Some Doctrines of
the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith
The Beginnings for a
Systematic Theology
By I’an RoeBuck
Some Doctrines of the
Orthodox Bahá’í Faith
The Beginnings for a
Systematic Theology
By I’an RoeBuck
I’an RoeBuck was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. He presently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is married with two children. A one-time Sans-Guardian Bahá’í, he left the Sans-Guardian tradition of the Bahá’í Faith after becoming more and more convinced that for the Faith to be real there needed to be a living Guardian.
He wandered for a
while in the New Age Movement and Wicca.
Still looking for a stable and satisfying experience with God, He became
a Christian.
He received a B.A. in Education from the
University of South Carolina, and has a Master of Divinity from Harvest
Christian College and Seminary, Tavares, Florida.
After coming across several websites for
the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith, and contact with Hand of the Cause of God Frank
Schlatter, he found that the Bahá’í Faith was indeed real because it does have
a living Guardian.
Other
Books by the Author:
Prophecy and the Orthodox
Bahá’í
Proof, Prophets, and
Covenants
Copyright © 2002
I’an RoeBuck
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission
in writing from the author or publisher.
First Edition January 2003
Approved by the Review
Committee of the National Orthodox Bahá’í Council
Printed and Published in the
U.S.A. by
The Orthodox Bahá’ís of the
Greater Salt Lake City Area
P.O. Box 702104
West Valley City, UT 84118
Dedicated to Hand of the
Cause of God Frank Schlatter without whom I would never have become a Bahá’í
Acknowledgements
I am first of all indebted to my wife, Julia. Without her constant support I would have
given up long ago. I also wish to thank
my two sons, Andrew and Joshua, who not only have made life interesting, but
also without whom I would never have been persuaded to re-evaluate my personal
stances on many issues within my life.
Joshua RoeBuck, who has so wanted to understand the truth and what life
is all about, is special in this endeavor, as is Andrew RoeBuck who always
wants to know the “why”.
iii
Preface
In the summer of 2001, at the International Orthodox
Bahá’í Conference, those attending were asked to make a presentation on the
Faith. Among the things that I was
privileged to present were four pass around items that I later collected. These four items were my research and
thoughts upon four subjects that I had been studying in personal deepening of
the Scriptures and teachings of the Faith.
They were only 10% complete.
I received some interesting comments and aid from
several of the participants including Mrs. Marilyn Meyers.
In the intervening months, I have been able to
conclude initial research on four of the topics, one of which has now become
this fourth book. Let me state from the
first, this is not an exhaustive list of teachings of the Faith. What follows are simply my insights
(personal) and meditations, as well as some explanations, of teachings within
and without the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith as they relate to it. Further, for those who may at first be put
off with the concept of “doctrines”, the word simply means “teachings”.
It is my hope that for those who are Bahá’ís, this
will give them a starting point for even further study and deepening. Those who are not Bahá’í, and who are from a
other than Bahá’í background may find the topics covered in this book to be of
some interest. The main thing they may
take from it is the extreme similarity of thought between Krishna, the Old and
New Testaments, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh on these subjects. This should not surprise Bahá’ís, whose main
presupposition is that all religions come from Major Prophets whose lives and
words are the very emanation of God Himself.
For a Christian, this idea will be both challenging and new, and this
book it is hoped may give them a reference point to see those similarities in a
positive light.
iv
Introduction
The
Orthodox Bahá’í Faith has its early roots in that of Islam. A young Muhammadan Man announced in Persia
on May 23rd, 1844, that He was the forerunner of the Promised One of
all the previous religions. It created
uproar in that area of the world. No
less than 20,000 of His followers, known as Bábi’s, were martyred. In 1850, the Báb was publicly executed.
One of the Báb’s followers became known as
Bahá’u’lláh. That title roughly
translates as “the Glory of God”.
Bahá’u’lláh announced that He was the One foretold by the Báb. He began his ministry in 1853, and publicly
announced it in 1863. Bahá’u’lláh was
banished successively from Persia to Baghdad to Constantinople, to Adrianople,
and finally to the prison city of Akka located across the bay from Haifa,
Israel. He later pitched His tent upon
Mount Carmel. He passed away in 1892.
`Abdu’l-Bahá, another title meaning “Servant of
Bahá’u’lláh”, was the appointed successor and Center of the Covenant and
Interpreter of the Word. Released from
imprisonment, He traveled to Europe and America in 1911 – 1912. He passed away in 1921.
Shoghi Effendi, the eldest grandson of `Abdu’l-Bahá,
was appointed by Him to be Guardian of the Faith, and under his leadership the
Faith expanded to over 250 different countries. Shoghi Effendi passed away in London in 1957.
v
Shoghi Effendi, in the only Proclamation he ever issued,
appointed Charles Mason Remey as the Head of the International Bahá’í Council,
the embryonic Universal House of Justice.
Mason Remey remained silent until 1960, as he tried to preserve unity
among the believers. In 1960 he
publicly announced that Shoghi Effendi had appointed him second Guardian of the
Faith. The appointment being in the
known fact that only a Guardian can be the Head or President of the Universal
House of Justice, whether fully formed or in embryonic condition. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi the
embryonic House of Justice, provisionally designated as the International Bahá’í Council, which had
never been activated, had immediately become the active organ, and Mason as its
president, the Guardian.
Mason himself both appointed in writing, and by
appointing to the second International Bahá’í Council as President, Joel Bray
Marangella third Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.
When Mason activated the Council in 1965, Joel, as its President and Head,
became the Guardian.
The Orthodox Bahá’í Faith teaches the unity of God
and His Prophets, the unity of the human race, the independent investigation of
the truth, elimination of all forms of prejudice, the fundamental agreement of
science and religion, equal opportunities, rights, and privileges for both
sexes, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, establishes the need for an
international script and language, universal education, a universal system of
currency, weights, and measures, and promotes the establishment of world peace.
vi
I. Some Basic Doctrines
The Doctrine of Shoghi Effendi’s Overview of Faith
Shoghi
Effendi has noted the following items in his overview of the basics of the
Bahá’í principles.
“The
Bahá’í Faith: recognizes the unity of
God and His prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after
truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the
fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, states that
religion must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole
and ultimate basis of a peaceful and progressive society, inculcates the
principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges of both sexes, advocates
compulsory education, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, recommends the
adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary
agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal
peace.” Shoghi Effendi, quoted by Joel
B. Marangella, Third Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, The Bahá’í Faith, A
Summary of Its Aims, Teachings and History, p. 3.
The Doctrine of the
Existence of God
`Abdu’l-Bahá offers a logical evidence of God’s
existence.
“Consider the lady beside me who is writing in this
little book. It seems a very trifling, ordinary matter; but upon intelligent
reflection you will conclude that what has been written presupposes and proves
the existence of a writer. These words have not written themselves, and these
letters have not come together of their own volition. It is evident there must
be a writer.
And now
consider this infinite universe. Is it possible that it could have been created
without a Creator? Or that the Creator and cause of this infinite congeries of
worlds should be without intelligence? Is the idea tenable that the Creator has
no comprehension of what is manifested in creation? Man, the creature, has
volition and certain virtues. Is it possible that his Creator is deprived of
these? A child could not accept this belief and statement. It is perfectly
evident that man did not create himself and that he cannot do so. How could man
of his own weakness create such a mighty being? Therefore, the Creator of man
must be more perfect and powerful than man. If the creative cause of man be
simply on the same level with man, then man himself should be able to create,
whereas we know very well that we cannot create even our own likeness.
Therefore, the Creator of man must be endowed with superlative intelligence and
power in all points that creation involves and implies. We are weak; He is
mighty, because, were He not mighty, He could not have created us. We are
ignorant; He is wise. We are poor; He is rich. Otherwise, He would have been
incapable of our creation.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 82.
The Doctrine of God
God is one God.
Old Testament Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.
. .
God is eternally the same Being.
Old Testament Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not. . .
God is an infinite Being. There is nothing on earth that can contain the unknowable God,
which is why His Manifestations reflect His Glory while never truly being Him
Incarnate.
Old Testament 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven
and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have
builded?
Job states that God is so “other” that no one can
really understand him.
Old Testament Job 9:32 – 33 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we
should come together in judgment.
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us
both.
The Manifestations of God can know perfectly the
attributes of God, but never the essence of what God truly is. This is expressed in various ways. In the Old Testament it was the fear that
looking directly on the Face of God, that is His Essence, would cause one to
die. In other words, it could not be
done.
Old Testament Exodus 3:6 Moreover
he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
This passage also reflects the
unknowableness of God, and how the Manifestation of God is able to see and
reflect to us his attributes. It is
allegorical and figurative.
Old Testament Exodus 33:17 - 23 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this
thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I
know thee by name. And he said, I
beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he
said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the
name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me,
and live. And the LORD said, Behold,
there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory
passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee
with my hand while I pass by: And I
will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall
not be seen.
Without God, there is no escape from
the physical world and death. The world
is obviously born, originated, created, and formed. As such it depends on an Uncreated.
“There is, O monks, an Unborn,
Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. Were
there not, O monks, this Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, there would
be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed.” The Buddha, Udana, 80-81, quoted in page
facing contents, The God of Buddha.
God can be somewhat explained in attributes, but not
in essence. Indeed, it is the Prophet
who alone knows what the spirit world and God are in attribute completely.
“When the Buddha had thus spoken, one of the
Brahmins said, “We are told, Gotama, that the Sakyamuni knows the path to a
union with Brahma.” And the Blessed One
said: “What do you think, O Brahmins,
of a man born and brought up in Manasakata?
Would he be in doubt about the most direct way from this spot to
Manasakata?” “Certainly not,
Gotama.” “Thus,” replied the Buddha,
“the Tathagata knows the straight path that leads to a union with Brahma. He knows it as one who has entered the world
of Brahma and has been born in it.
There can be no doubt in the Tathagata.” And the two young Brahmins said:
“If thou knowest the way, show it to us.” And the Buddha said: “The
Tathagata sees the universe face to face and understands its nature. He proclaims the truth both in its letter
and its spirit, and his doctrine is glorious in its origin, glorious in its
progress, glorious in its consummation.
The Tathagata reveals the higher life in its purity and
perfection.” The Buddha, Digha-nikaya,
quoted in The God of Buddha, p. 113.
God in Essence cannot be known. All man’s imaginations of Him are but
something else other than Him. It is
only through the Prophets that we can understand the attributes of God.
“This people, all of them, have
pictured a god in the realm of the mind, and worship that image which they have
made for themselves. And yet that image is comprehended, the human mind being
the comprehender thereof, and certainly the comprehender is greater than that
which lieth within its grasp; for imagination is but the branch, while mind is
the root; and certainly the root is greater than the branch. Consider then, how
all the peoples of the world are bowing the knee to a fancy of their own
contriving, how they have created a creator within their own minds, and they
call it the Fashioner of all that
is--whereas in truth it is but an illusion. Thus are the people worshipping
only an error of perception.
But that Essence of Essences, that Invisible of
Invisibles, is sanctified above all human speculation, and never to be
overtaken by the mind of man. Never shall that immemorial Reality lodge within
the compass of a contingent being. His is another realm, and of that realm no
understanding can be won. No access can be gained thereto; all entry is
forbidden there. The utmost one can say is that Its existence can be proved,
but the conditions of Its existence are unknown.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha,
p. 57 – 58.
God is in Essence unknowable.
“That which we imagine, is not the Reality of God;
He, the Unknowable, the Unthinkable, is far beyond the highest conception of
man.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks,
p. 12.
God is so wondrously unknown that we would be
overwhelmed if we could clearly see with our spiritual eyes His the attributes
in the Prophet.
“I
manifest for thee
Those
hundred thousand thousand shapes that clothe my Mystery:
I
show thee all my semblances, infinite, rich, divine,
My
changeful hues, my countless forms. See! in this face of mine,
Adityas,
Vasus, Rudras, Aswins, and Maruts; see
Wonders
unnumbered, Indian Prince! revealed to none save thee.
Behold!
this is the Universe!- Look! what is live and dead
I
gather all in one- in Me! Gaze, as thy lips have said
On
GOD, ETERNAL, VERY GOD! See ME! what thou prayest!
Thou
canst not!- nor, with human eyes, Arjuna! ever mayest!
Therefore
I give thee sense divine. Have other eyes, new light!
And,
look! This is My glory, unveiled to mortal sight!
Sanjaya.
Then, O King! to God, so saying,
Stood,
to Pritha's Son displaying
All
the splendour, wonder, dread
Of
His vast Almighty-head.
Out
of countless eyes beholding,
Out
of countless mouths commanding,
Countless
mystic forms enfolding
In
one Form: supremely standing
Countless
radiant glories wearing,
Countless
heavenly weapons bearing,
Crowned
with garlands of star-clusters,
Robed
in garb of woven lustres,
Breathing
from His perfect Presence
Breaths
of every subtle essence
Of
all heavenly odours; shedding
Blinding
brilliance; overspreading-
Boundless,
beautiful- all spaces
With
His all-regarding faces;
So
He showed! If there should rise
Suddenly
within the skies
Sunburst
of a thousand suns
Flooding
earth with beams undeemed-of,
Then
might be that Holy One's
Majesty
and radiance dreamed of!
So
did Pandu's Son behold
All
this universe enfold
All
its huge diversity
Into
one vast shape, and be
Visible,
and viewed, and blended
In
one Body- subtle, splendid,
Nameless-
th' All-comprehending
God
of Gods, the Never-Ending
Deity!” Hindu Texts, Bhagavad-Gita
God
indicates that the very way to the Abha Kingdom (i.e., the Highest Spiritual
World nearest the Manifestations of God) is concealed from the mind of man
without His intervention, let alone the knowledge of God Himself.
Old
Testament Job 38:19 Where is the way
where light dwelleth?
God
is beyond man.
Old
Testament Pslams 147:4 - 5 He telleth
the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord,
and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
God
is declared unknowable by Isaiah.
Old
Testament Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou
not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching
of his understanding.
God
cannot be comprehended.
“God
hath, out of sheer nothingness and through the potency of His command, created the
heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them. He is single and
peerless in His eternal unity with none to join partner with His holy Essence,
nor is there any soul, except His Own Self, who can befittingly comprehend
Him...” The Báb, Selections from the
Writings of the Báb, p. 62.
Praise
of God given by man is in no way adequate to really praise Him.
“The
glory of glories and the most resplendent light rest upon Thee, O my God. Thy
majesty is so transcendent that no human imagination can reach it and Thy
consummate power is so sublime that the birds of men's hearts and minds can
never attain its heights. All beings acknowledge their powerlessness to praise
Thee as beseemeth Thy station. Immeasurably exalted art Thou. No one can
glorify Thy Being, or fathom the evidences of Thy bounty as it exists in Thine
inmost Essence, since Thou alone knowest Thyself as Thou art in Thyself.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 194.
God
is unknowable in His Essence.
“O
CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE!
Ye shall be hindered from loving Me and souls
shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor
hearts contain Me.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 42.
God
is so holy that He cannot be described.
“For
God is, His Essence, holy above ascent and descent, entrance and exit; He hath
through all eternity been free of the attributes of human creatures, and ever
will remain so. No man hath ever known Him; no soul hath ever found the pathway
to His Being. Every mystic knower hath wandered far astray in the valley of the
knowledge of Him; every saint hath lost his way in seeking to comprehend His
Essence. Sanctified is He above the understanding of the wise; exalted is He
above the knowledge of the knowing! The way is barred and to seek it is
impiety. . .” Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven
Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 22-23.
God
is acknowledged as unknowable in the obligatory prayer.
“Exalted
art Thou above the description of anyone save Thyself, and the comprehension of
aught else except Thee.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 94.
Bahá’u’lláh
again speaking of the unknowableness of the essence of God states:
“By
Thy life, O Thou the Possessor of all names! The minds of the profoundest
thinkers are sore perplexed as they contemplate the ocean of Thy knowledge, and
the heaven of Thy wisdom, and the Luminary of Thy grace. How can he who is but
a creation of Thy will claim to know what is with Thee, or to conceive Thy
nature?” Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and
Meditations, p. 55.
Nothing
can we use which can compare or make a true analogy to the nature of God
Himself.
“No,
no, none can withstand Thee in the whole of creation. Thou hast everlastingly
been exalted far above all comparison and likeness.” Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 57.
God
is “IT IS THAT IT IS.”
“Know
thou that the Divine Essence, which is called the Invisible of the Invisibles,
never to be described, beyond the reach of mind--is sanctified above any
mention, any definition or hint or allusion, any acclamation or praise. In the
sense that It is that It is, the intellect can never grasp It, and the soul
seeking knowledge of It is but a wanderer in the desert, and far astray.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the
Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 44 – 45.
Moses
proclaims that God is one God.
Old
Testament Exodus 20:3, 23 Thou shalt
have no other gods before me. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither
shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
The
is no other God but Him.
Old
Testament Deuteronomy 4:35 Unto
thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is
none else beside him.
No
one can be like God in His Holiness.
Old
Testament 1 Samuel 2:2 There is
none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock
like our God.
Clearly
in the Old Testament the Unity of God is proclaimed.
Old
Testament Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD
the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I
am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Harking
back to the Jewish confession of faith Muhammad states:
Qur’án
2:163
And your God is One God: There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.
You
can search the infinite universe for a being greater than God, but it will be
useless, only God will suffice.
“If
thou seekest another than Me, yea, if thou searchest the universe for evermore,
thy quest will be in vain.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 17.
The
doctrine of the Unity of the Godhead is stressed.
“I
bear witness that Thou art the One, the Single, the Incomparable, the
Ever-Abiding. Thou didst not take unto Thyself a partner in Thy dominion, nor
didst Thou choose a peer for Thyself upon earth.” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 3.
God commanded Hosea the Prophet to do something which would be normally
forbidden by culture and reason, as well as the Law of Moses. Christian commentators have had a great deal
of problems explaining this command.
The Bahá’í principle is that God can command the day to be night and the
night to be day, that He commands whatsoever He desires and none should
question His command. Hosea clearly
understood this and obeyed.
Old
Testament Hosea 1:2 - 3 The
beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go,
take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath
committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which
conceived, and bare him a son.
Everything
that has happened is by operation of the Will of God.
“Whatever
God hath willed hath been, and that which He hath not willed shall not
be.” The Báb, Selections from the
Writings of the Báb, p. 191.
