Jacob Boehme was born in 1575 in Alt Seidenburg, about two miles from Görlitz, Germany. The son of poor peasants, he herded his parents’ livestock in his youth. Later, he was sent to school, where he learned to read and write. After that, he became an apprentice in a shoemaker’s shop.
Even in his youth, it seems he could enter an unusual state of consciousness and see images in the starlight. Once, while herding cattle and standing on a hilltop, he suddenly saw a vault made of large red stones, surrounded by bushes. He entered a treasury through an opening, and at the far end, he saw a container filled with money. However, he had no desire to possess the treasure. Believing it was the work of the dark spirit to tempt him, he fled.
Another time, when he was alone in the shoemaker’s shop, an unknown stranger entered and wanted to buy a pair of shoes. Boehme, thinking he wasn’t qualified to make the sale without his master present, asked for an exorbitant price, hoping to discourage the buyer. Nevertheless, the stranger bought the shoes and left. After leaving, the stranger stopped in front of the shop and called out to Boehme in a loud and solemn voice, “Jacob, come out.”
Boehme was astonished that the stranger knew his name. He went out to greet him, and the stranger grabbed his hand, looked deeply into his eyes, and said, “Jacob, you are young now, but you will become a great man. People will admire you. Fear God and respect His word, and you will find comfort in it. Don’t be afraid; be steadfast, for God loves you and is gracious to you.” Then, he squeezed Boehme’s hand again, gave him a kind look, and left.
This extraordinary event left a profound impression on Jacob Boehme. He earnestly carried out the practices required for the study of practical mysticism. That is, he cultivated patience, piety, simplicity of thought and purpose, humility, and surrendered his self – will to the divine law. He also remembered the promises in the Bible that those who earnestly seek the Heavenly Father will have the Holy Spirit awaken the holy spirit within them and be illuminated by His wisdom.
Indeed, such inspiration came to him. For seven days, Jacob Boehme was in a state of ecstasy. He was surrounded by the light of the Holy Spirit, and his consciousness was immersed in contemplation and bliss. What he saw in these visions was not described, and such descriptions wouldn’t satisfy the curious reader anyway, as spiritual things are incomprehensible to the external mind. Only those who transcend the realm of the senses and enter a state of higher consciousness can be aware of them. This state doesn’t necessarily mean giving up the use of external abilities. For example, Plato said that Socrates once stood still for a day and a half in a state of ecstasy. In Jacob Boehme’s case, we find that during similar states, he continued with the external aspects of his occupation.
In 1594, he became a master shoemaker and married a woman. They lived together for thirty years and had four sons, who followed in his trade.
In 1600, at the age of twenty – five, there was another divine illumination in his soul. This time, he learned to understand the innermost depths of nature and gained the ability to see with the eyes of his soul. This ability to penetrate to the core of all things remained with him even in his normal state.
Ten years later, in 1610, his third enlightenment occurred. The things that had seemed chaotic and complex in his previous visions now appeared to him as a unified whole, like a harp with many strings. Each string was a separate instrument, but the whole was just one harp. He now recognized the divine order of nature and how different branches grew from the trunk of the Tree of Life, bearing various leaves, flowers, and fruits. He was deeply impressed by the need to write down what he saw and preserve the records.
So, from 1612 to 1624, he wrote many books about what he saw with his spiritual vision. These included thirty books filled with the deepest mysteries about God, angels, Christ, humanity, heaven, hell, nature, and the secret things of the world. He did all this not for worldly gain but to glorify God and save humanity from ignorance of spiritual matters.
The concept of God he taught was too profound for narrow – minded clergy to understand. Seeing their authority being undermined by a poor shoemaker, they became his relentless enemies. The God they imagined was a limited being who, upon death, handed over His divine power to the clergy. In contrast, Jacob Boehme’s God was alive and filled the universe with His glory. He said, “I acknowledge a universal God as a unity and the original power of good in the universe; self – existent, independent of form, needing no place for His existence, immeasurable, and beyond the comprehension of any created intellect. I acknowledge this power as a Trinity, with each of the three having equal power, called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I acknowledge that this Trinitarian principle fills all things at the same time; it was, and still is, the cause, foundation, and beginning of all things. I believe and acknowledge that the eternal power of this principle somehow brought the universe into existence, similar to how breath or the Word (the Son or Christ) radiates from its center and produces the germ from which visible forms grow. In the exhaled breath or Word (Logos) are contained the inner heaven and the visible world and all that exists in it.”
