The following three groupings should also be within this series:

1. The Apocalypse (ApSJn) 11 (Bock) draws a proper picture for this group as follows: “.. . the Old Covenant was the religion of the closed heavens. . . . But in the hour of Golgotha the religious principle of the veiled mystery lost its validity and power. The rending of the veil in the temple was a significant gesture of God, a telling spiritual act.” Thus, see:

Ex 26,33: . . . and the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy.

Is 54,2: Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back, lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.

Mt 27,51: And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; .. . [Mk 15,38 and Lk 23,45 are almost verbatim.]

Heb 6,19-20: (19) We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, (20) where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 9,3,11-12,15: (3) Behind the second curtain stood a tent [fn: or tabernacle] called the Holy of Holies, . . . (11) But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) (12) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking [fn: through] not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. . . . (15) Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

Heb 10,19-20: (19) Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, (20) by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh....

We should remember that the highest meaning of “tent,” “tabernacle” or “sanctuary,” being the same as “temple” in the deeper sense, means the human bodies (see “Three Bodies”), particularly the lower bodies as changed by the Ego, through Christ, into their higher counterparts (see I-9). The veil or curtain is that state of spiritual unconsciousness that separates such higher counterparts from the lower.

2. The second grouping is the passages from all four Gospels, Acts and Romans that refer to the seminal remark in Is 6,9-13 about darkening the consciousness of the people so that they should not see, hear or understand for a long time. These passages are Mt 13,14-15, Mk 4,11-12, Lk 8,10, Jn 12,37-40, Acts 28,25-27 and Rom 11,7-10. See “Fading Splendor.”

3. The third group are those that speak astonishingly of having seen the Lord and yet living on:

Gen 16,13: So she [Hagar] called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “Thou art a God of seeing”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”

Gen 32,30: So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.”

Ex 3,6: And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Ex 33,20: “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live.”

Judg 6,22-23: (22) Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” (23) But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.”

Judg 13,22-24: (22) And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” (23) But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” (24) And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. . .

1 K 19,11-13: (11) And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; (12) and after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (13) And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Is 6,5: And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

More could be said here about these passages, but we will leave them with two thoughts. First, they seem to portray a simpler and more direct vision among the earlier personalities than among the later ones, reflective of the “Fading Splendor” as time went on, though a direct vision was still possible in the case of such a high visionary as Isaiah who came last among them. Second, consider the direct implications of the principle that one could not see the Lord and live. If Steiner made this observation, I’m not yet aware of it, but it would seem to follow from his teachings that in humanity’s present state (including, increasingly, that during the time of the listed personalities) a human being is not able during the time of its incarnation to “see, hear and understand (i.e., know)” the spiritual beings, especially the higher ones, much less the highest. Only between lives is this increasingly possible to those sufficiently developed pursuant to the spiritual knowledge embodied in anthroposophy (including the ancient Mysteries, though consider “Sheol”). Thus, if one is to “see” the Lord it must be in the discarnate state, so that anyone who has received the grace of such sight must be “astonished” by it, as reflected in the expressions in these cases.