The Doctrine of the
Mercy of God
This doctrine is clearly
indicated by the fact that all mankind still walk the earth.
Qur’án 35:45 If
God were to punish men according to what they deserve. He would not leave on
the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for
a stated Term: when their Term expires, verily God has in His sight all His
Servants.
The Doctrine of the Mercy and Justice of God
God is
both Just and Merciful.
Old
Testament Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great
in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. . .
The Doctrine of the
Foreknowledge of God
God declares that He gives accurate prophecy. Unlike the astrologer, tarot reader, and the like, the Prophets
of God give undeviatingly accurate answers and glimpses of the future.
Old Testament Hosea 5:9 . .
. among the tribes of Israel have I
made known that which shall surely be.
Foreknowledge does not cause a thing to happen.
“The
foreknowledge of a thing is not the cause of its realization; for the essential
knowledge of God surrounds, in the same way, the realities of things, before as
well as after their existence, and it does not become the cause of their
existence.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 138.
The Doctrine of
Predestination
It is hard but true, the very days of our lives are
numbered and the number is already determined before we are born.
Old Testament Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are
with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. . .
No ruler is given power over a Prophet except as God
allows.
New Testament John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against
me, except it were given thee from above. . .
The death of Christ was both foreknown and also
pre-determined.
New Testament Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. . .
Peter states that Jesus’ coming and Mission were
preordained before the universe was created.
New Testament 1 Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in
God
The ordination of death and life are God’s, and He
has determined already the length of each person’s life.
Qur’án 3:145 nor
can a soul die except by God's leave, the term being fixed as by writing.
The Qur’án states that there is a decreed term of
life for man. The second determined
term mentioned by Muhammad here is the time until the coming of the Báb and the
new Day of Judgment under the new Prophet.
Qur’án 6:2 He it is who created you from clay, and
then decreed a stated term (for you). And there is in His presence another
determined term; yet ye doubt within yourselves!
The things that happen to the Prophet are ordained.
“He who doeth good unto Me, it is as if he doeth
good unto God, His angels and the entire company of His loved ones. He who
doeth evil unto Me, it is as if he doeth evil unto God and His chosen ones.
Nay, too exalted is the station of God and of His loved ones for any person's
good or evil deed to reach their holy threshold. Whatever reacheth Me is
ordained to reach Me; and that which hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will
it revert. By the One in Whose hand is My soul, he hath cast no one but himself
into prison. For assuredly whatsoever God hath decreed for Me shall come to
pass and naught else save that which God hath ordained for us shall ever touch
us. Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the man from
whose hands floweth good. Unto no one do I take My plaint save to God; for He
is the best of judges. Every state of adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and
He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.”
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 15.
God ordains the Prophet’s Revelation and victory.
“I swear by the glory of God, My Lord, the Most
Exalted, the Most Great, He assuredly, as is divinely ordained, will make His
Cause shine resplendent, while there will be no helper for the unjust. If thou
hast any scheme, produce thy scheme. Indeed every revelation of authority
proceedeth from God. In Him do I trust and unto Him do I turn.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 21.
The principle of pre-ordination or pre-destination:
“Ye cannot alter the things which the Almighty hath
prescribed unto Me. Naught shall touch Me besides that which God, My Lord, hath
pre-ordained for Me. In Him have I placed My whole trust and upon Him do the
faithful place their complete reliance.”
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 27.
God has predestined the Prophet’s time.
“It is neither within your power nor mine to set the
time at which it should be made manifest. God's inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed
its hour beforehand. Be content, O people, with that which God hath desired for
you and predestined unto you.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 102.
The amount of information and revelation given by
the Prophet in each revelation is ordained beforehand.
“The measure of the Revelation with which every one
of them hath been identified had been definitely fore-ordained. This, verily,
is a token of Our favor unto them, if ye be of those that comprehend this
truth.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 74.
Everything that the Revelation of God will bring
forth within the dispensation of the Prophet is pre-ordained.
“It hath been decreed by Us that the Word of God and
all the potentialities thereof shall be manifested unto men in strict
conformity with such conditions as have been foreordained by Him Who is the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 76.
As an example, Muhammad and what He revealed in the
Qur’án were also pre-ordained.
“Consider that which hath been sent down unto
Muhammad, the Apostle of God. The measure of the Revelation of which He was the
bearer had been clearly foreordained by Him Who is the Almighty, the
All-Powerful.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 76.
There are two kinds of predestined events decreed by
God. God is able to repeal or alter the
first kind of predestined event, but the result of the repeal or alteration is
worse than leaving the event as predestined.
The second decree prayer may avert without side effects.
“Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of
the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two
kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other
is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit,
inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal
it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the
decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in
what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.
The decree that is impending, however, is such that
prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,
p. 132 – 133.
The universe, apart from man, is under
determinism. That is, each and
everything is subject to laws from which it will not deviate, and each cause
has a determined effect. The language
of science – mathematics - is a prime example of determinism. 2+2=4 is predetermined. The answer to the equation will always be
the same; any mathematical formulas and computations depend upon the fact that
science’s language is determined from the outset. It will never come to an independent different answer.
“This Nature is subjected to an absolute
organization, to determined laws, to a complete order and a finished design,
from which it will never depart--to such a degree, indeed, that if you look
carefully and with keen sight, from the smallest invisible atom up to such
large bodies of the world of existence as the globe of the sun or the other
great stars and luminous spheres, whether you regard their arrangement, their
composition, their form or their movement, you will find that all are in the
highest degree of organization and are under one law from which they will never
depart.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered
Questions, p. 3.
In this area of determinism in nature, God is the
Ruler, and is the Determiner.
“Now, when you behold in existence such
organizations, arrangements and laws, can you say that all these are the effect
of Nature, though Nature has neither intelligence nor perception? If not, it
becomes evident that this Nature, which has neither perception nor
intelligence, is in the grasp of Almighty God, Who is the Ruler of the world of
Nature; whatever He wishes, He causes Nature to manifest.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 4.
Predestination or fate is of two
kinds, conditional and unavoidable.
“Question.--Is the predestination
which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing? If so, is not the effort
to avoid it useless?
Answer.--Fate is of two kinds:
one is decreed, and the other is conditional or impending. The decreed fate is
that which cannot change or be altered, and conditional fate is that which may
occur. So, for this lamp, the decreed fate is that the oil burns and will be
consumed; therefore, its eventual extinction is a decree which it is impossible
to alter or to change because it is a decreed fate. In the same way, in the
body of man a power of life has been created, and as soon as it is destroyed
and ended, the body will certainly be decomposed, so when the oil in this lamp
is burnt and finished, the lamp will undoubtedly become extinguished.
But conditional fate may be
likened to this: while there is still oil, a violent wind blows on the lamp,
which extinguishes it. This is a conditional fate. It is wise to avoid it, to
protect oneself from it, to be cautious and circumspect. But the decreed fate,
which is like the finishing of the oil in the lamp, cannot be altered, changed
nor delayed. It must happen; it is inevitable that the lamp will become
extinguished.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 244.
The Doctrine of Free Will
We still have our will.
“No sooner did the hosts of true knowledge appear,
bearing the standards of Divine utterance, than the tribes of the religions
were put to flight, save only those who willed to drink from the stream of
everlasting life in a Paradise created by the breath of the All-Glorious.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p.
47.
Every man’s capacity is pre-ordained, but man is
given volition to fill that pre-ordained capacity or to let it remain more or
less empty.
“And now, concerning thy question regarding the
creation of man. Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by
God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed a
pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets. All that
which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of
your own volition. Your own acts testify to this truth.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 148.
In particular the choice to do good or evil is left to
man himself, though under all circumstances he is dependent upon the help of
God.
“In the same way, in all the action or inaction of
man, he receives power from the help of God; but the choice of good or evil
belongs to the man himself.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 250.
The Doctrine of the General Revelation of God in Nature
The general revelation of God’s attributes in nature is sufficient to
give man knowledge that a Creator exists and some idea of His glory and His
knowledge. The general revelation of
God in nature however, is not sufficient to give us an understanding of His
daily requirements for us in each dispensation.
Old
Testament Pslams 19:1 - 4 The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto
night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is
not heard. Their line is gone out
through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Each Prophet is given a star that appears in the literal heavens as a
general revelation of His coming into the world. So it was with Jesus as well.
New Testament Matthew 2:1 – 2, 7, 9 - 10 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that
is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come
to worship him. Then Herod, when he had
privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Paul says that God’s attributes, at least that He is
the only God and that He has eternal power, are made known by the created
universe.
New Testament Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse
The natural signs of regulation of natural law should make it clear
that we will have a Lord to reckon with.
Qur’án 13:2 God is He Who raised
the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on the
throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each
one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs,
explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the
meeting with your Lord.
The general revelation of God in nature is enough to
lead to the true religion of God and the Prophet of the Age.
“All these signs are reflected and can be seen in
the book of existence, and the scrolls that depict the shape and pattern of the
universe are indeed a most great book. Therein every man of insight can
perceive that which would lead to the Straight Path and would enable him to
attain the Great Announcement.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 60 – 61.
The general revelation of God in nature reveals Him
as Maker and Creator.
“Say: Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My
Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying
causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is
God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a
dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone
to affirm that it is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being, no
one should question this assertion. It is endowed with a power whose reality
men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man of insight can perceive naught
therein save the effulgent splendour of Our Name, the Creator. Say: This is an
existence which knoweth no decay, and Nature itself is lost in bewilderment
before its revelations, its compelling evidences and its effulgent glory which
have encompassed the universe.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 142.
The Revelations of the Beauty of the Prophet, which
are His spiritual attributes, are imprinted upon all creatures seen and unseen.
“The portals of Thy grace have throughout eternity
been open, and the means of access unto Thy Presence made available, unto all
created things, and the revelations of Thy matchless Beauty have at all times
been imprinted upon the realities of all beings, visible and invisible.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 63.
Both the Word of God in the special revelation of God, and everything
created in the general revelation of God in nature proclaim evidences of a
regeneration or recreation of the world.
“Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the
omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled
into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of
this world-wide regeneration.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 92.
Many
meanings can be found in the natural revelation of God.
“Within
every garden they will behold the mystic bride of inner meaning enshrined
within the chambers of utterance in the utmost grace and fullest
adornment.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 90.
Bahá’u’lláh
also states about God’s General Revelation:
“Know
thou that every created thing is a sign of the revelation of God. Each,
according to its capacity, is, and will ever remain, a token of the Almighty.
Inasmuch as He, the sovereign Lord of all, hath willed to reveal His
sovereignty in the kingdom of names and attributes, each and every created
thing hath, through the act of the Divine Will, been made a sign of His glory.
So pervasive and general is this revelation that nothing whatsoever in the
whole universe can be discovered that doth not reflect His splendor. Under such
conditions every consideration of proximity and remoteness is obliterated....
Were the Hand of Divine power to divest of this high endowment all created
things, the entire universe would become desolate and void.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 183 – 184.
The
Doctrine of the Prophet
We are to worship God as Manifested in His Prophet.
“Who cleave, who seek in Me
Refuge from birth and death, those have the Truth!
Those know Me BRAHMA: know Me Soul of Souls,
The ADHYATMAN: know KARMA, my work;
Know I am ADHIBHUTA, Lord of Life,
And ADHIDAIVA, Lord of all the Gods,
And ADHIYAJNA, Lord of Sacrifice;
Worship Me well, with hearts of love and faith,
And find and hold me in the hour of death.” Hindu Texts, Bhagavad-Gita
There is only one God, only one deity worthy of
worship. This one God can only be known
by and through the Manifestations of God that the God of the Universe sends to
make his attributes and Will known.
Old Testament Hosea 13:4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of
Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
Moses manifested the attributes of God.
Old Testament Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to
face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but
his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the
tabernacle.
Prophets are the mediator between God
and man.
Old Testament Deuteronomy 5:31 But as for thee, stand thou here by
me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the
judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which
I give them to possess it.
Whatever God does to change the world, He first
tells the Prophets.
Old Testament Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he
revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Hosea states that God uses prophets to
lead and deliver His people.
Old Testament Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought
Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
The Prophet comes to deliver or save
mankind from sin and oppression.
Old Testament Exodus 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of
Israel out of Egypt.
Moses was not subject to his own will.
Old Testament Numbers 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that
the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine
own mind.
Part of the proof of a prophet is that
what he says happens.
Old Testament Hosea 5:9 . . . among the tribes of
Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
In the allegory of Satan speaking against Job in the
Old Testament, one finds the story of
how God permits man’s selfishness to persecute His Manifestation, and how man’s
selfish ego allows man to think that by persecuting the Prophet he will succeed
in turning Him from His mission.
Old
Testament Job 2:1 - 6 Again there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan
came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence
comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that
there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth
God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou
movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he
will curse thee to thy face. And the
LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Jesus revealed the attributes of God as He was
manifesting the Holy Spirit of God.
New Testament Matthew 1:20 - 21 But while he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph,
thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins.
The Prophets must reveal the attributes of God. God’s Manifestation will bear witness to the
Prophets before and after Him.
“Every Manifestation is but a revelation of Thine
Own Self, with each of Whom we have truly appeared and we bow down in adoration
before Thee. Thou hast been, O my Best Beloved, and shalt ever be my witness
throughout bygone times and in the days to come. Verily, Thou art the
All-Powerful, the Ever-Faithful, the Omnipotent.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 4.
The Holy Prophets have been created to perfectly
manifest the attributes of God to mankind.
“. . . Thy lamp which sheddeth the radiance of Thine own Self over all that
are in Thy heaven and all that are on Thy earth.” Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 7.
The Names of God and His Attributes
should be revealed in the lives of His Prophets.
“The light that is shed from the
heaven of bounty, and the benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of
the will of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, rest upon Him Who is the
Supreme Mediator, the Most Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the
Dawning-Place of His most excellent names and the Dayspring of His most exalted
attributes.” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf, p. 1 – 2.
A good tree bears good fruit. Moses invites us to have the attributes of
faithfulness that come from the Tree of Faithfulness, which in His day was
Moses.
“Consider Moses! Armed with the rod of
celestial dominion, adorned with the white hand of Divine knowledge, and
proceeding from the Párán of the love of God, and wielding the serpent of power
and everlasting majesty, He shone forth from the Sinai of light upon the world.
He summoned all the peoples and kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of
eternity, and invited them to partake of the fruit of the tree of
faithfulness.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 19.
Another possible criterion after the span
of time is that the Prophet is honored.
“This sovereignty must needs be
revealed and established either in the lifetime of every Manifestation of God
or after His ascension unto His true habitation in the realms above.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 26.
All we can know of God’s purpose is
through the Manifestation.
“The essence of belief in Divine unity
consisteth in regarding Him Who is the Manifestation of God and Him Who is the
invisible, the inaccessible, the unknowable Essence as one and the same. By
this is meant that whatever pertaineth to the former, all His acts and doings,
whatever He ordaineth or forbiddeth, should be considered, in all their
aspects, and under all circumstances, and without any reservation, as identical
with the Will of God Himself. This is the loftiest station to which a true
believer in the unity of God can ever hope to attain. Blessed is the man that
reacheth this station, and is of them that are steadfast in their belief.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 166.
One of the criterions of prophethood is that the
Prophet comes with signs and what he says will happen.
“How well hath a believer of the
kindred of Pharaoh, whose story is recounted by the All-Glorious in His Book
revealed unto His beloved One, observed: "And a man of the family of
Pharaoh who was a believer and concealed his faith said: `Will ye slay a man
because he saith my Lord is God, when He hath already come to you with signs
from your Lord? If he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of
truth, part of what he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not
him who is a transgressor, a liar.'"(Qur’án 40;28)” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 8.
Prophets are given signs that no mere
man can produce.
“He hath come to you with signs which
none can produce.” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle
to the Son of the Wolf, p. 48.
The City of God is nearness to the
Prophet and His Laws.
“And after Him there appeared from the
Ridván of the Eternal, the Invisible, the holy person of Salíh, Who again
summoned the people to the river of everlasting life. For over a hundred years
He admonished them to hold fast unto the commandments of God and eschew that
which is forbidden. His admonitions, however, yielded no fruit, and His
pleading proved of no avail. Several times He retired and lived in seclusion.
All this, although that eternal Beauty was summoning the people to no other
than the city of God.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 7.
Bahá’u’lláh says, that to obtain
assurance of the truth of His Revelation, look at how the Prophets were treated
before Him. The “bread of heaven” is
the Prophet in His life on earth. After
His leaving this world, it is the Word He has given.
“Examine the wondrous behaviour of the
Prophets, and recall the defamations and denials uttered by the children of
negation and falsehood, perchance you may cause the bird of the human heart to
wing its flight away from the abodes of heedlessness and doubt unto the nest of
faith and certainty, and drink deep from the pure waters of ancient wisdom, and
partake of the fruit of the tree of divine knowledge. Such is the share of the
pure in heart of the bread that hath descended from the realms of eternity and
holiness.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, pp. 4 – 5.
By studying the life of the Prophet,
it can be seen that the proof of the Prophet is the persecution He endures.
“Accordingly, a brief mention will be made
in this Tablet of divers accounts relative to the Prophets of God, that they
may demonstrate the truth that throughout all ages and centuries the
Manifestations of power and glory have been subjected to such heinous cruelties
that no pen dare describe them.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 5.
Every religion foretells the next
Prophet, but every Prophet comes under persecution.
“the advent of every true
Manifestation of God hath been accompanied by such strife and tumult, by such
tyranny and upheaval? This notwithstanding the fact that all the Prophets of
God, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world, have invariably
foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after them, and have established
such signs as would herald the advent of the future Dispensation. To this the
records of all sacred books bear witness.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 9.
The priests of the previous
dispensations have opposed the new Promised One.
“Leaders of religion, in every age,
have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation,
inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for
the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding,
have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and
authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and
winged His flight unto the heights of glory.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 10.
God allows persecution for a reason.
“Already We have said: "Glory to
Thee, O my God! But for the tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how
could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the trials which are
borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be
revealed?” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf, p. 125.
God allows the Prophets to come under
persecution for a reason.
“But for tribulations, how could the
assured be distinguished from the doubters among Thy servants?” Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations,
p. 9.
Again Bahá’u’lláh states why the
Prophets are persecuted.
