We are told in the Holy Scripture that the New Jerusalem
shall appear on earth. Now it is evident that this celestial city is not built
of material stones and mortar, but that it is a city not made with hands,
eternal in the Heavens.
This is a prophetic symbol, meaning the coming again of the
Divine Teaching to enlighten the hearts of men. It is long since this Holy
Guidance has governed the lives of humanity. But now, at last, the Holy City of
the New Jerusalem has come again to the world, it has appeared anew under an
Eastern sky; from the horizon of Persia has its effulgence arisen to be a light
to lighten the whole world. We see in these days the fulfilment of the Divine
Prophecy. Jerusalem had disappeared. The heavenly city was destroyed, now it is
rebuilt; it was razed to the ground, but now its walls and pinnacles have been
restored, and are towering aloft in their renewed and glorious beauty.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, Nov. 9, 1911, ‘Paris Talks’)
