The Promised One: when expectation becomes encounter

Look not upon yourselves except as ye look upon those who were given the Book before you, that ye may not be veiled on the Day of Resurrection, and that ye may believe in Him Who calleth you unto God, your Lord.

Indeed My aim in planting the Tree of the Bayan hath been none other than to enable you to recognize Me. In truth I Myself am the first to bow down before God and to believe in Him. Therefore let not your recognition become fruitless, inasmuch as the Bayan, notwithstanding the sublimity of its station, beareth fealty to Him Whom God shall make manifest, and it is He Who beseemeth most to be acclaimed as the Seat of divine Reality, though indeed He is I and I am He.

Believe in how God maketh Himself known unto you in truth, and receive sustenance from what He sendeth down unto you from His presence. Blessed are they who seek sustenance in what is sent down from their Lord - these are they who are guided. If on the day of His manifestation ye seek sustenance from what ye received before, it shall not suffice you apart from your Lord's provision. But if ye receive sustenance from what He sendeth down unto you from His presence, then shall it suffice you apart from all provision, O ye who perceive Him.

Say: Verily God giveth you glad tidings of Him Whom God shall make manifest - will ye not rejoice? Say: Verily God giveth you glad tidings of the glory of Him Whom God shall make manifest - will ye not rejoice? Say: Verily God giveth you glad tidings of the beauty of Him Whom God shall make manifest - will ye not rejoice?

… Therefore fear God, O all things, from the Day of Him Whom God shall make manifest, for ye know not whether this is He Whom God shall make manifest. Nay, even should He make Himself known unto you after His manifestation, then would ye hear and know. Therefore have mercy upon yourselves, that ye transgress not the bounds of the Bayan, and grieve not any soul, that this may return unto Him Whom God shall make manifest while ye know not.

O ye the created beings of the Bayan! We verily have made you recognize the uttermost excellence of your existence which lieth in the word of your Lord, that ye may not be veiled from Him Whom God shall assuredly make manifest, in truth, in the Day of Resurrection. For verily all that ye speak is a mere image of His revealed word within your hearts, whereas that which He proclaimeth is what God hath testified unto Himself, that, "verily there is none other God but Him, the Omnipotent, the Self-Subsisting."

This is the foundation of the belief of the people of Baha (may my life be offered up for them): "His Holiness, the Exalted One (the Bab), is the Manifestation of the Unity and Oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abha Beauty (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the Supreme Manifestation of God and the Dayspring of His Most Divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."

Emmanuel was indeed the Herald of the Second Coming of Christ, and a Summoner to the pathway of the Kingdom.

O followers of the Son! We have once again sent John unto you, and He, verily, hath cried out in the wilderness of the Bayan: O peoples of the world! Cleanse your eyes! The Day whereon ye can behold the Promised One and attain unto Him hath drawn nigh!

The government, the nation, the clergy, and prominent leaders sought to extinguish His light, but to no avail. At last His moon rose, His star shone forth, His foundation was secured, and His horizon was flooded with light. He trained a large multitude through divine education and exerted a marvellous influence upon the thoughts, customs, morals, and manners of the Persians. He proclaimed the glad-tidings of the manifestation of the Sun of Baha to all His followers and readied them for faith and certitude.

Say: This is the Book from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, unto Him Whom God shall make manifest. Bear thou witness that there is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved. I have created all things, both before and after, that they may believe in Thee on the day of Thy manifestation, and in Thy signs, that they may be among the guided ones.

Thou hast never sent a Messenger, nor revealed a Book, nor supported the people of the religion of God except for Him Whom Thou shalt manifest on the Day of Resurrection through Thy signs. Verily, Thou hast never revealed any decree in any Manifestation except that Thou didst intend to exalt the Manifestation of Thyself in the subsequent Revelation.

