There is an interesting point relating to this, namely that Ahriman will indeed have to accomodate the fact that many people today are seeking to escape from materialism and to find a new spiritual view of the world. I have typed up a few of my own thoughts on the subject and have followed it by an extract from Steiner (from a lecture given in 1915) which states that Ahriman will found his own occult schools to deal with those needs.
Firstly, for those new to the idea of the two opposing temptors of Lucifer and Ahriman, in simple terms the following holds true. Lucifer is the power which tempts man away from the earth, leads him to neglect his earthly duties, to abuse his physical body and who promotes the idea that man can find all truth within himself and needs no other help to find it. Ahriman, in contrast, wishes to bind man to the earth, promotes materialism and rationalism, leads one to strive to prolong one's physical life for as long as possible, inspires the creation of the latest technologies and electrical gadgets, and promotes the belief that one can only have certain knowledge regarding the physical world. An example of this in practice is that Ahriman encourages cowardice (one values the physical body too much), Lucifer recklessness (one values the physical body too little), whilst the virtue of courage lies between the two opposing temptations.
Steiner says that Ahriman will take into account mankind's reawakening yearning for knowledge, experience and vision of the spiritual world. Our yearning for the spiritual can be conceived of as the (just and necessary) 'luciferic' balancing reaction to the increasingly Ahrimanic/Satanic world in which we find ourselves cast into. After a period in which direct vision of, and communication with, the spiritual world was impossible for men incarnated on earth, the possibility is now once again present for all humans to consciously experience the spiritual world. The Kali Yuga, the age of darkness, ended around 1899. Thanks largely to the new seership of Rudolf Steiner, the possibility is now also here to be able to think about the spiritual world. In the fulfilment of Thomism, 'faith' is not only compatable with reasoned thought, but can be discovered anew by thought itself. This is linked to the new Age of Michael, which began around 1879 - the last michaelic age was linked to the dawning of intelligence in man, the appearance of the new man of scepticism and rationalism, in Socrates, and the transition from Plato and the old world conception to Aristotle, the founder of modern logic. Cosmopolitalism and the ideal of the elimination of racial divisions and judging people by the colour of their skin, is a key feature of a michaelic age.
To prevent us realizing what is happening and, indeed, from finding a true path to experiencing the spiritual world and its beings, Ahriman and Lucifer have to take steps to oppose this. What both powers - Lucifer and Ahriman - above all wish to suppress is the new spiritual experience of Christ which is coming and will come to individuals, as an act of grace, to believers and non-believers alike. This experience is taking many forms. The voice of Christ which speaks comforting words to us in times of sorrow and despair, the Christ who briefly visibly appears before us and speaks to us words of comfort and wisdom, the figure of Christ who appears to people when they go beyond the tunnel of light experience in a near-death experience and Who tells them to turn back, the voice of Christ which warns us when our lives are in danger. These experiences became possible in 1933, the very year in which the opposing powers contrived to have Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany.
Just because people are given visions of a 'spiritual world' does not mean that this is wholly luciferic. The desire for the vision is, but what is revealed may be 'ahrimanized'. Steiner states that Ahriman, when he incarnates, will establish an occult school to enable him to assert influence over man's new yearning for the spiritual.
What is worse than materialism is conceiving the spiritual in materialistic terms. Into this falls the revelations of many psychics who believe themselves to be in contact with 'dead' human beings - and these supposed human souls often appear totally preoccupied with earthly affairs and their old lives on earth, still professing subjective desires and dislikes. Psychics also tend to downplay the idea of reincarnation, they rarely deal with the issue in their encounters with 'the dead'. Then there are those who replace our supersensible Creators with a super-intelligent alien race who 'created' us through their DNA manipulation technology. The Christian idea of Heaven is often no more than an idealized picture of our existence on this earth, with us inhabiting the same bodies, still divided into sexes and surrounded by the beings with which we live on earth. The Jehovahs Witnesses' idea of heaven is the best example of this, as it pictures humans resurrected on this earth, living amongst the same material/physical animals and plants as we see around us now. There are often pictures in the Watchtower of just such a scene, and men are often pictured next to benevolent lions which is interesting as Ahriman can also be conceived of as the lion prowling in the subconscious of man - the Jehovahs Witnesses picture the lion in their paradise as their benevolent friend and this probably ties in with the materialism and love of material wealth with often characterizes Witnesses.
Lucifer has already incarnated on earth, in Asia around 3000 years before Christ, and the wisdom and art of the ancient world stem from this. Just as Lucifer incarnated then, so will Ahriman incarnate between 2000 and 3000 years after Christ, in the West. It has been argued that the counterpoint to the luciferic incarnation is not 3000AD, but around 2000AD, as then both beings would incarnate at the start of a 1000 year period, to inspire its subsequent development.
