael as our guide.

[ 19 ] If we wish to understand this, we must view the Mystery of Golgotha from a different perspective and ask ourselves: What is of the utmost importance in this Mystery? That the Being designated by the name Christ passed through the Mystery of Golgotha and through the gate of death at that time—that is of the utmost importance! Never in the entire evolution of the Earth could one speak of the Mystery of Golgotha without regarding the fact that Christ passed through death as the most essential aspect of this Mystery.

[ 20 ] Consider the laws of nature. Much can be understood by studying them, and in the future evolution of the Earth much more will be learned through them, but we would have to be mere dreamers if we did not recognize that an understanding of life as such is an ideal that can only be grasped through evolution and never through the study of the laws of nature. Certainly there are dreamers in our day who believe that true understanding of the principle of life will eventually be attained through scientific knowledge; but this will never be the case. During the evolution of the Earth, many more laws will be discovered through the senses, but the principle of life as such can never reveal itself to the world in this way; this can only be achieved through the means of occult knowledge.

[ 21 ] That is why life appears to us as something that is inaccessible to science here on Earth. And just as life is inaccessible to human knowledge, so too is death inaccessible to true knowledge, which is attained in the supersensible worlds. Throughout the entire realm of the supersensible worlds, there is no death. One can die only on Earth, in the physical world or in worlds similar in development to our Earth, and all beings hierarchically higher than humans have no knowledge of death; they know only various states of consciousness. Their consciousness may at times be so lowered that it resembles our earthly state of sleep, but it can awaken again from this sleep. There is no death in the spiritual world; there is only a transformation of consciousness there, and the greatest fear that humans have—the fear of death—cannot be felt by one who has ascended to the supersensible world after death. At the moment when a person passes through the gate of death, their state is one of intense sensitivity, but they can exist only in either a clear or a darkened state of consciousness, and it would be extremely strange to form a mental image of a person being dead in the supersensible world.

[ 22 ] There is therefore no death for beings belonging to the higher hierarchies, with only one exception: that of the Christ. But in order for a supranatural being such as the Christ to pass through death, he first had to descend to Earth. And this is what is of such immeasurable importance in the Mystery of Golgotha: that a being who, in his own realm and within the sphere of his will, could never have experienced death, had to descend to Earth to undergo an experience that is unique to human beings—namely, to experience death. Through this, that inner bond, that deep inner bond between humanity on Earth and Christ was forged, as this being passed through death to share this fate with humanity. This death, as I have already emphasized, is of the greatest significance, primarily for our present earthly evolution.

[ 23 ] What actually took place at that time for our Earth’s evolution has been discussed many times. Above all, a being—unique in its kind, which until then had existed only in the cosmos—united itself with Earth’s evolution through the Mystery of Golgotha, through the death of the Christ. It entered Earth’s evolution at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. It was not there before. It belonged only to the cosmos, but through the Mystery of Golgotha it descended from the cosmos and incarnated on Earth. Since then, it has lived on Earth in such a way, and is so bound to Earth, that it lives in the souls of human beings on Earth and experiences life on Earth with them. Therefore, the entire period before the Mystery of Golgotha was merely a time of preparation in the evolution of the Earth. The Mystery of Golgotha gave the Earth its meaning.

[ 24 ] When the Mystery of Golgotha took place, the earthly body of Jesus of Nazareth—as we know from the various accounts we possess—was consigned to the elements of the earth, and from that time on, the Christ has been connected with the spiritual sphere of the earth and lives within it. As we have already said, it is extremely difficult to describe the Mystery of Golgotha, since we have no standard by which to compare it, but we will nevertheless try to approach it from yet another perspective.

[ 25 ] As we know, for three years after his baptism in the Jordan, Christ lived in the body of Jesus of Nazareth as a human being among the people of the earth. We may call this the earthly manifestation of Christ in a physical human body. How, then, has Christ revealed himself since the time he laid down his physical body in the Mystery of Golgotha?