“They that are shut out as by a veil
from Thee have imagined that they have the power to put out Thy light, and to
quench Thy fire, and to still the winds of Thy grace. Nay, and to this Thy
might beareth me witness! Had not every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy
wisdom, and every ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared
oppose us, though the powers of earth and heaven were to be leagued against us.
Were I to unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom which are laid bare
before me, the reins of Thine enemies would be cleft asunder.” Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations,
p. 14.
The purpose of God’s Prophets being
hurt:
“The aim of this Wronged One in
sustaining woes and tribulations, in revealing the Holy Verses and in
demonstrating proofs hath been naught but to quench the flame of hate and
enmity, that the horizon of the hearts of men may be illumined with the light
of concord and attain real peace and tranquility.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 219.
The Prophet is not the Essence of
God. Yet, all we can ever know about
God is what is revealed by His Manifestations.
“Is the Divine Manifestation, God?
Yes, and yet not in Essence. A Divine Manifestation is as a mirror reflecting
the light of the Sun. The light is the same and yet the mirror is not the
Sun.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Abdu'l-Baha in
London, p. 66.
Prophets cannot sustain the persecution of the
people without the aid of God. That
they are able to, proves they come from God.
“It is clear that human power is not
able to fill such a great office, and that reason alone could not undertake the
responsibility of so great a mission. How can one solitary person without help
and without support lay the foundations of such a noble construction? He must
depend on the help of the spiritual and divine power to be able to undertake
this mission. One Holy Soul gives life to the world of humanity, changes the
aspect of the terrestrial globe, causes intelligence to progress, vivifies
souls, lays the basis of a new life, establishes new foundations, organizes the
world, brings nations and religions under the shadow of one standard, delivers
man from the world of imperfections and vices, and inspires him with the desire
and need of natural and acquired perfections. Certainly nothing short of a
divine power could accomplish so great a work. We ought to consider this with
justice, for this is the office of justice.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 9 – 10.
Despite persecutions the Prophet
prevails.
“In spite of His evil repute, how
wonderfully He was guided by a supernatural power in establishing His great
institutions and laws!” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 15.
The Prophet is a mirror through which the qualities,
but not the essence, of the Divine appear in a manner that man is capable of
understanding.
“The Lord Christ said, `He that hath
seen Me hath seen the Father'--God manifested in man.
The
sun does not leave his place in the heavens and descend into the mirror, for
the actions of ascent and descent, coming and going, do not belong to the
Infinite, they are the methods of finite beings. In the Manifestation of God,
the perfectly polished mirror, appear the qualities of the Divine in a form
that man is capable of comprehending.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 13.
Shoghi Effendi references Bahá’u’lláh
showing why the Prophets are sent.
“"The door of the knowledge of
the Ancient of Days," Bahá'u'lláh further states in the Kitáb-i-Iqán,
"being thus closed in the face of all beings, He, the Source of infinite
grace ... hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the
realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest
unto all men, that they may impart unto the world the mysteries of the
unchangeable Being and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable Essence...
All the Prophets of God, His well-favored, His holy and chosen Messengers are,
without exception, the bearers of His names and the embodiments of His
attributes... These Tabernacles of Holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect
the Light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of
the Invisibles."” Shoghi Effendi, The
World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 113 – 114.
The Doctrine of the
Unity of the Prophets
Muhammad states that all the
Prophets gave the revelation of God to man and no distinction is there between
them to be made.
Qur’án 2:136 Say ye: "We believe in God, and the revelation
given to us, and to Abraham, Ismá'íl, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that
given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We
make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to God
submission (Islam)."
The unity of all the prophets is
explained.
“Know thou assuredly that the
essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is
absolute. God, the Creator, saith: There is no distinction whatsoever among the
Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same
secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the
rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His
Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone
before Him.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 78.
The
Spirit of God, i.e., the Manifestation of God, (here referring to the
Collective Unity They possess) is the means by which God brought creation into
being.
Genesis
1:2 And the earth was without form, and
void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters.
The
Manifestation of God stands in place of God in front of man.
Old
Testament Exodus 4:16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the
people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou
shalt be to him instead of God.
Christ
also uses this analogy to Himself and the Holy God.
New
Testament John 12:44 - 45 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me,
believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him
that sent me.
To
know God, you must know His Prophet.
“Yea,
these mentionings that have been made of the grades of knowledge relate to the
knowledge of the Manifestations of that Sun of Reality, which casteth Its light
upon the Mirrors.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 23-24.
The
Doctrine of the Eternality and Infinity of the Manifestation of God
Since
the Prophets manifest the attributes of God, and Bahá’u’lláh declares there is
neither a first nor a last, except that there is a first and a last, in other
words the unknowableness of his infinity and yet in relation to man also a
beginning that has no beginning and an end that has no end, we find the Old
Testament explaining God as being the beginning and the end.
Old
Testament Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling
the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I
am he.
Prophets comings are eternal.
“.
. . the Manifestations of His Beauty no
beginning hath beheld, and they will continue to the "End that knoweth no
end."” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán,
p. 107.
The Doctrine of John the
Baptist
While many Bahá’ís refer this passage to the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and
indeed Shoghi Effendi compares the Báb to John in an analogy, nevertheless
`Abdu’l-Bahá (concerning this passage and also Malachi 4:5 as quoted in the
Gospel of John) speaks, in Some Answered Questions Section 33 The Return
Spoken of by the Prophets, that it refers to the return of Elijah’s spiritual
attributes in John the Baptist. So the
primary reference must be to John and Christ.
Old Testament Malachi 3:1 - 3 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: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
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' soap: 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.
`Abdu’l-Bahá specifically interprets this passage as a reference to
John the Baptist (when interpreting the Gospel of John which refers to this
passage Some Answered Questions Section 33 The Return Spoken of By the
Prophets).
Old Testament Malachi 4:5 Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the LORD
John the Baptist is predicted also in Isaiah.
New Testament Matthew 3:1 - 3 In
those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And
saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that
was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Jesus references Malachi to show that John the Baptist was prophesied
in the Old Testament. John is the
spiritual fulfillment of the return of Elijah.
It is not literally Elijah that comes back but the mission and
attributes that were found in Elijah will be found in John.
New Testament Matthew 17:10 - 13 And
his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first
come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and
restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they
knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall
also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake
unto them of John the Baptist.
John was not Elijah, but would be in a like power and mission as Elijah
and had the attributes that Elijah possessed.
New Testament Luke 1:17 - 27 And
he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
John even acknowledges he is not the Prophet Elijah (i.e., the
reincarnation of Elijah), nor the Christ.
He also prophesied the coming of the Messiah Jesus.
New Testament John 1:19 And this
is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am
not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I
am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him,
Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou
of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were
sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why
baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that
prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth
one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred
before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
John’s mission was to prepare the path so that Christ could survive
long enough to complete His mission.
The idea of mountains and hills are symbolic of greater and lesser
governments, while valleys are areas of chaos in the world.
New Testament Luke 3:2 – 6 ... the word of God came unto John the son
of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan,
preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written
in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made
smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Bahá’ís often say that John the Baptist to Christ was like the Báb to
Bahá’u’lláh. But unlike the Báb, John
was not an independent Prophet who founded His own religion. However, I believe it will be up to future
historians and theologians to ponder if this is entirely an accurate
analogy. For when Paul was teaching he
found colonies of the followers of John the Baptist still following John, it
would appear that like the Báb John founded an independent religion that was
short lived and for the purpose of preparing the hearts and minds for the new
revelation in Jesus. Further, Jesus
acknowledges that John was more than just a prophet (that is a minor
prophet) and yet that Jesus (he who is
least in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus was the suffering servant) is greater
than John in revelation. When I was on
pilgrimage in the early 1970’s, I was in the Pilgrim House speaking with former
Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Furatan who was reading his translation of a
untranslated Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh which indicated that John did form a short
lived religion and was an independent Prophet in His Own right.
New Testament Matthew 11:7 - 15 And
as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What
went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what
went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear
soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet?
yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is
written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy
way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there
hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John
the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent
take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And
if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears
to hear, let him hear.
Muhammad sates of John whom He calls Yahya:
Qur’án 3:38 - 39 There did
Zakariya pray to his Lord, saying: "O my Lord! Grant unto me from Thee a
progeny that is pure: for Thou art He that heareth prayer! While he was standing in prayer in the
chamber, the angels called unto him: "God doth give thee glad tidings of
Yahyá, witnessing the truth of a Word from God, and (be besides) noble, chaste,
and a prophet,- of the (goodly) company of the righteous."
The Doctrine of Christ
From the tribe of Judah comes the royal line of David that ends with
Christ. After that Muhammad interrupts
this literal Jewish lineage for the spiritual one.
Old Testament Genesis 49:10 The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
The time when there were no prophets in Israel until the coming of John
and Jesus is referred to by Christian scholars as the inter-testament period. From the last minor prophet of the Old
Testament until the coming of Jesus was approximately 490 years. This tallies with the number of Jubilees
called “Sabbaths” missed that the children of Israel ignored. There were 490 Jubilees that had been missed.
Old Testament Leviticus 26:33 - 35 And
I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and
your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth
desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and
enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth
desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt
upon it.
The verse is both an immediate prophecy of a major Prophet to come from
Israel which is Jesus, and also it speaks not only of rising from Israel, but
also from the brethren of Israel, and speaks of Muhammad who came from the
Semitic tribes of Arabia from the brethren of Israel the Ishmaelite.
Old Testament Deuteronomy 18:18 I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and
will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command him.
Jesus is also called a Nazerite in a prophetic way in the New
Testament. In the New Testament
Nazerite refers to the town of Nazareth, while in the Old Testament it refers
to a type of holy vow. It is obvious
that the writers of the New Testament viewed the Scriptures in a very
non-literal way.
Old Testament Judges 13:5 For,
lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head:
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. . .
God further enlarges this Covenant with David to
include not only Solomon who is spoken of directly in the passage, but also the
Messiah, Jesus Christ who is alluded to in the same verses, Solomon being the
type or representative of the Messiah.
Old Testament First Chronicles 17:11 - 14 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou
must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which
shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will
stablish his throne for ever. I will be
his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him,
as I took it from him that was before thee:
But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his
throne shall be established for evermore.
This Psalm foretells the crucifixion and triumph of Christ. It is this Psalm that Jesus begins to quote
on the cross, not as a sign of weakness but to point out one time more in His
death that from the Scriptures even this was foretold.
Old Testament Psalms 22:1, 6 – 8, 14 - 18 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so
far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? . . . But I am a worm,
and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they
shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver
him, seeing he delighted in him. . . I
am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like
wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of
the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare
upon me. They part my garments among
them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Another Psalm reveals the torment of Christ.
Old Testament Psalms 69:20 – 21 Reproach
hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take
pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in
my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
The Old Testament speaks to the fact the Christ would speak of
spiritual things in parable.
Old Testament Psalms 78:2 I
will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old. . .
David speaking of Christ, Christ quotes this verse. Christ shows that if the Jews want to be
literal He can out literal them. He
asks how can I be the son of David, when David says I am his Lord?
Old Testament Psalms 110:1 The
LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies
thy footstool.
Christ is the first from Moses to again be a Prophet to the entire
world, and not just primarily to Israel (with the exception of the minor
prophet Jonah). Melchizedek is not some
mystical character, but a Gentile Priest of the Most High God who blessed the
Prophet Abraham. He becomes a type or
representation of Christ as a Priest of the Gentile nations.
Old Testament Psalms 110:4 The
LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek.
Bahá’u’lláh confirms the virgin birth of Christ. Isaiah’s prophecy of the birth of Christ is
first given as a physical sign to the king, but a spiritual sign in the future
to Judah.
Old Testament Isaiah 7:14 - 16 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he
eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse
the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken
of both her kings.
Christ was a snare and a reason why Israel stumbled and fell from the
grace of God. Isaiah refers in his time
to the word of the Lord coming through him, but applies it to a future time
when the Messiah Jesus will come.
Old Testament Isaiah 8:14 And he
shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of
offence to both the houses of Israel, for a sign and for a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
The actual location of Jesus appearance, Galilee, is also mentioned in
the Old Testament.
Old Testament Isaiah 9:1 – 2 Nevertheless
the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he
lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward
did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in
Galilee of the nations. The people that
walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Christians always refer this prophecy to Christ. It also has been used by Bahá’ís to refer to
Bahá’u’lláh and His son `Abdu’l-Bahá. `Abdu’l-Bahá,
Himself, states that it refers to Bahá’u’lláh, though in a lesser degree has
some reference to Jesus, and that it is not completely fulfilled in Christ but
is completely fulfilled in Bahá’u’lláh.
Old Testament Isaiah 11:1 - 2 And
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots: And the spirit of the
LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
The Gospel shows that this passage refers to Jesus.
Old Testament Isaiah 42:1 - 3 Behold
my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put
my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his
voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he
shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Isaiah predicts Christ as the servant of God, and a light to the
gentiles.
Old Testament Isaiah 49:5 - 7 And
now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring
Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in
the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou
shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel,
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship,
because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall
choose thee.
The pre-cross tortures of Christ are mentioned.
Old Testament Isaiah 50:5 - 6 The
Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away
back. I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame
and spitting.
This is a lengthy reference to Christ, his sufferings and their effect.
Old Testament Isaiah 52:13 – 15, 53:1 - 12 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted
and extolled, and be very high. As many
were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form
more than the sons of men: So shall he
sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which
had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall
they consider. Who hath believed our
report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root
out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of
the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he
stricken. And he made his grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto
death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Christ being a Jew called nations outside the Mosaic world.
Old Testament Isaiah 55:5 Behold,
thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee
shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of
Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Christ refers Himself to this very passage reading it in a synagogue.
Old Testament Isaiah 61:1 - 2 The
Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that
are bound; To proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD
Quoted in the New Testament as referring to Christ, when Jesus and parents
went and then came back from Egypt, it refers to the nation of Israel, but
since Christ is the King of Israel would therefore refer to him as the Head of
Israel.
Old Testament Hosea 11:1 When
Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Literally fulfilled, Jesus was struck on the cheek with the rod, was
born in Bethlehem, and was the Ruler of Israel though they knew it not.
Old Testament Micah 5:1 – 2 Now
gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us:
they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou,
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
This prophecy directly relates to Christ.
Old Testament Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King
cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
This is an allusion to the price paid to Judas and what Judas
ultimately did with the blood money, and what those in the Temple did with the money
that Judas threw back in the Temple, namely the purchase of the potter’s field.
Old Testament Zechariah 11:12 - 13 And
I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So
they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly
price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and
cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
The Sonship of Jesus is derived from Jesus as King of Israel. In those times the King was absolute, and
not only was the king the Head of the Country, as an absolute Monarch the King
was the nation and ruled by a Divine right.
So it is we find the nation of Israel refered to as God’s son. In the New Testament, Jesus as God’s son is
the very nation of Israel personified.
Old Testament Exodus 4:22 - 23 And
thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my
firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my
son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will
slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
Jesus and the crucifixion is typified, in the Passover, in the placing
of the blood upon the doorposts. The
sign made by the door posts in the Hebrew Language is Tau, in Greek is becomes
the letter t or more symbolically a cross.
Old Testament Exodus 12:13 And
the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to
destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
The virgin birth and the idea that a manifestation of God’s attributes
would be found in this particular Prophet are made clear.
New Testament Matthew 1:22 - 23 Now
all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us.
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is predicted.
New Testament Matthew 2:3 - 6 When
Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto
him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou
Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
The journey to Egypt and from Egypt back to Nazareth is predicted.
New Testament Matthew 2:14 - 15 When
he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into
Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my
son.
The city of his raising becomes Nazareth and is predicted by a play on
words with the similar sounding Nazrite who takes the vows of Samson.
New Testament Matthew 2:23 And
he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
John the Baptist predicts Jesus mission.
New Testament Matthew 3:11 I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire
Christ quoted Isaiah to say that He had come in fulfillment of Isaiah’s
prophecy.
New Testament Luke 4:17 - 21 And
there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave
it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in
the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is
this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Christ was predicted to come to the Gentile lands through Galilee.
New Testament Matthew 4:13 - 16 And
leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast,
in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of
Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The
people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Christ predicts that some who He was speaking to would not die until
they saw Him in His Kingdom. Since the
Kingdom of Christ is the Church and the believers are the church, it would seem
that Christ was alluding to the fact that the Church after His death would be
established and those standing before Him at the time of this statement would
live to see the time when the Church would spread His teachings.
New Testament Matthew 16:28 Verily
I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death,
till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom
Christ fulfills the Prophecy of Zechariah.
New Testament Matthew 21:2 - 7
Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye
shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto
me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of
them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of
Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a
colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded
them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and
they set him thereon.
Again:
New Testament John 12:14 - 16 And
Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not,
daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These
things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had
done these things unto him.
Christ Himself acknowledged that He was the King of the Jews.
New Testament Mark 15:2 And Pilate
asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou
sayest it.
Again:
New Testament Luke 23:1 – 3 And
the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to
accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate
asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said,
Thou sayest it.
Again:
New Testament John 18:37 Pilate
therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth
heareth my voice.
Mary is told that Jesus would be a King of Israel. It might also be noted that Jesus’ father is
referred to here as David.
New Testament 1:30 - 32 And the
angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call
his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
Jesus brings light to the non-Jewish nations.
New Testament Luke 2:25 - 32 And,
behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man
was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost
was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should
not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit
into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him
after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God,
and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy
word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before
the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy
people Israel.
Jesus prophesied to die by martyrdom.
New Testament Acts 8:32 The place
of the scripture which he (Philip) read was this, He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth
Jude speaks of Enoch, quoting him, that he spoke of the coming of
Christ. The first coming of Christ was also a judgment day.
New Testament Jude 1:14 - 15 And
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the
Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and
to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him.
Bahá’ís acknowledge the virgin birth of Christ as a fact.
New Testament Matthew 1:16 - 18 And
Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called
Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;
and from David until the carrying away into Bábylon are fourteen generations;
and from the carrying away into Bábylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost.
Muhammad states that Christ was sent to bear witness to the Old
Testament, and to change some of the laws of the Old Testament, and that He
came with signs to prove His mission.
Qur’án 3:50 "'(I have come
to you), to attest the Law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part
of what was (Before) forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your
Lord. So fear God, and obey me.