Furthermore, he taught that to be a true Christian, it’s not enough to simply subscribe to a set of beliefs; one must also follow certain precepts. Only those in whom Christ lives are truly following Christ in spirit and in truth. “Only he is a true Christian whose soul and mind have returned to the original matrix from which human life originated, that is, the eternal Word (Logos). When our human nature is blind to the presence of God, and we absorb this Word with a hungry soul, we return to the original spiritual state of human origin. Then, our soul will become the temple of divine love, where the Holy Spirit of the Heavenly Father will dwell.” “Therefore, only the person in whom Christ exists and lives is a Christian, in whom Christ has risen from the desolate flesh of Adam. He will be Christ’s heir, not because of some merit he has achieved, nor through the grace bestowed by some external power, but through inner grace.” “Merely believing in the historical Christ and being content with believing that Jesus died to appease God’s anger at some point in the past doesn’t make one a Christian. Every evil devil could be such a speculative Christian. For everyone who wants to obtain something they don’t deserve without effort, but those born of the flesh cannot enter the kingdom of God and must be reborn in the Holy Spirit.” “It’s not stone palaces and expensive chapels that make one reborn; it’s the divine spiritual sun in the divine heaven, acting through the divine power of the Word of God in the temple of Christ. A true Christian desires nothing but what Christ in his soul desires.” “All our religious systems are just the works of intellectual children. If we want to restore harmony with the mother who gave birth to us, we should deny all personal desires, arguments, science, and will. At present, our souls are the playground of hundreds of malicious animals. We put them in the place of God and worship them as gods. These animals must die first before the principle of Christ can begin to live in us. A person must return to their natural state (original purity) before they can become divine.” “Christ has no other way to live except through the death of the old Adam. One cannot become divine while still being an animal. No one is saved by God as a sign of gratitude for attending church and listening to sermons patiently. Only when he hears Christ speaking in his heart can participating in external rituals benefit him.” “All our arguments and intellectual speculations about the divine mysteries are useless because they come from external sources. The divine mysteries can only be known by God. To know them, we must first seek God in our own center. Our reason and will must return to their inner source of origin; then, we can obtain true knowledge of God and His attributes.” “Human will and imagination have become distorted from their original state. People are surrounded by the world of their own will and imagination. Thus, they have lost sight of God. Only by taking on the power of God can they return to their previous state and become wise, and their soul and mind’s activities can be in harmony with the divine spirit again.” “A Christian is one who lives in Christ, and the power of Christ acts in him. He must feel the fire of divine love burning in his heart. This fire is the spirit of Christ, constantly crushing the head of the serpent, which means the desires of the flesh dominated by the will of the world. But the spiritual fire within a person is ignited by the Holy Spirit. He should desire to be one with Christ and prepare all the necessary conditions for Christ to dwell in him. Such a Christian may be hated and persecuted by nominal Christians of his time. But he must bear his cross and become strong.” “Theologians and Christian sects constantly argue about words and forms, but they don’t care about the spirit at all. Without the spirit, the form is empty, and the word is dead. Everyone imagines they have the truth and wants to be admired by the world as guardians of the truth. Thus, they act against the primary principle taught by Christ, which is brotherly love. Just as the Israelites danced around the golden calf, modern Christians dance around the fetishes they have constructed and call them God. Because of these fetishes, they won’t be able to enter the Promised Land.” “The entire Christianity is based on the understanding of our origin, our current situation, and our destiny. First, it shows how we fell from unity into diversity and how we can return to the previous state. Second, it shows what we were before. Third, it explains the reason for our current division. Fourth, it guides us to understand the final destiny of the mortal and immortal elements in our constitution.” “All the doctrines of Christ have no other purpose than to show us the way to rise again from the state of diversity and differentiation to our original unity. Those who teach other doctrines are teaching falsehoods. What exists around this basic doctrine but doesn’t conform to it is just the product of worldly folly, thinking itself wise. It’s just a useless ornament, creating errors and blinding the eyes of the ignorant.” “Anyone who claims to be a spiritual teacher without the spiritual ability to understand the truth and wants to serve God by teaching about the kingdom of God, which he actually knows nothing about, is not serving the true God. He may be legally appointed as a priest, but he’s not a true shepherd. As Christ said, ‘The one who doesn’t enter the sheepfold through the door is a thief and a murderer. The sheep won’t follow him because they don’t know his voice. He doesn’t have the voice of God but only the voice he has learned. And all plants that my Heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted and destroyed.’ So, how can an unbeliever, without the spiritual seed and ability, try to plant the plants of heaven? To be a true spiritual teacher, one must teach with the spirit of God, not with a selfish spirit.”
Regarding the difference between historical faith and true faith, Boehme said, “Historical faith is just an opinion based on an adopted interpretation of the written word. It’s learned in school, heard by the outer ear, and produces dogmatists, sophists, and stubborn servants of the letter. But faith is the result of directly perceiving the truth, heard and understood through the inner sense, taught by the Holy Spirit, and produces theosophists and servants of the Holy Spirit.”
