> There are two places in the Writings speaking of a figure to come after
> Baha'u'llah. Until I examined the context, I thought they were very similar
> passages, but which spoke of two different people. Now I see that it is a
> different translation.
Right -- BWF includes some of Shoghi Effendi's translations but also some
by Ali Kuli Khan, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, probably Amin Farid and others.
> ... no doubt
> it was thought that the passage spoke of the next Manifestation. The latter
> is identified as a Tablet to 'Abdu'l-Baha, and surely Baha'u'llah wouldn't
> use such a Tablet to make a prophecy of the next Manifestation.
There is a Tablet remarkably similar in tone, concerning the next
Manifestation, quoted by Shoghi Effendi on p. 117 of The World Order of
Baha'u'llah: "I am not apprehensive for My own self ... My fears are for
Him Who will be sent down unto you after Me -- Him Who will be invested
with great sovereignty and mighty dominion."
The context makes clear that this refers to the next Manifestation of God.
In the previous paragraph Baha'u'llah quotes from the Surih-i-Sabr,
revealed in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad. On the first day on which He
declared Himself in 1863, Baha'u'llah stated explicitly that no
Manifestation with a revelation direct from God would appear for at least
one thousand years.
In the passage succeeding the one I just quoted, again Baha'u'llah makes
clear that He is referring to the next Manifestation of God. (WOB 117)
> Do we know of any passages where Baha'u'llah speaks
> specifically of the next Manifestation?
I don't know of any passages in which Baha'u'llah gives signs of His
nature, or indications of the date or location where He will appear, or
anything to aid in recognizing Him. The only thing I know for sure is
that He will come in not less than a thousand years. Maybe there is more
in untranslated Tablets.
In one of His Tablets Baha'u'llah states that given ten minutes, He could
convince the Sultan of Turkey of the truth of His mission. ("The Summons
of the Lord of Hosts, p. 171).
I figure if Baha'u'llah can get through to such a thoroughly corrupted man
in ten minutes, it shouldn't take the next Manifestation too long to make
Himself clear to the Universal House of Justice.
> I'm interested to know, while I'm
> on the topic, what this passage means:
>
> It is possible, however, that after the completion of a full thousand years,
> certain Holy Beings will be empowered to deliver a Revelation: this,
> however, will not be through a Universal Manifestation.
> (`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Page: 67)
Around page 160 of Some Answered Questions, in the chapter on the cycles
which occur in the world of existence, `Abdu'l-Baha explains what a
Universal Cycle is, and what a Universal Manifestation is. A normal Cycle
comes about once every thousand years; this cycle is known as the "Baha'i
Era". This Universal Cycle will last five hundred thousand years. This
is also referred to on page 102 of The World Order of Baha'u'llah, and on
pages 69 and 80 of Citadel of Faith where Shoghi Effendi refers to "the
five-thousand-century Baha'i Cycle".
I think the "however" in the Master's quote above means that
Manifestations will come after a thousand years, but they will not have
the same rank as Baha'u'llah.
As Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote on his behalf, quoted on p. 71 of the
Guardian's messages to Alaska, "High Endeavours," "Future Prophets will
bring us new laws suitable to our state of development and continue to
educate us on this planet, but they will be under the shadow of
Baha'u'llah for five thousand centuries."
As Hand of the Cause Samandari said to his audience in Chicago in the late
1960's, Baha'u'llah is not the kind of Manifestation Who appears every
thousand years. He is the kind of Manifestation who appears every five
hundred thousand years.
Brent
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