Man is not really meant to live according to the conceptions which have hitherto prevailed, but should be more of an intuitive human being. In that way he would form an essential connecting-link for the further development of the whole Creation.
Because he unites in himself the ethereal of the beyond and the gross material of this world, it is possible for him to survey both and to experience both simultaneously. In addition he also has at his disposal an instrument that puts him at the head of the entire Gross Material Creation: the intellect. With this instrument he is able to guide, thus to lead.
Intellect is the highest of what is earthly, and is meant to be the steering element through life on earth, whereas the driving power is the intuitive perception, which originates in the Spiritual World. The basis of the intellect therefore is the physical body, but the basis of the intuitive perception is the spirit.
The intellect is bound to time and space, as is all that is earthly, thus merely a product of the brain which is part of the gross-material body. The intellect will never be able to work outside time and space, although it is actually more ethereal than the body, but nevertheless still too dense and heavy to rise above time and space. Hence it is completely earthbound.
But the intuitive perception (not the feeling) is timeless and space-less, and therefore comes from the Spiritual.
Thus equipped, man could be closely connected with the finest ethereal, indeed even be in touch with the Pure-spiritual itself, and yet live and work in the midst of all that is earthly, gross material. Only man is endowed in this way.
He alone, as the only bridge between the fine-material and Luminous Heights and the gross-material earthly, should and could provide the healthy, fresh connection! Only through him in his special nature could the pure Life from the Source of Light pulsate downwards into the deepest gross material, and from there upwards again in the most glorious, harmonious reciprocal action! He stands as a link between the two worlds, so that through him these are welded into one world.
However, he did not fulfill this task. He separated these two worlds instead of keeping them firmly united. And that was the Fall of Man! —
Through the special nature just explained man was really destined to become a kind of lord of the Gross Material World, because the Gross Material World depends on his mediation, inasmuch as, according to his nature, it was forced to suffer with him or could be uplifted through him, depending on whether the currents from the Source of Light and Life could flow in purity through mankind or not.
But man cut off the flow of this alternating current necessary for the Ethereal World and for the Gross Material World. Now just as a good blood circulation keeps the body fresh and healthy, so is it with the alternating current in Creation. Cutting it off must bring confusion and illness, finally ending in catastrophes.
This serious failure on the part of man could come about because he did not use the intellect, which originates only in gross matter, solely as an instrument, but completely subjected himself to it, making it ruler over all. He thus made himself the slave of his instrument and became merely intellectual man, who is in the habit of proudly calling himself a materialist!
By subjecting himself entirely to the intellect, man chained himself to all that is gross material. Just as the intellect cannot grasp anything beyond time and space, obviously the man who has completely subjected himself to it cannot do so either. His mental horizon, that is his ability to comprehend, became narrow together with the limited ability of the intellect. The connection with the Ethereal was thus severed, a wall was erected which became dense and ever denser. Since the Source of Life, the Primordial Light, God, is far above time and space and still stands far above the Ethereal, naturally every contact must be cut off through the binding of the intellect. For this reason it is quite impossible for the materialist to recognize God.
The eating from the tree of knowledge was nothing more than the cultivation of the intellect. The resulting separation from the Ethereal was also the closing of Paradise as a natural consequence. Mankind locked themselves out by inclining wholly towards the gross material through the intellect, thus degrading themselves, and voluntarily or of their own choice placing themselves in bondage.
But where did this lead? The purely materialistic, thus earthbound and inferior thoughts of the intellect, with all their accompanying manifestations of lust for possessions and profit, falsehood, robbery, and oppression and so on, were bound to bring about the inexorable reciprocal action of what is homogeneous, which first manifested spiritually, from there passed on to the gross material, formed everything accordingly, impelled men, and will finally burst over everything with... annihilation!
Do you understand now that the events of the last years had to come? That they will continue to come to the point of annihilation? A World Judgment, which in accordance with the existing laws of karma *(Laws of Creation) cannot be avoided. As with a gathering thunderstorm, which must finally burst and bring destruction. However, at the same time also purification!
Man did not, as was essential, serve as a connecting-link between the ethereal and the gross material parts of Creation, did not let the ever refreshing, animating and furthering necessary alternating current flow through, but separated Creation into two worlds by evading his obligation, and chaining himself wholly to gross matter. Consequently both parts of the World were bound to become gradually diseased. The part which was completely deprived of the Light-stream, or which received it too weakly through the few human beings who still provided a connection, became much more severely diseased, this being the gross material part, which is therefore driving towards a terrible crisis in the near future and will be utterly convulsed by mighty fever spasms, until all that is diseased therein has been consumed, and it can at last be restored to health under a new, strong influx from the Fountain-Head.
But who will be consumed in this process?
The answer to this lies in the natural happening itself: Through the creative power dwelling in it, every intuitively perceived thought immediately takes on an ethereal form corresponding to the content of the thought, always remaining connected as by a cord with its producer, but being drawn off and away from him through the power of attraction of homogeneous species in all that is ethereal, and driven through the Universe with the currents constantly pulsating through it, which like everything in Creation move in ellipses. Thus the time approaches when the thoughts that have come to life and reality in the Ethereal, together with the similar species attracted on their way, will fall back upon their origin and starting-point, because in spite of their wandering they remain linked with him, in order now to discharge, to release themselves there.
Hence in the final combined effect that is now to be expected, annihilation will first of all strike those who through their thinking and intuitive perceiving have been producers and constant supporters, in other words the materialists. That the destructive rebounding force will describe still wider circles, and in passing will affect even near homogeneous species of these human beings, is inevitable.
But then men will fulfill that which they should fulfill in Creation. They will be the connecting-link, will through their quality draw from the Spiritual, that is, will let themselves be guided by the purified intuitive perception, and translate this into the Gross Material, thus into the earthly, to this end using their intellect and accumulated experiences only as an instrument, in order to carry through these pure intuitive perceptions in gross material life, taking into account everything earthly, whereby the entire Gross Material Creation will be continually furthered, purified and uplifted. This will make it possible in the reciprocal action for something more healthy to flow back from the Gross Material to the Ethereal; and a new, uniform and harmonious world will arise. In the proper fulfillment of their activity, however, men will be the longed-for complete and noble human beings; for through the right adjustment to the great Work of Creation they too will receive quite different powers than hitherto, which will let them intuitively experience contentment and bliss unceasingly.