Ahriman is a power of fiendishly cunning intelligence and he will therefore be prepared to play whatever role he deems necesary according to his overiding aims - to distract people from the new experience of Christ and to ensnare people in materialism, chaining man's power of thought to the things of the earth and to earthly affairs. His superhuman intelligence means he could be all things to all men. However, he cannot bear luciferic qualities within himself, being a cold, unemotional being, carefully calculating his every move. He would naturally become manifest as a scientist, inventor, politician, logician, military strategist, professor, business entrepeneur, linguist, a modern theologian, a doctor, lawmaker, lawyer or judge. He would not naturally become a poet, an artist, musician, dancer or singer - although he could learn this vocations, they would not come naturally and his productions would seem mechanical, artificial and soulless (rather like much of today's pop music and art!).
-----------------------------------
"....And here we come to a chapter that must not be withheld from modern knowledge. If, in the future, people were to do nothing themselves toward acquiring a new wisdom, then, without their consciousness, the whole of culture would become ahrimanic, and it would be easy for the influences issuing from Ahriman's incarnation to permeate all civilization on the earth. Precautions must therefore be taken in regard to the streams by which the ahrimanic form of culture is furthered. What would be the result if people were to follow the strong inclination they have today to let things drift on as they are, without understanding and guiding into right channels those streams which lead to an ahrimanic culture? As soon as Ahriman incarnates at the destined time in the West, the whole of culture would be impregnated with his forces. What else would come in his train? Through certain stupendous acts he would bring to humanity all the clairvoyant knowledge which until then can be acquired only by dint of intense labor and effort. People could live on as materialists, they could eat and drink-as much as may be left after the war!-and there would be no need for any spiritual efforts. The ahrimanic streams would continue their unimpeded course. When Ahriman incarnates in the West at the appointed time, he would establish a great occult school for the practice of magic arts of the greatest grandeur, and what otherwise can be acquired only by strenuous effort would be poured over humankind.
"Let it never be imagined that Ahriman will appear as a kind of hoaxer, playing mischievous tricks on human beings. No, indeed! Lovers of ease who refuse to have anything to do with spiritual science would fall prey to his magic, for by means of these stupendous magic arts he would be able to make great numbers of human beings into seers-but in such a way that the clairvoyance of each individual would be strictly differentiated. What one person would see, a second and a third would not see. Confusion would prevail and in spite of being made receptive to clairvoyant wisdom, people would inevitably fall into strife on account of the sheer diversity of their visions. Ultimately, however, they would all be satisfied with their own particular vision, for each of them would be able to see into the spiritual world. In this way all culture on the earth would fall prey to Ahriman. Human beings would succumb to Ahriman simply through not having acquired by their own efforts what Ahriman is ready and able to give them. No more evil advice could be given than to say: "Stay just as you are! Ahriman will make all of you clairvoyant if you so desire. And you will desire it because Ahriman's power will be very great." But the result would be the establishment of Ahriman's kingdom on earth and the overthrow of everything achieved hitherto by human culture; all the disastrous tendencies unconsciously cherished by humankind today would take effect.
"Our concern is that the wisdom of the future-a clairvoyant wisdom-shall be rescued from the clutches of Ahriman. Again let it be repeated that there is only one book of wisdom, not two kinds of wisdom. The issue is, whether this wisdom is in the hands of Ahriman or of Christ. It cannot come into the hands of Christ unless people fight for it. And they can only fight for it by telling themselves that by their own efforts they must assimilate the content of spiritual science before the time of Ahriman's appearance on earth.
"That, you see, is the cosmic task of spiritual science. It consists in preventing knowledge from becoming-or remainingahrimanic. A good way of playing into Ahriman's hands is to exclude everything of the nature of knowledge from denominational religion and to insist that simple faith is enough. If people cling to this simple faith, they condemn their soul to stagnation and then the wisdom that must be rescued from Ahriman cannot find entry. The point is not whether people do or do not simply receive the wisdom of the future but whether they work upon it; and those who do must take upon themselves the solemn duty of saving earthly culture for Christ, just as the ancient Rishis and initiates pledged themselves not to yield to Lucifer's proviso that humankind be enticed away from the earth.
"The root of the matter is that for the wisdom of the future too, a struggle is necessary, a struggle similar to that waged against Lucifer by the ancient initiates through whose intermediary the faculties of speech and of thinking were transmitted to humanity. Just as it devolved upon the initiates of the primeval wisdom to wrest from Lucifer that which has become human reason, human intellect, so the insight which is to develop in the future into the inner realities of things must be wrested from the ahrimanic powers. Such are the issues-and these issues play strongly into life itself ...."
('The Influences of Lucifer and Ahriman', Lect. 4, 15th November 1919)
