Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in. ... But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope.... For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: ... But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.—Mal. iii, 1–2; iv. 1–2. NOTE—The subject of fulfillment of prophecy is such an extensive one that many volumes would be required for its adequate exposition. All that can be done within the limits of a single chapter is to indicate the main outlines of the Bahá’í interpretations. The detailed Apocalypses revealed by Daniel and St. John have been left untouched. Readers will find certain chapters of these dealt with in Some Answered Questions. In the Book of Íqán, by Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Proofs, by Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, and in many of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá further explanation of prophecies may be found. Prophecies of Bahá’u’lláh and CHAPTER 14: ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.—Duet. xviii, 21–22. Creative Power of God’s Word God, and God alone, has the power to do whatever He wills, and the greatest proof of a Manifestation of God is the creative power of His word—its effectiveness to change and transform all human affairs and to triumph over all human opposition. Through the word of the Prophets God announces His will, and the immediate or subsequent fulfillment of that word is the clearest proof of the Prophet’s claim and of the genuineness of His inspiration. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from the heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.—Isa. lv, 10–11. When the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus with the question: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” the answer of Jesus was simply to point to the effects wrought by His words:—