the end; because it is yet for a time appointed.' Dan. xi. 35. But he, (Jesus of Nazareth) whom they thought was the Messiah, who was put to death by the Tribunal of Justice, of him, I say, Daniel prophecied long ago, for it is written Dan. xi. 15. Also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves, to establish thy vision; but they shall fall.' And was there ever a greater fall, than that of Jesus of Nazareth? All the Prophets said, that the Messiah should be a Redeemer to Israel, and serve them, and gather those who are scattered, and confirm their commands: and he was the cause that Israel perished by the sword; and he was the cause, that their remnant was scattered, that their law was cast to the ground and changed, and multitudes of people were led into error by him, so that they worshipped other objects beside God. But the thoughts of the Creator of the world are not such as can be explored by men; for not as their ways are his ways, and not like their thoughts are his thoughts." Maimonides says further, (Hilcoth Melachim Ch. xii.) "It must not come into thy thoughts, that in the days of the Messiah, things will not pursue their natural course, or that there shall be a new thing in the work of creation. The world shall be governed as usual; for thus it is written, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together.' This is a figurative mode of speech, meaning that the Israelites, compared to a lamb, shall sit in safety with the wicked ones among the Gentiles, who are compared to a wolf and a leopard, as it is in a figurative metaphorical manner in Jeremiah v. 6. 'Wherefore a lion out of the forests shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities;' all of them shall return to the truth, and shall neither rob, nor destroy; but shall enjoy those things, which are compatible with the tranquillity and comfort of Israel: as it is written, 'And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.' All those parables and types will be made clear in the days of the Messiah."

"The wise men say, that there is no difference at all between the age of the Messiah and the present age, except that at that time the Messiah shall rule alone, and only he."

"The plain text of the Prophets shews, that on the arrival of the Messiah, the battle of Gog and Magog shall be fought; and before the battle of Gog and Magog, a Prophet shall arise, to make straight the way to Israel, and to prepare their hearts; as it is writtep, Behold, I send before you Elijah,' and his office shall not be to decide between clean and unclean, or to declare those men, who have the reputation of righteous men, to be unrighteous; there shall be no such thing."

"The business of that Messenger shall be to proclaim Peace on Earth, as it is written, 'And he shall turn the heart of the fathers

* Here Maimonides speaks the truth: for my nation was scattered on account of having crucified the Lord of Glory! They shed the blood of the Just!

unto the children.' There are wise men who say, that Elijah shall come in person, before the coming of the Messiah; but they add, how all those events shall take place, and the manner of it, no mortal man is able to know. Until they shall take place, the Prophets have veiled them in mystery, and our wise men have received no tradition about it. We know only as much as the Prophets have revealed us, and this is the reason of the difference of opinion on this subject; we cannot therefore speak on this point with decision, as we know nothing with certainty; and men may spend their whole lives in the investigation and study of it. But they ought not to do so, for it leads neither to the fear nor the love of God. We ought not to try to determine the precise time of the arrival of the Messiah. The wise men say, that it is sufficient for us to wait for his coming, and they themselves have laid down general outlines of their views, just as we have done. At the time of the arrival of the anointed King, his kingdom shall be settled; all Israel shall be gathered to him; they shall produce their genealogies by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, who shall rest upon Him, as it is written, Malachi iii. 3, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." The children of Levi shall be purified first. The one shall say, that he traces his genealogy from the Priests, and the other from Levi; and the Messiah shall expel those, who are not of the tribe of Israel; for is it not said, "and the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a Priest with Urim and Thummim?” From this ye learn, that by the Holy Spirit it shall be known, of what tribe every one is; but he shall not say, that the one be illegitimate, and the other be a servant. The wise men and the Prophets do not expect that the Messiah will govern over the Gentiles, nor that Israel shall subdue the Gentiles, nor that they should be exalted over the Gentiles, for the sake of eating and drinking and being merry; but that Israel may meditate in the Law and its wisdom, that they may become worthy of everlasting life: as we have explained it in our Treatise on Repentance, speaking about everlasting life. And at that time, there shall be hunger and war no more, envy and anger shall cease among us. Much happiness shall be showered down upon us from the presence of the Lord, and every kind of sweet food shall be found like dust, and the whole world shall seek after the knowledge of God alone, and therefore shall abound in great and wise men, so that they shall acquire a knowledge of their Creator, as far as is in the power of man: for it is written in Isaiah xi. 9. "The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea!"

