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In an obvious reference to the hour of which Jesus spoke, Baha'u'llah proclaims to the Christian world:-- The Hour which We had concealed from the knowledge of the peoples of the earth and of the favoured angels hath come to pass. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah 11) (144:1) Baha'u'llah follows this proclamation with the words:-- Say, verily, He hath testified of Me, and I do testify of Him. Indeed, He hath purposed no one other than Me. Unto this beareth witness every fair-minded and understanding soul.(Ibid. 11 ) (144:2) These words demonstrate the Messianic nature of Baha'u'llah's claims and emphasize that, from the Baha'i point of view, the concealed hour spoken of in Matthew 24:36 and in Mark 13:32 concerns the end of the age. In another Tablet Baha'u'llah writes: (144:3) The mysteries of Resurrection and the events of the Last Hour are openly manifest, but the people are sunk in heedlessness and have suffered themselves to be wrapt in veils. (Ibid. 40-1) (144:4) Baha'u'llah adds:-- By the righteousness of God! The Dawn hath truly brightened and the light hath shone forth and the night hath receded. Happy are they that comprehend. Happy are they that have attained thereunto. (Ibid. 41) (144:5) Naturally, Christians during the nineteenth century were confronted by the difficulty that while they believed the prophecies were being fulfilled in away clearer and surer than ever before, nevertheless the New Testament stated that 'no one knoweth the hour'. This issue was therefore taken up by many commentators. H.G. Guinness, for example, believed that some elements of prophecy built up to a culmination in history, and therefore, 'It can be no wonder that, as the page of history has unrolled itself, greater accuracy should have been attained, than it was possible for earlier students to possess' (Approaching End of the Age 130). For many Christians, this reasoning explained why Christians in earlier centuries did not seem to understand the prophecies as clearly. Elaborating on the progressive nature of the Christian understanding of prophecy, Guinness writes:
(144:6)
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