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A chosen people await their Promised One. He appears in the world, but not in the way they expect Him to appear. His mission is far greater than what they could have conceived. At His appearance, all their assumptions about His Coming become their downfall - for they cling to their own expectations, and reject Him. They are utterly unaware of what they have done. They label the divine, satanic, and the satanic, divine. As if nothing has happened, they go on with their lives. They vainly imagine to be beloved of God above all the peoples of the world, and to hold the keys to spiritual authority. That authority, however, unbeknownst to them, has passed from their hands. While denouncing anyone who would arise against their Promised One, they themselves fulfill the prophecies referring to His enemies (68:2) The Promised One chooses a few, humble souls to follow Him. To them He imparts the knowledge of His Mission, and patiently prepares them for theirs. He has come not for the triumph of the chosen people, but for the salvation of the whole world. His message will be delivered by His followers. Though looked down upon as the lowliest of people, they have been exalted above kings. Though outwardly powerless, they withstand everyone. Though esteemed as misguided and ignorant, these souls understand everything (68:3) Such is God's way: the first are last; and the last, first (68:4) Being "first" in the eyes of God, and "first" in the eyes of man are very different things. And the same, of course, goes for being "last". Those who recognized Christ, in a sense, were able to see with "God's eyes". For they did indeed see correctly who was first, and who last (68:5) I have often wondered how it could be that a Jewish and Christian person, could have two so radically different views regarding the return of the Messiah, yet both seem to base themselves on the same evidence. Take, for example, the instance of a Jew and a Christian considering the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). The Christian generally sees hundreds of references to the Christ as having been fulfilled, while the Jewish person generally sees none. It seems that it is either all, or nothing at all. Essentially, there seems to be no reconciling the interpretation of the Jewish person who has not accepted Jesus as the Christ, with the interpretation of the Christian who has. The domain of meaning which these two individuals perceive from the scriptures does not seem to allow for an exchange of thought that would bridge the gap between them (68:6) The fact that these two seemingly contradictory views of the world could coexist - and even today, can coexist - I have always found fascinating, and at times puzzling. Having thought deeply regarding this phenomenon, I have found that there is a physical analogy, however, that we can use to demonstrate the relationship between these two viewpoints. This analogy helps us solve, to a certain extent, the puzzle. Of course, it is only an analogy and as such, has limited value. However, since it seems to be appropriate to demonstrate certain aspects of the relationship between these viewpoints, I would like to share it. The analogy is that of wakefulness and sleep
(68:7)
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