Through Our bounty shall be made manifest He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, then He Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, unto the end that hath no end. Never shall My heart cease to rejoice in love of the mention of Him Who shall appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest, nor shall mention of this ever be cut off from the Books -- all worship God through His bounty.

He states that in the Manifestation of "Him Whom God shall make manifest" you should not be veiled by the Vahid of the Bayan - and the Vahid of the Bayan refers to the Bab Himself and the eighteen Letters of the Living. Similarly He states not to be veiled by what was revealed in the Bayan.

Praise be to God that the Exalted One, may my spirit be sacrificed for Him, left no veil and demolished the barriers. The entire Bayan openly points to Him Whom God shall make manifest, and all matters are conditional upon and dependent on the confirmation of that Pure Being. He says: 'Beware, beware lest thou be veiled by the Vahid of the Bayan, for it is as creation before Him. Beware, beware lest thou be veiled by what was revealed in the Bayan.'

The Exalted One - may the spirit of all who are in the kingdom of Command and Creation be a sacrifice unto Him - proclaims with the most elevated call, His word, exalted and mighty: "I have written a gem concerning His remembrance: He shall not be known through My allusions, nor through what is mentioned in the Bayan." Do the people of the Bayan consider these words, which flowed from the lips of the Primal Point's Will - may the spirit of all else be a sacrifice unto Him - to be false or true? If, God forbid, they deem it false, then no further word remains. And if they accept it as true, what then are these words and these objections?

He arose not but to mention Him, retired not but to praise Him, moved not but in love of Him, and breathed not but in His Cause, while ye turned away from Him and objected to Him, clinging to one who is more contemptible in God's sight than yourselves, did ye but know it. Ye have turned away from the Beloved of all creation, concerning Whom the Point of the Bayan hath said, exalted be His mention: 'Were it not for His Book, this Book would not have been revealed, and were it not for His Self, God would not have manifested Me.'

He conditioned everything He hath revealed by My good pleasure and made every commandment subservient unto this irrefutable, this undoubted Commandment. Had it not been for My sake He would not have uttered a single word, nor would have He manifested Himself before the gaze of the dwellers of heavens and earth.

Naught was revealed in the Bayan save mention of Me, and all that was ordained therein was held within the grasp of My power, as attesteth all that was sent down aforetime unto 'Ali from One mighty and beauteous. Say: Woe unto you, O concourse of idolaters! Ye have denied Him but for Whom the Bayan would not have been revealed, nor would 'Ali have appeared with the truth, nor would the heavens and earths have been created. Say: His purpose was none other than My Self and the dawning of My Manifestation from this luminous and resplendent horizon.

Say: O people! By God, were it not for Him, the Bayan would not have appeared and the verses of God, the Mighty, the Loving, would not have been revealed. Through My Name was the Bayan adorned and the beauty of the All-Merciful appeared in creation, if ye would understand.

This is He but for Whose mention the Most Exalted Pen moved not between the fingers of the Primal Point, Who gave you glad tidings of His presence, were ye but fair-minded.

By God! The Primal Point took the Covenant of My Being before His own Covenant, and was speaking in My Name and heralding My Revelation and was submissive unto My firm and mighty Command.

He is the One for Whose sake Thou (the Bab) hast yielded Thy life, and hast consented to be touched by the manifold ills of the world that He may manifest Himself, and summoned all mankind in His name.

He proclaimed in the wilderness of the Bayan and gave you glad tidings of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Then He came with mighty sovereignty. He testified of Me and informed you of My kingdom and dominion.

Say: The Point of the Bayan moved only by My Name, breathed only in My remembrance, and spoke only in My praise. To this testifieth what was revealed by Him, and His own self beareth witness to what I say.

And verily, at this moment, He liveth in this sublime horizon and declareth: "O Muhammad! Hearken unto the words of Him Who calleth thee unto God, thy Lord and the Lord of all worlds.

