1Global Perspective, 1106 Greenbanks Dr.
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858, USA
For further information and possible change of our address,
visit our Website or send us an E-mail to:
info@globalperspective.org
1‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Servant of Bahá, the Master, the
Center of the Covenant, the Beautiful and
1Behold, the Man
whose name is the Branch!
Zechariah 6:12
2In that day the Branch Here is my servant
of the Lord will be my chosen one in
beautiful and glorious. whom I delight.
Isaiah 4:2 NIV Isaiah 42:1 NEB
3The messenger I will now bring my
of the covenant. servant, the Branch.
Malachi 3:1 Zechariah 6:12
4About the Cover:
The two suns symbolize Bábulláh and Baháulláh, the Gate
of God and the Glory of God. The design of the cover was
influenced by a dream. My original goal was to place a larger
sun to symbolize Baháulláh, and a smaller one to symbolize
the Báb. Later I decided to make the two suns equal, but a
dream changed my plans.
October 28, 1995
In a dream, early in the morning, suddenly I saw a large
beautiful sun in various shades of orange. It was facing me,
as if looking at me from about 10 meters above the ground
and 50 meters away. In this marvelous source of light I
perceived a Being, as if it had a soul and wanted to com-
municate with me. It moved purposefully back and forth and
in other directions as if trying to send me a message. This
celestial scene inspired in my soul a sense of awe, joy, and
ecstasy. The sun was so close, yet it did not hurt my eyes.
At this point I feared that gazing at the sun may damage my
eyes, so I closed them. But nothing changed. I continued to
see the sun exactly as I did before.
After a while, I decided to change my perspective. When I
looked up and toward my left into the heavens, I saw another
circle of light, another sun, with the same color but many
times smaller, like a star visible in daytime. After a few
moments, I turned my gaze back to the soft orange sun near
me and once again beheld its beauty and splendor. This
celestial sight so enchanted and inspired my soul, I began
saying again and again, O God how great art Thou! O
God how great art Thou! I continued to praise God in those
words, each time louder and louder until I woke up. At that
5moment, I had no doubt about the meaning of the dream. I
knew I was being guided to return to the original dimensions
of the design.
The sizes of the two suns on the cover do not represent the
exact dimensions I saw in my dream. The orange sun was
about 25 to 30 times larger than the other source of light. But
the cover still demonstrates the principle that I was taught in
my dream: That the Revelation or expression of Baháulláhs
glory is much greater than that of the Báb and indeed of any
Messenger or Redeemer of the past and for a long time into
the future. Equal suns would have violated the recognition of
that prime principle.
6Other Works by This Author
Books on Proofs and Prophecies
1Come Now, Let Us Reason Together
1One God, Many Faiths; One Garden, Many Flowers
1Will Jesus Come from the Sky or as a Thief ?
1Heavens Most Glorious Gift
1Does Your Fishbowl Need Fresh Water?
1Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked
triumph? Psalms 94:1-3 NKJ
Humankind has been waiting for a Kingdom joined by love
and ruled by justice:
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Matthew 6:10
Baháulláh declares that the time for the promised Kingdom
has come:
All created things are heard exclaiming: The Kingdom is
2Baháulláh declares Himself the promised one of all nations
and religions. He claims to be the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, the world Savior and Redeemer promised in all
sacred Scriptures to bring peace, love, justice, and order to
this chaotic world.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye ever-
lasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who
is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty Lift
up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlast-
ing 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. Psalms 24:7-10
Baháulláh invites all the peoples of the world, in the clearest
and most emphatic terms, to investigate His divine Mission
and to rejoice at the dawning of the new day:
O My friends that dwell upon the dust! Haste forth unto
your celestial habitation. Announce unto yourselves the
joyful tidings: He Who is the Best-Beloved is come! He
hath crowned Himself with the glory of Gods Revelation,
and hath unlocked to the face of men the doors of His
ancient Paradise. Let all eyes rejoice, and let every ear
be gladdened, for now is the time to gaze on His beauty,
now is the fit time to hearken to His voice. Proclaim unto
every longing lover: Behold, your Well-Beloved hath
come……Lo, the Adored One hath appeared arrayed in
the fullness of His glory! O lovers of His beauty! Turn
the anguish of your separation from Him into the joy of an
everlasting reunion, and let the sweetness of His presence
dissolve the bitterness of your remoteness from His court.2
This book is written to help all seekers and lovers of truth
to pursue their divine destiny, and to carry out their spiritual
commitment and responsibility to God. It is written to help
them discover if Baháulláh is indeed the Glory of Godthe
3Baháulláh has reiterated the proclamation of His divine
Mission thousands of times in writings equal to 100 volumes.