and

After having read with the Jews of Teheran this treatise of Maimonides, I told them, that I expect that Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah, whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the sceptre was taken from Judah,

and the legislative power from between his feet, came the first time; shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the Archangel; and those, who have followed him, and believed in him and in his first coming; those dead in Christ, shall rise first, and the Children of Israel shall look upon him, whom they have pierced, and mourn; and Jesus Christ shall have dominion from shore to shore, and from sea to sea, and all nations shall serve and obey him; he shall sit upon the throne of his father David, and reign with his Saints at Jerusalem gloriously!

Rabbi Meir then observed, that the world originally worshipped fire and water. He adduced as a proof the following words of David, "We went through fire and through water, and thou broughtest us unto a wealthy place!" Though as a proof this is not conclusive, yet it appears, that he is right as to the fact; for the Guebres in Persia, who are called Parsees in India, worship them to this day.

The poor Jews desired me to use my influence with Khosroe Khan, to convince him, that the notion of the Jews using the blood of children, was a foul calumny; for it is believed by Khosroe Khan, and by other Mohammedans.

A Jewish physician made his appearance, who had read all the writings of Razes and Avicenna, in Arabic; he has a pension from the King.

In traversing those Mohammedan Provinces, meeting alternately with success and disappointment, observing the different characters of those people, it is very evident how futile the prudential resolutions of men are. "Not by power nor by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord!" Oh, that this were the motto of all Missionaries and Missionary Societies! But in the present day, one trusts frequently in splendid firmauns, or in the enquiring spirit of some curious investigating Persian; another upon the success of the Russian arms; others upon the arrival of some Consul or Envoy, or upon the patronage of some great personage. "Not by power nor by might, but my spirit, saith the Lord!" Where the Spirit of the Lord is wanting, no human power can effect the conversion of one soul.

ALI ULLAHE, OR WORSHIPPERS OF ALI.

My friend Khosroe Khan introduced me to Kosor Ali, one of the Sect of Ali, who believe the incarnation of the Divinity in Ali. I questioned him on several occasions: for instance,

Myself. In whom do you believe?

Kosor. In him, who lives.

M. Who is this?

It is very remarkable, that this sect believes, that the Earth moves round the Sun, and that a star is as large as a sheep. Their principal men in Persia, are, Sayed Ketab Ullah, Sayed Azim Mullah, Sayed Imrahah Khan, Sayed Meer Ullah, Sayed Shams Uliah, and Haje Mullah Resa Kansar Ali at Teheran.

K. Sayed Abbas, at Kermanchah, who is in the place of Ali, and greater than Ali is none: we call him God.

M. Why do you believe Ali to be God?

K. Ali said to his friend Benjamin, 'if one should assert too much, strike him upon the cheek.' Ali said at the same time to Benjamin, 'I Ali have created heaven and earth!' Benjamin said to him, 'O Ali, dost thou not assert too much?" Ali gave him a sweet smelling Indian flower, which that moment grew out of his mouth. Benjamin perceived by this, that he was God!

M. By what sign do you know each other?

K. We ask, 'whence do you drink water?' and if he is of our Sect, he stretches out his tongue, and answers, ‘Az Serree Sabeel!' (from the whiskers.)

