Vaughn Sheline wrote: > > Dear Don, > > Sure. Although 'Abdu'l-Baha many times used the succession of Spring, > Summer, Fall and Winter as an analogy for the developmental pattern which > has been repeated in past Dispensations, 'Abdu'l-Baha has indicated that in > this new Day, unlike previous Days, the establishment of "the Spiritual and > Everlasting Kingdom" will be achieved. Further, Baha'u'llah Himself has > proclaimed that this Day will not be the same as previous Days and describes > His Day as the "Springtime which autumn will never overtake": >
Vaughn. I'm not convinced for several reasons. I agree that the examples we have in translation all make reference to the past and the this is both a dispensation and cycle like no other. However . . . . I don't believe that the fact that "the establishment of "the Spiritual and Everlasting Kingdom" will be achieved" means that a spiritual winter can not occur. I think that this is a restatement of the "day which shall not be followed by night" idea. My personal opinion is that it will take the entire cycle of Baha'u'llah, 500,000 years, before the Kingdom of God on earth is brought to fruition. I take the same view of Shoghi Effendi's citation of "Springtime which autumn will never overtake". Baha'u'llah uses "springtime" to refer to the outpouring of Divine guidance, e.g. Iqan p24. He says there to "Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of the divine springtime hath spent itself . . . ." Without knowing the context of Shoghi Effendi's quote, I would say that the reason that this is "Springtime which autumn will never overtake" is because guidance has continued in the form of the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi, and the House of Justice. Another possible interpretation of the cite, in isolation, is that during the next 1000 years there is going to be such a change in society caused by the adoption of the Baha'i principles, that were we to be transported 950 years in the future, we would say that mankind had truly developed the Kingdom of God on earth, that further development would be minor tweaking. Another possible meaning is that the teachings of Baha'u'llah are guaranteed not to disappear, as have the teachings of some of the other Manifestations (e.g. Hud and Salih). Don C -- He who believes himself spiritual proves he is not. ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
