The
Prophet Elijah
Berlin, 14 December 1911
As one of the most brilliant stars in the
sky of the spiritual development, the Prophet Elijah shines to
us from early antiquity. His traits, his actions, his whole
greatness stick to our hearts as they are described in the
Bible. The outer history can hardly understand this significant
personality. However, for spiritual science just this
personality is a sign of the fact that not only the actions,
the ideas form the basis of the most important causes and
impulses of human evolution which the outer history reports,
but that the human soul processes are the most important moving
forces and impulses. In order to imagine this, we want only
remind of the fact that also the foundation of Christianity is
due for the most part to inner soul events which present
themselves externally as the event of Damascus for the Apostle
Paul. One cannot deny the outer fact that the foundation of
Christianity is intimately connected with the event of
Damascus, with the events in the soul of the Apostle Paul and
what spread in his flaming words and in his serious sacrificial
actions. At many other places we can also prove that human
affairs, historical becoming do finally not lead into the usual
actions of history, but into the human soul, into the human
heart.
Today we have to consider such an example.
Nevertheless, with the shortness and the sketchiness of
this talk I have to leave the further elaboration of this topic
to you to what extent these things may anyhow prove, explain,
or light up the historical development that are brought forward
today following the personality of the Prophet Elias and his
time. However, this talk should not be given only as a
communication about the personality and significance of the
Prophet Elijah, but also as an example how spiritual science
considers such things, and how it can illumine with its means
what was told about the historical evolution of humanity in
another way. To reach this goal I would like to go forward in a
particular way.
At first, I would like to give that what
one can say about the person and the significance of the
Prophet Elijah from the researches of spiritual science, only
following the Bible where naming or characterisations give
point to a hint. The ambitious attempt should be done to tell
at first what happened actually, and then to show how these
events are reflected in the Bible. For the listeners who are
completely familiar by long-standing occupation with the power
and with the proving strength of the spiritual-scientific
method, I can only present that sketchily as sure result of the
research because proving discussions would take many hours. I
ask the other listeners to accept what I say about the true
history as a hypothesis that has just to be checked. I am quiet
if this check is undertaken appropriately and without
prejudice, it will confirm what I say now. What has now
spiritual science to say about the person and the significance
of the Prophet Elijah?
We have to put ourselves in that time of
the Hebrew antiquity in which the brilliant epoch of King
Solomon was over, and the Palestinian kingdom had to stand
manifold miseries, one has to remind of the Philistine distress
and similar events. We have to put ourselves in that time when
the once uniform kingdom was already divided in the kingdom of
Judah and the kingdom of Israel. We have to put ourselves in
that time in which in Samaria the King Ahab ruled who is the
son of Omri and one of the successors of Jerobeam. A kind of
alliance or fraternisation took place of the King Ahab, or more
precisely of his father, and of the king of Tyre and Sidon, and
this alliance should be reinforced with the marriage of Ahab
and Jezebel, the daughter of the royal family of Tyre and
Sidon.
The names are known from the Bible, and to
the better understanding, I use the names of the Bible. We have
to put ourselves in a time in which people who had kept the
appropriate hereditary factors had by no means lost the old
clairvoyance that was a mental quality of the human beings in
primeval times. Queen Jezebel was equipped not only with this
clairvoyance, but with a particular clairvoyant force which she
used not only in the good sense. We have to consider her as a
kind of clairvoyant, while we have to see in King Ahab a man
who had in exceptional states what can come from the hidden
soul forces in the consciousness what appeared especially in
ancient times to a much higher degree than in the present. He
had notions, visions to some extent, but only sometimes if he
faced any special fateful question.
In this time, one heard in those areas that
there would be a great significant spirit. This spirit is
called Elijah just in the Bible. Least people knew actually
neither where this person Elijah was to be searched nor how
strongly this person worked just on the contemporaries. One can
say that his name caused certain feelings of thrill in many
people. One knew that something significant is in and behind
this spirit. However, one did not surely know how this worked
in the world, where one had to search it; one had no idea of
it. Only single persons whom one can call the initiated
students of this spirit knew what it concerned, actually, and
knew how the man is to be found in the physical world, in the
outer reality who was the bearer of this spirit. King Ahab did
not know it. Nevertheless, he had a particular fear, a kind of
particular feeling of thrill if this person was mentioned.
Since one connected and had to connect particular concepts with
this person.
