Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 36
36 as were taken the wonders relating to the advent of the first Messiah. By not sending Elijah as promised, God has made His meaning clear when He speaks of the second advent of a person. If a physical second advent were permissible in the Divine Law, the Jews were entitled to have Elijah back among them, and until that time were quite right in condemning every claimant to Messiahship as an impostor. But the condemnation of the Jews involves a condemnation of the belief that Jesus himself will come back; and the wonders that are expected at his advent must be taken to be spiritual phenomena, for they have been proved as much by the appearance of Jesus himself. If the first Messiah could come without the manifestation of a single wonder, although a host of such wonders had been promised, why cannot the second Messiah make his entrance into the world in the ordinary way, and why should we :make ourselves loo Is in the eyes of all sensible men by looking in vain to the clouds, and thus ourselves remain in the clouds? Let us turn our eyes in the right direction that we may walk in light and see the true Messiah. If it be said that the hearts of the Jews were turned to wickedness and that there narrow ritualism did- not allow them to understand heavenly things aright, the same objection is to be met with in the present case. We could amply quote from Christian writing, showing that the Church is at present marked by the same narrow spirit of ritualism and involed in the same evils as was the saynagogue at the advent of Jesus, but we will content ourselves with a few quotations from the Bible only "But know this, that in. the last days grievous times shall come for men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural. affection, implacable, slanderers, without seli'-control,