When the Apostles asked Christ when He would come again, He answered
giving signs.
“Afterwards, the companions and disciples of Jesus asked Him concerning
those signs that must needs signalize the return of His manifestation. When,
they asked, shall these things be? Several times they questioned that peerless
Beauty, and, every time He made reply, He set forth a special sign that should
herald the advent of the promised Dispensation. To this testify the records of
the four Gospels.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 15.
Jesus was seated upon the Throne of David.
“He was seated upon the throne of David, but His sovereignty was
neither a Napoleonic sovereignty nor the vanishing dominion of a Pharaoh. The
Christ Kingdom was everlasting, eternal in the heaven of the divine Will.
By His promulgating the laws of
the Bible the reality of the law of Moses was meant. The Sinaitic law is the
foundation of the reality of Christianity. Christ promulgated it and gave it
higher, spiritual expression.
He conquered and subdued the
East and West. His conquest was effected through the breaths of the Holy
Spirit, which eliminated all boundaries and shone from all horizons.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of
Universal Peace, p. 199 – 200.
Jesus was born of a virgin birth.
“But Christ was born and came into existence from the Holy
Spirit.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered
Questions, p. 90.
The reason for Christ’s death is explained.
“The Christ sacrificed Himself so that men might be freed from the
imperfections of the physical nature and might become possessed of the virtues
of the spiritual nature. This spiritual nature, which came into existence
through the bounty of the Divine Reality, is the union of all perfections and
appears through the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is the divine perfections; it
is light, spirituality, guidance, exaltation, high aspiration, justice, love,
grace, kindness to all, philanthropy, the essence of life. It is the reflection
of the splendor of the Sun of Reality.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 118.
The Doctrine of Muhammad
Christ is symbolized at times as Joseph or Joseph-like. The overrunning of the branches of Joseph
over the wall symbolizes the teachings of Christ overspreading not just the
religion of Moses but to the whole world.
But in a final look Joseph most accurately represents Muhammad as
well. Since the Mohammedan revelation
overspread all of the geographic area of Moses, and far spread out to the
promised geographic area of Abraham’s seed, and it was Muhammad who as a Semite
from Arabia was separate from His brothers the Jewish Semites.
Old Testament Genesis 49:22, 24, 26 Joseph
is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a wall; whose branches run over
the wall: But his bow abode in
strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) The blessings of thy father have prevailed
above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting
hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him
that was separate from his brethren.
Moses speaks here in an allusion to Himself (Sinai), Christ (Seir), and Muhammad (Paran). Moses is obviously associated with Mount
Sinai, and Seir is upon study a Mount associated with Christ, while Mount Para
is associated with Muhammad and contains a form of his name – Praise
Old Testament Deuteronomy 33:1 - 2 And
this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of
Israel before his death. And he said,
The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from
mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went
a fiery law for them.
Verses 1-4 of this Psalm speak of Muhammad who in His dispensation
caused great and small governments to yield to the law of God and practice
justice. The mountains mentioned in the
verse are symbolic of governments. Then
in verse 5 – 7, Muhammad is again alluded to and the idea that Islam would
bring peace to the nations under it until the coming of the Báb. Here the idea that until the moon (crescent
moon is the symbol of Islam) is no more, or in other words, until Islam is no
more, because the Báb and the new renewal of religion has come. In verse 8 – 11 the Arabian or Islamic
Empire is prophesied. Indeed, the
boundaries outlined here are those of that empire. Verses 12 – 14 indicate the nature of the main laws that Muhammad
would give, including the idea of alms, the helping of the widow and orphan
etc. Verse 15 indicates that Muhammad
will not be martyred but will live out His life. And verse 15 and 17 give the name of this prophet, as Muhammad in
Arabic is a form of the word “Praise”.
Old Testament Psalms 72:1 - 17 Give
the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge thy people with
righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by
righteousness. He shall judge the poor
of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in
pieces the oppressor. They shall fear
thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown
grass: as showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long
as the moon endureth. He shall have
dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the
earth. They that dwell in the
wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
all nations shall serve him. For he
shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no
helper. He shall spare the poor and
needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from
deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. And he shall live, and to him shall be given
of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily
shall he be praised. There shall be an
handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof
shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the
earth. His name shall endure for ever:
his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in
him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Here is another prophecy of Muhammad.
Old Testament Psalms 78:40 – 41 How
oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and
limited the Holy One of Israel.
These verses refer to Muhammad who fled Mecca to be welcomed in Medina
from the sword of the polytheistic Meccans.
Old Testament Isaiah 21:13 - 15 The
burden upon Arabia. . . The inhabitants
of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with
their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
Christ and Muhammad are spoken of here. The land and its borders are the religion of the Prophet. The walls of the religion are salvation refers
to the main mission of Christ. The
gates to the city are Praise - Praise is the meaning of Muhammad, and it was
Muhammad who established the twelve Imams (gates).
Old Testament Isaiah 60:18 Violence
shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders;
but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
Again Muhammad is Arabic and is a derivative of the word Praise, just
as is the Hebrew word Judah. This
prophetic word then shows where He came from Arabia is Teman, and Paran is a
Mountain in the Arabian Peninsula.
Finally there is a prophetic play on His name as Praise.
Old Testament Habakkuk 3:3 God
came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered
the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
While this prophecy has been used to refer to Christ and indeed can
refer to any of the Prophets after Him, the primary meaning must be a reference
to Muhammad. It is the name that is
found in the greatest population of gentiles, and while Muhammad means Praise,
the Mohammedan greeting and call to prayer contain the phrase Allah-u-Akbar or
God is Great.
Old Testament Malachi 1:11 For
from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall
be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto
my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Christ prophecies the next Prophet Muhammad by declaring that the
Christian gospel would not be carried through every city in Israel before the
coming of the next Prophet. Muhammad
came around 620 A.D. By that time still
not every city in Israel had been evangelized.
New Testament Matthew 10:22 - 23 And
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the
end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into
another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of
Israel, till the Son of man be come.
The Tribulation took place prior to the coming of Muhammad. Spiritually the Word had become darkened by
those Priests who taught it, those Priests being like stars in the heaven of
Christian thought fell from the truth of heaven, then the star that always appears
in heaven to literally foretell the coming of the next Prophet came, and
Muhammad appeared upon the horizon of Arabia.
It also applies to the coming of any Manifestation and thus applies to
the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
New Testament Matthew 24:29 - 31 Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
Again:
New Testament Mark 13:24 - 27 But
in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that
are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of
the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Muhammad is referred to as is the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh says these signs come with each
Prophet. I believe that it is better
suited to Muhammad in this case because of the final passage which alludes to
the fact that the coming of the Son of Man (Muhammad) would indicate that the
final redemption through the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh would be next (draweth
nigh). Muhammad always declared, “I am
a man like you”. So Muhammad is the son
of Man, while Bahá’u’lláh is known as the Father.
New Testament Luke 21:27 - 28 And
then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Muhammad is the “paraclete”, a term that simply means comforter or
helper. The words of Jesus concerning
this comforter or helper have been misconstrued by the Christian Fathers. While Christ describes this Helper as the
Holy Spirit, He does not refer to Him as a Spirit when He comes in the
future. There is a Holy Spirit from
God, and there is a Holy Spirit, a Personage who comes to fulfill Christ’s
Mission, just as Christ came to fulfill Moses’. However, the actual reference is a prophecy referring to an actual
Person to come in the future. The next
Prophet is Muhammad. Jesus speaking of
the station of the Helper refers to Him as an equal, and states that the
Apostles know Him because He lives with them.
In other words, He and Christ will be the same.
New Testament John 14:16 - 18 And
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I
will come to you.
This Holy Spirit, the Personage, would be sent by God, would come with
the same authority granted Christ, and by means of the Qur’án would bring to
remembrance the teachings of Christ.
New Testament John 14:25 - 29 These
things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto
you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father:
for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to
pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
Again:
New Testament John 15:26 But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me...
Again Christ states this Person will reveal things to come and will
testify of Christ. All this Muhammad
indeed accomplished.
New Testament John 16:7 - 16 Nevertheless
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him
unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto
you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to
come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto
you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall
take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see
me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Muhammad was the new name, that no one knew, which the believers who
were to be faithful were to receive.
Allegorically and symbolically it is a white stone with the name written
on it.
New Testament Revelation 2:17 He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him
that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a
white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he
that receiveth it.
Again the new name is mentioned.
So while in the Christian dispensation there was no other name under
heaven by which one could attain salvation, John shows that a new name will
come into play in the next dispensation and that name was Muhammad during the
next dispensation.
New Testament Revelation 3:12 Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go
no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the
city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my
God: and I will write upon him my new name.
The two witnesses are Muhammad and Ali. The times they prophesy is the length of their dispensation which
is 1260 years, each day being equal to a year.
The whole time from the beginning of the Muslim calendar until the
coming of the Báb was literally 1260 years.
New Testament Revelation 11:3 And
I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
The woman is the religion of God.
The Child is Muhammad.
Muhammad’s government indeed did rule the nations with an iron rule; the
Child left the earth to the throne of God.
The religion of God fled into the wilderness that is almost disappeared
for 1260 days, each day a year, or 1260 years.
New Testament Revelation 12:5 - 6 And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into
the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed
her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
These two witnesses, Muhammad and Ali, will die, their teachings will almost
be destroyed, the religion they establish being like a dead body, but not
allowed to be ended, but after 3 and one half days (which is 3½ years, which in
days is 1260 days by the Muslim lunar calendar, and 1260 days are 1260 years),
or 1260 years their mission will be revived in the persons of the Báb and
Quddus His major disciple and leader.
The beast is the Umayyad Dynasty, which did all in its power to destroy
every living descendant of Muhammad and Ali, and almost destroyed Islam. Both the Báb and Quddus were martyred and
called up to heaven. The day the Báb
was killed, the city He was murdered in suffered an earthquake which destroyed
a tenth of the city and killed around 7,000 to 10,000 people.
New Testament Revelation 11:7 - 13 And
when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of
the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and
kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their
dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to
be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them,
and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets
tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the
spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and
great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from
heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a
cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great
earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were
slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to
the God of heaven.
Since the Christian clergy took the references to the sun and moon
literally being darkened, they failed to recognize the symbolic import and so
failed to recognize Muhammad.
“Consider now, had the people of the Gospel recognized the meaning of the symbolic terms "sun" and "moon," had they sought, unlike the froward and perverse, enlightenment from Him Who is the Revealer of divine knowledge, they would have surely comprehended the purpose of these terms, and would not have become afflicted and oppressed by the darkness of their selfish desires.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 27.
The Doctrine of the Báb
The Báb is the Gate from Heaven by which if we believe we truly can
ascend. Unbelievers used these very
words - that those who believed in Him were either drunk or the victims of
witchcraft and magic spells.
Qur’án 15:14 - 15 Even if We
opened out to them a Gate from heaven, and they were to continue (all day)
ascending therein, They would only say: "Our eyes have been intoxicated:
Nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery."
The station of the Báb is defined by Him.
“I
am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp
which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine with
deathless splendour. I am the Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon
Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of the Burning
Bush.” The Báb, Selections from the
Writings of the Báb, p. 74.
Bahá’u’lláh quoting this passage of Scripture maintains that it has
been fulfilled in both the Day of the Báb, and in His Own Day.
“As to the words--"Immediately after the oppression of those
days"--they refer to the time when men shall become oppressed and
afflicted, the time when the lingering traces of the Sun of Truth and the fruit
of the Tree of knowledge and wisdom will have vanished from the midst of men,
when the reins of mankind will have fallen into the grasp of the foolish and
ignorant, when the portals of divine unity and understanding--the essential and
highest purpose in creation--will have been closed, when certain knowledge will
have given way to idle fancy, and corruption will have usurped the station of
righteousness. Such a condition as this is witnessed in this day when the reins
of every community have fallen into the grasp of foolish leaders, who lead
after their own whims and desire.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 19.
Prophets come only after such prophecies occurred and this has happened
over and over again with each Prophet’s dispensation.
“What "oppression" is greater than that which hath been
recounted? What "oppression" is more grievous than that a soul seeking
the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not
where to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed,
and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This
"oppression" is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it
cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of
the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of
error. For this reason, in all chronicles and traditions reference hath been
made unto these things, namely that iniquity shall cover the surface of the
earth and darkness shall envelop mankind. As the traditions referred to are
well known, and as the purpose of this servant is to be brief, He will refrain
from quoting the text of these traditions.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 21.
Because Christians took the signs of the darkening of the sun and moon
literally, and did not understand the spiritual meaning, they not only failed
to recognize Muhammad but now are losing sight of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
“They still have not awakened to perceive that all the signs foretold
have been made manifest, that the promised Sun hath risen above the horizon of
divine Revelation, and that the "sun" and "moon" of the
teachings, the laws, and learning of a former Dispensation have darkened and
set.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán,
p. 27 – 28.
The Báb is clearly foretold in Islamic Prophecy.
“Consider, that even the year in which that Quintessence of Light is to
be made manifest hath been specifically recorded in the traditions, yet they
still remain unmindful, nor do they for one moment cease to pursue their
selfish desires. According to the tradition, Mufaddál asked Sádiq saying:
"What of the sign of His manifestation, O my master?" He made reply: "In the year sixty (1260
A.H., 1844 A.D.), His Cause shall be made manifest, and His Name shall be
proclaimed."” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 162.
Historically, Europeans eastern and western, knew about the martyrdom
of the Báb, and the events surrounding it.
“. . . they removed those two
bodies from the square to the edge of the moat outside the city, and that night
they remained by the edge of the moat. Next day the Russian consul came with an
artist and took a picture of those two bodies in the posture wherein they had
fallen at the edge of the moat.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveler's Narrative, p. 27.
The Báb was declaring that His Book the Bayán was being dictated to Him
as it were by Bahá’u’lláh.
“He claimed to be the medium of grace from His Highness the Lord of the
Age (upon Him be peace); but afterwards it became known and evident that His
meaning was the Gatehood [Bábíyyat] of another city and the mediumship of the
graces of another Person Whose qualities and attributes were contained in His
books and treatises.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, A
Traveler's Narrative, p. 6 – 7.
The Báb is referred to by `Abdu’l-Bahá as Emmanuel. We may then conclude that the Prophecy of
Emanuel in the Old Testament refers both to Jesus Christ, and the Báb. This, like the references to the Throne of
David, ought not to confuse Bahá’ís. In
both cases, Bahá’u’lláh has confirmed that what is true of one Manifestation or
is applied to one can equally be applied to all. Both Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh each sat on the
Throne of David, and all were “God with Us” which is the meaning of Emmanuel.
“Emmanuel was indeed the Herald of the Second Coming of Christ, and a
Summoner to the pathway of the Kingdom.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 64.
`Abdu’l-Bahá explains the Biblical Prophecy of Revelation 11:3 – 11 as
it relates to Muhammad and Ali and the resurrection of Their Mission in the
persons of the Báb and Quddus.
“"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and three-score days, clothed in
sackcloth." These two witnesses
are Muhammad the Messenger of God, and `Alí, son of Abú Tálib... The commands
of these two witnesses were to be performed for twelve hundred and sixty days,
each day signifying a year. Now, Muhammad was the root, and `Alí the branch,
like Moses and Joshua. It is said they "are clothed in sackcloth,"
meaning that they, apparently, were to be clothed in old raiment, not in new
raiment; in other words, in the beginning they would possess no splendor in the
eyes of the people, nor would their Cause appear new; for Muhammad's spiritual
Law corresponds to that of Christ in the Gospel, and most of His laws relating
to material things correspond to those of the Pentateuch. This is the meaning
of the old raiment.
Then it is said: "These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." These two souls are
likened to olive trees because at that time all lamps were lighted by olive
oil. The meaning is two persons from whom that spirit of the wisdom of God,
which is the cause of the illumination of the world, appears...
Then it is said: "They are standing before God," meaning that
they are standing in the service of God, and educating the creatures of God,
such as the barbarous nomad Arab tribes of the Arabian peninsula, whom they
educated in such a way that in those days they reached the highest degree of
civilization, and their fame and renown became worldwide...
Afterward it is said: "These have power to shut heaven, that it
rain not in the days of their prophecy," meaning that in that cycle they
would be like kings. The law and teachings of Muhammad, and the explanations
and commentaries of `Alí, are a heavenly bounty; if they wish to give this
bounty, they have power to do so. If they do not wish it, the rain will not
fall: in this connection rain stands for bounty...
"The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall war
against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them": this beast means the Umayyads who attacked
them from the pit of error, and who rose against the religion of Muhammad and
against the reality of `Alí--in other words, the love of God.
It is said, "The beast made war against these two
witnesses"--that is to say, a spiritual war, meaning that the beast would
act in entire opposition to the teachings, customs and institutions of these
two witnesses, to such an extent that the virtues and perfections which were
diffused by the power of those two witnesses among the peoples and tribes would
be entirely dispelled, and the animal nature and carnal desires would conquer.
Therefore, this beast making war against them would gain the victory--meaning
that the darkness of error coming from this beast was to have ascendency over
the horizons of the world, and kill those two witnesses--in other words, that
it would destroy the spiritual life which they spread abroad in the midst of
the nation, and entirely remove the divine laws and teachings, treading under
foot the Religion of God. Nothing would thereafter remain but a lifeless body
without spirit.
"And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." "Their bodies" means the Religion
of God, and "the street" means in public view. The meaning of
"Sodom and Egypt," the place "where also our Lord was crucified,"
is this region of Syria, and especially Jerusalem, where the Umayyads then had
their dominions; and it was here that the Religion of God and the divine
teachings first disappeared, and a body without spirit remained. "Their
bodies" represents the Religion of God, which remained like a dead body
without spirit.
"And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall
see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves."
As it was before explained, in the terminology of the Holy Books three
days and a half signify three years and a half, and three years and a half are
forty and two months, and forty and two months twelve hundred and sixty days;
and as each day by the text of the Holy Book signifies one year, the meaning is
that for twelve hundred and sixty years, which is the cycle of the Qur'án, the
nations, tribes and peoples would look at their bodies--that is to say, that
they would make a spectacle of the Religion of God: though they would not act
in accordance with it, still, they would not suffer their bodies--meaning the
Religion of God--to be put in the grave. That is to say, that in appearance
they would cling to the Religion of God and not allow it to completely
disappear from their midst, nor the body of it to be entirely destroyed and
annihilated. Nay, in reality they would leave it, while outwardly preserving
its name and remembrance...