King Ahab in Samaria was that who had
brought a certain kind of religion into the ancient Palestinian
kingdom by his fraternisation with Tyre and Sidon which stuck
to outer ceremonies, outer symbols, to a kind of paganism to
put it another way. Now those who belonged to such paganism had
to accept that what was known to them about the individuality
of the Prophet Elijah with a particular feeling of thrill.
Since because of the different things which one heard there one
could say to himself, indeed, the Jahveh religion exists from
old times of the ancient Hebrew people, the faith in one God,
in a spiritual being of the world that intervenes by its
supersensible forces in the evolution of the human being and of
humanity. — However, one also knew that the time approached
where within the best of the ancient Hebrew people a bigger and
bigger understanding of the being of Jahveh should arise. One
knew that the Moses religion already contained the Jahveh
religion, indeed, in a seminal state, but it was understood as
a young people could understand it. The Jahveh religion which
looked up to a supersensible God who can be characterised by
nothing but that one says, He does not resemble anything but
with that invisible supersensible of which the human being
becomes aware, if he envisages his own ego. That supersensible
was there, but one had understood it in such a way that one
tried so to speak to visualise in the outer phenomena of the
human life how the Jahveh God was working.
One had got used to saying: Jahveh is
working in such a way that he rewards the human beings; he is
benevolent if in the outer nature fertility, luxuriance appears
if, otherwise, life proceeds easily. — One had also got
used to saying that the Jahveh God becomes angry or turns away
from the people if wars, famines or such like were
there.
The time about which we speak now is also a
time of misery, in particular of famine. Some people had turned
away from Jahveh because they could no longer believe in his
work, because they saw how he treated the human beings, because
just a dreadful famine was there. If we can speak of a progress
of the Jahveh idea, we have to characterise this progress in
the following way. A conception of God should now appear which
was, indeed, the old conception of Jahveh, but which should be
penetrated by a higher understanding of the human beings saying
to themselves, whatever may appear in the outer world,
howsoever the human being may live from day to day beatified,
how strongly distress and misery may affect him, these outer
things do not at all prove the goodness or Jahveh's goodness or
rage. However, someone has the right concept of Jahveh who also
does not falter to look up to the invisible God in the biggest
misery who gets the certainty by the forces only which prevail
in his soul and by no outer observations: He exists!
This reversal should take place at that
time. If such changes should happen, human beings must always
be there in whose souls such a thing takes place first on whom
as it were a new impulse should work; a new force should appear
in history. If the word is not misunderstood, one may say: that
individuality who is called Elijah was chosen by the national
destiny to grasp the Jahveh idea first in such a
way.
It was necessary for it that in his soul
particular forces from the hidden subsoil and depths ascended
which were not before with the human beings, also not with the
teachers of humanity. A kind of mystic initiation of the first
kind by which the knowledge of such a God could enter had to
happen in Elijah. Hence, it is important to show the Jahveh idea entering in the
characterised way that one looks into the soul of that man in
whom the spirit was embodied first which should make possible
the Jahveh idea in such a way by his initiation, by his
penetration with the hidden soul forces.
With that what such persons experience as a
significant jerk forward first in their souls they stand alone.
However, they gather students around themselves. The big
religious or prophet schools within Palestine that one can call
mystery sites with other peoples belong to it. Some pupils who
looked up at him but knew at least what it concerned even if
they were unable to look deeply into
his soul also surrounded the Prophet Elijah. However,
the other human beings did not know where that man was in whom
such things happened. One could only say, he is there;
something goes forward that we would maybe call a kind of
rumour in our language. The rumour spread that the prophet is
there, but one did not know where. Since such prophets, such
significant spirits had a particular power. What I say may seem
to be absurd if one looks only at our time, but to someone who
knows the peculiarities of old times it is not absurd at
all.
These human beings had a particular power
that appears here and there, not only in the emotions of
thrill, but also in the positive that they instill, so to
speak, in the souls to work in such a way that one does not
really know, where the outer person is. Sometimes the outer
person of such spirits is a rather insignificant one. The
pupils know it. Somewhere, maybe in an extremely insignificant
outer position, the outer personality appears.
