The Jews were expecting the appearance of the Messiah,
looking forward to it with heart and soul. But because they were submerged in
imitation, they did not believe in His Holiness Jesus Christ when He appeared,
and finally arose against Him, even to the point of persecution. Had they
investigated Reality, they would have accepted their promised Messiah. These
blind imitations fill the world with darkness, cause warfare and become the
cause of rancor and hatred. Therefore, we must investigate Realty in order to
extricate ourselves from all these conditions. Thus may our faces become
illumined and may we find the pathway to the Kingdom of God.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, June 9, 1912, Baptist Temple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 7, July 13, 1914)
