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The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 2 [[Vol. 2, Page]] 492 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. [[This page continued from previous section ]] C. T HE M ANY M EANINGS OF THE " W AR IN H EAVEN." The Secret Doctrine points out, as a self-evident fact, that Mankind, collectively and individually, is, with all manifested nature, the vehicle ( a ) of the breath of One Universal Principle, in its primal differentiation; and ( b ) of the countless "breaths" proceeding from that One B REATH in its secondary and further differentiations, as Nature with its many mankinds proceeds downwards toward the planes that are ever increasing in materiality. The primary Breath informs the higher Hierarchies; the secondary -- the lower, on the constantly descending planes. Now there are many passages in the Bible which prove on their face, exoterically, that this belief was at one time Universal ; and the most convincing are the two chapters Ezekiel xxviii. and Isaiah xiv. Christian theologians are welcome to interpret both as referring to the great War before Creation, the Epos of Satan's rebellion, etc., if they so choose, but the absurdity of the idea is too apparent. Ezekiel addresses his lamentations and reproofs to the King of Tyre; Isaiah -- to King Ahaz, who indulged in the worship of idols, as did the rest of the nation, with the exception of a few Initiates (the Prophets, so called), who tried to arrest it on its way to exotericism, or idolatry, which is the same thing. Let the student judge. In Ezekiel xxviii. it is said, "Son of Man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, thus saith the Lord God (as we understand it, the "god" K ARMA): Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said I am a God . . . . and yet thou art a man . . . . behold I shall bring strangers upon thee . . . . and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom . . . . and they shall bring thee down to the pit . . . ." or Earth-life. The origin of the "prince of Tyrus" is to be traced to, and sought in [[Vol. 2, Page]] 493 THE REAL MEANING OF THE CHERUB. the "divine Dynasties" of the iniquitous Atlanteans, the Great Sorcerers (See last Comments, on Stanza XII ., verses 47-49). There is no metaphor in the words of Ezekiel, but actual history, this time. For the voice in the prophet, the voice of the "Lord," his own Spirit, which spake unto him, says: -- "Because thou hast said, 'I am a God, I sit in the seat of God(s) -- (divine Dynasties), in the midst of the seas ,' yet thou art a man. . . . . Behold thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: with thy wisdom . . . thou hast increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches. Behold therefore . . . strangers shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom . . . they shall bring thee down . . . and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. " (Verses 3-8.) All such imprecations are not prophecy, but simply reminders of the fate of the Atlanteans, the "Giants on Earth." What can be the meaning of this last sentence if it is not a narrative of the fate of the Atlanteans? Verse 17 saying, "thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty," may refer to the "Heavenly Man" in Pymander, or to the Fallen Angels, who are accused of having fallen through pride on account of the great beauty and wisdom which became their lot. There is no metaphor here, except in the preconceived ideas of our theologians, perhaps. These verses relate to the Past and belong more to the Knowledge acquired at the mysteries of Initiation than to retrospective clairvoyance! Says the voice, again: -- "Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God (in the Satya Yuga) every precious stone was thy covering . . . . the workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day thou was created . . . Thou art the anointed cherub . . . thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire . . . thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Therefore I will cast thee out of the mountain of God and destroy thee. . . . " The "Mountain of God" means the "Mountain of the Gods " or Meru, whose representative in the Fourth Race was Mount Atlas, the last form of one of the divine Titans, so high in those days that the ancients believed that the heavens rested on its top. Did not Atlas assist the giants in their war against the gods? (Hyginus). Another version shows the fable as arising from the fondness of Atlas, son of Iapetus and Clymene, for astronomy, and from his dwelling for that reason on the highest mountain peaks. The truth is that Atlas, "the mountain of the gods," and also the hero of that name, are the esoteric symbols of the Fourth Race, and his seven daughters, the Atlantides, are the symbols of its Seven Sub-races. Mount Atlas, according to all the legends, was three times as high as it is now; having sunk at two different times. It is of a volcanic origin, and therefore the voice [[Vol. 2, Page]] 494 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. within Ezekiel says: "I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee," etc. (v. 18). Surely it does not mean, as seems to be the case from the translated texts, that this fire was to be brought from the midst of the Prince of Tyrus, or his people, but from Mount Atlas, symbolising the proud race, learned in magic and high in arts and civilization, whose last remnant was destroyed almost at the foot of the range of those once gigantic mountains. Truly, "thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more "; as the very name of the race and its fate is now annihilated from man's memory.