l with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and
the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and
the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the
hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea."

This rod out of the stem of Jesse might be correctly applied to Christ,
for Joseph was of the descendants of Jesse, the father of David; but as
Christ found existence through the Spirit of God, He called Himself the
Son of God. If He had not done so, this description would refer to Him.
Besides this, the events which he indicated as coming to pass in the days
of that rod, if interpreted symbolically, were in part fulfilled in the
day of Christ, but not all; and if not interpreted, then decidedly none of
these signs happened. For example, the leopard and the lamb, the lion and
the calf, the child and the asp, are metaphors and symbols for various
nations, peoples, antagonistic sects and hostile races, who are as
opposite and inimical as the wolf and lamb. We say that by the breath of
the spirit of Christ they found concord and harmony, they were vivified,
and they associated together.

But "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea." These conditions did not prevail in the time of the manifestation of
Christ; for until today various and antagonistic nations exist in the
world: very few acknowledge the God of Israel, and the greater number are
without the knowledge of God. In the same way, universal peace did not
come into existence in the time of Christ--that is to say, between the
antagonistic and hostile nations there was neither peace nor concord,
disputes and disagreements did not cease, and reconciliation and sincerity
did not appear. So, even at this day, among the Christian sects and
nations themselves, enmity, hatred and the most violent hostility are met
with.

But these verses apply word for word to Baha'u'llah. Likewise in this
marvelous cycle the earth will be transformed, and the world of humanity
arrayed in tranquillity and beauty. Disputes, quarrels and murders will be
r