And lo and behold: the outer personality,
the bearer of this spirit, was without Ahab, the King of
Samaria, having an idea of it, actually, his neighbour. King
Ahab searched him everywhere, only not in the simple owner of a
little property that was in his immediate nearness. Since where
this person was at certain times, why he was absent now and
again, the king did not worry about it. Jezebel knew it, but
she did not inform Ahab about her secret at first. She kept it
for herself for reasons that we recognise later. The outer
physical bearer of Elijah is also called in the Bible with a
name. He is called Naboth, so that we have to recognise the
biblical Naboth as the physical bearer of the spiritual
individuality of Elijah in truth according to
spiritual-scientific research.
In that time of famine when many people
just had to starve also Naboth experienced misery in certain
way. In such times when not only hunger works, but when also
the infinite compassion with the starving people, with the
pressed people works, the conditions are especially favourable
that in someone who is prepared by his karma those hidden soul
forces can appear by which he can soar such a
mission.
We want to bring to mind now what went
forward in Naboth's soul. These are inner processes at first, a
significant self-education to higher spiritual heights. What
the soul internally experiences in appropriating the forces by
which it beholds in the spiritual worlds to carry down from
them what should be planted as impulses into the human
development is exceptionally hard to describe. It is
exceptionally hard to dress it in words because even somebody
does not become aware of it who experiences such a thing, in
particular in those old times, so that he could not express it
in precise, sharply outlined concepts. One experiences
different levels of a clairvoyant development. With such a
being like Naboth this precedes of course which the soul has as
the most certain inner experience at first: in me the forces
shall light up which shall now enter in humanity. I shall be
its vessel. —
Then the other experience comes: now I must
risk everything that I am worthy of this force that the force
can speak in me in right way that I appropriate the abilities
to experience what I must experience, so that I can inform
people about the force in the right way.
Thus, such a person must go through various
levels. If then a suitable level is reached, certain signs
appear as it were to the soul which are not dreams, but inner
experiences, also not only visions, because the reality of the
soul development forms the basis of them. Pictures appear there
which the signs of it are: now you are so far in your soul that
you can venture to work.
The pictures as those do not need to deal
with that what goes through the soul in reality. They are mere
symbols, as well as the dream symbolises. However, these are
symbols as we have certain dreams also under certain
circumstances. Thus certain vision-like experiences appear if
the soul concerned attains this or that clairvoyant force. With
Naboth it appeared first that he recognised by such a picture:
you shall announce that one can trust in the old Jahveh God,
even if the outer appearance of the historical course
contradicts by misery. One has to wait in rest, until the times
become better again, because it corresponds to the decision of
the old Jahveh God to bring misery and happiness again.
However, the trust must never dwindle. Naboth realised that
this is a steadfast, persuasive force in him. It faced him
vividly as something that was more than a mere vision. The God
faced his soul as he could imagine Him in a vision and spoke,
go to King Ahab and say, one has to trust in the Jahveh God,
until He makes rain again, that means, until better times come
again. Then this man knew his mission, knew that he had to
devote himself now to the further development of the soul force
that can completely develop what was in his mind's eye. He
decided to be one of those — with all sacrifices,
as far as it was only possible — who were exposed
mostly to the misery of that time, also to hunger. He did not
starve really —
I stress that I do not recommend
starving to attain spiritual
knowledge —
to ascend to higher worlds, he starved from
no other impulse than the others starved, not only to take part
the destiny of the others, but to take part it even to an
increased degree.
However, his soul was given away in
perpetual contemplation to the God who had revealed himself to
him in the described way, and he did not turn away his thoughts
from this God. Today we would say in spiritual science, his
whole meditation was that he brought this thought in the centre
of his soul with full arbitrariness. — The fact that he
acted rightly with it appeared to him again in an inner vision
that was again more than a mere dreamlike vision, while he
faced the picture of the God in all liveliness who said to him,
endure everything! That who nourishes the human beings will
give you the necessary. You must only have unconditional trust
in the everlasting continuance of the soul! The picture
appeared, as if he went — a hermit who showed
the things more pictorially — to the brook Krith
whose water he drank, as long as it was there, he hid there and
lived from what the God sent to him what he could still just
have in the misery of the time. It appeared to him as a picture
of special divine grace that ravens brought this food. Thus he
had an affirmation of that what he had to experience again in
his inside as the central issue.
Then he should experience a higher level.
