The mission of Moses: establishing a true culture of the human ego

Rudolf Steiner:

"Moses was the last among the ancients to be endowed with the old order of psychic discernment. From that time on would a form of intellection wholly independent of this gift spread its influence among all peoples fitted to the task, and the human being's actions and cognition be based on the power to reason and tradition alone, Thus might the ego, the truth of which had already been recognized by those who had understanding of the fundamental factors of the new culture, be made ready that it might absorb a new principle.
     It was through the mission of Moses that humankind was first led to realize that the most positive feeling human beings can experience of the absolute reality of the all-pervading cosmic spirit, that divine principle that is ever active and interwoven throughout the whole earth, is centered in the "I AM" — the very midpoint of the human soul. But in order that these two simple words might be imbued with the utmost import, the "I AM" must first store within itself the full measure of a content that will once again embrace the world. To reach this end necessitated yet another mission, which is expressed in those deeply significant words of Saint Paul: "Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Moses had brought humanity up to the point of establishing a true culture of the human ego. This newborn intellect was destined to live on throughout the future ages, a gift from above, a form of civilization, a receptacle for the coming content. It was essential that the center of our being should first unfold in the bosom of the ancient Hebrew people. From that time onward would this divine receptacle be filled with all that springs from a true understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha and the events that took place in Palestine. Thus would the ego receive its new content, which itself would be a creation of the spirit world."



Source: Turning Points in Spiritual History, pp. 137-138