Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 131
131 fresh Word of God or new signs from heaven. Their hearts are, therefore, dead and the light of certainty which consumes sins and transgressions, does not come near them. To sum up, the fresh Word of God is a buttress of the Divine Law. It takes the boat which is drowning on account of sins to the haven of safety. I repeat over and over again and wish that I were able to impress it upon hearts that by the Word of God is meant the word which descends afresh in an age- From its very nature it first of all convinces the person upon whom it descends as well as those who are in close contact with him, that it is certainly the Word of God. In being the Word of God it does not differ from the words spoken by Almighty God to thn former prophets, though there may exist a distinction in other respects. But it must be clearly borne in rnind that from this definition of the Word of God, we exclude the doubtful words imagined to have been inspired, which are neither accompanied with heavenly signs and Divine assistance, so that the words receiving a support from the deeds might be able to convince men of their super- natural origin nor does the person who receives them, know them to be certainly Divine and not satanic. In this connection it is important to note that the weak and inefficacious words whose origin is doubtful even to the person who receives them, are actually satanic or are at least mingled with satanic suggestions. The person who trusts in them, goes astray, and the person who is subjected to this dangerous temptation, is undone, for Satan sports with him and leads him into a path of which the end is destruction. Under these circumstances the question would naturally arise as to the criteria by which a Divine revelation may be distinctly recognised as such. For the guidance of seekers after truth, we point them out below :-