The Second Coming of Christ

The Second Coming of Christ

1 lecture, Stuttgart, March 6, 1910 (CW 118)

“The being whom we call Christ once walked the earth in flesh and blood at the beginning of our era. He will never again return in a physical body, for that was a unique event and will not be repeated. But He will come again in an etheric form in the period I have mentioned. People will learn to perceive Christ by virtue of growing towards him through this etheric perception.”

Many contemporaries of Jesus Christ were unaware of his incarnation on Earth at the beginning of the modern era. Moreover, today, says Rudolf Steiner, many remain ignorant of the most important event of our time: the appearance of Christ in the etheric, life realm of the Earth. Fundamentalists and millennial groups are awaiting the second physical incarnation, whereas atheists and materialists deny spirit altogether. Nevertheless, an incisive transformation is occurring in the human soul that will lead to an emerging clairvoyance. Just as Paul perceived Christ at Damascus, it is appropriate that every human being should experience him today.

This lecture is translated from the German book Das Ereignis der Christus-Erscheinung in der ätherischen Welt (GA 118).

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz 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.