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If Jesus is referring to the generation living in the 'end times', it can easily be argued that His words were fulfilled. The generation of Baha'u'llah's contemporaries saw, from a Baha'i point of view, the tribulation, the coming of the Son of Man with great power and glory, and the sending forth of His angels. Also, the generation which persecuted Baha'u'llah was in spirit the same as the generation which persecuted Christ, and in this sense they were the return of the generation of Christ's time. This understanding is suggested by Baha'u'llah in His explanation of the meaning of return. (142:1) His Words Will Not Pass Away-- Reinforcing Christ's assurance that His prophecies will take place are His words that 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away'. As we have already noted, Baha'u'llah has affirmed that: (142:2) whatsoever hath proceeded out of His [Christ's] blameless, His truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered.(Tablets of Baha'u'llah 14) (142:3) Baha'u'llah teaches that the divinity of God's Manifestations is eternal. Thus Christ's sovereignty - that is, His Lordship for example - is eternal. Even though Lordship is manifested outwardly through rulership of others, the Lordship of the Manifestations exists because of the spiritual and divine reality of their nature and is not dependent on outward dominion. In other words, it is possible to affirm clearly that Christ, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, or any Manifestation of God, are Lord by the evidence of their rule over the hearts of their followers. However, this does not mean that the Manifestations would not have any Lordship if they had no followers or no dominion in this world. This is because, unlike worldly rulers such as kings, the Manifestations do not owe their power to those whom they rule. The station of the Manifestations comes from, and is a reflection of, God's eternal sovereignty.
(142:4)
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