As the adherents of Jesus have never understood the hidden
meaning of these words, and as the signs which they and the leaders of their
Faith have expected have failed to appear, they therefore refused to
acknowledge, even until now, the truth of those Manifestations of Holiness that
have since the days of Jesus been made manifest. They have thus deprived
themselves of the outpourings of God’s holy grace, and of the wonders of His
divine utterance. Such is their low estate in this, the Day of Resurrection!
They have even failed to perceive that were the signs of the Manifestation of
God in every age to appear in the visible realm in accordance with the text of
established traditions, none could possibly deny or turn away, nor would the
blessed be distinguished from the miserable, and the transgressor from the
God-fearing. Judge fairly: Were the prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be
literally fulfilled; were Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by angels, to descend
from the visible heaven upon the clouds; who would dare to disbelieve, who
would dare to reject the truth, and wax disdainful? Nay, such consternation
would immediately seize all the dwellers of the earth that no soul would feel
able to utter a word, much less to reject or accept the truth.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Book
of Certitude’)