O handmaiden of God! Hearken unto the call of thy Lord from this holy and blessed quarter, that there is none other God but Him, and that He Who speaketh at this moment is indeed the Primal Point, Who hath appeared once again - whereat all witnesses and the witnessed were thunderstruck, save those who had quaffed the water of life, and these were but a numbered few.

We announce to you Baha'u'llah, "He whom God shall manifest," the one who has broken the seals of both the creational and collective books.

But the Bab in all His writings promised that "He Whom God shall make manifest" would appear, and explicitly wrote that in the year Nine the truth of the Cause would become manifest and "you will attain His presence and understand every good thing and make extraordinary progress." There was secret correspondence between the Blessed Beauty and the Bab, although the Bab wrote in His own hand deriving three hundred and sixty words from the Blessed Name. When the Bab was martyred, Baha'u'llah declared His mission in Baghdad in the year Nine, for the government had said that as long as Baha'u'llah remained in Iran there would always be upheaval and agitation.

The Herald, that is the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - during the days of His journey to Maku, outwardly concealed from all, attained the honor of Our presence, and Quddus - upon him be My glory and loving-kindness - attained repeatedly. During the journey to the Land of Kha We specifically summoned him, and for numbered months he attained Our presence. The Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - named both him and the Most Great Gate as the First and the Last, and likewise interpreted them as the First to come and the Last to go, giving each the glad-tidings of this Revelation, and specifically saying to Sayyah - upon him be My glory - "Go forth, that thou mayest find."

Those souls who are believers in God and are assured of the Blessed Beauty and the Bab - to them the truth of the Blessed Beauty and the Bab is as clear as the sun. These souls know that between the Blessed Beauty and the Bab there was spiritual communication that continued without interruption.

Similarly His Holiness the Bab thought of and wrote about 'Him whom God shall manifest.' He made this fact the central point of his teachings and repeatedly emphasized it in all his utterances. The acceptance of every good deed he made dependent upon the Will of the Promised One. He rent asunder all the veils and coverings and broke all the idols of superstitions. He did not make His manifestation conditional upon the fulfillment of certain tokens or conditions or signs. The Bab removed all the hindran[ces] and difficulties and prepared the souls for the thrones of the Appearance of the Supreme Epiphany.

In previous Dispensations, there was but one allusion to the subsequent Manifestation; for example, in the Qur'an there is one allusion. In the traditions, the Prophet said to Imam 'Ali: "The Mahdi will come and He will fill the earth with justice, and He is of thy progeny" - this is an allusion. Christ speaks of the "Spirit of Truth" - the Christians say it is the Holy Spirit. But the Bab, night and day, made mention of "Him Whom God shall make manifest," placing no conditions whatsoever.

I, indeed, beg to address Him Whom God shall make manifest, by Thy leave in these words: "Shouldst Thou dismiss the entire company of the followers of the Bayan in the Day of the Latter Resurrection by a mere sign of Thy finger even while still a suckling babe, Thou wouldst indeed be praised in Thy indication.

The Blessed Beauty states in the Book that the "primary school" of He Whom God shall make manifest is not a children's school or a place for ignorant pupils - it is the school of meanings and exposition that is sanctified above the comprehension of all possibility. He states that in that school I beheld the Tablet of the Bab which was a wondrous divine gift. In any case, the Babis have imagined that the school of Him Whom God shall make manifest is a school for ignorant children.

As for the question about verses revealed in the Tablets regarding Him Whom God shall make manifest - these Tablets were revealed before the year eighty, therefore He says "I bear witness that He Whom God shall make manifest is the Truth in which there is no doubt, and He shall appear with holy and exalted lights" - which referred to the year eighty. When the year eighty came, the Word of God was exalted and the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest was proclaimed.

They have also written that the year nine mentioned by the Point of the Bayan refers to the year nine after the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest at the time of Mustaghath. Observe now - hath any ignorant one ever uttered such words?

