Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 41
41 further, and that if the Promised Messiah has not still appeared, the promises of his appearance are all in vain. The Jews notwithstanding their utter indifference to religion which is the consequence of centuries of suffering, are showing sings of activity in religion which are unmistakably significant. There are national movements among the Jews in all parts of the world, whose object is to bring back the scattered people to their original home. Thousands have already settled at Jeru- salem and hundreds of thousands are making preparations. They have a strong belief that the Messiah is coming very soon and hence they are sacrificing all their worldly interest,, not- withstanding their proverbial love for money, for making prepa- rations to receive the Messiah. Never were their hearts better prepared to receive the Messiah than at the present moment, and this is an unmistakable sign that he who is anxiously waited for has come. Christianity is even more prepared to receive the Messiah at the present moment. From the time of the first Christian generation, when the words of Jesus (Mat. , 2. 4 : 34) indicating that he will not die upon the cross, were mistaken for a promise of the second advent of the Messiah, to the present hour, such a fervent hope was never entertained that the Messiah is coming. Men's minds are everywhere uneasy and their hearts throb as if the Messiah were knocking at the doors. Ah ! he is knocking no doubt, but who will open ? There is a universal belief throughout Christendom that the hour of the Messiah's advent has come. The voice is heard from all places, near and remote. It is very remarkable that not only are we declared to be on the eve of the Messiah's coming, but the most accurate calculations based on Biblical prophecies have shown that the hour is already left behind. The fact is that all signs for the corning of the