[ 26 ] We must, of course, create a mental image of the Christ Being as an overwhelmingly exalted Being, but although it is so supremely exalted, it was nevertheless able to express itself in a human body during the three years following John’s baptism in the Jordan. But how has it revealed itself since that time? No longer in a physical human body, for that was surrendered to the physical earth and now forms a part of it. To those who, through the study of occult science, have developed within themselves the ability to look into these conditions, it will become apparent that this Being can be recognized in a Being belonging to the hierarchy of angels. Just as the Savior of the world revealed himself in a human body during the three years following the baptism in the Jordan, even though this Christ-being was of such extraordinary majesty, so has he revealed himself since that time in a direct manner as an angelic being, a spiritual being who stands one step higher than human beings. As such, he could always be perceived by those who were clairvoyant; as such, he was always connected with evolution. Just as the Christ, when incarnated in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, was more than human, so the Christ-being is more than an angel. That is merely his outer form. But in the fact that, as we have described, a powerful, sublime being descended from the spiritual worlds and dwelt for three years in a human body, the further fact is also expressed that this being, during this time, advanced a step further in its own development.

[ 27 ] When such a being performs such an act by assuming a human or angelic form, it itself progresses further. And with this we have indicated the progress in the development of Christ-Jehovah, that Christ has reached the state in which he now reveals himself, not as a human being, not merely through his reflection, through his reflected light, not merely through the name of Jehovah, but directly. And this is the great difference in all the teachings and all the wisdom that have entered into the evolution of the Earth since the Mystery of Golgotha: that through the coming of the Michael Spirit to Earth, through his inspiration, humanity was gradually able to begin to understand all that the Christ Impulse, all that the Mystery of Golgotha, signifies. But at that time, Michael was initially the messenger of Jehovah, who is the reflection of the Christ’s radiance; he was not yet the messenger of Christ himself.

[ 28 ] Michael inspired humanity for several centuries, for about five hundred years prior to the Mystery of Golgotha, as was already indicated in the ancient mysteries, by Plato, and so on. Soon, however, after the Mystery of Golgotha had taken place and Christ had united with the evolution of the Earth, Michael’s direct influence ceased. At the time those ancient documents, which we possess in the form of the Gospels, were written—as I have described in my book *Christianity as a Mystical Fact*—Michael himself could no longer inspire humanity, but through his companions among the archangels, humanity was inspired in such a way that much soul power was unconsciously absorbed through inspiration.

[ 29 ] The scribes themselves had no clear occult insight, for Michael’s inspiration came to an end shortly after the event of the Mystery of Golgotha. The other archangels, Michael’s companions, were unable to inspire humanity in such a way as to make the Mystery of Golgotha comprehensible. This explains the divergent interpretations found in the various Christian teachings. Much in these teachings was inspired by Michael’s companions. These teachings were not inspired by Michael himself, but stand in the same relationship to his inspirations as the planets do to the mighty sun.

[ 30 ] Only now, in our time, has such an influence returned—a direct inspiration from Michael. This direct inspiration from Michael has been in the making since the 16th century. At that time, it was the archangel closest to Michael who gave humanity the inspiration that led to the perfection of the natural sciences in our modern age. The natural science of today does not stem from Michael’s inspiration, but from that of one of his companions, Gabriel. This scientific inspiration tends to create a science, a worldview, that provides understanding only for the material world and is connected to the physical brain.

[ 31 ] Over the past few decades, Michael has once again taken his place as the inspirer of science, and in the coming centuries, Michael will give the world something that, in a spiritual sense, is just as important—indeed, even more important, because it is even more spiritual—and immeasurably more important than the material science that has advanced step by step since the 16th century. Just as his archangel companion once bestowed science upon the world, so will Michael give us spiritual knowledge in the future, the very beginnings of which we are now experiencing. Just as Michael was sent as the messenger of Jehovah, the reflection of the Christ, five hundred years before the Mystery of Golgotha, to leave his mark on that era—just as he was then still the messenger of Jehovah—so has Michael now become, for our time, the messenger of the Christ himself. Just as in the ancient Hebrew times, which were a direct preparation for the Mystery of Golgotha, the ancient Hebrew initiates could turn to Michael as the outward manifestation of Yahweh or Jehovah, so we are now able to turn to Michael, who has now become the messenger of Christ after having been the messenger of Jehovah, to receive from him, over the next few centuries, increasing spiritual revelation that will unveil the Mystery of Golgotha to us more and more. That which took place two thousand years ago, but which could only be made known to the world through the various Christian sects, and whose depths can only be revealed in the 20th century when spiritual knowledge—the gift of Michael—asserts itself in place of science, is what should fill our hearts with immeasurably deep feelings toward the spiritual in our time. We will be able to experience that in the last few decades a gateway has opened through which understanding can come to us.

