, fell
upon their faces, and worshipped God.

"Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast,
and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast
reigned."(62) In each cycle the guardians and holy souls have been twelve.
So Jacob had twelve sons; in the time of Moses there were twelve heads or
chiefs of the tribes; in the time of Christ there were twelve Apostles;
and in the time of Muhammad there were twelve Imams. But in this glorious
manifestation there are twenty-four, double the number of all the others,
for the greatness of this manifestation requires it. These holy souls are
in the presence of God seated on their own thrones, meaning that they
reign eternally.

These twenty-four great persons, though they are seated on the thrones of
everlasting rule, yet are worshipers of the appearance of the universal
Manifestation, and they are humble and submissive, saying, "We give thanks
to Thee, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come,
because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power and hast reigned"--that is
to say, Thou wilt issue all Thy teachings, Thou wilt gather all the people
of the earth under Thy shadow, and Thou wilt bring all men under the
shadow of one tent. Although it is the Eternal Kingdom of God, and He
always had, and has, a Kingdom, the Kingdom here means the manifestation
of Himself;(63) and He will issue all the laws and teachings which are the
spirit of the world of humanity and everlasting life. And that universal
Manifestation will subdue the world by spiritual power, not by war and
combat; He will do it with peace and tranquillity, not by the sword and
arms; He will establish this Heavenly Kingdom by true love, and not by the
power of war. He will promote these divine teachings by kindness and
righteousness, and not by weapons and harshness. He will so educate the
nations and people that, notwithstanding their various conditions, their
different customs and characters, and their diverse religions and races,
they will, as it is said in the Bible, like the wolf and the lamb, the
leopard, the kid, the sucking child and the serpent, become comrades,
friends and companions. The contentions of races, the differences of
religions, and the barriers between nations will be completely removed,
and all will attain perfect union and reconciliation under the shadow of
the Blessed Tree.

"And the nations were angry," for Thy teachings opposed the