December 23
These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in
accents of majestic power in the Ridván of the Gospel, revealing those signs
that must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the first
Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked Jesus
concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them: “Immediately after the
oppression [The Greek word used (Thlipsis) has two meanings: pressure and
oppression] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
earth shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.” [Matthew
24:29–31] (Baha’u’llah, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan’)