This is what We promised thee aforetime: "Be patient until there passeth from the Bayan nine. Say: All was created in His grasp and all are obedient unto Him. Verily, after a time [ba'da hin] there shall come to you a Command which ye shall come to know."

Know ye that He Who was named in the Bayan as "Him Whom God shall make manifest" shall come with truth in the next Resurrection, and God is the guarantor of this. He shall fulfill His promise and shall come on the day when the Lote-Tree of the Bayan shall rise to a sublime and lofty station.

And thou shalt command concerning Him Whom God shall make manifest, for verily He shall come with that creation in the other Resurrection with an exalted and glorious sovereignty.

And after Him, should God manifest One like unto Him, that would be a proof and it would end with Him. Otherwise the Cause is in the hands of the witnesses of the Bayan, who transgress not the bounds of what hath been revealed in the Bayan until the Day when He Whom God shall make manifest appeareth in the next Resurrection.

Verily Thou, and numbers, and the First One, and all that God, exalted be His glory, hath reckoned, God hath made but as a seal upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His mention. He turneth it as He pleaseth, by whatsoever He pleaseth, for whatsoever He pleaseth. He is, in truth, the Help in Peril, the Most High, the Most Glorious.

Although I have never had and do not have any desire to write, nevertheless I have mentioned this blessing in such detail and precision so that you may witness within your inmost heart the sign of God's power and ascendancy in the realm of bodies, and become prepared for the encounter with the Most Great Elixir, the honored Essence and the glorious, mighty Spirit - He Whom God shall make manifest - for He is the transformer of spirits, the renewer of elements, and the resurrector of hearts and minds.

Having understood this, know thou the measure of His Revelation, for at the time of His appearance, if thou shouldst not spend even a mustard seed, thou wouldst still possess what thou hast done to earn God's good-pleasure, for He Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His mention, shall send down unto thee a verse wherein is contained His good-pleasure with thee, which is the ultimate fruit of thy deeds and the final purpose that returneth unto thee in thy life. Therefore bear thou witness that His Revelation hath no equal in glory, and whosoever believeth in Him, it is as though he hath believed in God throughout all the worlds of Command and Creation.

Say: If ye believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest, then ye are they who truly believe in God and His verses. This is the essence of religion through which ye shall attain all good. For whoso believeth in Him Whom God shall make manifest believeth in what is revealed from His presence, just as he who believed in Me believed in what was revealed in the Bayan, and likewise before that and before that before, if ye be of those who believe in what God hath revealed.

And whosoever seeth Him Whom God shall make manifest, believing in Him, that one is he who is presented unto God his Lord, and whosoever seeth Him and believeth not in Him, that one is he who is presented unto God his Lord in a manner that God loveth not.

Fix your gaze upon Him Whom God shall make manifest in the Day of Resurrection, then firmly believe in that which is sent down by Him.

And if ye follow Him upon whom these clear verses have been sent down, then it is Me Whom ye follow. Verily, I am independent of all that hath been or shall be created, but ye are in need of Me in all things.

Should you attain unto Him Whom God shall make manifest, then stand before God and seek none other, and enter not the stations which thou wert commanded. And if before that time, then attain unto the Point if thou art able, and if not, then unto the stations of the Living if thou canst reach them, and recite that prayer.

That is the very essence of the first one who answered God in the primal beginning, and who believeth in Him Whom God shall make manifest at the Dawning-Place of eternity.

And verily on the day of His manifestation, that which returneth unto Him is of the temples of truth and the circles of glory, and that which returneth not unto Him - its fruit of existence hath indeed been wasted. And verily I seek refuge for all who are in the Bayan lest they waste the fruits of their existence on the day of the manifestation of their Lord.

The Bab wrote another book, called the Beyan, which is divided into nineteen vahids (unities) of nineteen babs (chapters) each. In this book he mentioned Baha'u'llah by the name of "Him whom God will manifest," and one of his commands was "If any soul should displease another he must give nineteen drachmas of diamonds as atonement. He believed this would train people in such wise as to hinder them from injuring the feelings of "Him whom God will manifest," when he should appear. In a word, every chapter culminates in the mention of "Him whom God will manifest."