M. Have you no books?

K. We have Dafter (Records) of our sayings.

M. Do you believe in Mohammed?

K. Our faith is concealed, though spread throughout the world.* M. What do you think of God?

K. Ali is God! he is every where, and in every thing; as the salt must be in every thing; and every thing is God.† One who believes in Ali, never dies: he only changes his garment. We have a visible religion, a contemplative religion. We see every thing; a talking faith is of no use.

M. Have you Priests?

K. We have Saida (Elders) at Karakhon, Kermanchah, Hamadan, Teheran, Sekamran in Mazanderan, Sheeras, Senardala, Sokola, and in some places in Khorossaun, and upon Jebl Amoor, between Mecca and Egypt.

M. What do you think of Jesus?

K. Ali was both Jesus and Moses.
M. What do you think of Mohammed?

K. Mohammed is called by us Benyamin; he was created of the sweat of Ali; for Ali was before the world existed. The law of Mohammed is called by us, "Hakekate Benyamin," (the truth of Benjamin.) Our religion is no book-religion, it is a religion of

the heart!

M. What do you think of Angels?

K. Little children are Angels. We only know four things in the world: Sun, Metals, King and Lion.

M. Do you believe in the existence of the Devil?

K. Ali is the Devil: for the Devil is the whip of God, with which he punishes men: but the Devil is good, for nothing bad can come of God.

*There are Ali Ullahe around Cabool, where they are likewise called Jerakh Koosh, i. e. Light Killers, for they extinguish the candle, and have prohibited intercourse with each other.

+ Every thing is God, is the common system of the Hindoos.

It is probable, that he is called Benyamin, on account of his being a son (Ben) of Yemen.

M. Do you believe there is a Paradise, or Hell?

K. The place near a good man, is Paradise; near a bad one, is Hell. M. Do you know Yazid?

K. No, but Jamsheed, who was a good man.

lived to the age of seven hundred years.

In his time men

M. What is your opinion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

K. The faith of Abraham, is our faith.

M. Is it true that fire cannot hurt you?

K. If prepared by one of our denomination, in our assembly, fire is changed into a rose, by breathing upon it.

Seven words by us suffice, to make the mountains shake, and this room divide.

M. What is your opinion of Adam?

K. Adam was the picture of God.

M. Have you sacrifices?

K. All our worship consists in sacrifices of sheep, oil and rice. M. Whose coming do you expect?

K. In Ali, Jesus and Mohde will be united. Two years since, a child was born at Ispahan: on the day he was born, he said to his parents, "Carry me to Mecca, for I am Jesus, and in fourteen years more, I shall take possession of the earth: and the whole world shall have one religion and one book, even the book of Jesus. All men shall be brothers; every one shall marry his own sister; but before that time, war shall take place with Russia, and the Ali Ullahe shall join the Russians, and Jesus shall reside at Sultaneah near Casween. Before my open appearance, for I am Jesus, (the child continued) the Russians will have taken Persia, with the assistance of the Áli Ullahe." This same child predicted pestilence and earthquake; but whosoever drinketh milk mixed with wine shall never die.

M. Where is the cradle of the Ali Ullahe?

K. Shahr Zor, near Senaa.

M. What do you think about the resurrection of the dead?

K. He that is one with Jesus, shall never die; for the believer in Jesus or Ali, is one with those identical persons.

M. Do you believe in witchcraft?

K. We believe witchcraft to be a lie; every man of God can perform miracles. There are four sciences in the world: Seemea, a book, with the letters of which one can perform miracles. Leemea, a book, which, wherever it is placed, renders serpents harmless. Keemea, a science, by which an old man can be made young. Khafa, a science, by which one can make one's self invisible. M. Perform a miracle in my presence.

K. A perfect man only can perform one.

M. Have you circumcision?

K. Merely to please the Mohammedans; for Jesus abolished circumcision.

M. Do you believe the crucifixion of Jesus?

K. No; we believe that Jesus went from Mecca to heaven.

M. What is your opinion respecting the deluge?

K. We have heard of it; but it is not in the revealed records of the Ali Ullahe, who have existed before the creation of the world.