How was the world created? Battle lines are currently drawn between two dogmatic camps: the fundamentalist ‘creationists’ who believe that the physical creation of the earth took place in six days, and the scientific reductionists who expound the theory of  the ‘big bang’ origin of the universe – or similar purely mechanical models.

From his own spiritual examinations, Rudolf Steiner presents a new perspective which transcends these bipolar arguments. He affirms that clairvoyant research accords with the biblical descriptions, but he emphasizes that the language and meaning of Genesis has to be understood in a way that is consistent with how an earlier humanity understood and experienced language. In this extraordinary document, Steiner speaks of the six days of creation as a reawakening of the previous phases of the Earth’s development. He describes the work of powerful spiritual entities, the biblical Elohim, and how they co-created with other spiritual hierarchies in the creation of Earth. He also clarifies the relationship of the Elohim and the biblical Jehovah.

In addition, Steiner discusses themes of light and darkness, the meaning of Adam and Eve, the ‘day of rest’ on the seventh day, the stages of human development on Earth, and the special character of the Hebrew language.

Also featured in this new edition is a previously unpublished introductory lecture on the meaning of mystery drama.