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The Testimony of the Gospel-- Jesus states that the Gospel will be preached as a 'witness' to all nations. The word 'witness' is from the Greek 'marturion', which is also translated as 'testimony'. The meaning is that the Gospel, or Word of God, testifies to the truth of Christ. That is, the Word is itself the 'proof', testifying to the divinity of Christ. Baha'u'llah writes that, after the ascension of Christ, the Gospel, 'His Holy Book', remained as Jesus' 'most great testimony' (Certitude 89). (59:1) In the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, miracles and prophecies are regarded as proofs, (59:2) However, the Word of God itself, what it teaches about God and how it guides our actions, can affect our lives personally. Thus, we can practice the teachings, the message of Scripture, and know their truth directly. Christ stated: (59:3) If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, (59:4) In this passage Jesus links direct experience of the Word of God to the verification of its truth. Moreover, it is the Word of God that is the channel through which we are 'born again' (John 3:3, 1 Pet. 1:23) and come into 'everlasting life' (John 5:24). (59:5) From this understanding it follows that the words and teachings of a Prophet are the criteria for establishing the truth of that Prophet. Christ's teachings and the record of His life are the testimony of His truth, the proof He entrusted to His followers to carry to all the nations. (59:6) The End of the Christian Era-- Christ speaks of the preaching of the Gospel to all nations and says, 'then shall the end come'. As we have seen, some believe the 'end' refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and not the time of the Second Advent. However, the 'end' mentioned in verses 3, 6, and 13 cannot mean the end of the Jewish era, signified by the destruction of the Temple, because the Jewish era ended even before that event. Christ had already inaugurated the Christian era when He called together His Apostles and preached His teachings (Matt. 10). It therefore seems possible that the 'end' refers to the end of the Christian era. As we will see, this is suggested in the following verse of the Sermon.
(59:7)
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