Description:
18 lectures, conversations & question-and-answer sessions, Dornach, September 5-22, 1924 (CW 346)
The imagery of the Book of Revelation - St John's Apocalypse - has inspired centuries of interpretation, much of it symbolic or speculative. In this exceptional series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner approaches the least understood of Christian texts from a fundamentally different standpoint: that of direct spiritual perception and experiential knowledge.
Steiner presents the Apocalypse not as a prophecy of distant events, but as a living book of initiation that addresses the evolution of human awareness, the sacramental life, and the future tasks of Christianity. The Apocalypse unfolds as a cosmic and historical drama: the Alpha and Omega of consciousness, the meaning of its sacred numbers, letters, seals, and trumpets and the downfall of the powers opposing the Christ Impulse. The Michael and Sun mysteries, the significance of 666 and the images of Babylon, the Beast and the New Jerusalem are explored in relation to karma, freedom, and morality.
The Apocalypse emerges as a spiritual guide for our time, demanding engagement of the will and conscious striving. Central to this vision is the changing experience of the Communion service through successive Mystery epochs, culminating in a future knowledge of the human I. By revealing the unity of cosmic and earthly processes, religion, and knowledge, Steiner presents the Book of Revelation as a living source for humanity's future development and the renewal of priestly work.
Brief description: Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.