In Chapter 18 of the Book of Revelation St. John passionately describes the fall of Babylon. Our contemporary human civilisation could be likened to the Biblical Babylonian civilisation. The dramatic vision of St. John in Chapter 19 of the fight of the Rider on the White Horse conquering the beast could be applied to our time too:

 

Archangel Michael of the Apocalypse. Orthodox Icon

Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles… The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen… Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army… The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh. (Revelation 19: 11, 14, 19, 20, 21)

The twentieth and the twenty-first centuries are the climax of this great apocalyptic battle between the Light forces and the dark forces. With God's help, the Light forces will conquer the darkness and will open the space for the reality of the New Heaven and the New Earth to come. When we embark on the Path of the Divine Rainbow and meet the Second Coming on an ethereal level, we will be ready to join the forces of Light and to participate in this great apocalyptic event.

A very important key for understanding the problems of the contemporary human culture from a macrocosmic, celestial point of view is the vision of R. Steiner of the three main streams of energy which have determined the present situation: the Christ energy, the Lucifer energy, and the Ahriman energy. To these three streams of energy we have to add the Antichrist energy which is very active at the present time. In one way or another, the life of humankind is determined by these four main streams of energy. In almost all domains of the present human culture we can recognise these four types of energy engaging in an extremely dynamic and dramatic interaction.

The Lucifer energy deforms the wholeness of the human being. It is based on the ego-complex and is characterised by a drive for power, selfish realisation at the expense of others, quick results, phenomenal achievements, occult knowledge and so forth. On the surface, this energy can give the impression of polish, good education, success, brilliance, even charm, but at its core it hides an expansionist ego-complex, moral impurity and greed for dominance. Unfortunately, this type of energy has influenced many domains of the contemporary culture: the governmental structures, the mass media, the arts, the educational system, some religious institutions and others. Even some New Age leaders are contaminated by the Luciferic energy. Here however we have to be extremely careful in our analysis not to identify human beings themselves with the Luciferic nature. By definition, human beings are celestial entities - sons and daughters of God - and the Luciferic energy only influences them without changing their nature; in any single moment the lucifericly poisoned humans can turn to their Light-essence within and transform themselves.

The Ahriman energy, on the other hand, deforms the wholeness of human society and its culture, that is, the wholeness of the socio-cultural organism. The chief aim of the Ahriman principle is to block the spiritual dimensions of human life and to make human beings slaves of the material world. It substitutes the essential spiritual needs of the human soul with craving for material goods, physical comfort, a 'respectable' position in society, complacency, entertainment, consumerism, perverted sexual pleasures and so on. By cultivating fears of losing a high material standard of living and social status, the Ahriman principle tries to control, manipulate and keep in material slavery millions of people. It considers its aim achieved when human beings forget their high Divine origin, their celestial home and their spiritual needs, impulses and dreams. Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that the Ahriman energy has penetrated to the very foundation of contemporary civilisation and has created the phenomenon of the pop-culture in its negative aspects. It is rampant almost everywhere: in the media, in the fields of entertainment, arts, sports, education and many others. The Ahriman energy has a very strong influence on many people on Earth today, but just the same, human beings have within themselves a Divine flame which sooner or later will awaken them to recognise their slavery and to embark on the path of ascent and spiritual victory.

Most unfortunately, the Antichrist energy manifested itself with extreme destructiveness throughout the whole twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first century. This is not by chance: our time is the end of the great meta-historical cycle of humankind's life on Earth when all the negative (or karmic) and positive (or dharmic) energies from the past are activated in order to bring to conclusion the whole cycle. In other words, our time is the time to face all the good and bad actions of humankind throughout the entire cycle and to prepare for the coming new cycle of evolution. 

While the Lucifer and Ahriman energies deform the wholeness of the human being and of the socio-cultural organism respectively, the Antichrist energy aims to deform the wholeness of the spiritual Universe. It is characterised by violence, murder, black magic, arrogance, blackmail, and all kinds of heavy abuses in the areas of drug use, sexual practices, and power. The Antichrist energy has its foothold in mafia-type organisations, terrorism, all kinds of movements in which the participants believe that the aims justify criminal methods. The mass media and the arts can also become channels of the Antichrist energy when they depict violence and terrorism in the form of news, films, videos, paintings, etc.

Certainly, most of the people in this stream are unaware of their participation in the Antichrist actions. We have to pray for them and help them when possible because they are in real danger of being hurt by the 'second death'. The 'first death', experienced as a physical death due to our ignorance, occurs when we leave the body after each incarnation on Earth. The 'second death' occurs when a person is eliminated from the ascending line of human evolution. Unfortunately, in this situation the link between the individual's sinful personality and Divinely created soul, which continues to remain in the higher worlds, is severed and there is little chance to re-establish the connection (which is, of course, a great cosmic-spiritual tragedy). When the Earth and humankind move to a new stage of evolution, karmic forces will prevent such persons from returning to the Earth and they will be forced into lower planes of existence, or they will face psychic solitude, experiencing the results of their crimes over and over again, without any opportunity to rectify or neutralise them. God, however, is full of mercy, and if these people repent from the depths of their hearts, they will be granted complete forgiveness. Thus, they would not be hurt by either the first or the second death.

The Light energy is the only energy that brings Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom and Truth to all human beings. The new culture can only be built on Living Light, Love, Wisdom and Truth. The Holy Spirit, manifested by all Divine Masters, Saints and Light Beings, is the Divine power which unfolds the wholeness of the human being, the wholeness of the socio-cultural organism and the wholeness of the Universe in absolute harmony and unity.

We see manifestations of Light and Love everywhere - in the spiritual activities of churches, in the arts, in the mass-media, in the lives of millions of people who live in love, simplicity and friendship. The task of contemporary humankind, however, is to establish itself firmly in the stream of Light energy and to correct the many deformations, wrong actions, and all kinds of abuses - in other words, to neutralise and transform the Lucifer, Ahriman and Antichrist streams of energy. Only then will humankind become God's people on Earth living in a new celestial civilisation.

The contemplation of contemporary human culture from a celestial, macrocosmic perspective requires careful attention and goodwill. We have to be firmly established in the Light stream of energy in order to have a clear and correct understanding of the processes at work in human culture. In our world of struggling polarities almost every cultural phenomenon is influenced by different types of energy. So, we have to contemplate the dynamic processes in the contemporary culture without judgment and negative emotions, and look for appropriate ways to redirect them to the stream of Light energy. Only then will we be free of contamination by the negative forces and will be able to become true collaborators and co-creators with God. Thus we will prepare ourselves for the Day of Resurrection and Judgment and for entry into the reality of the New Heaven and the New Earth! 

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