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Thou hast spoken of a spiritual wave. This is not wave, but a sea; nay, the very ocean! But this is not to destroy the cities, but to purify them; and soon it will submerge them all. This does not mean destruction, but salvation; it is not death, but life; it is not enmity, but love; it is not pain; it is a remedy. The world of existence is the body, and this is its spirit; this immense world is the glass [chimney], and this is the lamp [lighted wick]; humanity is the heaven, and this is its sun. The signs of this bounty are clear and visible. The proof is the changing of the characters of the friends and the perfection that the believers have made in their actions and words: They were dark, they became luminous; they were terrestrial, they became celestial; they were human, they became divine; they were diabolic, they became angelic; they were a drop, they became the sea; they were an atom, they became the sun. These are the signs of those who are entirely submerged by this wave; that is to say, this ocean. (657:1) O thou ... ! I hope that thou wilt progress more and more; that thou wilt increase thy knowledge and science; and that thou wilt ever strive for gentleness and love. (657:2) Perhaps it will be possible for thee, next winter, to go to Persia. (657:3) Thank ye that God hath enkindled the light of guidance in this darkness of ignorance, hath quickened those who were asleep, made mindful those who were heedless, made unproductive trees full of blossoms and fruit, and old men laden with years, fair and graceful youths.
(657:4)
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