-----Original Message-----
From: M Chase
I also can't help wondering about the ongoing delay of the entry of troops
when I read,
"I know full well Thou hast delayed to manifest Thy triumph in the kingdom
of creation by reason of Thy knowledge which embraceth both the mysteries of
Thy decree, and the hidden things ordained behind the veils of Thine
irrevocable purpose, that thereby those who have entered beneath the shadow
of Thy transcendent mercy may be separated from those who have dealt
disdainfully with Thee, and turned back from Thy presence at the time when
Thou didst manifest Thy most exalted Beauty."
Dear Marleen,
1. Perhaps one facet of the meaning of the above excerpt from the Writings
of Baha'u'llah is that in every new Revelation humanity is tested:
Know verily that the purpose underlying all these symbolic terms and
abstruse allusions [foretelling the signs which will accompany the next
Manifestation], which emanate from the Revealers of God's holy Cause, hath
been to test and prove the peoples of the world; that thereby the earth of
the pure and illuminated hearts may be known from the perishable and barren
soil. From time immemorial such hath been the way of God amidst His
creatures, and to this testify the records of the sacred books.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 49)
Blessed is the man that hath acknowledged his belief in God and in His
signs, and recognized that "He shall not be asked of His doings." Such a
recognition hath been made by God the ornament of every belief, and its very
foundation. Upon it must depend the acceptance of every goodly deed. <87>
Fasten your eyes upon it, that haply the whisperings of the rebellious may
not cause you to slip.
Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had
been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as
lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority. Whoso will
hesitate, though it be for less than a moment, should be regarded as a
transgressor.
Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental verity, and hath
failed to attain this most exalted station, the winds of doubt will agitate
him, and the sayings of the infidels will distract his soul. He that hath
acknowledged this principle will be endowed with the most perfect constancy.
All honor to this all-glorious station, the remembrance of which adorneth
every exalted Tablet. Such is the teaching which God bestoweth on you, a
teaching that will deliver you from all manner of doubt and perplexity, and
enable you to attain unto salvation in both this world and in the next. He,
verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 86-87)
2. Perhaps another facet of the meaning of the excerpt is that the goal of
the Manifestation is not gaining merely the outward allegiance of humanity
but is, instead, enabling humanity to become heavenly, and this requires (in
addition to the sustaining grace and assistance of God) an ongoing effort of
will on the part of every individual to reform one's own inner character.
So by our failure to reform ourselves and befittingly teach this Cause to
others, to a degree we can delay the time of the fruition of this
Revelation. That the Manifestations allow the progress of Their Cause to be
dependent on our efforts is, I think, both gracious and wise, for the only
alternative to giving individuals the opportunity to fail would be to remove
the opportunity to truly succeed. I think one of the ways in which people
fail is by creating or participating in "dissension and conflict", which are
categorically forbidden by Baha'u'llah:
And yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a
transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that
shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both
its inner life and external conditions? For if the character <241> of
mankind be not changed, the futility of God's universal Manifestations would
be apparent.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 240-241)
Within the treasury of Our Wisdom there lieth unrevealed a knowledge,
one word of which, if we chose to divulge it to mankind, would cause every
human being to recognize the Manifestation of God and to acknowledge His
omniscience, would enable every one to discover the secrets of all the
sciences, and to attain so high a station as to find himself wholly
independent of all past and future learning. Other knowledges We do as well
possess, not a single letter of which We can disclose, nor do We find
humanity able to hear even the barest reference to their meaning.
(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 35)
Say: If it be Our pleasure We shall render the Cause victorious through
the power of a single word from Our presence. He is in truth the
Omnipotent, the All-Compelling. Should it be God's intention, there would
appear out of the forests of celestial might the lion of indomitable
strength whose roaring is like unto the peals of thunder reverberating in
the mountains. However, since Our loving providence surpasseth all things,
We have ordained that complete victory should be achieved through speech and
utterance, that Our servants throughout the earth may <198> thereby become
the recipients of divine good. This is but a token of God's bounty
vouchsafed unto them. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the Most
Exalted.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 197-198)
He Who is the Day Spring of Truth is, no doubt, fully capable of
rescuing from such remoteness wayward souls and of causing them to draw nigh
unto His court and attain His Presence. "If God had pleased He had surely
made all men one people." His purpose, however, is to enable the pure in
spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate
powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that thereby they who seek
the Beauty of the All-Glorious may be distinguished and separated from the
wayward and perverse. Thus hath it been ordained by the all-glorious and
resplendent Pen....
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 71)
In the fourth Ishraq (splendor) of the Ishraqat (Tablet of Splendors) We
have mentioned: "Every cause needeth a helper. In this Revelation the hosts
which can render it victorious are the hosts of praiseworthy deeds and
upright character. The leader and commander of these hosts hath ever been
the fear of God, a fear that encompasseth all things, and reigneth over all
things."
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 26)
Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous.... Say:
O people of God! That which can ensure the victory of Him Who is the
Eternal Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the
sacred Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun.
These hosts are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are
acceptable in His sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and
summoneth to his assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and
upright conduct, the influence flowing from such an action will, most
certainly, be diffused throughout the whole world.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 287)
Say: O people of God! Adorn your temples with the adornment of
trustworthiness and piety. Help, then, your Lord with the hosts of goodly
deeds and a praiseworthy character. We have forbidden you dissension and
conflict in My Books, and My Scriptures, and My Scrolls, and My Tablets, and
have wished thereby naught else save your exaltation and advancement. Unto
this testify the heavens and the stars thereof, and the sun and the radiance
thereof, and the trees and the leaves thereof, and the seas and the waves
thereof, and the earth and the treasures thereof. We pray God to assist His
loved ones, and aid them in that which beseemeth them in this blest, this
mighty, and wondrous station.
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 135)
--- Vaughn
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