[ 32 ] Michael can give us new spiritual light, which we can regard as a transformation of the light that was given through him at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, and the people of our time may place themselves within this light. If we can sense this, we can grasp the full significance of the new age that is now emerging from our own. We can perceive the dawning of a spiritual revelation that is to come into the life of humanity on Earth over the next few centuries. Indeed, since humanity has become freer than it was before, we will be able, through our own will, to progress in such a way as to be able to receive this revelation.

[ 33 ] We would now like to draw attention to the event in the higher worlds that led to this transformed state, to this time of renewal of the Mystery of Golgotha. When we look back on that time, we recall what may often have flowed through our soul—that which took place at the time of John’s baptism in the Jordan, when Christ revealed Himself in a human form that was visible on earth among humanity. And let us further fill our souls with the thought of how Christ, as regards his outer form, then united with the hierarchy of angels and has lived invisibly within the Earth ever since.

[ 34 ] Let us recall what has been said, namely, that there is no death in the invisible worlds. Christ himself, by descending into our world, underwent a death similar to that of human beings. When he once again became a purely spiritual being, he still retained the memory of his death. But as a being of the order of angels, in which form he continued to manifest himself outwardly, he could only experience a lowering of consciousness.

[ 35 ] Through what had become necessary for the evolution of the Earth since the 16th century—namely, the triumph of science, which continues to rise ever higher—something entered into the entire evolution of humanity that is also significant for the invisible worlds. With the triumph of science, materialistic and agnostic sentiments of greater intensity than had previously been the case entered into humanity. Materialistic tendencies had existed before, but there was not this intensity of materialism that had become prevalent since the 16th century. More and more, as people passed through the gate of death into the spiritual worlds, they took with them the result of their materialistic ideas on Earth, so that after the 16th century, more and more seeds of earthly materialism were carried over. These seeds developed in a certain way.

[ 36 ] Although Christ came into the ancient Hebrew race and was led there to his death, the angelic being—which has since been the outer form of Christ—nevertheless suffered a loss of consciousness during the 19th century as a result of the opposing materialistic forces that had emerged in . the spiritual worlds, as a result of the materialistic human souls passing through the gate of death. And the onset of unconsciousness in the spiritual worlds in the manner just described will give rise to the resurrection of Christ consciousness in the souls of human beings on Earth between birth and death in the 20th century. In a certain sense, one can therefore predict that from the 20th century onward, what humanity has lost in consciousness will certainly rise again for clairvoyant perception. At first only a few, then an ever-growing number of beings will be able in the 20th century to perceive the appearance of the etheric Christ, that is, Christ in the form of an angel. For the sake of humanity, what might be called a destruction of consciousness took place in the worlds immediately above our earthly world, in which Christ had been visible in the time between the Mystery of Golgotha and the present day.

[ 37 ] It can be said that at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, something took place in a little-known corner of Palestine that was, in fact, the greatest event ever to occur in the history of humanity, yet it was scarcely noticed by the people of that time. If such a thing could take place, can we be surprised when we hear what happened during the 19th century, when those who had passed through the gate of death since the 16th century turned against the Christ?

[ 38 ] “The seeds of earthly materialism,” which since the 16th century had been carried into the spiritual world in ever-increasing measure by souls passing through the gate of death and had caused ever more darkness, formed the “black sphere of materialism.” This black sphere was taken into Christ’s being in accordance with the Manichaean principle in order to transform it. Through the angelic beings in whom the Christ-being had revealed itself since the Mystery of Golgotha, it brought about “spiritual death by suffocation.” This sacrifice of Christ in the 19th century is comparable to the sacrifice on the physical plane in the Mystery of Golgotha and can be described as the second crucifixion of Christ on the etheric plane. This spiritual death by suffocation, which brought about the suspension of that angelic being’s consciousness, is a repetition of the Mystery of Golgotha in the worlds immediately beyond our own, so that a revival of the previously hidden Christ-consciousness may take place in the souls of human beings on Earth. This revival will become the clairvoyant vision of humanity in the 20th century.