"And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God
entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
them that saw them." Three days
and a half, as we before explained, is twelve hundred and sixty years. Those
two persons whose bodies were lying spiritless are the teachings and the law
that Muhammad established and `Alí promoted, from which, however, the reality
had departed and only the form remained. The spirit came again into them means
that those foundations and teachings were again established. In other words,
the spirituality of the Religion of God had been changed into materiality, and
virtues into vices; the love of God had been changed into hatred, enlightenment
into darkness, divine qualities into satanic ones, justice into tyranny, mercy
into enmity, sincerity into hypocrisy, guidance into error, and purity into
sensuality. Then after three days and a half, which by the terminology of the Holy
Books is twelve hundred and sixty years, these divine teachings, heavenly
virtues, perfections and spiritual bounties were again renewed by the
appearance of the Báb and the devotion of Jináb-i-Quddús.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 48 – 54.
The Báb is an independent Manifestation of God, and the inaugurator of
His Own Dispensation.
“Dearly-beloved friends! That the Báb, the inaugurator of the Bábí
Dispensation, is fully entitled to rank as one of the self-sufficient
Manifestations of God, that He has been invested with sovereign power and
authority, and exercises all the rights and prerogatives of independent
Prophethood, is yet another fundamental verity which the Message of Bahá'u'lláh
insistently proclaims and which its followers must uncompromisingly uphold.
That He is not to be regarded merely as an inspired Precursor of the Bahá'í
Revelation, that in His person, as He Himself bears witness in the Persian
Bayán, the object of all the Prophets gone before Him has been fulfilled, is a
truth which I feel it my duty to demonstrate and emphasize.” Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá’u’lláh, p. 123.
Shortness of the duration of His Dispensation is not a criterion of
Divine Origin.
“The short duration of His Dispensation, the restricted range within
which His laws and ordinances have been made to operate, supply no criterion
whatever wherewith to judge its Divine origin and to evaluate the potency of
its message.” Shoghi Effendi, The
World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 123 – 124.
Shoghi Effendi points out the Báb’s Own claim to His station.
“"I am the Primal Point," the Báb thus addresses Muhammad Sháh from the prison-fortress of Máh-Ku, "from which have been generated all created things... I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never fade... All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left... I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath recognized Me, hath known all that is true and right, and hath attained all that is good and seemly... The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover."” Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 126.
The Doctrine of Bahá’u’lláh
The Buddha speaks of another Buddha to come. Since there are dates that are given later for the appearance of this
Buddha, they best correspond to the time of Bahá’u’lláh.
“At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One
named Metteyya, Arahat, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness,
happy, with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing
to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an Exalted One, a Buddha, even as I am
now. He, by Himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face
to face, this universe, with its worlds of the spirits, its brahmins, of princes
and peoples, even as I now, by Myself, thoroughly know and see them.” The Buddha, Digha Nikaya 3:75 – 76
translated in Dialogues of the Buddha, Vol. 3, pp. 73 – 74 also found in Buddhism
and the Bahá’í Faith, p. 47.
That the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is a larger outpouring upon the
world than the Buddha’s revelation is explained.
“The truth (the Norm, the Dhamma), lovely in its origin, lovely in its
progress, lovely in its consummation, will He (Metteyya Buddha) proclaim, both
in the spirit and in the letter; the higher life will He make known, in all its
fullness and in all its purity, even as I do now. He will be accompanied by a congregation of some thousands of
brethren, even as I am now accompanied by a congregation of some hundreds of
brethren.” The Buddha, Digha Nikaya
3:76 translated in Dialogues of the Buddha, Vol. 3, p. 74 also found in Buddhism
and the Bahá’í Faith, p. 47.
This prophecy concerns first the Muhammedan Dispensation and the twelve
Imams of the Dispensation and the four intermediaries of the twelfth Imam. The Imams were stylized as Gates or Doors,
and in particular were the four intermediaries who came after the 12th
Imam known as gates or doors through which the 12th Imam was
revealing. So too the Báb, was known as
the Gate through which was to come (unlike the Imam’s who were gates through
which a previous prophet was revealed) a future prophet, Bahá’u’lláh. It ends with the promise of the coming of
Bahá’u’lláh, the King of Glory.
Bahá’u’lláh is literally translated the Glory of God.
Old Testament Psalms 24:7 - 10 Lift
up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the
King of glory shall come in. Who is
this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift
them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of
hosts, he is the King of glory.
This particular verse is an allusion to ‘Akká, which was first a
crusader fort named St Jean De Arc, and later a prison city highly fortified
called ‘Akká.
Old Testament Psalms 31:21 Blessed
be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
The Lord is prophesied as appearing in God’s glory.
Old Testament Psalms 102:16 - 17 When
the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and not despise their prayer.
A prophecy is here given from Isaiah that cannot refer to Christ in His
first coming. It must refer to Bahá’u’lláh.
Old Testament Isaiah 2:2 - 4 And
it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people:
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more.
Prophecy is often partially fulfilled in one revelation and more fully
completed in another. The idea of the
Messiah as the victorious world leader was only partially enforced in the
Christian revelation, more fully enforced in the Mohammedan, and will be fully
enforced in the Bahá’í revelation. The
passage below is often referred to Jesus, is more applicable to Muhammad, but
finds its full realization in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
Old Testament Isaiah 9:6 – 7 For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for
ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
This is another prophecy that has been tied to Christ that cannot be
fulfilled by Jesus. The very idea of
“his resting place” or place of burial is an impossibility with Jesus, as the
physical body of Jesus and its resting place are not to be found.
Old Testament Isaiah 11:10 And
in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of
the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
This particular prophecy both gives the name of the Prophet,
Bahá’u’lláh, which in English or Hebrew means, “The Glory, Splendor, or Light
of God”, and the location, which shall actually see His presence, Mount Carmel
and the valley of Sharon.
Old Testament Isaiah 35:1 - 2 The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall
rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall
blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon
shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the
glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
These verses refer, according to Shoghi Effendi, to Christ and John,
first, and then to the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Iqán states it in reference to Christ and
John, and refers to it as that each Prophet has had a herald.
Old Testament Isaiah 40:3 - 5 The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall
be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Spiritual darkness of the early 1800’s covered the earth, and then the
Light of God shone forth!
Old Testament Isaiah 60:1 - 3 Arise,
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon
thee. For, behold, the darkness shall
cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon
thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising.
Christ proclaimed the name of the Lord, but Revelation states that when
He comes again He will have a new name.
Old Testament Isaiah 62:2 - 3 And
the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou
shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the
hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
The valley of ‘Akká or Achor is mentioned.
Old Testament Isaiah 65:10 And
Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds
to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
Bahá’u’lláh is the single Shepherd to be raised up over the Faithful of
the world.
Old Testament Ezekiel 34:23 – 24 And
I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant
David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will
be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken
it.
The Bahá’í Gardens of Mount Carmel and of Bahji are prophesied. The New King James translates the word in
the King James, which is “plant”, as planting place “garden”.
Old Testament Ezekiel 34:29 And
I will raise up for them a plant (a garden) of renown, and they shall be no
more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen
any more.
Bahá’u’lláh is the Shepherd who brings peace to the world, and Bahji
and Carmel are the locations for the new Temple which spiritually is the World
Center of the Bahá’í Faith.
Old Testament Ezekiel 37:24 – 28 And
David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd:
they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And
they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein
your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their
children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be
their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply
them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My
tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be
my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when
my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
This prophecy concerns the Gate which is the Báb and the Glory of the
Lord which is Bahá’u’lláh and the means by which revelation came first and
prepared the second revelation.
Old Testament Ezekiel 43:1 - 4 Afterward
he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And,
behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his
voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And
it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to
the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were
like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And
the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect
is toward the east.
Bahá’u’lláh is referred to in Daniel as the Ancient of Days. It is a prophecy related to Him and not His
Holiness Jesus Christ. Christ did not
fulfill this prophecy, but the teachings and life of Bahá’u’lláh were directly
to fulfill it.
Old Testament Daniel 7:13 - 14 I
saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near
before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that
all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed.
Prophecy of ‘Akká the Prison city of Bahá’u’lláh, Hosea refers to a
time when Judah and Israel will see it.
Old Testament Hosea 2:15 And I
will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of
hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day
when she came up out of the land of Egypt...
This prophecy indicates a time in the future when everyone on earth
will be familiar with Bahá’u’lláh’s story whether they believe or not. Bahá’u’lláh is a title that can accurately
be translated as the Glory of God, or the Glory of the Lord. It was a title not taken by Him, but given
at the conference of Badasht by Tahirih, and confirmed later by the Báb.
Old Testament Habakkuk 2:14 For
the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the
waters cover the sea.
This particular verse is a prophecy of Bahá’u’lláh by name. Bahá’u’lláh is translated the Glory of God.
New Testament Matthew 16:27 For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then
he shall reward every man according to his works.
Christ speaking about the ‘End” predicts the signs by which we can know
that the end is near, that the final fulfillment of the great World Teacher is
coming. Many of the things spoken of
here transpired before 70 A.D. Up to
and including the verse dealing with many false prophets these things happened
prior to the destruction of the Temple.
Indeed, the final destruction of the Temple came about as a result of a
rebellion led by a false prophet claiming to be the Messiah. Further, others had popped up prior to
him. The final quoted verse is the key,
the gospel would be preached throughout the world so that at least one preacher
would be found in each nation. The
Baptist missionary society declared that this had occurred in around mid or
late 1800’s.
New Testament Matthew 24:3 - 14 And
as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately,
saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them,
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:
see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in
divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver
you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all
nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray
one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise,
and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many
shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Again from Mark:
New Testament Mark 13:4 - 10 Tell
us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these
things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed
lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be
ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there
shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles:
these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they
shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and
ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Jesus predicts the international scope of Bahá’u’lláh’s government.
New Testament Matthew 25:31 - 32 When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all
nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth
his sheep from the goats...
John speaks of Bahá’u’lláh that he is the King of Kings, and
allegorically and figuratively and by personification shows how powerful and
great He is and that the name He will bear will not be the name Jesus. He also shows that the successors to the
Umayyad Dynasty of Islam, the beast, (the Islamists and corrupt Priest of Islam)
as well as the rulers of the nations will actively work and war against the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. He also shows
that Bahá’u’lláh is victorious.
New Testament Revelation 19:11 - 21 And
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a
name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a
vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies
which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he
should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath
on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather
yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh
of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh
of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free
and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on
the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded
out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The Báb speaks over and over again of Bahá’u’lláh. Here is but one example.
“When the Day-Star of Bahá will shine resplendent above the horizon of
eternity it is incumbent upon you to present yourselves before His Throne.
Beware lest ye be seated in His presence or ask questions without His leave.
Fear ye God, O concourse of the Mirrors.”
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 164.
The “sign of the son of man” appearing in the heavens refers first to
the Herald of the Prophet and also to a star that appears in the physical
heavens coincident with the birth and appearance of the Prophet.
“And now, concerning His words: "And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven." By these words it is meant that when the sun of
the heavenly teachings hath been eclipsed, the stars of the
divinely-established laws have fallen, and the moon of true knowledge--the
educator of mankind-- hath been obscured; when the standards of guidance and
felicity have been reversed, and the morn of truth and righteousness hath sunk
in night, then shall the sign of the Son of man appear in heaven. By
"heaven" is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as when the hour
draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the heaven of justice shall be made
manifest, and the Ark of divine guidance shall sail upon the sea of glory, a
star will appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of that most
great light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall be made
manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act as a harbinger of the
break of that true and exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and
the invisible heaven, have announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of
God, as is commonly believed.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 40.
‘Akká the prison fortress is prophesied.
“Lend an ear unto the song of David. He saith: "Who will bring me
into the Strong City?" The Strong
City is Akká, which hath been named the Most Great Prison, and which possesseth
a fortress and mighty ramparts.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 144.
The revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is willed and bidden by God to be
revealed.
“The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the
Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire
of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty
and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 5.
Bahá’u’lláh’s claim is to be the promised world teacher of the world’s
great religions.
“Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face,
and hear the Voice, of the Promised One.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 10.
The prophecies of the Promised One are all fulfilled already.
“The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is
now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all
been fulfilled.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 12 – 13.
Bahá’u’lláh announces that the Scriptures of all religions have
declared His Name.
“There is no verse in them that doth not declare the glory of His holy
Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto the loftiness of this most exalted
theme.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 13.
Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation has been the cause of fear among all mankind.
“Praise be unto God Who hath manifested the Point, hath unfolded
therefrom the knowledge of all things, whether of the past or of the future--a
Point He hath chosen to be the Herald of His Name and the Harbinger of His
Great Revelation which hath caused the limbs of all mankind to quake and the
splendour of His light to shine forth above the horizon of the world.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh,
p. 102.
The Báb names Bahá’u’lláh as the next Prophet.
“It should be noted, in this connection, that in the third Vahíd of
this Book there occurs a passage which, alike in its explicit reference to the
name of the Promised One, and in its anticipation of the Order which, in a
later age, was to be identified with His Revelation, deserves to rank as one of
the most significant statements recorded in any of the Báb's writings.
"Well is it with him," is His prophetic announcement, "who
fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá'u'lláh, and rendereth thanks unto his
Lord. For He will assuredly be made manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably
ordained it in the Bayán."” Shoghi
Effendi, God Passes By, p. 25.
II. Some Judeo-Islamic-Christian Subjects
The Doctrine of the Bible
`Abdu’l-Bahá has stated that the Bible is a Book of
God. He wrote this on in the church
Bible of City Temple in England:
“This book is the Holy Book of God, of
celestial Inspiration. It is the Bible of Salvation, the Noble Gospel. It is
the mystery of the Kingdom and its light. It is the Divine Bounty, the sign of
the guidance of God. `Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 18.
The Doctrine of the Qur’án
Muhammad declares this about the Qur’án:
Qur’án 5:15 – 18 From those, too, who call themselves
Christians, We did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message
that was sent them: so we estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the
one and the other, to the day of judgment. And soon will God show them what it is
they have done. O people of the Book!
There hath come to you our Apostle, revealing to you much that ye used to hide
in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary): There hath come to you from God a (new)
light and a perspicuous Book,- Wherewith God guideth all who seek His good
pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leadeth them out of darkness, by His
will, unto the light,- guideth them to a path that is straight.
The weightiest proof is the Book.
Qur’án 6:19 Say: "What thing is most weighty in evidence?" Say:
"God is witness between me and you; This Qur'án hath been revealed to me
by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches.
Again:
Qur’án 10:37 –38 This Qur'án is not such as can be produced
by other than God; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that
went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book - wherein there is no
doubt - from the Lord of the worlds.
Or do they say, "He forged it"? say: "Bring then a Súrá
like unto it, and call (to your aid) anyone you can besides God, if it be ye
speak the truth!"
Again:
Qur’án 11:1 – 2 (This is) a Book, with verses basic or
fundamental (of established meaning), further explained in detail,- from One
Who is Wise and Well-acquainted (with all things): (It teacheth) that ye should worship none but God. (Say):
"Verily I am (sent) unto you from Him to warn and to bring glad tidings...
Muhammad, alone and illiterate, produced the Qur’án,
a proof of the Prophet in itself.
“In such a country, and amidst such
barbarous tribes, an illiterate Man produced a book in which, in a perfect and
eloquent style, He explained the divine attributes and perfections, the
prophethood of the Messengers of God, the divine laws, and some scientific facts.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 22 – 23.
The Qur’án is authenticated. We know that the book today is what the
original was to the word.
“They must strive to obtain, from
sources that are authoritative and unbiased, a sound knowledge of the history
and tenets of Islám--the source and background of their Faith--and approach
reverently and with a mind purged from preconceived ideas the study of the
Qur'án which, apart from the sacred scriptures of the Bábí and Bahá'í
Revelations, constitutes the only Book which can be regarded as an absolutely
authenticated Repository of the Word of God.”
Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 49.
Shoghi Effendi speaking of both the
Qur’án and Islamic revelation states:
“...Muhammadanism is not only the last
of the world religions, but a fuller Revelation than any one preceding it. The
Qur'án is not only more authoritative than any previous religious gospel, but
it contains also much more; ordinances, teachings and precepts, which taken
together constitute a fuller Revelation of God's purpose and law to mankind
than Christianity, Judaism or any other previous Dispensation. This view is in
complete accord with the Bahá'í philosophy of progressive revelation, and
should be thoroughly accepted and taught by every loyal ... Bahá'í.” Shoghi Effendi, Unfolding Destiny, p.
432.
The Book, `Abdu’l-Bahá in
London is not authenticated, but still of value.
“Regarding `Abdu’l-Bahá in
London. Nothing can be considered Scripture,
for which we do not have an original text.
A verbatim record, in Persian, of His talks would, of course, be more
reliable than one in English, because He was not always accurately interpreted. However, such a book is of value, and
certainly has its place in our literature.”
Shoghi Effendi, First Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Principles of
Bahá’í Administration, p. 34.
The Doctrine of Spiritual Realities Presented as Physical Realities
The Word of God often takes an
obvious sin and connects it to another sin which in a life not guilty of the
overt obvious one may be very guilty of the related hidden sin.
Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
While some prophecy is quite plain and literal in meaning, quite a lot
of the prophetic utterances are symbolic in nature. Wormwood is mentioned in Revelation. It is a star thing that falls into the waters. Yet the Old Testament explains what the real
meaning of the word “wormwood” is and gives us a glimpse of what the spiritual
meaning of this prophecy indicates. Wormwood symbolizes injustice and
unrighteousness. The waters in the
Bible often represents the mixed nations of the world, the sea of nations. In Revelation, then, this star like thing
falls into the sea of nations. This
indicates that the nations become extremely unjust and unrighteous. It is a condition that happens before each
new Prophet comes.
Old Testament Amos 5:7 Ye who
turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth
God is spiritually compared to light, as it is light the attributes of
light that give sight or understanding and chase away all dark things.
Old
Testament Psalms 104:2 Who coverest
thyself with light as with a garment
While not true under every circumstance, in many places in the Holy
Books when reckoning time, and particularly prophetic time, the day which is
being counted equals one year.