It is as though I behold Him Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His mention, smiling in all His conditions when He beholdeth no grief that would grieve His heart, for that is the attribute of those who are tested and the way of those who are alone.

This is why the Point of the Bayan - may the spirit of all in the kingdoms of existence be sacrificed for Him - states that soon it will be witnessed that the people of the Bayan will inflict upon the All-Merciful what no one inflicted upon previous Manifestations.

Seek ye help from God through God, that He may make you, on the day when He shall permit him who hath set forth in this Book the decree of all things from God, to be possessed of authority - that ye may aid God with true aid and strive in His presence with whatsoever hosts and treasures He hath made you possess and whatsoever pertaineth unto you.

… Say: Should any one of you in this Day create a wondrous creation and bequeath it to appear before Him Whom God shall make manifest with clear signs, verily God thy Lord shall preserve what hath been bequeathed, and We shall be watchful thereof.

As to thy invocation by the pathways of the stars -- and that God hath appointed the like thereof within the realm of things known -- know the Ordinance of God in an eloquent Arabic tongue: Verily God, exalted be He, hath manifested Himself unto every thing through the majesty of His sovereignty. And when He willeth to disclose it, all abase themselves before His court; for it is a Light that speaketh of none save thy Ancient Lord. In this star hath it appeared, that the unitarians might sense the mystery of precedence, and that they might bear witness to the decree regarding what they -- and the People of God and their followers -- have wrought, and to what hath been sent down in the verses of the Qur'an from the presence of One All-Mighty, All-Wise, and in the Book as the Word of the All-Merciful: "And We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice"; and likewise: "Cast down thy staff, and fear not; thou art indeed of those who are secure."

I counsel you concerning that which God hath created of Him Whom God shall make manifest. I bear witness unto the greatest of that which they attain, not unto that which they desire. Worship ye not God while ye were among the sincere ones? Ask not of God that which He heareth not concerning it. His are the most excellent names, if they would but turn unto Him.

Know then, O My creation! I have created neither heaven with its loftiness, nor earth with its expanse, nor sea with its depths, nor mountain with its height, nor anything with its might, except for Him Whom We shall manifest on the Day of Resurrection through these My verses and My Being. Follow ye Him, for He, verily, is the Certain Truth.

The glory of Him Whom God shall make manifest is immeasurably above every other glory, and His majesty is far above every other majesty. His beauty excelleth every other embodiment of beauty, and His grandeur immensely exceedeth every other manifestation of grandeur. Every light paleth before the radiance of His light, and every other exponent of mercy falleth short before the tokens of His mercy. Every other perfection is as naught in face of His consummate perfection, and every other display of might is as nothing before His absolute might.

I bear witness concerning Him Whom Thou shalt manifest on the Day of Resurrection through Thy signs, that He is the Sign of Thine own Self, wherein naught is seen but Thee, and the Countenance of Thine Essence, which pointeth to none but Thee. Thou art the First in Him, and there is no first before Thee; Thou art the Last in Him, and there is no last after Thee; Thou art the Manifest in Him, and there is none manifest above Thee; and Thou art the Hidden in Him, and there is none hidden except Thee.

By the life of Him Whom God shall make manifest! If thou wert to continue thus and turn towards all who are on earth, none would oppose thee, for all are as mirrors wherein they imagine the sun to be, but the sun is in thy mirror while they wander in delusion.

Verily, the first of My names that hath indicated that there is no God but I, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting, was the first to believe in the Point of the Bayan. Behold how ye have dealt with him after ye claimed to turn unto Me through him. I shall bestow My blessings upon thee, that this First Name may behold - never-ceasing and never-ending - through all My names and attributes that which My knowledge hath encompassed. Then upon all My names after that Name who shall, on the Day of Resurrection, guide others unto Him Whom God shall make manifest.

