ivine revelation; intimations of Baha'u'llah's own approaching
declaration; the significance of such symbolic terms as "the Day of
Judgement", "the Resurrection", "attainment to the Divine Presence", and
"life and death"; and the stages of the spiritual quest through "the
Garden of Search", "the City of Love and Rapture", "the City of Divine
Unity", "the Garden of Wonderment", "the City of Absolute Nothingness",
"the City of Immortality", and "the City that hath no name or
description".

The publication of Gems of Divine Mysteries is one of the projects
undertaken in fulfilment of the Five Year Plan goal, announced in April
2001, of "enriching the translations into English from the Holy Texts".
The volume will further deepen the Western reader's appreciation of a
period infused with potentiality and described by Shoghi Effendi as "the
vernal years of Baha'u'llah's ministry", and assist the students of His
Revelation in gaining a more profound insight into its gradual unfoldment.

GEMS OF DIVINE MYSTERY

The essence of the divine mysteries in the journeys of ascent set
forth for those who long to draw nigh unto God, the Almighty, the
Ever-Forgiving--blessed be the righteous that quaff from these
crystal streams!

HE IS THE EXALTED, THE MOST HIGH!

1 O thou who treadest the path of justice and beholdest the countenance of
mercy! Thine epistle was received, thy question was noted, and the sweet
accents of thy soul were heard from the inmost chambers of thy heart.
Whereupon the clouds of the Divine Will were raised to rain upon thee the
outpourings of heavenly wisdom, to divest thee of all that thou hadst
acquired aforetime, to draw thee from the realms of contradiction unto the
retreats of oneness, and to lead thee to the sacred streams of His Law.
Perchance thou mayest quaff therefrom, repose therein, quench thy thirst,
refresh thy soul, and be numbered with those whom the light of God hath
guided aright in this day.

2 Encompassed as I am at this time by the dogs of the earth and the beasts
of every land, concealed as I remain in the hidden habitation of Mine
inner Being, forbidden as I may be from divulging that which God hath
bestowed upon Me of the wonders of His knowledge, the gems of His wisdom,
and the tokens of His power, yet am I loath to frustrate the hopes of one
who hath approached the sanctuary of grandeur, sought to enter within the
precincts of eternit