13:28
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and
putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
13:29
So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know
that
it is nigh, even at the doors.
13:30
Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all
these
things be done.
13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
13:32
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which
are
in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
13:34
For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house,
and
gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded
the
porter to watch.
13:35
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh,
at
even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
--
The Bible: Mark
Beside
this passage, there is yet another verse in the Gospel wherein He saith:
"Heaven
and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away." Thus it
is
that the adherents of Jesus maintained that the law of the Gospel shall
never
be annulled, and that whensoever the promised Beauty is made manifest and
all
the signs are revealed, He must needs re-affirm and establish the law
proclaimed
in the Gospel, so that there may remain in the world no faith but
His
faith. This is their fundamental belief. And their conviction is such that
were
a person to be made manifest with all the promised signs and to promulgate
that
which is contrary to the letter of the law of the Gospel, they must
assuredly
renounce him, refuse to submit to his law, declare him an infidel,
and
laugh him to scorn. This is proved by that which came to pass when the
sun
of
the Muhammadan Revelation was revealed. Had they sought with a humble mind
from
the Manifestations of God in every Dispensation the true meaning of these
words
revealed in the sacred books--words the misapprehension of which hath
caused
men to be deprived of the recognition of the Sadratu'l-Muntahá,
the
ultimate
Purpose--they surely would have been guided to the light of the Sun of
Truth,
and would have discovered the mysteries of divine knowledge and wisdom.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 27
Meanings of "heaven": one meaning is, the dispensation or era of a prophet.
In
like manner, strive thou to comprehend from these lucid, these powerful,
conclusive,
and unequivocal statements the meaning of the "cleaving of the
heaven"--one
of the signs that must needs herald the coming of the last Hour,
the
Day of Resurrection. As He hath said: "When the heaven shall be cloven
asunder."
By "heaven" is meant the heaven of divine Revelation, which is
elevated
with every Manifestation, and rent asunder with every subsequent one.
By
"cloven asunder" is meant that the former Dispensation is superseded and
annulled.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 44
O
ye beloved of God! O ye children of His Kingdom! Verily, verily the
new
heaven
and the new earth are come. The holy City, new Jerusalem, hath
come
down from on high in the form of a maid of heaven, veiled,
beauteous,
and unique, and prepared for reunion with her lovers on earth.
The
angelic company of the celestial Concourse have joined in a call that
hath
rung throughout the universe, all loudly and mightily acclaiming:
"Hail,
O City of God! Abide Thou, and make Thy habitation with the pure,
virtuous
and holy servants of Thine; for they are Thy people, and Thou
art
their Lord."
--
Compilation, Baha'i World Faith, p. 350
Other meanings of "heaven".
We
made reply: "Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and the most distinguished
of
God's chosen Ones, hath likened the Dispensation of the Qur'án unto
heaven,
by
reason of its loftiness, its paramount influence, its majesty, and the
fact
that
it comprehendeth all religions. And as the sun and moon constitute the
brightest
and most prominent luminaries in the heavens, similarly in the heaven
of
the religion of God two shining orbs have been ordained--fasting and prayer.
`Islám
is heaven; fasting is its sun, prayer, its moon.'"
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 40
In
the utterances of the divine Luminaries the term "heaven" hath been applied
to
many and divers things; such as the "heaven of Command," the "heaven of
Will,"
the "heaven of the divine Purpose," the "heaven of divine Knowledge,"
the
"heaven of Certitude," the "heaven of Utterance," the "heaven of
Revelation,"
the "heaven of Concealment," and the like. In every instance, He
hath
given the term "heaven" a special meaning, the significance of which is
revealed
to none save those that have been initiated into the divine mysteries,
and
have drunk from the chalice of immortal life. For example, He saith: "The
heaven
hath sustenance for you, and it containeth that which you are promised;"
whereas
it is the earth that yieldeth such sustenance. Likewise, it hath been
said:
"The names come down from heaven;" whereas they proceed out of the mouth
of
men. Wert thou to cleanse the mirror of thy heart from the dust of malice,
thou
wouldst apprehend the meaning of the symbolic terms revealed by the
all-embracing
Word of God made manifest in every Dispensation, and wouldst
discover
the mysteries of divine knowledge. Not, however, until thou consumest
with
the flame of utter detachment those veils of idle learning, that are
current
amongst men, canst thou behold the resplendent morn of true knowledge.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 68
