ily differ, their common origin, their
essential unity, their identity of purpose, should at no time and under no
circumstances be misapprehended or denied. That all the Messengers of God
should be regarded as "abiding in the same Tabernacle, soaring in the same
Heaven, seated upon the same Throne, uttering the same Speech, and
proclaiming the same Faith" must, however much we may extol the measure of
Divine Revelation vouchsafed to mankind at this crowning stage of its
evolution, remain the unalterable foundation and central tenet of Baha'i
belief. Any variations in the splendor which each of these Manifestations
of the Light of God has shed upon the world should be ascribed not to any
inherent superiority involved in the essential character of any one of
them, but rather to the progressive capacity, the ever-increasing
spiritual receptiveness, which mankind, in its progress towards maturity,
has invariably manifested.

The Final Consummation

Only those who are willing to associate the Revelation proclaimed by
Baha'u'llah with the consummation of so stupendous an evolution in the
collective life of the whole human race can grasp the significance of the
words which He, while alluding to the glories of this promised Day and to
the duration of the Baha'i Era, has deemed fit to utter. "This is the King
of Days," He exclaims, "the Day that hath seen the coming of the
Best-Beloved, Him Who, through all eternity, hath been acclaimed the
Desire of the World." "The Scriptures of past Dispensations," He further
asserts, "celebrate the great jubilee that must needs greet this most
great Day of God. Well is it with him that hath lived to see this Day and
hath recognized its station." "It is evident," He, in another passage
explains, "that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is
divinely-ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's
appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished
from those that have preceded it. The designation 'Seal of the Prophets'
fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath verily ended.
The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the ensign of power, and
is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation."
"In this most mighty Revelation," He, in categorical language, declares,
"all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their
final consummation. That which hath been made manifest in this pr