, and the final
triumph of Christianity. All other gods are merged in the one
Christian divinity: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of
the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof" (xxi. 23). The secret of the Revelation of
St. John is that the Mysteries are no longer to be kept under lock and
key. "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of
this book, for the time is at hand."

The author of the Apocalypse has set forth what he believes to be the
relation of his church to the churches of antiquity. He wished to
express in a spiritual mystery what he thought about the Mysteries
themselves. He wrote his mystery on the isle of Patmos, and he is said
to have received the "Revelation" in a grotto. These details indicate
that the revelation was of a mystery character.

Thus Christianity arose out of the Mysteries. Its wisdom is born as a
mystery in the Apocalypse, but a mystery which transcends the limits
of the old mystery world. The separate Mysteries were to become one
universal one.

It may appear to be a contradiction to say that the secrets of the
Mysteries became manifest through Christianity, and that nevertheless
a Christian mystery is to be seen again in the spiritual visions of
the writer of the Apocalypse. The contradiction disappears directly
we reflect that the secrets of the ancient Mysteries were revealed by
the events in Palestine. Through these there became manifest what had
previously been veiled in the Mysteries. There is now a new secret,
namely what has been introduced into the evolution of the world by the
appearance of the Christ. The initiate of ancient times, when in the
spiritual world, saw how evolution points the way to the as yet hidden
Christ. The Christian initiate experiences the unseen effects of the
manifested Christ.

X

JESUS AND HIS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In the wisdom of the Mysteries is to be sought the soil out of which
grew the spirit of Christianity. All that was needed was the gaining
ground of the fundamental conviction that this spirit must be
introduced into life in greater measure than had been the case with
the Mysteries. But such a conviction was widely spread, as may be seen
from the manner of life of the Essenes and Therapeutae, who existed
long before Christianity arose.

The Essenes were a secluded sect, living in Palestine, whose numbers
at the time of Christ were estimate