Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 216
216 patiently for the consequences. What I have said is the sure Word of God, not the vague talk of an astrologer; it proceeds from the brightness of heavenly light, not from the darkness of conjecture. If subsequent facts do not fulfil my prophecy, I shall willingly submit myself to the condemnation of not being from God. It should further be remembered that the outbreak of the plague in the time of the Promised Messiah is foretold in the Holy Quran as well as in several books of the Bible as for ins- tance in Zach. 14: 12, Matt. 24: 7 (where Jesus makes the plague a sign of his appearance) and Eev. 21 : 8. It is impossible that all these prophecies should have been made in vain. The appearance of the plague and the protection from it of those who follow me, being signs of God it behoves us not resort to material resources, so that the sign which Almighty God has promised to show, may not be attributed to such resources. Bub if God by means of revelation discloses a remedy or any mode of safety, the dignity of the sign will not therby be lowered because both the remedy and the sign emanate from the same supreme source- The occasional occurrence of cases of plague among my people without causing any considerable loss can not lessen the value of the heavenly signs, for we witness in the history of early prophets that it was only their ultimate success that served as a heavenly sign, although in the meantime they occasionally suffered loss, which being insignificant could not seriously mar their progress. I emphatically assert that the prophecy shall be fulfilled in a manner which shall not leave any doubt in the mind of any seeker after truth as to its fulfilment, and he shall clearly see that Almighty God has granted a miraculous pro- tection to my followers from among all the people. To make