On the question of whether sins can be forgiven by priests, his view was clear – cut: “The absolution of priests cannot remove sins. If Christ is resurrected in a person’s heart, the old Adam dies, and so does God’s anger towards him. Just as when the sun rises, the night is swallowed up by the day and ceases to exist. Pretending, shouting, crying, singing, preaching, teaching – all these are meaningless if there’s still evil in your heart. If I go to confession for a thousand years, let the priest absolve me every day, and receive communion every four weeks, it’s useless if Christ is not in me. An animal that goes to church is still an animal, no matter what rituals it undergoes.” “Modern Christians have a stone building where they serve the goddess of vanity. They pretend there, show off their fancy clothes, and the preacher shows off his knowledge. But a true Christian has his church in his soul. Wherever he goes, this church is with him. His church is the temple of Christ, where the Holy Spirit preaches to all beings. In everything he sees, he hears the preaching of God.” “A true Christian doesn’t belong to any specific sect. He can participate in the rituals of every sect but still doesn’t belong to any of them. He has only one science, which is the Christ within him. He has only one desire, just like the flowers in the field. Each flower has its own attributes, but they don’t compete for sunlight, rain, color, or smell. Each grows according to its nature, each has its own gift and attribute, but they all come from one Holy Spirit. They enjoy their gifts and praise the wisdom of God. Why should they argue about their origin?” “We all belong to one order, and the only rule of this order is to follow God’s will, that is, to remain still and be a tool for God to fulfill His will. Whatever God sows in us, we will return to Him as our own fruit. The kingdom of heaven is not based on our beliefs and authorities but on its own divine power. Our main goal should be to have the divine power within us. If we have this power, all scientific pursuits will just be a game to amuse our intellect, because true science is the revelation of God’s wisdom in our hearts. God shows His power through His children just as the earth shows its power by producing various flowers and fruits. So, let everyone be happy with their own gifts and enjoy the gifts of others. Why should everyone be the same? Who would condemn the birds in the forest because they don’t all sing the same song? But each praises the Creator in its own way. Yet, the power that enables them to sing comes from one source.”
His first work, Aurora (The Dawn of a New Day), was not fully completed. Due to the indiscretion of a friend, a copy of the manuscript fell into the hands of the clergy. The chief pastor of Görlitz, Gregorius Richter, couldn’t fathom the depth of the religion Boehme claimed to teach. Ignorant of the divine mysteries of true Christianity, only familiar with its superficial aspects and forms, he was too vain to tolerate a poor shoemaker having spiritual knowledge that he, a well – fed pastor, lacked. So, he became Jacob Boehme’s greatest enemy, condemning and cursing the author and his book. Boehme accepted the insults and condemnations with meekness and humility, which only increased the hatred.
Before long, this bigoted priest publicly accused Boehme of being a heretic who disrupted the peace from the pulpit. He demanded that the Görlitz city council punish this “traitor” and threatened that if Boehme wasn’t driven out of town, God’s anger would be aroused, and the whole place would be swallowed up by the earth, just like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram who were destroyed for resisting Moses, the man of God.
Jacob Boehme tried to reason with the angry theologian in person, but it was in vain. The face – to – face meeting only led to new curses and insults, and the priest threatened to arrest Boehme and throw him into prison. The city council was afraid of the priest. Although he couldn’t prove any of the accusations against Boehme, they still ordered him to leave town, fearing the consequences if they didn’t comply with Pastor Richter’s demands.
Boehme patiently obeyed the unjust decree. He asked to go home and say goodbye to his family before exile, but this was also refused. His only response was, “Well, if I can’t do it, I’m content.”
Boehme left. But the next night, the council members regained their courage and better judgment. They blamed themselves for exiling an innocent person and called Jacob Boehme back the next day. They allowed him to stay but required him to hand over the manuscript of Aurora and forbade him from writing books in the future.
For seven years, Boehme refrained from writing about his spiritual experiences, conforming to this foolish decree. Instead of bringing light to humanity, he contented himself with mending shoes. It was a difficult battle to resist the urge of the Holy Spirit, which descended on his soul with overwhelming force. But finally, inspired by the advice of his friends, who told him not to resist the impulse from God for fear of going against human authority, he started writing again.
Jacob Boehme’s works soon became popular around the world and attracted the attention of those who could recognize and appreciate their true value. He found many friends and followers among the upper and lower classes, the rich and the poor. It seemed that, indeed, a new outpouring of the spirit of truth was about to happen in Germany, which was then filled with over – powerful clergy and bigotry.
During that period, Jacob Boehme wrote many books and pamphlets, including Aurora, The Three Principles of the Divine Essence, The Threefold Life of Man, The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, Six Theosophic Points, The Book of the Great Mystery of the Earth and the Celestial Bodies, Biblical Calculations Concerning the Duration of the World, The Four Complexions, his Apology; works on “The Generation and Character of All Beings”, “True Repentance”, “True Regeneration”, “The Supersensual Life”, “Regeneration and Divine Contemplation”, “The Election of Grace”, “The Divine Baptism”, “The Holy Communion”, “Dialogues between the Enlightened and Unenlightened Souls”, an article on “Prayer”, The Table of the Three Principles of the Divine Manifestation, The Key to the Most Prominent Points, One Hundred and Seventy – Seven Theosophic Questions, Theosophic Letters, and other smaller works and articles on philosophical issues.
In March 1624, shortly before his death, Jacob Boehme went through a period of extreme pain. In 1623,