He tried, we would say today, to delve even deeper into that
meditation from which he had started and which we have already
characterised. Then this meditation accepted the following
character. He said to himself, if you shall generally cope with
the vision, which shines there from a quite new God idea you
must become internally, also in the deepest forces of your
soul, another than you have been up to now. You must overcome,
put away, actually, the soul that lives in you and you must
enliven that what you have from your deeper soul forces in new
way what you have, indeed, what must not remain your real ego
as it is.
Therefore, he intensely worked on his soul influenced by this
idea, on a transformation of his ego, so that it could become
worthy to face the God who had revealed himself to him. Again,
a kind of vision arose to him that is even more than a vision
an is still much less valuable, because the inner soul
processes have the real value. He had the vision that his God
sent him to Sarepta that he met a widow there who had a son.
Now the way appears to him how he should live personified as it
were in the destinies of the widow and her son. They hardly
have anything to eat. They want to eat the last that they still
have and die then. Now he says what he had said to his own soul
from day to day, from week to week in lonesome reflection, as
in a vision to this widow: do not care, prepare the meal
quietly which should be prepared for you and also for me from
the flour you still have. Trust for everything that should come
in the God who can bring happiness and misfortune in whom one
must never lose faith! And lo and behold, it appeared to him in
the vision that the flour container and the oil jug did not
become empty, but were filled over and over again. His whole
soul state expressed itself in the vision in such a way, as if
he had become ripe for this personality, as if this personality
moved in the house of the widow and lives in the upper floor of
this house. However, the inner reality is that his soul ascends
as it were to a higher floor, that it attains a higher level of
its development. Now he beholds in the vision that the son of
the widow dies. This is nothing but the symbolic reflection of
the overcoming of his previous ego. The subconscious forces of
his soul ask him, what shall you do now? He stands there
helplessly as it were. There he pulled himself together by the
force that has flowed into him up to now, and keeps on delving
in what is given him for self-contemplation.
After the death of the son that means of
his own subconsciousness the widow reproaches him: his old
ego-consciousness is away, what shall happen now? It is
pictorially shown in such a way that he lets the son come to
himself, keeps on delving daringly in his soul and thereby
brings the dead son to life again. This gives him courage to
invigorate the new ego from the old one.
His soul matured so that it could have the
strength in itself to appear now in front of the outer world,
above all before King Ahab, and to announce what was to be said
to this outer world and to Ahab, so that he decides for the new
Jahveh idea instead of that which replaced it because of the
weakness of the times, and whose representative King Ahab
was.
From anywhere — in any case, Ahab
had no idea where from the man came — he approached King
Ahab who walked around anxiously in his kingdom and looked at
the misery. There he met this man. Something asserted itself in
Ahab's soul with the words which this man spoke to him,
although he did not know that he was his neighbour, as if the
emotions of thrill faced him especially now what he had always
felt when people spoke about that spirit Elijah. Are you
possibly the man who confuses Israel? Ahab asked him. No, I do
not, Naboth-Elijah answered; you yourself are that who causes
the misfortune and evil of Israel. A decision has to be made to
which God our people shall turn now.
The matters were so led that a big part of
the Israelites was gathered on the Mount Carmel where an outer
sign should decide between the God of Ahab and the God of
Elijah.
First, the priests and prophets of Baal, as
one called the God of King Ahab, offered their sacrifices. Now
one wanted to wait whether the people got any information by
the sacrifices, by the devout exercises of the ecstatic
prophets who put themselves in particular states by music and
dance, in other words whether by the divine power of these
priests something of the power of God appears. An animal was
brought to the altar. It should became obvious whether really
in the priests the power worked which might seize the people.
Since Naboth-Elijah said: the decision must be brought about; I
am standing alone here — and 450 priests of
Baal face me. We want to see how strong their power is on the
people, or how strong my power is. The sacrifice was offered.
Everything was done to transfer the power of the priests of
Baal on the people, so that it believed in the God Baal. Even
the hands and other parts of these priests were scratched with
knives, so that blood flowed to invigorate the effect of the
priests. However, lo and behold, nothing happened, because
Elias-Naboth was there with his power. One would like to say
with sober words, he was there with his influence.
You do not need to think about any magic.
By his influence, he was able to out-compete everything that
was there. Then he offered his sacrifice with the whole power
of his soul that had experienced what we have just described.
The sacrifice worked! The souls were affected. Something
similar took place what I tried to describe in my book
Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age.
