The Heavenly Jerusalem

It is said in the Gospels, "Jerusalem will come down out of heaven from God." This heavenly Jerusalem is not made of stone, of lime and of clay, but it is made of the divine teachings which shine among men by the power of the spirit. For a long time, the divine teachings had been forgotten, no trace remained of the light of the heavenly Jerusalem. When Baha’u’llah manifested Himself from the Orient the light of His divine teachings shone forth in Persia unto other parts of the world. This divine teaching is the heavenly Jerusalem which has again "come down out of heaven." Although that edifice had fallen to pieces, it is founded anew. The corporal and material forces ruled over the Orient; now the spiritual forces have taken their place. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk given in Paris on November 9th, 1911; Star of the West, vol. II, no. 17, January 1912)