CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE DEPARTURE.

In the month of May, 1892 A. D., on the 16th day of the month, according to the date of the Greek orthodox church, which corresponds to the 28th according to the Western Christian church, the Manifestation, Beha 'U'llah, bade farewell to this earthly sphere and departed to the regions of Might and Glory, in the spiritual realms.

His death took place in the palace of Behjé, outside of the fortification at Acre. His blessed remains were buried in a house, just a few yards from the palace.

The Scriptures contain many prophecies concerning the departure of the Manifestation. Zechariah, 12th chapter, verses 10 to 14, says: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced [or look upon me who has been oppressed for them], and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house

of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart."

In these verses there is a prophecy about the death of a great Personage, whose demise would be a great calamity to the people of God. But from the mercy of God, "He will pour His Spirit of grace and supplication upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem," in order that they may be enabled to bear that catastrophe. Yet "they mourned for Him as one mourneth for his only son, with great bitterness, and the mourning was great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, and the twelve tribes, every tribe apart, and their wives apart, mourned for him."

Now, some Christians have referred this prophecy to the death of Jesus Christ, but it is plain that it does not correspond to His death, because when Christ was crucified there was no mourning like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, in Jerusalem; and we know that the twelve tribes did not mourn for Him, every tribe apart, and their wives apart. On the contrary, this prophecy agrees with the prophecy in the New Testament,Revelation, chapter 1, verses 7 and 8, which plainly foretold the coming of the Everlasting Father, the Almighty God, and His departure, as follows: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.

Even so, Amen." "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

The Personage to whom this prophecy refers is the Manifestation, Beha 'Ullah, David the Beloved, and the prophecy tells us that at His death, He will pour upon His holy household, the House of David, His own family, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the City of Akka, the Spirit of Grace and Supplications, that they may endure His departure. In reality, when He departed His holy household, and the believers in Akka and over all the earth, mourned for Him, the men apart and their wives apart; and it was a great mourning, greater than the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

It was proved conclusively in the chapter on "The Household" that David does not mean David the King of the Hebrews, but the "Beloved," Beha 'U'llah, the Everlasting Father, as was said by Ezekiel in the 34th chapter, verses 20 to 31. It is well known that Ezekiel lived and prophesied long after the death of David, the King of the Jews, and this prophecy cannot refer to him, for he died long before the prophecy was uttered. Besides, this prophecy is to come to pass in a remote period in the future, and the Servant, David, is the chosen Servant mentioned in Isaiah. This is the Manifestation of the Being, the Shepherd of the Infinite, appointed to watch the flocks (mankind), and feed them in green pastures, because He is the Lord Himself.

In the 20th verse Ezekiel said: "I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle." Because the shepherds whom He appointed to feed His flock, instead of performing their duty have scattered them abroad, and "thrust with side and with shoulder and pushed all the diseased with their horns." This means that the spiritual leaders did not feed the masses with the true spiritual food, but rather taught them vain imaginations and superstitions, and so scattered them into many divisions, religions and denominations. Thus they proved that they were dishonest and inefficient husbandmen, therefore for the salvation of mankind, the Infinite promised in this prophecy, to send them a just, upright Shepherd who would feed them in green pastures, and lead them to the true path, and father them to one religion, one fold; and that Shepherd is His Servant David.

Who is this Servant David? He is God Himself, the Lord of Hosts, the Everlasting Father, as it is said in the 31st verse of the same chapter of Ezekiel: "And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men and I am your God, saith the Lord God." This David, the Beloved, is the Lord of the Vineyard, concerning whose coming Christ prophesied ;

-that He would come and deliver the vineyard from the hands of the dishonest husbandmen, the flock from the dishonest shepherds. The prophecy of Ezekiel about the dishonest shepherds and the prophecy of Christ about the dishonest husbandmen are one and the same.

Again we see that the David, who is mentioned in the 12th chapter of Zechariah is the Manifestation Himself, and that after His departure, His holy household and all the believers will mourn a great mourning, and be in bitterness over Him, as did take place when He departed in 1892.

For the further elucidation of this fact, and as an additional proof of the statement above made, let us read and explain the 13th chapter of Zechariah,— "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his visions, when he hath prophesied ; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against