Old
Testament Numbers 14:34 After the
number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for
a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my
breach of promise.
Spiritual realities are often described in physical
terms, so that people may understand them better. In this case Muhammad states that the fruit eaten in paradise is
what the believers were given to eat on earth.
This fruit being the Words of God given through His Prophets and given
as a parable or likeness or similitude.
Qur’án 2:25 But
give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their
portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with
fruits therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with
before," for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein
companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).
Muhammad even states that when He
speaks of the gardens of paradise it is a symbol and a parable and not a
physical reality.
Qur’án 13:35 The
parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised!- beneath it flow
rivers: perpetual is the enjoyment thereof and the shade therein: such is the
end of the Righteous; and the end of Unbelievers in the Fire.
The Word of the Prophet is
compared to a sword in its power and strength.
“If any man were to arise to
defend, in his writings, the Cause of God against its assailants, such a man,
however inconsiderable his share, shall be so honored in the world to come that
the Concourse on high would envy his glory. No pen can depict the loftiness of
his station, neither can any tongue describe its splendor. For whosoever
standeth firm and steadfast in this holy, this glorious, and exalted
Revelation, such power shall be given him as to enable him to face and
withstand all that is in heaven and on earth. Of this God is Himself a
witness.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 329.
The things in prophecy are often symbolic. It is only by looking into the symbols for the real reality that
we can understand the meaning and applications of the Prophetic in the world.
“Wert thou to cleanse the mirror of thy heart from the dust of malice,
thou wouldst apprehend the meaning of the symbolic terms revealed by the
all-embracing Word of God made manifest in every Dispensation, and wouldst
discover the mysteries of divine knowledge.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 44.
Bahá’u’lláh shows that Muslim prophecy is symbolic.
“Consider the eagerness with which certain peoples and nations have
anticipated the return of Imám-Husayn, whose coming, after the appearance of
the Qá'im, hath been prophesied, in days past, by the chosen ones of God,
exalted be His glory. These holy ones have, moreover, announced that when He
Who is the Day Spring of the manifold grace of God manifesteth Himself, all the
Prophets and Messengers, including the Qá'im, will gather together beneath the
shadow of the sacred Standard which the Promised One will raise. That hour is
now come.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 12.
Here is a prophecy about Mount Carmel being the center of the
revelation of God. As with almost all
prophecy, there is a deeper spiritual meaning.
What can the spiritual Mount Carmel or Mount of God
refer to, where the Throne of God resides, but the human heart and soul? Of course it also speaks of the actual Mountain where the
original Administrative Order was set up.
“Render thanks unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation from
Me was fast consuming thee, when the ocean of My presence surged before thy
face, cheering thine eyes and those of all creation, and filling with delight
all things visible and invisible. Rejoice, for God hath in this Day established
upon thee His throne, hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and the
dayspring of the evidences of His Revelation.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 4.
Being a physical son corresponds
to being a spiritual son, or should, though this is not always the case.
“Be a son that hath been born of his
soul and heart, and not only of the water and clay. A real son is such an one – as hath branched from the spiritual
par of a man.” `Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine
Pearls, p. 16.
We may use physical things to
explain the spiritual realities. In a
sense, what is in the physical has a counterpart in the spiritual.
“The spiritual world is like unto
the phenomenal world. They are the exact counterpart of each other. Whatever
objects appear in this world of existence are the outer pictures of the world
of heaven.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, The
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 10.
The Prophets used symbols and
allegories to portray spiritual realities.
“So the symbol of knowledge is
light, and of ignorance, darkness; but reflect, is knowledge sensible light, or
ignorance sensible darkness? No, they are merely symbols. These are only
intellectual states, but when you desire to express them outwardly, you call
knowledge light, and ignorance darkness. You say: "My heart was gloomy,
and it became enlightened." Now,
that light of knowledge, and that darkness of ignorance, are intellectual
realities, not sensible ones; but when we seek for explanations in the external
world, we are obliged to give them a sensible form.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 84.
The story of Adam and Eve as
contained in the Old Testament is allegorical and symbolic.
“We must reflect a little: if the
literal meaning of this story were attributed to a wise man, certainly all
would logically deny that this arrangement, this invention, could have emanated
from an intelligent being. Therefore, this story of Adam and Eve who ate from
the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be thought of simply as a
symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable
of marvelous explanations. Only those who are initiated into mysteries, and
those who are near the Court of the All-Powerful, are aware of these secrets.
Hence these verses of the Bible have numerous meanings.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 123.
The Doctrine of
Creation
Here is a hidden mystery only now
coming to light in physics. There are
at least two universes close together, like two planes one over the other, one
of which is vibrating. According to
physics, one vibrated just enough to actually touch and penetrate the other
plain. At the point of impact, the big
bang occurred. While this appears to be
a beginning that has a beginning, the truth is that modern physics demands that
through eternity, this process may occur much more than once.
“That which hath been in
existence had existed before, but not in the form thou seest today. The world
of existence came into being through the heat generated from the interaction
between the active force and that which is its recipient. These two are the
same, yet they are different. Thus doth the Great Announcement inform thee
about this glorious structure. Such as communicate the generating influence and
such as receive its impact are indeed created through the irresistible Word of
God which is the Cause of the entire creation, while all else besides His Word
are but the creatures and the effects thereof. Verily thy Lord is the
Expounder, the All-Wise.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 140.
Again the idea from the Writings
that there is more than one universe:
““Blessed are the people of Bahá!
God beareth Me witness! They are the solace of the eye of creation. Through
them the universes have been adorned, and the Preserved Tablet embellished.”
Shoghi
Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p.
76.
The following explains that the
contigent world was preceded by the Word of God, and is being renewed and
regenerated at all times. Here the idea
is that the universe can not exist an instant without the continual renewal of
it by its Author.
“Every thing must needs have an
origin and every building a builder. Verily, the Word of God is the Cause which
hath preceded the contingent world--a world which is adorned with the
splendours of the Ancient of Days, yet is being renewed and regenerated at all
times. Immeasurably exalted is the God of Wisdom Who hath raised this sublime
structure.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of
Bahá’u’lláh, p. 141.
The purpose of all of creation is to raise up the
true believer in God.
“It is clear
and evident that when the veils that conceal the realities of the
manifestations of the Names and Attributes of God, nay of all created things
visible or invisible, have been rent asunder, nothing except the Sign of God
will remain--a sign which He, Himself, hath placed within these realities. This
sign will endure as long as is the wish of the Lord thy God, the Lord of the
heavens and of the earth. If such be
the blessings conferred on all created things, how superior must be the destiny
of the true believer, whose existence and life are to be regarded as the
originating purpose of all creation. Just as the conception of faith hath
existed from the beginning that hath no beginning, and will endure till the end
that hath no end, in like manner will the true believer eternally live and
endure. His spirit will everlastingly circle round the Will of God. He will
last as long as God, Himself, will last. He is revealed through the Revelation
of God, and is hidden at His bidding. It is evident that the loftiest mansions
in the Realm of Immortality have been ordained as the habitation of them that
have truly believed in God and in His signs. Death can never invade that holy
seat. Thus have We entrusted thee with the signs of thy Lord, that thou mayest
persevere in thy love for Him, and be of them that comprehend this truth.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 140.
Creation
for the purpose of raising up the true believer is eternal, and ongoing.
“As
to thy question concerning the origin of creation. Know assuredly that God's
creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its
beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end. His name, the
Creator, presupposeth a creation, even as His title, the Lord of Men, must
involve the existence of a servant.
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 149 –
150
The Doctrine of Previous Higher Civilizations
God alludes that those before Job
had a higher civilization than was present in his time.
Old Testament Job 8:8 - 10 For enquire, I pray thee, of the
former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know
nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of
their heart?
This also is an indication of a
high civilization before ours, which we have no knowledge about, since it has
been so destroyed and long ago in time.
Yet we have sent satellites to Mars, and put men on the moon, and
Scripture says this is not new.
Old Testament Ecclesiastes 1:9 –
11 The
thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that
which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any
thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old
time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither
shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall
come after.
Muhammad says there were
generations before that were stronger (not necessarily implying physical
strength alone, but also in arts and sciences).
Qur’án 6:6 See they not how many of those before them We did destroy?-
generations We had established on the earth, in strength such as We have not
given to you - for whom We poured out rain from the skies in abundance, and
gave (fertile) streams flowing beneath their (feet): yet for their sins We
destroyed them, and raised in their wake fresh generations (to succeed them).
There were men and civilizations
before the time of the Prophet Adam.
“And now regarding thy question,
"How is it that no records are to be found concerning the Prophets that
have preceded Adam, the Father of Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the
days of those Prophets?" Know thou
that the absence of any reference to them is no proof that they did not
actually exist. That no records concerning them are now available, should be
attributed to their extreme remoteness, as well as to the vast changes which
the earth hath undergone since their time.
Moreover such forms and modes of writing as are now current
amongst men were unknown to the generations that were before Adam. There was
even a time when men were wholly ignorant of the art of writing, and had
adopted a system entirely different from the one which they now use. For a
proper exposition of this an elaborate explanation would be required.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 171 – 172.
Since the time of the Prophet
Adam, great differences in language and writings have happened, and it must be
understood that even greater changes transpired before Him.
“Consider the differences that
have arisen since the days of Adam. The divers and widely-known languages now spoken
by the peoples of the earth were originally unknown, as were the varied rules
and customs now prevailing amongst them. The people of those times spoke a
language different from those now known. Diversities of language arose in a
later age, in a land known as Bábel. It was given the name Bábel, because the
term signifieth "the place where the confusion of tongues arose.". .
. Witness, therefore, how numerous and
far-reaching have been the changes in language, speech, and writing since the
days of Adam. How much greater must have been the changes before Him!” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 172 – 173.
Calamities have overtaken the
world including the great flood of Noah that have obliterated many traces of
these previous high civilizations.
“Mention hath been made in
certain books of a deluge which caused all that existed on earth, historical
records as well as other things, to be destroyed. Moreover, many cataclysms
have occurred which have effaced the traces of many events.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 173.
Whenever the Prophet announces
Himself, a new impetus is given to creation, there begins an unfoldment of
civilization and science, spiritual development, etc., which over the centuries
of the revelation becomes fully manifested.
“And when the hour at which Thy
resistless Faith was to be made manifest did strike, Thou didst breathe a
breath of Thy spirit into Thy Pen, and lo, the entire creation shook to its very
foundations, unveiling to mankind such mysteries as lay hidden within the
treasuries of Him Who is the Possessor of all created things.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 3 – 4.
Bahá’u’lláh recounts a scientist
of a previous high civilization and an invention much like that of Marconi, the
radio, Bahá’u’lláh even gives the broadcast radius of an FM signal. However, Bahá’u’lláh died before the
invention of the radio.
“Know thou, moreover, that the
people aforetime have produced things which the contemporary men of knowledge
have been unable to produce. We recall unto thee Murtús who was one of the
learned. He invented an apparatus which transmitted sound over a distance of
sixty miles. Others besides him have also discovered things which no one in
this age hath beheld. Verily thy Lord revealeth in every epoch whatsoever He
pleaseth as a token of wisdom on His part. He is in truth the supreme Ordainer,
the All-Wise.” Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 150.
Previous High Civilizations have
come and gone.
“Briefly, there were many
universal cycles preceding this one in which we are living. They were
consummated, completed and their traces obliterated. The divine and creative
purpose in them was the evolution of spiritual man, just as it is in this
cycle. The circle of existence is the same circle; it returns. The tree of life
has ever borne the same heavenly fruit.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 220.
There have been cycles after
endless cycles, the traces of many have been obliterated.
“In the same way, for the whole
universe, whether for the heavens or for men, there are cycles of great events,
of important facts and occurrences. When a cycle is ended, a new cycle begins;
and the old one, on account of the great events which take place, is completely
forgotten, and not a trace or record of it will remain. As you see, we have no
records of twenty thousand years ago, although we have before proved by
argument that life on this earth is very ancient. It is not one hundred thousand,
or two hundred thousand, or one million or two million years old; it is very
ancient, and the ancient records and traces are entirely obliterated.
Each of the Divine Manifestations
has likewise a cycle, and during the cycle His laws and commandments prevail
and are performed. When His cycle is completed by the appearance of a new
Manifestation, a new cycle begins. In this way cycles begin, end and are
renewed, until a universal cycle is completed in the world, when important
events and great occurrences will take place which entirely efface every trace
and every record of the past; then a new universal cycle begins in the world,
for this universe has no beginning. We have before stated proofs and evidences
concerning this subject; there is no need of repetition.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 160 – 161.
Indeed, it may be that mankind
has existed before on other planets in other times.
“Therefore, it cannot be said
there was a time when man was not. All that we can say is that this terrestrial
globe at one time did not exist, and at its beginning man did not appear upon
it. But from the beginning which has no beginning, to the end which has no end,
a Perfect Manifestation always exists. This Man of Whom we speak is not every
man; we mean the Perfect Man. For the noblest part of the tree is the fruit,
which is the reason of its existence. If the tree had no fruit, it would have
no meaning. Therefore, it cannot be imagined that the worlds of existence,
whether the stars or this earth, were once inhabited by the donkey, cow, mouse
and cat, and that they were without man! This supposition is false and
meaningless.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 196 – 197.
Often
these verses are used by Christians to show the existence of a real Satan or
Devil. However the verses indicate it
is a proverb or symbol which is being used to symbolically prophecy against the
King of Bábylon and the nation of Bábylon and the city of Bábylon. Using symbolism God shows the supreme arrogance
of their leader. He is called Lucifer,
which means son of the morning, an appellation designed to indicate the sunrise
winged disk with sometimes a lion symbol also on it used by the Babylonian
kings.
Old
Testament Isaiah 14:4, 12 - 16 That
thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Bábylon, and say, How hath
the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They
that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this
the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms
The
following verses are often used by theologians to prove there is a devil and
that he is mentioned as a person in the Old Testament. While the devil is mentioned in the Old
Testament it is often quite clear that it is done to personify qualities that
are demonic or devilish that are evil in design, but does not need to refer to
an actuality. This passage compares
both the city and king of Tyre to a holy angel, which because of its immoral
practices and trade, is destroyed by God, especially because of its pride. It has not to do with the devil but
personifies Tyre and its king as devilish.
Old
Testament Ezekiel 28:11 - 18 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto
him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and
perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious
stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the
onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day
that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have
set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and
down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the
day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude
of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou
hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God:
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of
fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy
wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay
thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries
by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick;
therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour
thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them
that behold thee.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that evil can be
attributed to the mind of man and not Satan, that evil proceeds from the baser
nature of man when he ignores the higher things of God. That it is man’s selfish desires that will
cause him to be judged by God.
New Testament Romans 1:21 – 31, 2:1 - 10 Because that, when they knew God, they
glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made
like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of
their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than
the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up
unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that
which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of
the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that
which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God,
despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful: . . . But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up
unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them
who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and
immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey
the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and
anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of
the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to
the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
James the brother of Jesus wrote concerning the evil
that man does and sin and declares it not to be from the devil but from the
heart of man himself.
New
Testament James 1:13 – 15, 4:1 Let no
man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. . . From whence
come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that
war in your members?
Muhammad states that when Cain killed Abel it was
not Satan but Cain’s own selfish soul which sought to murder his brother.
Qur’án 5:33 The (selfish) soul of the other led him to the murder of his brother: he murdered him, and became (himself) one of the lost ones.
Satan
is the personification of personal evil and selfish desires.
“Dost
thou imagine him whom thou hast appointed Chancellor in thy kingdom to be the
best leader and the best supporter? Nay, I swear by thy Lord. He will bring
thee into grievous trouble by reason of that which Satan instilleth in his
heart, and verily, he himself is Satan. He comprehendeth not a single letter
from the Book of God and is seized with fear by reason of that which his hands
have wrought. Fain would he extinguish the light which thy Lord hath kindled,
so that the old impiety which is concealed in his inner being may not be
revealed.” The Báb, Selections from
the Writings of the Báb, p. 25.
The meaning of Satan is given by Bahá’u’lláh.
“Know
verily that Knowledge is of two kinds: Divine and Satanic. The one welleth out
from the fountain of divine inspiration; the other is but a reflection of vain
and obscure thoughts. The source of the former is God Himself; the motive-force
of the latter the whisperings of selfish desire.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 44.
Evil
is from man. It is a truth revealed in
all Scriptures, howbeit, allegorically.
“Men,
however, have wittingly broken His law. Is such a behavior to be attributed to
God, or to their proper selves? Be fair in your judgment. Every good thing is
of God, and every evil thing is from yourselves. Will ye not comprehend? This
same truth hath been revealed in all
the Scriptures, if ye be of them that understand.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,
p. 149.
At this point, a word must be said as to the meaning
of Satan and evil. In Bahá’í
understanding, the idea of Satan found in the Scriptures of the world’s major
religions is a metaphor, and allegory. It is a symbol used to explain the
animalistic nature of man when it dominates his soul. It is this debasing of man to the level of the animal desires
that keeps us from obeying the Word of God in our lives and in feeling close to
Him. Satan is selfish desires and vain
imaginations. Love for God burns that
kind of self away.
“Wherefore must the veils of the satanic self be
burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may be purified and cleansed
and thus may know the station of the Lord of the Worlds.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys and the
Four Valleys, p. 11.
The personification of man’s baser instincts when he
turns himself over to them is Satan and the demons. Evil is to actively prefer one’s self to that of one’s neighbor,
to prefer one’s own desires to that of the Divine Will. We are urged to flee these evil selfish
qualities by means of the power of God.
That power comes only through the revelation of the Word of God. Evil qualities can only be overcome by the
aid of God.
“Nothing whatever can, in this Day, inflict a
greater harm upon this Cause than dissension and strife, contention,
estrangement and apathy, among the loved ones of God. Flee them, through the
power of God and His sovereign aid, and strive ye to knit together the hearts
of men, in His Name, the Unifier, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 8 – 9.
The Doctrine of Adam and Eve
What follows is an allegory of mankind. The word “Adam” is here generic of humanity
and not the Prophet Adam mentioned by Muhammad. Whenever the word Adam appears here it would be better to
translate “the man”. This particular
part explains that man is given mind and intelligence.
