When for the second time the unmistakable signs of Israel’s
disintegration, abasement, subjection and annihilation had become apparent,
then the sweet and holy breathings of the Spirit of God (Jesus) were shed
across Jordan and the land of Galilee; the cloud of Divine pity overspread
those skies, and rained down the copious waters of the spirit, and after those
swelling showers that came from the most great Sea, the Holy Land put forth its
perfume and blossomed with the knowledge of God. Then the solemn Gospel song
rose up till it rang in the ears of those who dwell in the chambers of heaven,
and at the touch of Jesus’ breath the unmindful dead that lay in the graves of
their ignorance lifted up their heads to receive eternal life. For the space of
three years, that Luminary of perfections walked about the fields of Palestine
and in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, leading all men into the dawn of
redemption, teaching them how to acquire spiritual qualities and attributes
well-pleasing to God. Had the people of Israel believed in that beauteous
Countenance, they would have girded themselves to serve and obey Him heart and
soul, and through the quickening fragrance of His Spirit they would have regained
their lost vitality and gone on to new victories.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of
Divine Civilization’)