[ 39 ] In this way, Christ-consciousness can be united with the earthly consciousness of humanity from the 20th century onward, for the passing away of Christ consciousness in the angelic sphere in the 19th century signifies the resurrection of direct Christ consciousness in the earthly sphere; that is to say, from the 20th century onward, the life of Christ will be felt more and more in the souls of human beings as a direct personal experience.

[ 40 ] Just as the few people who were able to read the signs of the times in those days were able to view the Mystery of Golgotha in such a way that they could grasp how this great, powerful Being descended from the spiritual worlds to live on Earth and pass through death, so that through His death the substances of His Being might be incorporated into the Earth, so we can perceive that in certain worlds lying immediately beyond our own, a kind of spiritual death, a suspension of consciousness, took place—and with it a repetition of the Mystery of Golgotha—so that a revival of the previously hidden Christ-consciousness might take place in the souls of human beings on Earth.

[ 41 ] Since the Mystery of Golgotha, many people have been able to proclaim the name of the Christ, and from this 20th century onward there will be a steadily growing number of such people who can share the knowledge of the Christ Being as presented in Spiritual Science. They will be able to teach and proclaim Him from their own experience. Christ has already been crucified twice: once physically in the physical world at the beginning of our era, and a second time in the 19th century, spiritually, in the manner described. One could say that humanity experienced the resurrection of his body at that time; it will experience the resurrection of his consciousness from the 20th century onward.

[ 42 ] What I have been able to hint at only in a few words will gradually penetrate human souls, and the mediator, the messenger, will be Michael, who is now the emissary of Christ. Just as he once guided the souls of people so that they might understand the descent of his life from heaven to earth, so now he is preparing humanity so that it may become capable of experiencing the descent of the Christ-consciousness from the state of the unconscious into the state of the conscious. And just as during the time of Christ’s earthly life the majority of his contemporaries were unable to believe what a powerful event had taken place in the evolution of the Earth, so in our time the outer world strives to increase the power of materialism and will continue for a long time to regard what we have discussed today as fantasy, daydreaming, perhaps even as folly. And so it will also regard this truth about Michael, who is now beginning to reveal the Christ anew. Nevertheless, many people will recognize what is now beginning to dawn like the morning light and what will pour into human souls like the sun over the coming centuries, for Michael can always be compared to the sun. And even if many people do not acknowledge this new revelation of Michael, it will nevertheless spread throughout humanity.

[ 43 ] This is what can be said today about the relationship between the Mystery of Golgotha, which took place at the beginning of our era, and the Mystery of Golgotha as it can be understood today. Let us make these feelings our own by recognizing that this is the only way we can become true practitioners of Spiritual Science. From time to time, other revelations will come, for which we must keep our minds open. Should we not feel that it would be particularly selfish to hold these feelings solely for our own satisfaction? Let us rather feel that it is our solemn duty, as we have come to understand it through Spiritual Science, to make ourselves willing instruments for such revelation. And although we are but a small group within all of humanity striving to understand this new truth of the Mystery of Golgotha, to grasp this new revelation of Michael, we are nevertheless building up a new power that does not depend in the least on our belief in this revelation, but depends solely and exclusively on this revelation itself, on the truth itself.

[ 44 ] Then we will calmly realize that only a few of us are prepared to explain the following to the world, insofar as it is willing to listen: From now on, there is a new revelation of Christ. Let us be ready to acknowledge it; let us belong to that small circle that wishes to help ensure that it grows and endures; let us rely on the inner power of such a revelation, so that it may spread among the rest of humanity, for this knowledge will gradually be granted to all.

[ 45 ] This is what we call wisdom, what some might call folly. To stand firm, we need only remember today that this present time is that of the Second Michaelic Revelation, and also what was said by one of the ancient initiates at the time of the First Michaelic Revelation: What often appears to humans as folly is wisdom before God.

[ 46 ] Let us try today to draw strength for ourselves from such feelings, from such spiritual insight, which in many respects must appear as folly to the outer world. Let us find the courage to acknowledge that what appears as folly to those who rely solely on the senses can be wisdom and light for us, and a clearer understanding of the supersensible, spiritual worlds toward which we wish to strive with all the strength of our souls and our convictions.