Old Testament Genesis 2:16-19 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that
the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed
every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam
to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living
creature, that was the name thereof.
This is an allegory of the
relationship both of the soul to the human being (Eve=soul, Adam the physical
man) and the husband-wife relationship.
Old Testament Genesis 2:21-23 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall
upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh
instead thereof; And the rib, which the
LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the
man. And Adam said, This is now bone of
my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man.
Herein follows a very deep allegory as
to how man came to know good and evil.
The serpent represents the selfish side of man’s desires. The woman represents the man’s soul being
tempted by selfish desires.
Old Testament Genesis 3:1-7, 13 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast
of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath
God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may
eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the
serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What
is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I
did eat.
Again, the man’s soul is Eve.
Old Testament Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the
mother of all living.
Unless you believe that God truly feared man, this
is most assuredly an allegory as to why death is in the world.
Old Testament Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also
of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever...
Bahá’u’lláh is the Tree of
Life.
“O leaf upon the Tree of Life! The
Tree of Life, of which mention is made in the Bible, is Bahá'u'lláh. . .” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the
Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 61.
The spiritual Sun with
capital S is the Prophets, but what is said also applies the physical suns of
the universe.
“O people! I swear by the one true
God! This is the Ocean out of which all seas have proceeded, and with which
every one of them will ultimately be united. From Him all the Suns have been
generated, and unto Him they will all return.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 103.
The Doctrine of Sin
Each man is punished for his own
sins. Each man who dies unforgiven by
God is figuratively blotted out from God’s book of life. In allegory this is the same as being sent
to hell.
Old Testament Exodus 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Every one of us has these idols to which we bow
every day. They keep us from eternal
happiness. Paul states that it is God’s
grace to bring us to eternal life. We
all, no matter how good, sin and do not achieve the nearness to God that we
ought. Sin is to “miss the mark.” Sin is to follow the promptings of the
animal nature and not the divine nature.
But by belief in the Manifestation of God for the era in which one
lives, God will make us righteous through the sacrifices of the Prophet. Each dispensation of Divine Providence has a
Manifestation of God as its impetus. It
is the sacrifices of that Pure Being that draw us to attempt purity ourselves.
New Testament Romans 3:22 – 24 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
Sin is the “missing the mark” in
Greek, and means being disobedient to the teachings of the Prophet of God. It is associated with evil since
disobedience most often leads to evil outcomes. It also is the result of selfish desires. Indeed, the devil and his demons is an
allegorical way of personifying man’s selfish desires.
“Follow not the promptings of the
self, for it summoneth insistently to wickedness and lust; follow, rather, Him
Who is the Possessor of all created things, Who biddeth you to show forth
piety, and manifest the fear of God.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 42 – 43.
Man’s actions without the
teachings of God are satanic.
“Indeed the actions of man
himself breed a profusion of satanic power. For were men to abide by and
observe the divine teachings, every trace of evil would be banished from the
face of the earth. However, the widespread differences that exist among mankind
and the prevalence of sedition, contention, conflict and the like are the
primary factors which provoke the appearance of the satanic spirit. Yet the
Holy Spirit hath ever shunned such matters. A world in which naught can be
perceived save strife, quarrels and corruption is bound to become the seat of
the throne, the very metropolis, of Satan.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 176 – 177.
Sin is the result of the power of
lust.
“This physical world of man is
subject to the power of the lusts, and sin is the consequence of this power of
the lusts, for it is not subject to the laws of justice and holiness.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 119.
Sin is the result of the demands
of the animal nature of man.
“All sin comes from the demands
of nature, and these demands, which arise from the physical qualities, are not
sins with respect to the animals, while for man they are sin. The animal is the
source of imperfections, such as anger, sensuality, jealousy, avarice, cruelty,
pride: all these defects are found in animals but do not constitute sins. But
in man they are sins.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 119.
Sin is judged according to
knowledge of righteousness.
“The good deeds of the righteous
are the sins of the Near Ones.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 126.
Attachment to the physical world
which all men by nature are born with is original sin.
“Now consider how far this
meaning conforms to the reality. For the spirit and the soul of Adam, when they
were attached to the human world, passed from the world of freedom into the
world of bondage, and His descendants continued in bondage. This attachment of
the soul and spirit to the human world, which is sin, was inherited by the
descendants of Adam, and is the serpent which is always in the midst of, and at
enmity with, the spirits and the descendants of Adam. That enmity continues and
endures. For attachment to the world has become the cause of the bondage of
spirits, and this bondage is identical with sin, which has been transmitted
from Adam to His posterity. It is because of this attachment that men have been
deprived of essential spirituality and exalted position.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 124 – 125.
To hate the light of God until
the very time of death is unforgivable, though one may repent at the moment of
death and be forgiven, if one does not repent at the moment of death for hating
God’s Manifestation, then there is no forgiveness for it.
“The meaning is this: to remain
far from the light-holder does not entail everlasting banishment, for one may
become awakened and vigilant; but enmity toward the light is the cause of
everlasting banishment, and for this there is no remedy.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions,
p. 128.
The Doctrine of Progressive Revelation
Moses required the death penalty for sexual
fornication and adultery. Jesus did
not.
Old Testament Deuteronomy 22:21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to
the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with
stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the
whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. If a man be found lying with a woman married
to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the
woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed
unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the
gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the
damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath
humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
Jesus also states that He did not come to destroy
the Law of Moses, but rather to complete His law and make it more perfect. The word translated “fulfilled” in the King
James Version is better rendered “completed” or “perfected”.
New Testament Matthew 5:17 - 18 Think not that I am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I
say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus also abrogated the Sabbath Law
on Work and replaced it with the true spirit of the Sabbath.
New Testament Matthew 12:1 – 8, 12 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day
through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the
ears of corn and to eat. But when the
Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is
not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an
hungred, and they that were with him;
How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which
was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only
for the priests? Or have ye not read
in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the
sabbath, and are blameless? But I say
unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the
sabbath day. Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Again, the Jews had taken up
traditions that they kept perfectly.
Ordinary men had made these traditions.
But they did not keep the spirit of the Law. Jesus condemns them for that.
New Testament Matthew 15:1 - 7 Then
came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the
tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat
bread. But he answered and said unto
them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy
father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the
death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say
to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; And honour not his
father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of
God of none effect by your tradition.
Ye hypocrites
Jesus pronounces a curse upon the
Priests of His day for their hypocrisy, and for not understanding the spirit of
the Law.
New Testament Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the
weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to
have done, and not to leave the other undone.
In this parable Jesus clearly
indicates that His teachings are so new and radical that the old administration
of the synagogue, Temple, and Priestcraft cannot handle it. These new teachings would destroy the
practices current in His day. Another
system of administration would be developed to contain His teachings. He also states that those who are familiar
with the old system will not join the new right away since they will think the
old way of doing things is better.
New Testament Luke 5:36 - 39 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of
a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and
the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old
bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the
bottles shall perish. But new wine
must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for
he saith, The old is better.
Divorce and marriage laws are social laws which God
changes and regulates from dispensation to dispensation.
New Testament Matthew 19:7 - 8 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command
to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them,
Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your
wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Each Prophet changes the
administration of the Faith and the laws of daily living. Those who are of a previous dispensation
often resist the new.
New Testament Mark 2:18 - 28 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and
they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees
fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of
the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have
the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those
days. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new
piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the
bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine
must be put into new bottles. And it came to pass, that he went through the
corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck
the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the
sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read
what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were
with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high
priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the
priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The
sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man
is Lord also of the sabbath.
According to the Qur’án, God has sent a succession
of Prophets to continually remind man of his duty to his Creator.
Qur’án 2:87 – 88 We gave Moses the Book and followed him up
with a succession of apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and
strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you
an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?-
Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
They say, "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve God's Word:
we need no more)." Nay, God's curse is on them for their blasphemy: Little
is it they believe.
Each Messenger confirms the one
before, and speaks of those after, and no distinction should be made between
any of the Messengers.
Qur’án 2:285 The Apostle believeth in what hath been revealed to him
from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in God, His
angels, His books, and His apostles. "We make no distinction (they say)
between one and another of His apostles." And they say: "We hear, and
we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all
journeys."
Muhammad lists some Prophets and
states that there are others He has not spoken of.
Qur’án 4:163 – 165 We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it
to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismá'íl,
Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to
David We gave the Psalms. Of some
apostles We have already told thee the story; of others We have not;- and to
Moses God spoke direct;- Apostles who
gave good news as well as warning, that mankind, after (the coming) of the
apostles, should have no plea against God: For God is Exalted in Power, Wise.
Muhammad states that His revelation confirms the
revelations before Him.
Qur’án 2:41 And believe in what I
reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to
reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me
alone.
When God does send down something,
which abrogates a teaching of the past, He gives something similar or better.
Qur’án 2:106 None
of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute
something better or similar: Knowest thou not that God Hath power over all
things?
Muhammad
confirms the idea of progressive revelations of God.
Qur’án
3:3 It is He Who sent down to thee
(step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent
down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to
mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).
The Báb
is the next Revelation of God after Muhammad.
“...hadst
thou been among such as are endowed with the knowledge of the Bayán, thou
wouldst have, at the sight of the Book, testified forthwith that there is no
God but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and wouldst have affirmed
that He Who hath revealed the Qur'án, hath likewise revealed this Book, that
every word of it is from God, and unto it we all bear allegiance.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 29.
The Báb
says His teachings are the essence of the Faith of Muhammad.
“This
Religion is indeed, in the sight of God, the essence of the Faith of Muhammad;
haste ye then to attain the celestial Paradise and the all-highest Garden of
His good-pleasure in the presence of the One True God, could ye but be patient
and thankful before the evidences of the signs of God.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 71.
The
religion taught by Adam was necessary for man to be able to understand in this
day the religion taught by the current Prophet.
“For
had the embryo not existed, how could he have reached his present state?
Likewise had the religion taught by Adam not existed, this Faith would not have
attained its present stage. Thus consider thou the development of God's Faith
until the end that hath no end.” The
Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 89.
Progressive
Revelation is infinite.
“It is
clear and evident that the object of all preceding Dispensations hath been to pave
the way for the advent of Muhammad, the Apostle of God. These, including the
Mohammedan Dispensation, have had, in their turn, as their objective the
Revelation proclaimed by the Qá'im. The purpose underlying this Revelation, as
well as those that preceded it, has, in like manner, been to announce the
advent of the Faith of Him Whom God will make manifest. And this Faith--the
Faith of Him Whom God will make manifest--in its turn, together with all the
Revelations gone before it, have as their object the Manifestation destined to
succeed it. And the latter, no less than all the Revelations preceding it,
prepare the way for the Revelation which is yet to follow. The process of the
rise and setting of the Sun of Truth will thus indefinitely continue--a process
that hath had no beginning and will have no end.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 105 –
106.
Progressive
Revelation is endless.
“If,
however, thou art sailing upon the sea of creation, know thou that the First
Remembrance, which is the Primal Will of God, may be likened unto the sun. God
hath created Him through the potency of His might, and He hath, from the
beginning that hath no beginning, caused Him to be manifested in every
Dispensation through the compelling power of His behest, and God will, to the
end that knoweth no end, continue to manifest Him according to the
good-pleasure of His invincible Purpose.”
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 125 – 126.
While the
Prophets differ the spirit and teachings remain the same.
“And
know thou that He indeed resembleth the sun. Were the risings of the sun to
continue till the end that hath no end, yet there hath not been nor ever will
be more than one sun; and were its settings to endure for evermore, still there
hath not been nor ever will be more than one sun. It is this Primal Will which
appeareth resplendent in every Prophet and speaketh forth in every revealed
Book. It knoweth no beginning, inasmuch as the First deriveth its firstness
from It; and knoweth no end, for the Last oweth its lastness unto It.
In the
time of the First Manifestation the Primal Will appeared in Adam; in the day of
Noah It became known in Noah; in the day of Abraham in Him; and so in the day of
Moses; the day of Jesus; the day of Muhammad, the Apostle of God; the day of
the `Point of the Bayán'; the day of Him Whom God shall make manifest; and the
day of the One Who will appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest. Hence
the inner meaning of the words uttered by the Apostle of God, `I am all the
Prophets', inasmuch as what shineth resplendent in each one of Them hath been
and will ever remain the one and the same sun.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 126.
Why do we need progressive revelation from God?
“It is unquestionable that in every
succeeding Revelation the "sun" and "moon" of the
teachings, laws, commandments, and prohibitions which have been established in
the preceding Dispensation, and which have overshadowed the people of that age,
become darkened, that is, are exhausted, and cease to exert their
influence.” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 27.
God has caused progressive revelation.
“Contemplate with thine inward eye the
chain of successive Revelations that hath linked the Manifestation of Adam with
that of the Báb. I testify before God that each one of these Manifestations
hath been sent down through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose, that
each hath been the bearer of a specific Message, that each hath been entrusted
with a divinely-revealed Book and been commissioned to unravel the mysteries of
a mighty Tablet.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 74.
Taking this passage and literally applying it to the
law of God caused denial of the next Prophet.
It was spiritually intended to first state that the Scripture of the
Prophet would be preserved, and secondly that God is continually renewing His
Word by His Manifestation in history from time to time. Finally, the meaning of previous Scripture
can only be fully unlocked by succeeding Prophets.
“Beside this passage, there is yet
another verse in the Gospel wherein He saith: "Heaven and earth shall pass
away: but My words shall not pass away." (Luke 21:33) Thus it is that the adherents of Jesus
maintained that the law of the Gospel shall never be annulled, and that
whensoever the promised Beauty is made manifest and all the signs are revealed,
He must needs re-affirm and establish the law proclaimed in the Gospel, so that
there may remain in the world no faith but His faith. This is their fundamental
belief. And their conviction is such that were a person to be made manifest
with all the promised signs and to promulgate that which is contrary to the
letter of the law of the Gospel, they must assuredly renounce him, refuse to
submit to his law, declare him an infidel, and laugh him to scorn. This is
proved by that which came to pass when the sun of the Mohammedan Revelation was
revealed. Had they sought with a humble mind from the Manifestations of God in
every Dispensation the true meaning of these words revealed in the sacred
books--words the misapprehension of which hath caused men to be deprived of the
recognition of the Sadratu'l-Muntahá, the ultimate Purpose--they surely would
have been guided to the light of the Sun of Truth, and would have discovered
the mysteries of divine knowledge and wisdom.”
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 18 – 19.
Bahá’u’lláh says that the Mohammedan
commentators did not understand the reference to multiple suns and multiple
easts and wests, trying to take them literally when they are symbolic of
different prophets.
“This is the meaning of the sacred
verse: "But nay! I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the
Wests,"(Qur’án 70:40) inasmuch as the "Suns" referred to have
each their own particular rising and setting place. And as the commentators of
the Qur'án have failed to grasp the symbolic meaning of these "Suns,"
they therefore were at pains to interpret the above-quoted verse. Some of them
maintained that owing to the fact that the sun each day rises from a different
point, the terms "easts" and "wests" have been mentioned in
the plural. Others have written that by this verse the four seasons of the year
are intended, inasmuch as the dawning and setting points of the sun vary with
the change of the seasons. Such is the depth of their understanding! None the
less, they persist in imputing error and folly to those Gems of knowledge,
those irreproachable and purest Symbols of wisdom.” Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 28 – 29.
Adam, Peter, and Muhammad are
mentioned as recipients of God’s bounty.
At the same time, they obviously taught to meet the needs of the age
they lived in.
“Dust-made Adam was raised up, through
the Word of God, to the heavenly throne, and a mere fisherman was made the
repository of Divine wisdom, and Abú-Dhar, the shepherd, became a prince of the
nations!” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf, p. 19.
All the prophets proclaim a new
religion.
“’They, verily, sought to supplant the
Faith with a new religion!' If that
which is ancient be what ye prefer, wherefore, then, have ye discarded that
which hath been set down in the Torah and the Evangel? Clear it up, O men! By
My life! There is no place for you to flee to in this day. If this be My crime,
then Muhammad, the Apostle of God, committed it before Me, and before Him He
Who was the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ), and yet earlier He Who conversed with
God (Moses). And if My sin be this, that I have exalted the Word of God and
revealed His Cause, then indeed am I the greatest of sinners! Such a sin I will
not barter for the kingdoms of earth and heaven.” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 52.
Religions differ because of the
different requirements of the ages in which they were revealed.
“That they differ one from
another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which
they were promulgated.” Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle
to the Son of the Wolf, p. 13.
Why God sent the Prophets
progressively to man.
“And since there can be no tie of
direct intercourse to bind the one true God with His creation, and no
resemblance whatever can exist between the transient and the Eternal, the
contingent and the Absolute, He hath ordained that in every age and dispensation
a pure and stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and
heaven.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 66.
The purpose of progressive
revelation is shown.
“Through the Teachings of this Day
Star of Truth every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station
at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true
self hath been endowed. It is for this very purpose that in every age and
dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men,
and have evinced such power as is born of God and such might as only the
Eternal can reveal.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 67.
The Prophets will never stop
coming.
“These Mirrors will everlastingly
succeed each other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of
Days. They that reflect their glory will, in like manner, continue to exist for
evermore, for the Grace of God can never cease from flowing. This is a truth
that none can disprove.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 73 – 74.
Each is given a mission that
meets the requirements of the location and age.
“Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless
Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted
with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the
requirements of the age in which He appeared.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 79.
Bahá’ís maintain that all the
revelations of the past were sent down by God in a complete form. The testimony given to each Prophet was
complete and in harmony with the requirements of the age in which they were
given.
“To maintain that the testimony
of Providence was incomplete, that it hath therefore been the cause of the
denial of the people, is but open blasphemy.
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 18.
Further our capacity is increased and
therefore each revelation reveals progressively more spiritual truth.
XXXVI.
Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole
creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh
capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in
all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom
which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath
unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted
by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power
released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.” Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Baha'u'llah.
There are two kinds of laws which
`Abdu’l-Bahá explains the Prophet must deal with.
“Each of the divine religions embodies
two kinds of ordinances. The first is those which concern spiritual
susceptibilities, the development of moral principles and the quickening of the
conscience of man. These are essential or fundamental, one and the same in all
religions, changeless and eternal--reality not subject to transformation.
Abraham heralded this reality, Moses promulgated it, and Jesus Christ
established it in the world of mankind. All the divine Prophets and Messengers
were the instruments and channels of this same eternal, essential truth.