These are a few excerpts from those volumes:
He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is come. The Kingdom
is Gods, the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
Worship none but God, and, with radiant hearts, lift up
your faces unto your Lord, the Lord of all names.3
O Kings of the earth! He Who is the sovereign Lord of all
is come Wash your hearts from all earthly defilements,
and hasten to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator
of earth and heaven…
Ye are but vassals, O Kings of the earth! He Who is the
King of kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous
glory, and is summoning you unto Himself Arise, and
serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath
created you through a word from Him…
By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay
hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and
possess the hearts of men. Upon them the eyes of Bahá
are fastened.4
Say: This is the Voice of God, if ye do but hearken. This
is the Day Spring of the Revelation of God, did ye but
know it. This is the Dawning-Place of the Cause of God,
were ye to recognize it. This is the Source of the com-
mandment of God, did ye but judge it fairly. This is the
manifest and hidden Secret; would that ye might perceive
it. O peoples of the world! Cast away, in My name that
transcendeth all other names, the things ye possess, and
immerse yourselves in this Ocean in whose depths lay
hidden the pearls of wisdom and of utterance, an ocean
418 King of Kings
1Baháulláh claims to have fulfilled all the prophecies of the
Gospel concerning the return of Christ:
He, in truth, hath come unto the world in His most great
glory, and all that hath been mentioned in the Gospel hath
been fulfilled.6
Baháulláh, in His time, sent Epistles to religious leaders in
general and to Pope Pius IX in particular. None of them
responded to His call. Here are a few messages from His
Epistles:
O Pope! Rend the veils asunder. He Who is the Lord of
Lords is come overshadowed with clouds, and the decree
hath been fulfilled by God, the Almighty, the Unrestrained
…He, verily, hath again come down from Heaven even as
He came down from it the first time. Beware that thou
dispute not with Him even as the Pharisees disputed with
Him (Jesus) without a clear token or proof. On His right
hand flow the living waters of grace, and on His left
the choice Wine of justice, whilst before Him march the
angels of Paradise, bearing the banners of His signs.
Beware lest any name debar thee from God, the Creator
of earth and heaven. Leave thou the world behind thee,
and turn towards thy Lord, through Whom the whole earth
hath been illumined…Dwellest thou in palaces whilst He
Who is the King of Revelation liveth in the most desolate
of abodes? Leave them unto such as desire them, and set
thy face with joy and delight towards the Kingdom…
Arise in the name of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, amidst
the peoples of the earth, and seize thou the Cup of Life
with the hands of confidence, and first drink thou there-
from, and proffer it then to such as turn towards it amongst
the peoples of all faiths…
Call thou to remembrance Him Who was the Spirit
(Jesus), Who when He came, the most learned of His age
2A Call to all Peoples of the World
3pronounced judgment against Him in His own country,
whilst he who was only a fisherman believed in Him.
Take heed, then, ye men of understanding heart! Thou, in
truth, art one of the suns of the heaven of His names.
Guard thyself, lest darkness spread its veils over thee,
and fold thee away from His light Consider those who
opposed the Son (Jesus), when He came unto them with
sovereignty and power. How many the Pharisees who were
waiting to behold Him, and were lamenting over their
separation from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of
His coming was wafted over them, and His beauty was
unveiled, they turned aside from Him and disputed with
Him None save a very few, who were destitute of any
power amongst men, turned towards His face…
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It
hath been sent down in the form of the human temple in
this day. Blessed be the Lord Who is the Father! He,
verily, is come unto the nations in His most great majesty.
Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the righ-
teous… Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were
promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!… My body longeth
for the cross, and Mine head waiteth the thrust of the
spear, in the path of the All-Merciful, that the world may
be purged from its transgressions
This is a call to Christians who are waiting for the second
Advent of their Lord. It is an invitation to all sincere fol-
lowers of Jesus to open their hearts and minds to the most
glorious news in human history. It asks all those who insist
on the accuracy of their interpretation of prophecies to recon-
sider their assumption, to ponder the spiritual state of all
those who made the same assumptions and held the same
conviction at the time of the first Advent. They assumed that
their Savior would come as a king to rescue them and restore
their ancient glory and splendor. They dreamed of another
David. That one unfounded assumption caused them to deny
their Lord. Read this book with an open mind and respond
420 King of Kings
5to its most challenging and transforming messagea message
that can change this planet into a veritable paradise.
Unfortunately, most Christians are unaware of Baháulláhs
advent and the abundance of evidence He presents in support
of His claim. Among Christian leaders and scholars perhaps
one in a thousand has read even a single book about
Baháulláh. If they take time and investigate the monumental
evidence for His claim, they will see Him shine as brightly
as the sun.
Consider this statement from a Christian leader and scholar,
George Townshend, Canon of St. Patricks Cathedral, who
investigated the news of the coming of the Lord and recog-
nized Baháulláhs Advent as the fulfillment of the most
glorious promise in the Bible:
Slowly the veil lifts from the future. Along whatever road
thoughtful men look out they see before them some guid-
ing truth, some leading principle, which Baháulláh gave
long ago and which men rejected.8
A little boy wandered away from his mother while she was
shopping in the mall. A security guard found him wandering
around by himself and took him to the malls main office.
There the guards bought him ice cream and told him jokes
to keep him amused. Finally, his distraught mother showed
up. Sobbing, she gathered the child in her arms. He blissfully
kept eating his ice cream. In response to her questions the boy
simply said, Gee, Mama, I didnt even know I was lost until
I was found. Only when people are found by Baháulláh,
will they realize what they have been missing.
So far, Baháulláh is largely unknown to the peoples of the
world. He is still in the state of a thief in the night.
That is the day when I come like a thief! Happy the man
who stays awake. Christ (Revelation 16:15)
For most people, the Sun is still concealed behind the clouds.
I hope this book will scatter some of the clouds. I pray that
6A Call to all Peoples of the World
7it will awaken the conscience of Christians everywhere, for
the cost of ignoring or denying the divine Call is too great
to contemplate.
Whenever statements are made about Christians denying
Baháulláh, the purpose is not to refer to all Christians, but
only to some. The great majority of Christians have never
even heard the name of Baháulláh. I believe, if Christians
seriously examine the evidence for Baháulláhs claim, the
majority of them will recognize Him as the One they have
been waiting for. The denial is not willful; it results mostly
from misconceptions and a lack of knowledge.
1of My Name?
Baháulláh
2Baháulláh has written a special Epistle for Christians. He
reasons with them in the kindest and gentlest way and invites
them to investigate His Message with an open heart.
He begins His Epistle by addressing Christians as the fol-
lowers of the Son and asking them if they have deprived
themselves of His glory because of His name. The new name
is the first obstacle that prevents most Christians from inves-
tigating Baháulláhs claim. Often it casts fear in their hearts.
To show His authority, Baháulláh begins His invitation by
the word Say, equal to Thus saith the Lord, a phrase
used frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures:
Say, O followers of the Son! Have ye shut out yourselves
by reason of My Name?1
324 King of Kings
4Baháulláh asks Christians to ponder why they would deny
the very Redeemer for whose advent they have prayed day
and night:
Day and night ye have been calling upon your Lord, the
Omnipotent, but when He came from the heaven of eternity
in His great glory, ye turned aside from Him
Baháulláh then asks Christians to learn from the examples
of history. In one of His works (The Book of Certitude),
Baháulláh cites the story of the great Messengers and
Redeemers of the past and shows how each time, without
exception, people refused to open their hearts and minds to
Gods message. Baháulláhs purpose is to increase insight
and awareness in seekers of truth. Most people ignore or
underestimate the value of history in understanding human
nature.
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them
through his messengers again and again…But they mocked
Gods messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his
prophets… II Chronicles 36:15-16 NIV
Our two most reliable guides to truth are the Scriptures, and
history. The Scriptures show Gods side; history presents the
human side. The Scriptures reveal Gods mind; history tests
and unveils the human mind. The Scriptures teach the divine
principles; history shows how fallible people practice the
principles. The Scriptures reveal Gods perfection; history
manifests human imperfection.