I have shown at the example
of the priest Johannes Tauler (~1300 — 1361) who still
experienced a special instruction. When he entered the pulpit
after this instruction again, his sermon had a tremendous
effect on his listeners. One told that about forty persons fell
down and seemed to be dead, that is
they were hit in their inside by the power. It was the same
with Elijah. Now we have only to pay attention that the words
in the Bible are exaggerated, this results at least from the
spiritual-scientific research. The Baal priests, the 450
opponents of Elijah, had to surrender. Elijah-Naboth
“slaughtered” them in their souls. Elijah-Naboth
out-competed them.
(1 Kings 18:40).
However, we can say this is something that results from itself.
I have described the character of Jezebel.
She knew that the man who worked there, actually, was her
neighbour. Unless he was absent mysteriously, he was in
immediate nearness.
However, what did Elijah-Naboth know from
then on? He knew that Jezebel was mighty that she knew his
secret, and that —
in other words — now his outer
physical life could never again be quite sure. He had to take
care if he died the next time. The Bible also tells that King
Ahab went home and informed Jezebel what had occurred at the
Mount Carmel. She said, I shall do that to Elijah what he did
to your 450 prophets.
(1 Kings 19:2)
— I would like to know someone who wants to
explain such a statement of Jezebel with other means than with
that of spiritual science, while it seems by the
spiritual-scientific research as a self-evident fact. Now
Elijah must take care that if the vengeful Jezebel killed him
in a way his spirit would keep on working in
humanity.
And lo and behold when he was intensely
contemplating he asked himself again: what shall I now do to
replace myself here in the physical world if I am killed by the
vengeful Jezebel? There he had a new revelation. His view was
directed to a particular human being to whom he, Naboth Elijah,
could transfer what he has to give to humanity. His view was
directed to Elishah. Now you may think that Elijah knew Elisha
from old days, but that does not matter. Elijah's view was
directed to him, and the inner enlightenment said to him: let
this man in your secret. — With that clarity,
with which the religious documents speak to spiritual science,
is still said to us that Elijah-Naboth should carry out
something special, and that that what Elisha should experience
now is the same spirit that prevailed in Elijah up to now. At
Damascus, this enlightenment of Elisha should take place in the
same way as it later happened with the Apostle Paul. After
Elijah could determine his successor, he experienced the
revenge of Jezebel.
Jezebel turned the thoughts of her husband
Ahab to the neighbour and said possibly the following to him:
this neighbour is a devout man in whom the thoughts of Elijah
live. Still remove him from your immediate nearness because a
lot depends on him as one of the most important followers of
Elijah. — Ahab knew nothing of Naboth's secret, but he knew that
he was a loyal follower of Elijah. Then Jezebel persuaded Ahab
to induce this man either by persuasion or by force that he
should change to him. This would have been a decisive blow
against the concern of Elijah if Ahab had succeeded to change
this man. Jezebel knew of course that this was only a fiction,
she wanted to cause only that her husband brought himself to do
an important action. Since she did not want this action but the
other one, which followed. Thus, Jezebel gave a kind of fake
advice.
Ahab went to Naboth, and Naboth said to
him, you never attain what you want now. — You know that the
matter is shown in such a way in the Bible that Naboth owned a
vineyard and that Ahab wanted to get this vineyard either by
force or by persuasion. Naboth says in the Bible to the king:
“The Lord forbids that I should surrender to you land
which has always been in my family”
(1 Kings 21:3).
But in reality another heritage is meant which he does
not want to give. Then Jezebel arranged her revenge. She used
her fake advice because the king should be completely
disappointed about Naboth's refusal. You can recognise this
reading the following place in the Bible: “Ahab came
home, sullen and angry because Naboth had refused to let him
have his ancestral holding. He took to his bed, covered his
face, and refused to eat”
(1 Kings 21:4).
Because he could not get a vineyard, he
stopped eating! Such things arise only if one can investigate
the facts that are behind it. Jezebel arranged her revenge, one
“proclaimed a fast” to which Naboth was also
invited and treated honourably. He could not escape from it. He
had the possibility to work. But Jezebel was a clairvoyant
person too. With the others, he would have easily coped.
However, she was able to precipitate him into ruin. She incited
the murderers, that means as it is told in the Bible, wrong
witnesses who said that Naboth denied God and the king
(1 Kings 21).