The
second kind of ordinances in the divine religions is those which relate to the
material affairs of humankind. These are the material or accidental laws which
are subject to change in each day of manifestation, according to exigencies of
the time, conditions and differing capacities of humanity.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of
Universal Peace, p. 106.
The idea of the religion becoming
over time increasingly oppressive and not conducive to spiritual development.
“Our purpose is to show how true
religion promotes the civilization and honor, the prosperity and prestige, the
learning and advancement of a people once abject, enslaved and ignorant, and
how, when it falls into the hands of religious leaders who are foolish and
fanatical, it is diverted to the wrong ends, until this greatest of splendors
turns into blackest night.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 80.
The
religions of God have their basic foundation as one.
“The
foundations of the divine religions are one.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 41.
The
Hidden Words contains the teachings of all the Prophets of the past.
“Bahá'u'lláh
has revoiced and reestablished the quintessence of the teachings of all the
Prophets, setting aside the accessories and purifying religion from human
interpretation. He has written a book entitled the Hidden Words. The preface
announces that it contains the essences of the words of the Prophets of the
past, clothed in the garment of brevity, for the teaching and spiritual
guidance of the people of the world. Read it that you may understand the true
foundations of religion and reflect upon the inspiration of the Messengers of
God. It is light upon light.” `Abdu'l-Bahá,
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 86.
Thw two
kinds of laws that each Prophet brings.
“In
brief, every one of the divine religions contains essential ordinances, which
are not subject to change, and material ordinances, which are abrogated according
to the exigencies of time.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 106.
Religions
do differ because of the following:
“The
religions of God have the same foundation, but the dogmas appearing later have
differed. Each of the divine religions has two aspects. The first is essential.
It concerns morality and development of the virtues of the human world. This
aspect is common to all. It is fundamental; it is one; there is no difference,
no variation in it. As regards the inculcation of morality and the development
of human virtues, there is no difference whatsoever between the teachings of
Zoroaster, Jesus and Bahá'u'lláh. In this they agree; they are one. The second
aspect of the divine religions is nonessential. It concerns human needs and
undergoes change in every cycle according to the exigency of the time.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of
Universal Peace, p. 168.
The
question of why there is religious hatred is addressed.
“What,
then, is the source of enmity and alienation among humankind? Whence this
conflict and strife? The real underlying cause is lack of religious unity and
association, for in each of the great religions we find superstition, blind
imitation of creeds, and theological formulas adhered to instead of the divine
fundamentals, causing difference and divergence among mankind instead of
agreement and fellowship. Consequently, strife, hatred and warfare have arisen,
based upon this divergence and separation. If we investigate the foundations of
the divine religions, we find them to be one, absolutely changeless and never
subject to transformation. For example, each of the divine religions contains
two kinds of laws or ordinances. One division concerns the world of morality
and ethical institutions. These are the essential ordinances. They instill and
awaken the knowledge and love of God, love for humanity, the virtues of the
world of mankind, the attributes of the divine Kingdom, rebirth and
resurrection from the kingdom of nature. These constitute one kind of divine
law which is common to all and never subject to change. From the dawn of the
Adamic cycle to the present day this fundamental law of God has continued
changeless. This is the foundation of divine religion.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of
Universal Peace, p. 393.
The
Bahá’í Faith is no new religion.
“The
beginnings of all great religions were pure; but priests, taking possession of
the minds of the people, filled them with dogmas and superstitions, so that religion
became gradually corrupt. I come to teach no new religion.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Abdu'l-Baha in London,
p. 125.
The Faith teaches that each
Prophet brings a greater measure of the truth, and laws fitted for the new age
in which He comes.
“Its teachings revolve around the
fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that
Divine Revelation is progressive, not final.”
Shoghi Effendi, Selected Writings of Shoghi Effendi, p. 4.
The idea of progressive
revelation is one that needs to be taught.
“. . . Who, contemplating the helplessness, the fears and miseries of
humanity in this day, can any longer question the necessity for a fresh
revelation of the quickening power of God’s redemptive love and guidance?” Shoghi Effendi, Selected Writings of
Shoghi Effendi, p. 5.
This Faith is the latest though
not last in a series of revelations.
“The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh should
indeed be regarded, if we wish to be faithful to the tremendous implications of
its message, as the culmination of a cycle, the final stage in a series of
successive, of preliminary and progressive revelations. These, beginning with Adam and ending with
the Báb, have paved the way and anticipated with ever-increasing emphasis the
advent of that Day of Days in which He Who is the Promise of All Ages should be
made manifest.” Shoghi Effendi, Selected
Writings of Shoghi Effendi, p. 6.
Progressively, the Revelation of
Bahá’u’lláh is the latest and therefore most complete.
“The Bahá’í Faith is the living
religious “light” for today. . . just as the forerunner religions of the past
represented the religious lights of their times. The Bahá’í Faith is plainly and simply THE CAUSE OF GOD FOR
MANKIND TODAY.” Charles Mason Remey, Second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, The Writings
of the Second Guardian from 1962 – 1966,
p. 40.
The Doctrine of Election of
a Chosen People
Christ maintains that the choice to believe in
Christ was not the apostles’. Rather, it was Christ’s choice of them that made
them believers.
New Testament John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you.
Luke declares that the Lord calls those to whom He
has made a promise of salvation.
New Testament Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
While some Bahá’ís take up the error that Paul was a
kind of Covenant-Breaker of the Christian Faith, this is far from the
truth. `Abdu’l-Bahá quotes him, and
explains some things which he wrote.
The Bible itself has Peter declaring that Paul has written
Scripture. Paul is declared by Luke to
have been a chosen instrument to bring the teachings of Christ to the Gentile
nations.
New Testament Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
Paul states that during the Dispensation of Christ,
God will choose to have believers in Him.
New Testament Romans 1:5 - 6 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to
the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of
Jesus Christ. . .
According to Paul, the Lord works all things to
achieve His good purposes for those He has chosen. He both has foreknowledge of who will believe, but also He has
foreordained that those who believe will become more and more virtuous.
New Testament Romans 8:28 – 30 And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
God has chosen those who believe before the world
was made so that we might praise His grace, and that we might act like sons of
God (that is, like brothers. Romans,
Greeks, Jews, and Barbarians were all to come under the Christian
brotherhood). Indeed, it was this title
“Son of God” that Jesus was given to show that all men are brothers, Jew and
Gentile.
New Testament Ephesians 1:4 - 6 According as he hath chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved.
As `Abdu’l-Bahá has stated in Some Answered Question
that the philanthropist who does not believe, the good works are incomplete and
not a means of getting into the Abha Kingdom, but rather believe in Bahá’u’lláh
first and then works. So too, Paul says eternal life is the gift of God. Works before belief will not get a man into
the kingdom. Rather believe in the
Prophet, and then works will be fully acceptable to God.
New Testament Ephesians 2:7 - 10 That in the ages to come he might shew
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
God has throughout history chosen or elected certain
peoples over others for the promotion of His Cause. Usually, such election was given to the most undeserving of
peoples so that when He improved their morals and spiritual condition it could
not be claimed it was on their merit that they accomplished great things. The glory would have to be given to God and
His Prophet.
Quran 2:47 Children
of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and
that I preferred you to all other (for My Message).
The people of Israel are an example of the election
of God. He chooses them and prefers
them for the recipients of His Revelation above other nations at one time.
Qur’án 2:122 O
Children of Israel! call to mind the special favour which I bestowed upon you,
and that I preferred you to all others (for My Message).
The Prophets come through a divine election of God
as well.
Qur’án 2:130
And who turns away from the religion of Abraham but such as debase their souls
with folly? Him We chose and rendered pure in this world: And he will be in the
Hereafter in the ranks of the Righteous.
God leads the believers by His grace, and guides by
His Own Will whosoever He desires.
Qur’án 2:213 God by His Grace Guided the believers to
the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For God guided whom He will
to a path that is straight.
Again:
Qur’án 2:272 God sets on the right path whom He
pleaseth.
Again:
Qur’án 2:284 He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and
punisheth whom He pleaseth, for God hath power over all things.
Those who are chosen to receive the Revelation from
the Prophet are also specially elected to do so.
Qur’án 3:73 – 74 Say: "All bounties are in the
hand of God: He granteth them to whom He pleaseth: And God careth for all, and
He knoweth all things." For His Mercy He specially chooseth whom He
pleaseth; for God is the Lord of bounties unbounded.
Muhammad is quite clear as well that no one can even
believe except by God’s Will.
Qur’án 10:100 No
soul can believe, except by the will of God
God guides whomever He chooses for His Own reasons.
“Say, verily unto Him shall all return, and He is
the One Who guideth at His Own behest whomsoever He pleaseth.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 9.
God causes the believer to enter under His mercy.
“He causeth him whom He pleaseth to enter the shadow
of His Mercy. Verily, He is the Supreme Protector, the All-Generous.” The Báb, Selections from the Writings of
the Báb, p. 77.
God reveals and calls before we can worship Him.
“I have known Thee, O my God, by reason of Thy
making Thyself known unto me, for hadst Thou not revealed Thyself unto me, I
would not have known Thee. I worship Thee by virtue of Thy summoning me unto
Thee, for had it not been for Thy summons I would not have worshipped
Thee.” The Báb, Selections from the
Writings of the Báb, p. 203.
The
Christian, particularly Calvinist and Lutheran, have a term called the election
of God, in which the saved, though called, can only answer God because God has
first already elected to save them. In
other words, salvation is offered to everyone, but only those God has
fore-ordained have been enabled by God to both hear, as does everyone, and
answer His call to them. `Abdu’l-Bahá
indicates that this idea of election has merit – that, indeed, God does single
out those who will receive the bestowal of guidance.
“As to you, O ye loved ones of God! Loose your tongues and offer Him thanks; praise ye and glorify the Beauty of the Adored One, for ye have drunk from this purest of chalices, and ye are cheered and set aglow with this wine. Ye have detected the sweet scents of holiness, ye have smelled the musk of faithfulness from Joseph's raiment. Ye have fed on the honey-dew of loyalty from the hands of Him Who is the one alone Beloved, ye have feasted on immortal dishes at the bounteous banquet table of the Lord. This plenty is a special favour bestowed by a loving God, these are blessings and rare gifts deriving from His grace. In the Gospel He saith: `For many are called, but few are chosen.' (Matthew 22:14) That is, to many is it offered, but rare is the soul who is singled out to receive the great bestowal of guidance. `Such is the bounty of God: to whom He will He giveth it, and of immense bounty is God.' (Qur’án 57:21)” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 11.
The Doctrine of the Dove and
Baptism
The dove that descended on Christ at the Baptism of
Jesus is a symbol.
“Then it is evident that the dove which descended upon
Christ was not a material dove, but it was a spiritual state, which, that it
might be comprehensible, was expressed by a sensible figure. Thus in the Old
Testament it is said that God appeared as a pillar of fire: this does not
signify the material form; it is an intellectual reality which is expressed by
a sensible image.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some
Answered Questions, p. 85.
The need for the symbol of baptism is no longer
needed.
“But in the cycle of Bahá'u'lláh there is no longer
need of this symbol; for its reality, which is to be baptized with the spirit
and love of God, is understood and established.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 92.
The Doctrine of the Bread
from Heaven
Bahá’u’lláh in veiled language calls Himself the
Tree of Life, the fruit of the Tree of Life, the Water of Life, the Manna from
Heaven, and states that His Word is also that same thing.
“This is the food that conferreth everlasting life
upon the pure in heart and the illumined in spirit. This is the bread of which
it is said: "Lord, send down upon us Thy bread from heaven."(Qu’ran
5:117)” Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 15.
The bread from heaven spoken of by Jesus refers to
His teachings and His Spirit.
“In the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6, verse 26, it
is written: "Ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye
did eat of the loaves, and were filled."
It is evident that the bread of which the disciples
ate and were filled was the heavenly bounty; for in verse 33 of the same
chapter it is said: "For the bread of God is He which cometh down from
heaven, and giveth life unto the world."
It is clear that the body of Christ did not descend from heaven, but it
came from the womb of Mary; and that which descended from the heaven of God was
the spirit of Christ. As the Jews thought that Christ spoke of His body, they
made objections, for it is said in the 42nd verse of the same chapter:
"And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?"
Reflect how clear it is that what Christ meant by
the heavenly bread was His spirit, His bounties, His perfections and His
teachings; for it is said in the 63rd verse: "It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing."
Therefore, it is evident that the spirit of Christ is a heavenly grace which descends from heaven; whosoever receives light from that spirit in abundance--that is to say, the heavenly teachings--finds everlasting life. That is why it is said in the 35th verse: "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 97 – 98
The Doctrine of the
Transfiguration of Christ
The transfiguration was a spiritual event which the
Apostles saw in a vision.
“Thou didst ask as to the transfiguration of Jesus,
with Moses and Elias and the Heavenly Father on Mount Tabor, as referred to in
the Bible. This occurrence was perceived by the disciples with their inner eye,
wherefore it was a secret hidden away, and was a spiritual discovery of theirs.
Otherwise, if the intent be that they witnessed physical forms, that is,
witnessed that transfiguration with their outward eyes, then there were many
others at hand on that plain and mountain, and why did they fail to behold it?
And why did the Lord charge them that they should tell no man? It is clear that
this was a spiritual vision and a scene of the Kingdom. Wherefore did the
Messiah bid them to keep this hidden, `till the Son of Man were risen from the
dead,' --that is, until the Cause of God should be exalted, and the Word of God
prevail, and the reality of Christ rise up.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 170
– 171.
John states Christ was a manifestation of God.
New Testament 1 John 1:1 – 2, 3:5 That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and
shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us. . . And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in
him is no sin.
Christ acknowledges that he comes
in the station of the Son of God in the sense that as the corporate head of man
(for the Prophet represents the Kingship of the Kingdom of God on earth) if
mankind in general are to be sons of God and brothers of each other, then the
King Himself must as the Corporate Head of mankind be the ultimate Son of
God. Not a physical reality but a
spiritual way of showing that all men are sons of God.
New Testament Matthew 3:16 - 17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went
up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo
a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Muhammad states clearly that to
say God came down and physically had sex with Mary is a blasphemy. God does not beget as humans do. All men even the Prophets of God worship God. Jesus was often in prayer to God.
Qur’án 2:116 - 117 They say: "God hath begotten a son"
:Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth:
everything renders worship to Him. To
Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a
matter, He saith to it: "Be," and it is.
Muhammad on the theme of God not
begetting states of Christ:
Qur’án 4:171 O People of the Book! Commit no
excesses in your religion: Nor say of God aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the
son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of God, and His Word, which He
bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in God and His
apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for
God is one God: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him
belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is God as a Disposer
of affairs.
Muhammad states that God is so
great as not to have an equal to whom He may call Wife, hence a son is
impossible. This was an important
distinction to make since the people He came to worshipped male and female
deities that had sons.
Qur’án 6:101 - 103 To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens
and the earth: How can He have a son when He hath no consort? He created all
things, and He hath full knowledge of all things. That is God, your Lord! there is no god but He, the Creator of
all things: then worship ye Him: and He hath power to dispose of all
affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but
His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted
with all things.
The doctrine of the Trinity, that God is three Persons in One Being, is
denied as a true doctrine. It rather is
a theological conception based on what appeared to be good and necessary
inferences from the New and Old Testaments, but which turn out to be in error.
“Verily,
Christ is Our Word which We communicated unto Mary; and let no one say what the
Christians term as `the third of three', inasmuch as it would amount to
slandering the Remembrance Who, as decreed in the Mother Book, is invested with
supreme authority. Indeed God is but one God, and far be it from His glory that
there should be aught else besides Him.”
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 60 – 61.
Christ manifested the attributes of God perfectly so
that one might see Christ and God (i.e., His attributes) as one in each other.
“Christ says, "The Father is in the Son, and
the Son is in the Father." Was
Christ within God, or God within Christ? No, in the name of God! On the
contrary, this is an intellectual state which is expressed in a sensible
figure.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered
Questions, p. 85.
The Doctrine of the
Concealment of the Prophet
When the Prophet first is on earth He chooses to hide His identity
behind the veils of concealment until an appointed time, a time set by God for
Him.
“And when this process of progressive Revelation culminated in the
stage at which His peerless, His most sacred, and exalted Countenance was to be
unveiled to men's eyes, He chose to hide His own Self behind a thousand veils,
lest profane and mortal eyes discover His glory. This He did at a time when the
signs and tokens of a divinely-appointed Revelation were being showered upon
Him --signs and tokens which none can reckon except the Lord, your God, the
Lord of all worlds. And when the set time of concealment was fulfilled, We sent
forth, whilst still wrapt within a myriad veils, an infinitesimal glimmer of
the effulgent Glory enveloping the Face of the Youth, and lo, the entire
company of the dwellers of the Realms above were seized with violent commotion
and the favored of God fell down in adoration before Him. He hath, verily,
manifested a glory such as none in the whole creation hath witnessed, inasmuch
as He hath arisen to proclaim in person His Cause unto all who are in the heavens
and all who are on the earth.”
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 74 –
75.
The Doctrine of Why Prophets
Are Warners
Every Prophet is commissioned by God to be a plain
warner.
Old Testament Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou
givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to
save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood
will I require at thine hand.
Prophets come to warn, educate, and guide.
“Let me ask: What is the purpose of Prophethood? Why
has God sent the Prophets? It is self-evident that the Prophets are the
Educators of men and the Teachers of the human race. They come to bestow
universal education upon humanity, to give humanity training, to uplift the
human race from the abyss of despair and desolation and to enable man to attain
the apogee of advancement and glory. The people are in darkness; the Prophets
bring them into the realm of light. They are in a state of utter imperfection;
the Prophets imbue them with perfections. The purpose of the prophetic mission
is none other than the education and guidance of the people. Therefore, we must
regard and be on the lookout for the man who is thus qualified--that is to say,
any soul who proves to be the Educator of mankind and the Teacher of the human
race is undoubtedly the Prophet of His age.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 405.
The Prophet though sinless at times will be rebuked by God. This seeming rebuke when viewed in its proper understanding is really a rebuke to the people under the Prophet who are in active disobedience and sin. The curse that God put on Moses not to enter the Holy Land is one such example. Ultimately it is not only Moses who does not enter the Holy Land but the people who in