The Apocalypse of Saint John is the product of initiation, a mystical process of awakening which enables one to see, understand, and communicate what may be observed with spiritual sight. Thus it is also called The Book of Revelation. In powerful visions it addresses the fundamental questions of existence and the future of humanity.

These lectures, given by Rudolf Steiner in 1908, unveil the mysteries of Saint John’s vision and show it to be a profound description of Christian initiation. As Rudolf Steiner says, “The deepest truths of Christianity may be considered quite naturally in connection with this document, for it contains a great part of the mysteries of Christianity, that is, the profoundest part of what may be described as esoteric Christianity.”

Rudolf Steiner shows that the messages to the seven churches and the unsealing of the seven seals must be understood as an initiation text. On the basis of his own initiation and spiritual scientific practice, Steiner interprets Saint John’s insights into the course of human and cosmic history. Thus, we can gain new insights into the spiritual images that John transmits – the twenty-four elders, the sea of glass, the woman clothed with the sun, the vials of wrath, the lamb and the dragon, the new heaven and the new earth, and the number of the beast.

As we look back at the recent painful times since these important lectures were given, they assume increasing value and significance as they offer a perspective of the trials and challenges that humanity must undergo to arrive at its true spiritual stature.