(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
The return of Christ: expectation and recognition
return of Christ; second coming of Christ
Editorial introduction
When shall these things be, the disciples asked, and the answer they were given has been argued over ever since: the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power, after sun and moon are darkened. Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá read those signs as spiritual, not astronomical. Christ came from heaven the first time, yet He was born of Mary; heaven is the world of divinity, not a region above the sky, and the Christ who returns is the same divine reality rising and setting in each cycle, as Elijah returned in John the Baptist without John being Elijah in person. Acts preserves the promise, given as a cloud hides Jesus from sight, that He will come in like manner [1], and Matthew records the disciples grasping that Elijah had already come unnoticed [2]; both keep the interpretive question honest. The Bahá’í claim is explicit, that the promise was fulfilled in the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and it asks what recognition would demand of conduct as well as belief. The road leads on to the resurrection of Christ, to Christian doctrine and practice, and to the return of the Manifestations of God.
Selected passages
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 26, The Second Coming of Christ and the Day of Judgement, 1904 ca. -- AB00570)
Verily the Suns are eclipsed, the luminaries are darkened, the stars are scattered and the Son of Man hath come upon the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory, sending His messengers and hosts with the sounds of the Wonderful Trumpet.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or <, to Howard Macnutt -- AB02473)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Aug-20, to Baha'is of Germany -- AB00397)
Christ says--"I will come from heaven"--but which heaven is not appointed. Just as He formerly came from heaven, and yet He was born, the second coming will be likewise. But these (people) are expecting Him to come just as a thunder bolt from heaven, and when they did not find this (to be so) and found He was born, it was a veil to them. This time also He has come from heaven, but through the womb. … By heaven is meant the World of Divinity. The meaning is this; that He has the physical body, but His reality is from the Divine Realm. He is not of the contingent world, but of that of Divinity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Wilson, Engelhorn, Stewart, Brittingham, spoken around 1909-Oct-23 -- ABU0714)
O thou seeker of the True One!
In the day of Christ all nations were expecting that His Holiness Christ should come from heaven, and He came from heaven, though outwardly He came from the womb of Mary. Hence, He hath said in the Gospels: "No one shall ascend to heaven except the one who hath come from heaven." Now all the people expect Him to come from heaven.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1904-Aug-23, to Mary Nelch -- AB05724)
One of the great signs is "I will descend from heaven," and at the present time the Christians are awaiting the same. Jesus Christ, in His first appearance, came from Heaven, although He really came from the womb of Mary. He said no one can ascend to Heaven except He is come from heaven. He came from the womb of Mary, although in reality He descended from Heaven.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Alma Albertson et al, spoken on 1900-Nov-30 -- ABU0251)
Elijah also was expected to come from heaven, and the Christ said, "Elijah is none other than John the Baptist." The reality of John was in the supreme concourse.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU1349)
He shall come with the Kingdom of God and His power which hath surrounded the world. This power (or reign) is in the world of hearts and spirits and not in that of matter (or bodies). … Verily Christ came with His Kingdom from the beginning which hath no beginning and will come with His Kingdom to the eternity of eternities, inasmuch as in this sense Christ is an expression of the divine reality, the simple essence and heavenly entity which hath no beginning or ending. It hath appearance, arising and manifestation and setting in each of the cycles.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Benjamin R Taylor -- AB04541)
"Is this what is meant by the Second Coming of Christ?" "Christ is an Expression of the Divine Reality, the Single Essence and Heavenly Entity, which hath no beginning or ending. It has appearance, arising, and manifestation and setting in each one of the Cycles."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in Sep. 1911 in London -- ABU2958)
The real Christ's spirit has come again from the supreme apex to illumine the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU0875)
They now believe that Christ will come from heaven in a cloud. Christ has come from heaven, but in a body just as Jesus did.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in Dec. 1900 -- ABU2375)
Some are awaiting the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. He has already come in the heart if you believe, while those who do not believe in the Revelation of Baha'u'llah cannot see Him on account of clouds and veils.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU1773)
The New Jerusalem has descended from heaven!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken during filming of motion picture on 1912-Jun-18, and later during a recording session -- ABU1688)
Verily, He Who was raised to heaven hath come with the truth and giveth glad tidings unto the people of this Revelation whereby the eyes of the Concourse on High and those who circle round the Throne have been solaced through this Most Great Name.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1297-09-19 [1880-Aug-25], to Akbar Aqa -- BH06338)
O Son of Man! Say: O followers of religions among the people of all worlds! He Who ascended to heaven hath come upon the crimson clouds with hosts of His holiness, and the Kingdom of God moveth before Him and behind Him are the hosts of revelation, did ye but know it.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Aqa Sulayman -- BH09243)
O son of man! The Pen of the All-Merciful maketh mention of thee in the Most Great Prison and saith: We gave the glad-tidings of the coming of the Lord of Power to all the children of men in the former Book, as is recorded therein where He saith "I go away and come again."
But when He came, the people of the earth denied Him, save those who were endowed with vision from God, the Lord of all worlds.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296-08 [1879-Jul], to Jinab Qarabit -- BH08117)
In the Gospel of the New Testament they are expecting the Father and the Second Coming of Christ. … These tidings are the same in all the Holy Books, only expressed in different ways-two successive Manifestations. And all the Universe is promised these two.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU0466)
Concerning what you wrote about the second coming of Christ, that there are differences among the friends - Glory be to God! Time and again it has flowed from the pen of 'Abdu'l-Baha and has been explicitly and conclusively declared that what is meant in the prophecies by the Lord of Hosts and the Promised Christ is the Blessed Beauty and the Exalted One [the Bab], and the beliefs of all must be centered on this explicit and conclusive text.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1907-Jan-01, to Spiritual Assembly of New York, NY -- AB00252)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906-Dec-24, to Oscar S Greenleaf -- AB00304)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1896-Jul-16, to Baha'is of the United States -- AB03051)
O handmaiden of God who is attracted! Open your tongue in thanksgiving to the Lord God, for praise be to God, you have heard the commandments, counsels and teachings of Baha'u'llah and have acknowledged and recognized the return of Christ.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Dec-16, to Julia Stabler -- AB12177)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What assumptions about identity are involved in recognizing a person’s return, and how do these selections change that question?
- How does the example of Elijah and John help interpret return, and what further reasoning is needed before applying it to another claim?
- What different readings might the ascension passage in Acts sustain when considered alongside the language of heaven in this compilation?
- How can one investigate signs and claims of fulfillment without allowing either a fixed expectation or a wish for novelty to settle the matter in advance?
- What would recognition mean for conduct and relationships, beyond arriving at an interpretation?