The metaphoric language of prophecies empowers the imagi-
nation. It allows people to soar freely through the splendid
clouds of the rapture, and bask in glamour, power, and glory.
History brings the soaring bird of imagination and fantasy
down to the earth of reality. History throws light on prevail-
ing illusions and fantasies. The light prevents people from
believing whatever they wish to believe. This apparent loss
of freedom and power makes them feel uncomfortable. They
prefer not to look back.
5Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
6One of the lessons of history is that we seldom learn from
history. No wonder history keeps repeating itself. We think
the past is irrelevant to the present. We find it difficult to
relate to peoples of ancient times, who lived a primitive life.
Yet one of the lessons of history is that civilizations change
but not the way people feel and behave. Kingdoms come and
go but the kingdom of the human heart remains the same.
Many authors have emphasized an urgent need to learn from
the lessons of the past:
History is not just the concern of historians and social
scientists. It is not the lonely domain of political prognos-
ticators and ivory tower academics. It is the very stuff of
life. And, it is the very stuff of faith. In fact, the Bible
puts a heavy emphasis on historical awareness…Again and
again in the Scriptures, God calls upon His people to
remember.3
Remembrance and forgetfulness are the measuring rods of
faithfulness throughout the entire canon of Scripture…In
fact, the whole direction of a culture depends on the gracious
appointments of memory: Wonders cannot be known in
the midst of darkness. Righteousness cannot be done in a
land of forgetfulness (Psalms 88:12).4
The great Christian historian of the last century, Lord Acton
declared:
History must be our deliverer not only from the undue
influence of other times, but from the undue influence of
our own, from the tyranny of the environment and the
pressures of the air we breathe.5
And finally, English author and orator John Briggs encourages
historical awareness as an essential step to the well being of
both society and individual:
Just as a loss of memory in an individual is a psychiatric
defect calling for medical treatment, so too any community
which has no social memory is suffering from an illness.6
726 King of Kings
8When Jesus compared His coming and the worlds conditions
to those of Noahs times, He clearly predicted that history
will repeat itself :
The coming of the Son of Man will repeat what happened
in Noahs time. Matthew 24:37 NAB
To inspire open-mindedness, self-understanding, and humility,
Baháulláh asks Christians to pause and ponder, and to
examine the story of their faith. He encourages them to put
themselves in the position of the Jews at the time of Jesus.
They too, like Christians of today, prayed hard and long for
the advent of their Redeemer, yet when He came they rejected
Him. They thought they knew the exact meaning of the
prophecies about the advent of their Messiah, yet they saw
no connection between Jesus and the prophecies they had
read time and again. Could not the same happen today?
What makes Christians of today different from the contem-
poraries of Jesus?
Baháulláh asks Christians to remember the kinds of people
who accepted Jesus. They were all ordinary people with no
power. Baháulláh first cites the example of a fisherman,
Peter, who recognized his Redeemer. Next He mentions the
example of a prestigious and popular leaderthe most learned
Jewish theologian of his agewho did just the opposite:
denied and demeaned his Redeemer. Baháulláh does not
name the prestigious leader, but we can tell who he was.
Very likely he was Annas, who occupied the highest spiritual
position among the Jews. Baháulláh then asks Christians to
take heed, to wake up from their dreams.
Every king and ruler who has ever lived would envy the
Kingdom of Christ. Political leaders appear and disappear, but
the star of Jesus shines high in the heavens with dazzling
splendor. But how much effort and sacrifice were required
and how long did it take to raise His star? How did people
respond to His message and relate to His followers at the
beginning? For the most part, the people ignored them. That
is why we have very few references in the historical records
9Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
10of that time about Jesus and Christians. Only one pagan
writer in the century following Jesus death [around 115 A. D.]
offers us an explicit reference to him as a historical figure.
That writer is Tacitus, who wrote:
To dispel the rumor, Nero…treated with the most extreme
punishments, some people popularly known as Christians,
whose disgraceful activities were notorious. The originator
of that name, Christus, had been executed when Tiberius
was emperor by order of the procurator Pontius Pilatus.
