It is said in the Gospels, "Jerusalem will come down
out of heaven from God." This heavenly Jerusalem is not made of stone, of lime
and of clay, but it is made of the divine teachings which shine among men by
the power of the spirit. For a long time, the divine teachings had been
forgotten, no trace remained of the light of the heavenly Jerusalem. When
Bahá'u'lláh manifested Himself from the Orient, the light of His divine
teachings shone forth in Persia unto other parts of the world. This divine
teaching is the heavenly Jerusalem which has again "come down out of
heaven". Although that edifice had fallen to pieces, it is founded anew.
The corporal and material forces ruled over the Orient; now the spiritual
forces have taken their place.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 9 November 1911,
Paris, France; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 17, January 19, 1912)
