Directives From the Guardian

8 AGES AND EPOCHS (Define)

"The Faith is divided into three Ages: the Heroic, the Formative, the Golden Age, as has been outlined in His Writings. The Heroic Age closed with the Ascension of `Abdu'l-Baha. The Formative Age is divided into epochs. The first epoch lasted 25 years. We are now actually in the second epoch of the Formative Age. How long the Formative Age will last is not known, and there will probably be a number of epochs in it.

"The Divine Plan of `Abdu'l-Baha is divided into epochs. The first Seven-Year Plan constituted the first stage of the first epoch; the second Seven-Year Plan constitutes the second stage; while the Ten-Year Crusade will constitute the third stage of the first epoch of the Divine Plan. The first epoch of the Divine Plan will conclude with the conclusion of the Ten-Year Crusade."