But the deadly cult, though checked for a time, was now
breaking out again not only in Judaea, the birthplace of
this evil, but even throughout Rome, where all the nasty
and disgusting ideas from all over the world pour in and
find a ready following.8
Religious writers did no better. The following, one of the
earliest Jewish references to Jesus, offers an example:
It is taught: On Passover Eve they hanged Yeshu. For forty
days beforehand a crier went out proclaiming, He is going
out to be stoned, because he has practiced magic and led
Israel astray. If anyone has anything to say in his defense,
let him come and speak for him. But they found nothing
in his favor, so they hanged him on Passover Eve.9
Although the star of Baháulláh has risen to amazing heights,
although in a span of a century and a half His followers have
spread His faith to over 200 countries and territories, many
continue to ignore rather than investigate His message of
peace, harmony, and salvation.
It seems so natural to think that only the past generations
could pass a misjudgment as tragic as ignoring or denying
their Lord and crucifying Him. Just as young people often
look down on old people, new generations look down on past
generations. They live under the illusion that they are not as
blind as their ancestors. As Jesus taught, it is easier to see a
speck in someone elses eye than a plank in ones own (Luke
6:41). The people of Israel felt the same way. They thought
1128 King of Kings
12they were wiser than their ancestors who persecuted the
Hebrew prophets:
Woe to you…you hypocrites! You build tombs for the
prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And
you say, If we had lived in the days of our forefathers,
we would not have taken part with them in shedding the
blood of the prophets. Christ (Matt. 23:29-30 NIV)
After reminding Christians of the most critical lesson in
history, Baháulláh proclaims that He has come for their
salvation and to this end He has suffered beyond measure. He
asks them why they run away from Him.
We, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne
the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye
the One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be
quickened [receive life]?10
Of course, people run away mostly because of fearfear of
being deceived. Even the thought of a new religion triggers
negative feelings in many a heart and soul. People are warned
from childhood to watch out for deceivers, to protect their
precious faith from intruders. They are told that only the
most eccentric believer would look beyond the safe confines
of his own faith. All these teachings and tendencies take their
toll in creating fear and avoidance. Some peoples faith is so
fragile, they fear that even the sound of a new name may
break it! Fear does not stay alone. It calls other compatible
emotions for support. Guilt is among the first to respond.
Guilt poses this question: are you being loyal to your own
faith? Then it asks: why should you play with temptation?
Fear also invites apathy, suspicion, and self-satisfaction. It
says, if you have a secure house, why would you wish to go
into the house of a stranger you have been told all your life
not to enter?
What then can possibly overcome these immense obstacles:
fear, avoidance, guilt, apathy, suspicion, and self-satisfaction?
History shows that for most people the power that can over-
come them is the fear of God, the fear of losing His favor.
13Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
14If people are afraid of being deceived, they must be equally
afraid of losing the One for whose sake they are afraid. The
Scriptures ask us to fear no one except God. They also declare
that fearing God is a sign of wisdom. If people remember
these two instructions, they might say, Since I fear God, I
need not fear deception. He will guide me. He will give me
the wisdom to choose my spiritual destiny. Perhaps with His
help I can enter the house of a stranger, not with the inten-
tion of staying, but for the purpose of inquiring, observing,
watching, and knowing him. This may be the reason why
Baháulláh appeals to the believers fear of God.
In His Epistle, Baháulláh then asks Christians not to follow
such leaders as have strayed from the path of truth. In all
ages, people prefer to follow their religious leaders without
taking much responsibility for their own spiritual destiny.
This tendency is so natural, so well-established, it prevents
most Christians from even a cursory examination of the Baháí
Faith. When they are invited to read a Baháí book or attend
a Baháí meeting, they decline without hesitation. Often, their
first thought is to ask their pastor. What would the pastor
say? Any religious leader who encourages church members
to look into another religion invites criticism and may even
undermine his own security. If the pastor is adventurous he
may suggest the studying of other faiths from the works of
Christian authors or else within the confines of a Sunday
school class.
After referring to the example of religious leaders, Baháulláh
asks Christians if they think He is after His own self-interests.
If that were the case, He intimates, why would He live
constantly under the threat of His enemies? Would His true
motive be the accumulation of wealth? If that were the
case, He reminds them, why then would He live in the
most horrible places?
