The Baha'i Writings are filled with praise of the previous Revelations sent down by God. Similarly, the Writings of all of the Prophets praise the Revelations that preceded Them.
At the same time, a Revelation is sent for a specific season. When that season is finished, the force of the Revelation is spent. There is an incident in the Gospel of Mark, where Christ sought fruit from a fig tree: 11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 11:13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 11:14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it....11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God." It is my understanding that the fig tree represents the Revelation brought by Moses. Similarly, in the Qur'an Muhammad swears by the fig and the olive; that is, by the Revelations brought by Christ and Moses. The same image is used in the Gospel of Luke: 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 21:30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." This is understood by Christians to be a promise that when the fig blooms symbolizes when the Holy Land blooms, i.e. the foundation of the State of Israel and the return of the Jews to the Holy Land. The significance of this event is also mentioned by Abdu'l-Baha in The Advent of Divine Justice. Baha'u'llah uses similar language: "Glorified be He, Who is the Creator of all names and attributes! Cast into the fire the tree that hath rot and dried up, and abide under the shadow of the green and goodly Tree, and partake of the fruit thereof." Gleanings, p. 189 I remember 35 years ago when I was seeking a path to work for world peace. I searched and searched the Bible, read from different translations, attended different churches. Eventually I became disillusioned, and entered the darkest and most spiritually dangerous period of my life. I had lost my moorings. At that time, the Baha'i Faith entered my life, and I was ready to consider it. As a Catholic, I had not been willing to consider that a new Revelation had come from God. I found that what Christianity has to offer the search for peace, is love. The highest expression of this I found in the writings of Tolstoy, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. They brought the Message of the Gospel into modern society. But after searching this thoroughly, after working with the American Friends Service Committee, a group of devoted pacifists, I came up empty. I felt that in today's society, merely speaking of the law of love is inadequate to bring peace. And the Message of Baha'u'llah brings so much more than any of the previous Revelations, on establishing unity among the peoples and nations of the world. Surely, one can find resonances here and there between Baha'u'llah's Revelation and previous Revelations. But where the Jewish and Christian and Muslim Revelations promised peace would come, they do not tell how to get there. Baha'u'llah does, in detail, and He provided the guidance of the Universal House of Justice to apply His Teachings to get humanity there. Just as Jesus spoke of good people, but people who had not accepted Him, as "dead" people; likewise, as Baha'u'llah explains in the Iqan, the Imams spoke of unbelievers as "dead" people; and Baha'u'llah explains that this is a symbol. That the difference between what life can be with the new Revelation and without it, can only be explained or hinted at by the symbol of "life" and "death." And this is how I understand the reference in the Writings of Baha'u'llah to the previous Revelations as trees that have rotted and are to be cast into the fire. Their force is spent, and the Tree of His Revelation is green and verdant. In time, this same process will occur with the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, and a new Revelation be brought. "From the seed of reality, religion has grown into a tree which has put forth leaves and branches, blossoms and fruit. After a time this tree has fallen into a condition of decay. The leaves and blossoms have withered and perished; the tree has become stricken and fruitless. It is not reasonable that man should hold to the old tree, claiming that its life forces are undiminished, its fruit unequalled, its existence eternal. The seed of reality must be sown again in human hearts in order that a new tree may grow therefrom and new divine fruits refresh the world. By this means the nations and peoples now divergent in religion will be brought into unity, imitations will be forsaken and a universal brotherhood in the reality itself will be established. Warfare and strife will cease among mankind; all will be reconciled as servants of God. For all are sheltered beneath the tree of His providence and mercy. (Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 84) Brent __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