With it, Elijah was dead as an outer
physical human being, he was killed. Ahab was put by these
events that had really aroused deep forces in his soul, so to
speak, before a kind of fateful question. At this moment, he
had a foreboding. Elijah appeared to him of whom he had been so
often afraid. Elijah informed him about the state of affairs.
This is a spiritual experience. He hears, so to speak, from the
picture of Elijah after his death that he had murdered Naboth,
the Naboth Elijah. He needed only to anticipate the latter, but
he was called murderer. In the Bible, we find the dreadful
words: “Where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, there dogs
will lick your blood!”
(1 Kings 21:19).
About Jezebel was said: “Jezebel will be eaten by dogs near
the rampart of Jezreel”
(1 Kings 21:23).
We know, this was a foreboding that came
true. Since when later King Ahab went to war against the
Syrians, he was wounded, the blood trickled on his carriage.
When the carriage was washed, the dogs came along and licked
Ahab's blood. When in the course of the events Jehu became King
in Samaria, Jezebel was defenestrated and, indeed, torn to
pieces by dogs before the rampart of the town. However, I want
to point to it only because the time is too short to go into
details. Much more important is that what follows
then.
Now the successor of Elijah-Naboth had to
mature. But he matured in another way. The disciple has it
easier than the first teacher has. The force was available to
him that Naboth Elijah had got; the help of Elijah was
available to him. As the individualities if they have gone
through the gate of death work with a particular force from the
spiritual world, Naboth Elijah now worked after his death with
a particular force on Elishah, as for example Christ Jesus
worked on his disciples after his death, after his
resurrection. Elias-Naboth worked incredibly on Elishah. What
now Elishah experienced, he experienced this also related to
the force that flowed from Elijah and worked still continuously
after his death on those who could dedicate themselves to him.
Elishah experienced in such a way that his great teacher Elijah
faced him vividly also after death, and said to him: I want to
leave the Gilgal. I would like to quote the Bible to a hair's
breadth: “When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to
heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elishah had set out from
Gilgal”
(2 Kings 2:1).
This is no place. The
Bible means no place with it too. It is a technical term: the
soul goes through birth and death; it goes from one physical
life to the other. One called this process Gilgal.
You are not surprised that it turns out by
spiritual science that Elishah was, indeed, by contemplation
and devotion not with the forces of his physical nature, but
with his higher forces with Elijah, that is he was together
with him in the higher world. The spirit of Elijah indicated
the levels to him that he had to go through in the soul
development. But he draws his attention everywhere to the
difficulties of the way that he has to walk. He has to ascend
from level to level where he only feels united with the spirit
that flows from Elijah.
The names of the places are to be
interpreted not as such but as soul states. There, for example,
Elijah says, now I go to Bethel. — This faces Elishah
as a vision that is more than a vision. Like a reminder, the
spirit of Elijah says to him, “stay here.”
— That is
nothing but: reflect whether you have the strength to advance
further with me.
There something else still appears in the
vision. A “company” of his prophet disciples stands
beside him and remind him. Those who know because they are
initiated into the fact that Elishah can ascend to higher
regions where the spirit of Elijah speaks to him say to
Elishah: “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your
lord and master from you today?”
(2 Kings 2:3).
He answers to them: “I do know, say nothing.” To the
spirit of Elijah he yet says, “As the Lord lives, your
life upon it, I shall not leave you.” Then Elijah says,
“Now I have to go to Jericho.” The same recurs.
Then Elijah asks, “Tell me what I can do for you before I
am taken from you?” Elishah replies, and you can read
this also in the Bible, only in such a way that one has to
interpret it correctly: “Let come your spirit as second
spirit in my spirit.” You wrongly read in the Bible,
“Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”
(2 Kings 2:9).
But the spiritual meaning
of that what Elishah hears from Elijah is just about that he
becomes alive in the depths of his soul that he awakes there to
full consciousness that his soul faces the spirit of Elijah
there and can make known the decisions of Elijah out of itself.
Elijah says, “If you see me taken from you, your wish
will be granted, if you do not, it will not be granted.”
Lo and behold, Elisha saw Elijah “carried up in a
whirlwind to heaven,” only his cloak was left, that is
the spiritual force in which he had wrapped himself
up.
This was the vision by which he recognised
that he might become the successor of Elijah. Then you read in
the Bible, “The prophets from Jericho, who were watching,
said, 'The spirit has settled on Elisha.' They came to meet
him, bowed to the ground before him ...”
