the Prophets was a
mediator through whom God visited and spoke to His people. Jesus was such
a mediator, and the Christians have rightly regarded His appearance as a
coming of God. In Him they saw the Face of God and through His lips they
heard the Voice of God. Baha'u'llah tells us that the "Coming" of the Lord
of Hosts, the Everlasting Father, the Maker and Redeemer of the World,
which, according to all the Prophets, is to take place at "the time of the
end," means no other than His manifestation in a human temple, as He
manifested through the temple of Jesus of Nazareth, only this time with a
fuller and more glorious revelation, for which Jesus and all the former
Prophets came to prepare men's hearts and minds.

Prophecies about Christ

Through failing to understand the meaning of the prophecies about the
dominion of the Messiah, the Jews rejected Christ. 'Abdu'l-Baha says:--

The Jews still await the coming of the Messiah, and pray to God
day and night to hasten His advent. When Jesus came they denounced
and slew Him, saying: "This is not the One for Whom we wait.
Behold, when the Messiah shall come, signs and wonders shall
testify that He is in truth the Christ. The Messiah will arise out
of an unknown city. He shall sit upon the throne of David, and
behold, He shall come with a sword of steel, and with a scepter of
iron shall He rule. He shall fulfill the Law of the Prophets. He
shall conquer the East and the West, and shall glorify His chosen
people the Jews. He shall bring with Him a reign of Peace during
which even the animals shall cease to be at enmity with man. For
behold, the wolf and the lamb shall drink from the same spring ...
and all God's creatures shall be at rest...."

Thus the Jews thought and spoke, for they did not understand the
Scriptures nor the glorious truths that were contained in them.
The letter they knew by heart, but of the life-giving Spirit they
understood not a word.

Hearken, and I will show you the meaning thereof: Although Christ
came from Nazareth, which was a known place, He came also from
heaven. His body was born of Mary, but His Spirit came from
heaven. The sword He carried was the sword of His tongue, with
which He divided the good from the evil, the true from the false,
the faithful from the unfaithful, and the light from the darkness.
His Word was indeed a sha