1530 King of Kings
16Do ye imagine that He seeketh His own interests, when
He hath, at all times, been threatened by the swords of the
enemies; or that He seeketh the vanities of the world,
after He hath been imprisoned in the most desolate of
cities? Be fair in your judgment and follow not the foot-
steps of the unjust.11
Suffering cannot be an absolute proof, but it can be a mark
of distinction. It sets Baháulláh apart from the countless
selfish leaders who use their powers for personal gain. This
mark of distinction makes the task of investigation much
simpler because no man of any wisdom exposes himself to
pain and suffering for a lie.
Then Baháulláh asks Christians to observe fairness, for His
life testifies to His unconditional self-sacrifice for God.
He then declares that He has opened to them the Gates of the
Kingdom. Would they not open the door of their houses to
Him? Can anyone think of a greater loss? Suppose someone
asks you to open your eyes to a marvelous mansion. He says
that by seeing and acknowledging it you can become a part
owner, a permanent resident of that mansion. Would it be
wise to reject such an offer?
Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates of the
Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My
face?12 Baháulláh
Baháulláhs invitation to enter the gates of the Kingdom
is in keeping with Jesus promise that He would return to
receive and take those who trusted Him to dwelling-places in
His Fathers house:
Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust
also in me. There are many dwelling-places in my Fathers
house; if it were not so I should have told you; for I am
going there on purpose to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I shall come again and
receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be
also… Christ (John 14:1-3 NIV)
17Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
18Baháulláh then compares His own coming with that of Jesus.
He reminds Christians of this biblical verse:
I [Christ] have come down from heaven…
Christ (John 6:38 NEB)
And then offers one of His own:
He [the Spirit of Christ], verily, hath again come down
from heaven, even as He came down from it the first
time.13 Baháulláh
No one has testified that Jesus came from heaven, except
Jesus Himself. If Jesus testimony about Himself is correct,
could not Baháulláhs testimony also be correct? Baháulláh
then warns Christians not to dispute with Him as did the
people of past ages, when He appeared in the Spirit of Christ.
Beware lest ye dispute that which He [Baháulláh]
proclaimeth, even as the people before you disputed His
utterances.14
Among those who argued with Jesus were the Pharisees, who
strictly followed tradition and literal interpretation of the
Bible. They loved to argue with just about everything Jesus
said. Among their arguments was this:
Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph; we know his father and
mother. How can he now say, I have come down from
heaven? John 6:42 NEB
Are the theologians of our time not at least as able and
zealous as the Pharisees in carrying out arguments? Are they
less absorbed in their dreams and fantasies? Do people
change that much? If Jesus lived today among the people
of this age and made the same claim that He made to the
Pharisees (that He has come down from heaven), would they
not respond the same way? Would they not laugh at Him?
From this observation alone, the seekers of truth can gain a
sense of humility that may lead them and lift them to the
kingdom of true knowledge.
1932 King of Kings
20Did people accept Jesus testimony concerning His God-given
authority to disclose the meaning of prophecies? They had
difficulty accepting His testimony even about sensible and
ordinary things, much less spiritual truths:
I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we
testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not
accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly
things and you do not believe; how then will you believe
if I speak of heavenly things? Christ (John 3:11-12 NIV)
Human beings are not known for being open-minded. Psy-
chologist Dr. Wayne Dyer makes this observation:
I listen to talk radio for several hours each day in cities
all over North America. It is my observation that virtually
everyone who calls to a radio station to discuss a current
topic is attached to his or her idea and to the notion of
making someone else wrong. It seems to be unheard of for
someone to listen to another point of view with an open
mind. The callers almost always are quiet and polite for a
few moments while the other party is talking, and then
ignore everything that was said and state their own posi-
tion. Seldom do I hear anyone say, You make a good
point. Ill rethink what I believed before I made this call.15
This attachment to ideas and to making others wrong is
the history of the being called Human Being, and it ac-
counts for untold wars and misery since the beginning of
recorded history…Seldom if ever do we change our minds
based upon solid ideas presented by others.16
If people respond with closed minds to secular issues, what
can we expect when religious issues are involved?
I am reminded of one of my students (Dawn) who described
her father (David) as a brilliant lawyer. Several times she
referred to his superior mental abilities. Before entering the
law, David was a priest but fell in love, married, and resigned
his priesthood.
21Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
22Dawn had come to some Baháí meetings and wanted to tell
her father about the Baháí Faith. She asked for a copy of I
Shall Come Again and indicated that he would read it in no
time. She said she highly respected her fathers judgment and
could not wait to hear his verdict. I gave her a copy of the
book and then added, Dont overestimate your fathers open-
mindedness. Few people have that kind of mind! Be gentle in
expressing your enthusiasm about the Baháí Faith. Parents are
instantly alarmed about what their daughters are discovering!
Dawn assured me of her confidence in her fathers fairness
and openness to new ideas. She was all excited about what
her father had to say. When Dawn went home, she gave the
book to David and asked him to read it. Instead of reading
the book, he simply checked the section in his encyclopedia
about the Baháí Faith, but did not make any strong com-
ment, for fear of alienating his daughter. (His purpose of
checking the encyclopedia probably was to find out if her
daughter was facing any danger.) But Dawns mother could
not keep her silence. After discovering that her daughter was
seriously interested in investigating the Baháí Faith, she
could not conceal her concern. In a state of utter anger she
exclaimed, I dont want to hear that word (Baháí) again!
Dawn was taken by surprise. She could not believe her
parents emotional and irrational response. She had never
tested them in this way. Later she stated that if her parents
found out that she was continuing to investigate the Baháí
Faith, they would cut off all financial support. Dawns en-
counter with the Baháí Faith also had what psychologists
call halo effects. Next semester, when her parents dis-
covered that she wanted to take a course in Philosophy of
Religion, they were highly alarmed. They warned her not to
proceed. Once again, they feared, she would become mixed
up in her beliefs. Prior to their daughters spiritual adventure,
they had never shown such a concern about what courses she
would take. This example may be extreme, but it shows the
supreme powers of emotion in preserving our ancestral beliefs,
2334 King of Kings
24in preventing change, and in protecting a comfort zone that
has been built and embellished over the course of centuries.
Many people worship the name Jesus Christ instead of the
Spirit behind it. Jesus Christ means Deliverer, the Anointed
One. What is the significance of a word? Its l-e-t-t-e-r-s
or its meaning? Is Jesus magnificence due to the unique
combination of letters in His name or because of what those
letters represent? In many languages the name Jesus and the
title Christ are entirely different. If it is Jesus mission
Delivererthat matters, then cannot that same mission be
found under a new title or a different arrangement of letters
such as Baháulláh, the Glory of God?
Some Christians say, No name can save but Jesus. The
same holds true with all other great Messengers and Redeem-
ers. When Moses came, was there any name other than
Moses that could save the people? When Abraham or Noah
appeared, was there any name other than those names?
Some Jewish theologians use the same line of reasoning to
prove the superiority and uniqueness of their own Savior.
They show that according to their Scriptures the only Savior
is God, who was and is their Savior:
Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel,
the Savior! A just God and a Savior; there is none be-
sides Me. Isaiah 45:15, 21 NKJ
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your
Savior I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is
no savior. Isaiah 43:3,
See also Isaiah 49:26; 60:16; Psalms 106:21
After showing that their Savior is God, the Jewish theolo-
gians ask: Which would you prefer to have as your Savior?
Jesus or God? To prove the superiority of his choice, a
Jewish author has published a book called: You Take Jesus,
Ill Take God.17
What about false christs? What about warnings such as this?
25Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
26Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come
in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive
many. Christ (Matt. 24:4-5 NKJ)
Surely no one wants to be deceived. But does this mean that
no one should investigate? Should Christians ignore Jesus
numerous commandments that they should seek and search,
that they should look for their Master? At the beginning of
the Book of Revelation, which contains many significant
prophecies about His return, Jesus said:
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is
written in it, because the time is near. Revelation 1:3 NIV
How can we take to heart the many signs Jesus gave in
that incredible book if we fail to take time to see their clear
and unmistakable fulfillment in the advents of the Báb and
Baháulláh?
He who gave the warnings, also gave us definitive signs and
reliable standards by which we can separate the false christs
from the true One.
Fear of being deceived is a justifiable concern, but should it
paralyze our sense of courage and curiosity? The topic of
false christs and the Antichrist is considered to be so critical,
it is covered in detail in two chapters in this volume. (See
Chapters 4 and 5.)