And educate, O my God, all those within it to prostrate themselves before Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest and to find shelter beneath the shadow of Him Whom Thou shalt raise up on the Day of Resurrection through Thy signs which are Thy clear evidences. Verily, Thou hast power over all things.

And likewise, O my God, in the Bayan, clothe every believer in Me with the garment of Thy glory if they believe in Him Whom Thou shall manifest on the Day of Resurrection through Thy verses.

I beseech Thee by Thy Divinity, which is inaccessible above all things, to aid every soul of alif who believeth in Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, the Embodiment of Thy Most Great Proof.

… I beseech Thee by Thy Glory, which is inaccessible above all glory, to aid every soul of ba who believeth in Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, the Embodiment of Thy Most Great Proof.

I beseech Thee by Thy Divinity which transcendeth all things, that Thou assist every soul with Alif who believeth in Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, the Essence of Thy greatest proof.

… I beseech Thee by Thy Glory which transcendeth all glory, that Thou assist every soul with Ba who believeth in Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, the Essence of Thy greatest proof.

O God! Send blessings upon Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest and the letters of His Self among the people of Baha.

O God! Send blessings upon Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest and the letters of His Self among the people of Glory.

O God! Send Thy blessings upon Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection with all of Thy glory that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy majesty that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy beauty that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy grandeur that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy light that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy good-pleasure that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy mercy that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy words that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy names that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy might that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy will that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy knowledge that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy power that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy utterance that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy sovereignty that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy dominion that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy loftiness that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy favor that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge; then with all of Thy signs that Thou hast encompassed in knowledge.

I beseech Thee therefore, O my God, on this night, by the power wherewith Thou hast empowered it, by the might wherewith Thou hast endowed it, by the self-subsistence wherewith Thou hast established it, by the sanctity wherewith Thou hast hallowed it, and by the pre-existence wherewith Thou hast preordained it, that Thou send Thy blessings upon the Primal Unity and upon Him Who is Thine alone - there is no God but Thee - in the Bayan, and that Thou raise up in it One Who shall cause all on earth and all things to enter that Most Great, Most Great, Most Great, Most Great, Most Great Paradise, whose breadth is as the breadth of heaven and earth and all that lieth between them, wherein are all things without similitude, equal, peer, companion or likeness.

Grant me, O my God, and all who are in the Bayan, to attain unto His presence, and make, O my God, the fruit of all that Thou hast ordained to be realized on the day of meeting Him, and make, O my God, my best days to be the days of meeting Him, and my best hours those hours wherein Thou bringest me into His presence and enablest me to prostrate before Him, and to receive that which appeareth from the horizon of His bounty or is concealed in the treasuries of His glory.

...the sole object of whatsoever My Previous Manifestation and Harbinger of My Beauty hath revealed hath been My Revelation and the proclamation of My Cause.

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And yet, immeasurably exalted as is the station of the Bab, and marvellous as have been the happenings that have signalized the advent of His Cause, so wondrous a Revelation cannot but pale before the effulgence of that Orb of unsurpassed splendor Whose rise He foretold and whose superiority He readily acknowledged. We have but to turn to the writings of the Bab Himself in order to estimate the significance of that Quintessence of Light of which He, with all the majesty of His power, was but its humble and chosen Precursor.

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By God! The relationship between the Revelation of the Primal Point (the Bab) and this most wondrous, this most glorious Revelation is identical to that of the Revelation of John, son of Zechariah (John the Baptist), and the Spirit of God [Jesus]. This recurrence hath come to pass in every respect, for just as John the Baptist was both a Prophet [nabi] and a Messenger [rasul] of God, He likewise heralded the Manifestation Who succeeded Him, even as He hath said: 'O people! I herald unto you the Kingdom of God; it verily is near,' and in another connection, 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

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