64 THE KEY OF MYSTERIES

was clear enough to enable the Apostles (الحواريّون) and many others to recognize Him as the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world. The light was clear enough for them: how was it that others did not see it? The reason is plain; the veils of prejudice, worldliness, self-interest, ungodliness, vice, carelessness, unbelief covered the eyes of their understanding and kept them in darkness because they did not choose to see the light. The teaching of Christ is clear enough to-day to enable many myriads of heathens and Jews to become true Christians; surely they are not really more keen-sighted than you are, respected reader.

That His teaching was easily understood when He spoke of His Deity is evident from the fact that the Jews several times tried to stone Him to death for making such a claim. It is quite true that at first He did not assert this great truth in so many words, because His disciples were not sufficiently advanced to accept it; but He gradually led them up to it, until it was confessed by Peter, as we have already seen. Perhaps some of them did not fully realize it until after His resurrection, or even till after His ascension, for undoubtedly this great truth was hard to realize when Christ lived among them in humility and poverty. This is one reason why He said: 'It 1 is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will


1 John xvi. 7, 12-13.
PROOF OF THE DEITY OF CHRIST 65

not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you . . . . I have yet many things to say unto you, but he [ye] cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth.' This Spirit of Truth was the Third Person (اقنوم) of the Most Holy Trinity, as Christ tells us elsewhere.1 One of the blessings which Christ promised to send to His disciples through the inspiration (إلهام) of the Holy Spirit was a better knowledge and a fuller realization of His own divine nature; hence He said: 'He 2 shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine and shall declare it unto you:' and again: 'He 3 shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.' In fulfilment of this promise, on the tenth day after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven, the Holy Spirit the Comforter descended 4 upon the disciples of Christ. The Holy Spirit, regarding whom we shall, if it please God, have some fuller information to give later, illuminated their minds and spirits with light from on high, and unveiled to them the meaning of the great truths which they had previously heard from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ, but had not then fully understood. Through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit therefore they wrought many wonderful miracles of


1 John xv. 26; xiv. 16-17, 26; Acts i. 4-5. 2 John xvi 14.
3 John xiv, 26. 4 Acts ii. 1-4.