(2 Kings 2:15).
This points to the fact that in Elishah the word had
become so mighty that it was filled by the force which the
prophet's disciples had also experienced with Elijah, and that
they recognised that really the spirit of Elijah-Naboth lived
on in Elishah.
These are the true events at that time
according to the spiritual-scientific methods, what one can
recognise about the impulse that was transferred from Elijah to
Elishah as a renewal of the old Jahveh faith. Now it is
peculiar that the events that at first only the initiates
understood were told to those who could not understand the
matter, and worked on them in the way of parables and miracle
stories so that they could understand them. Then from that
which is miraculous in the highest sense really developed what
you can read as the story of Elijah, Elishah and Naboth in the
Bible. One told it in parables to those who could not understand
that the biggest impulse of the evolution of world and man had
arisen from those who
had first to experience many things that escape from the outer
sight. They got to know what the Bible tells us, that at the
time of King Ahab Elijah lived that God Jahveh appeared to
Elijah at a time of famine and said to him, go to King Ahab and
say, “I swear by the life of the Lord the God of Israel,
whose servant I am, that there will be neither dew nor rain
these coming years unless I give the word”
(1 Kings 17:1).
Then you read that God said to Elijah,
“Leave this place, turn eastwards, and go into hiding
into the wadi of Kerith east of the Jordan. You are to drink
from the stream, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there”
(1 Kings 17:3-4). This happened. When the
water had dried up, God sent Elijah again to Sarepta. Then in
the third year, Elijah could leave, could approach King Ahab,
and compete against the 450 prophets of Baal. Then the Bible
shows in a miracle picture what happened as I have told. The
story follows how Naboth who is in truth the bearer of Elijah's
spirit was deprived of his vineyard by Ahab, and how then
Jezebel caused Naboth's death. According to that what you read
in the Bible, you cannot understand why Jezebel should have
done this to Elijah because she said to Ahab, I want to do to
Elijah what he has done to your 450 priests of Baal
(1 Kings 19:2). Since according to the Bible she caused the death of
Naboth only, while she caused the death of the bearer of
Elijah's spirit indeed, what no Bible reader will be able to
read out. Since in the Bible you read only that Elijah ascended
to heaven. She would have killed Elijah in a weird way if she
wanted to do the same as he did to the 450 priests of Baal.
Briefly, we have pictures that you can only understand if you
light up them again with the means of spiritual research. I ask
the listeners who could not regard it as more than as
hypothesis — because I cannot yet give other documents
in this talk — to assess that what arises from the
spiritual-scientific research only unprejudiced checking the
single places and comparing them with that what science can
give. Indeed, one cannot get on that without spiritual
research, but one can confirm it by the outer science and own
reason.
That is why we have to say, it seems in
great measure if we look at the personality of the Prophet
Elijah and his time that the impulses and causes in human
history consist only of that what is external and what the
outer history takes into consideration. But the most important
processes of human evolution are those which take place in the
human souls and work from these human souls on the outer world,
go over into other human beings and keep on working there. Even
if it cannot happen in our time, in old times it was possible
that such a personality about whom one only whispered could
live as the simple neighbour, without one knew it. In the most
hidden way just the strongest, most intensive forces of human
development are working. Thus, we see the Prophet Elijah
ascending, working the Jahveh idea out for humanity in an
outstanding measure, so that we have to register an important
epochal action for humanity with him if we see him only in the
right light.
By another check, it would become obvious
that a light falls from here on these events and on that what
happened until the foundation of Christianity. Thus, we come
close by such a consideration to that what must appear so
important to us: to the reasons and impulses which were working
in the human development, and because they have worked, keep on
working up to now.
Therefore, we cannot understand what occurs
around us, if we cannot understand what happened in the past.
But the outer history does not inform about the most important
things, because also to history the somewhat changed words of
Goethe apply. I mean those words about the necessity to
recognise the spirit in nature by deepening in the human mind,
by the research which can be brought up only from the hidden
subsoil of the soul. At the example of the Prophet Elijah and
his time, the changed Goethe's words prove to be
true:
History, mysterious in the day's clear light of the present,
lets not remove her veil.
And what she won't discover to your understanding,
you can't extort from her with scrolls of parchment
and with signs that are written.
In ore, in stone, or in terra cotta.
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