Self-Knowledge and God-Knowledge I
GA 90a — 7 November 1904, Berlin
LXVII. On the Apocalypse VI
Dear attendees!
We have reached an important point in our consideration of the Apocalypse. What more is to be said about it should lead us even deeper into certain hidden truths. We will see how this difficult-to-understand work expresses the theosophical truths in a magnificent form. When we look back at what has already been said here, we have to describe the Apocalypse as the “secret revelation” of what the human spirit is to experience in its future development. But it would be quite wrong for anyone to think that such a predestination suppresses the will of the human being, or to believe that everything must come about in a certain way, regardless of what the human being does. No, that is absolutely not the case. The great universal laws of the spirit are not given in such a way that they are imposed on man from without, but for the purpose of man inwardly absorbing them and developing himself in their spirit. According to a very definite natural law, oxygen and hydrogen must combine to form water; but human will can bring about the conditions for them to combine, and can thus be the reason why the laws take effect. When he immerses himself in the laws of nature, he himself becomes the executor of these laws. He takes them into his spirit and thus becomes a co-creator of nature himself. It is no different with spiritual laws. It is ordained in the world that it should develop in accordance with spiritual laws, as it is grounded in nature, that it should shape itself according to natural laws. And just as man can only become a worthy co-creator of nature by acquiring knowledge of natural laws, so too can he only be active in spiritual life if he makes spiritual laws his own. If we know nothing of the laws of oxygen and hydrogen, we cannot participate in the way they combine. We fulfill our human task through the knowledge and understanding of natural laws. These would be present and valid even without our knowledge. But without our knowledge, nature would pass over us. We would remain in our dullness and could only be will-less tools in its creation.
The great spiritual laws would also be active in the world without our knowledge. What is said in the Apocalypse would be true even if no human being ever grasped it, just as the law of the connection between chemical substances would be true even if no human being ever knew about it. But it is in the hands of man to approach his divine goal by observing these laws. The light that reveals itself through divine power in the world must shine into his soul. In this highest sense, the “childhood of God” must be understood by man. A father does not keep his knowledge to himself, but shares it with the child so that it may develop in the sense of this knowledge. Of course, the child would also grow older if it did not care about the laws and watched idly as the father acts. But the child would remain undeveloped. But the Father's love consists in developing it. And God's love for man consists in revealing his will in the human soul. God has called man to be perfect. God not only creates, but also reveals himself; and man's will must make the revelations of the Godhead the impulses of his will. What is to happen is certainly determined from the beginning; but it is equally determined that man himself should carry out the revelations of the Godhead. God has not excluded human action from his plan of the world, but has included it in it from the very beginning. Certainly everything necessary would be done by the Father if the child were inactive. But then the child would have no part in anything.
The Apocalypse was added to the Gospel. For the Christian, the Gospel represents the joyful message of the incarnation of God or the divine Word. This “Word” has become flesh to dwell among men. This sacrifice of God means the liberation of man from the bonds of matter. Through Christ, man is to be united in spirit with his God. By adhering to Christ, he carries the Spirit of God in his heart. But this Spirit of God is the guide to the will of the Father. And the will of the Father is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, such as the Apocalypse is one. From Christ, the strength shall flow to the Christian to understand what the Father has decided from the beginning of the world. Christ died so that man may live, live in the Spirit. In the Apocalypse lies the spiritual will of the Father. Those who are initiated through Christ in faith receive the strength to reach the Father through Christ. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” But the Christian should also reach the Father, that is, he should recognize the will of the Father in the Revelation. The Gospel is the joyful message of Christ's sacrifice for the sake of man; the Apocalypse is the revelation of the divine will of the Father. Christ said that after his death he would send the 'Spirit'. And the theologian John only faithfully wrote down what the Spirit promised by Christ revealed to him.
When the Christian looks to Christ, uniting himself with him, he receives the strength and the life to understand the will of the Spirit; when he looks to the Revelation, he knows how to apply the strength received from Christ. The Apocalypse is a book. And every book has value only if one has the strength to understand it. Life in Christ should give the Christian the strength to understand the secret Revelation. This strength is bestowed through grace, as all spiritual strength is a gift of grace. But this strength must be developed. Christ wanted to unite people into a community of children of God; but the spirit of Revelation should bring the children of God to full maturity.
Starting from this point, we will delve even deeper into the Apocalypse next time.