Now the progress made by the beings of each class of Angels or lower dhyanic beings--the class which leads mankind forward and the class which obstructs--consists in their being able to be leaders among the Egyptians and Chaldæans by means of those qualities which they had acquired in primordial times, and which they had further developed by their work as leaders. Thus the progressive Angels are intervening to guide the fifth post-Atlantean civilization by means of capacities which they themselves had won during the third or Egypto-Chaldæic civilization. Through the progress they make they are acquiring for themselves quite special capabilities, for they are qualifying themselves to receive the influx of forces emanating from the most important Being in the whole evolution of the Earth. The power of the Christ is working in them; for that power works not only on the physical world through Jesus of Nazareth--but also in the spiritual worlds upon the superhuman beings. The Christ exists not only for the earth but also for these other beings. The beings who guided the old Egypto-Chaldæic civilization were not at that time under the direction of the Christ, but have only placed themselves under His guidance since. And their progress consists in their following Him in the higher worlds, so that they may guide our fifth post-Atlantean period of civilization in accordance with His influence. And the remaining behind of those beings of whom it has been said that they operate as obstructive powers, is due to their not having put themselves under the leadership of the Christ, and thus they continue to work independently of Him. Hence the following state of things will become more and more evident in human evolution: There will be a materialistic movement under the guidance of the backward Egypto-Chaldæic spirits. It will have a materialistic character, and the greater part of what in all countries, may be called contemporary materialistic science is under this influence. There are, for example, people to-day who say that our earth in its primary origin consisted of atoms. Who instils this thought into men’s minds? It is the superhuman angel beings who had remained behind during the Egypto-Chaldæic period. But, side by side with this movement, there is another making itself felt, the one which has as its goal that man shall eventually find in all that he does, that which may be called the Christ-principle.