All that pertains to Them [Manifestations of God] —all Their
states and conditions, all that They do, found, teach, interpret, illustrate,
and instruct—is of a mystical and spiritual character and does not belong to
the realm of materiality.
Such is the case of Christ’s coming from heaven. It has been
explicitly stated in numerous passages of the Gospel that the Son of man came
down from heaven, or is in heaven, or will go up to heaven. Thus in John 6:38
it is said: “For I came down from heaven”, and in John 6:42 it is recorded:
“And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?”, and in John
3:13 it is stated: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came
down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
Consider how it is said that the Son of man is in heaven,
even though at that time Christ was dwelling upon the earth.
Consider likewise that it explicitly says that Christ came
from heaven, although He came from the womb of Mary and His body was born of
her. It is therefore clear that the assertion that the Son of man came down
from heaven has a mystical rather than a literal meaning, and is a spiritual
rather than a material event. The meaning is that though in appearance Christ
was born of the womb of Mary, yet in reality He came from heaven, the seat of
the Sun of Truth that shines in the divine realm of the supernal Kingdom.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some
Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Center)
