…the terms “first” and “last” [are] applicable unto His
Manifestations. They are at the same time the Exponents of both the “first” and
the “last.” Whilst established upon the seat of the “first,” they occupy the
throne of the “last.” Were a discerning eye to be found, it will readily
perceive that the exponents of the “first” and the “last,” of the “manifest”
and the “hidden,” of the “beginning” and the “seal” are none other than these
holy Beings, these Essences of Detachment, these divine Souls. And wert thou to
soar in the holy realm of “God was alone, there was none else besides Him,”
thou wilt find in that Court all these names utterly non-existent and
completely forgotten. Then will thine eyes no longer be obscured by these
veils, these terms, and allusions. How ethereal and lofty is this station, unto
which even Gabriel, unshepherded, can never attain, and the Bird of Heaven,
unassisted, can never reach!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