To continue with Baháulláhs Epistle, after comparing His
advent to that of Jesus, He declares:
Thus instructeth you the True One, could ye but perceive it.18
Baháulláh calls Himself the True One, perhaps because
Christians remember these words:
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me. Christ (John 14:6 NIV)
Baháulláh intimates that He is the same Truth revealed
again. Once more He repeats His claim, this time through the
2736 King of Kings
28metaphor of the Burning Bush, a symbol of God. Thus
Baháulláh reminds Christians of His great authority. He
shows them that His Voice is indeed the Voice of God:
…and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: He Who is the
Desired One is come in His transcendent majesty.19
The divine Voice asks Baháulláh to declare that the Father
has come. This too is prophesied:
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father…
Christ (Matt. 16:27)
Say, Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were
promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled! 20 Baháulláh
Then the heavenly Voice calls Baháulláh the Word that
Jesus concealed from the world. Most people consider them-
selves mature. They think they can bear the weight of any
message. They forget this fact:
I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot
bear them now. Christ (John 16:12)
The claim Jesus made in His time was not difficult to bear,
for He called Himself the Son. That title is not threatening,
for all true believers are called the children of God. In spite
of this, at the beginning very few could accept Jesus as the
Son. What would have happened if Jesus, instead of saying the
Son has come, had said the Father has come? Yet this is the
Message that Baháulláh declares today. Father points to
maturity. Now people are more capableat least potentially
of understanding the meaning of that message. The disclosure
of that Word (Father) was postponed until now. Baháulláh
declares that when the Hour arrived, the hidden Word, the
One Jesus concealed, was made manifest:
And when the appointed time was fulfilled and the Hour
had struck, the Word shone forth above the horizon of the
Will of God.21
In Volume I, 16 biblical prophecies were presented to prove
the exact year of the arrival of the Hour. It was made clear that
29Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
30all those prophecies were fulfilled by the Báb and Baháulláh.
In sheer number alone those prophecies outnumber the time-
prophecies of the first advent by more than five times.
Baháulláh warns Christians to accept His Word with full
devotion and gratitude because such an acknowledgment is
better for them than everything else they possess:
Beware, O followers of the Son, that ye cast it [the Word]
not behind your backs. Take ye fast hold of it. Better is
this for you than all that ye possess.22 Baháulláh
Then Baháulláh introduces a message seemingly unrelated to
the topic. He says that God stands near to those who manifest
good deeds:
Verily He is nigh unto them that do good.23
What are the distinguishing marks of those who do good?
They act with courage, justice, detachment, and total devotion
to the divinedeeds that are essential in the path of the
search for truth.
After this brief statement, Baháulláh speaks again by declar-
ing the fulfillment of still another prophecy:
The Hour which We had concealed from the knowledge
of the peoples of the earth and of the favored angels hath
come to pass.24 Baháulláh
Baháulláhs statement is in keeping with Jesus pronounce-
ment that the day and the hour of His return must be kept
secret:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Christ (Matt. 24:36 NIV)
I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know
what hour I will come upon thee. Christ (Rev. 3:3)
See also Mark 13:32
Baháulláh then fulfills another prophecy:
3138 King of Kings
32But 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…
Christ (John 15:26)
Say, verily, He [Christ] hath testified of Me, and I do
testify of Him.25 Baháulláh
33The seeker of truth is assured that when Jesus said, he will
testify of me, He intended none other than Baháulláh.
Indeed, He hath purposed no one other than Me. Unto this
beareth witness every fair-minded and understanding soul.26
Baháulláh
Once again Baháulláh invites Christians to investigate His
Message and reminds them that He has suffered for their
salvation:
Though beset with countless afflictions, We summon the
people unto God, the Lord of names. Say, strive ye to
attain that which ye have been promised in the Books of
God, and walk not in the way of the ignorant. My body
hath endured imprisonment that ye may be released from
the bondage of self. Set your faces then towards His
countenance and follow not the footsteps of every hostile
oppressor. Verily, He hath consented to be sorely abased
that ye may attain unto glory
Then Baháulláh reminds Christians that His claim is sup-
ported by proof :
Lo! He is come in the sheltering shadow of Testimony,
invested with conclusive proof and evidence
The question of faith or belief should never be taken lightly.
How can an individual protect himself from deception? Only
by examining proofs. This not only includes prophecies but
also the fruits of divine revelation, which rank first among
all proofs. That is the purpose of this six-volume series.
34Chapter 1: Have Ye Shut Out Yourselves By Reason of My Name?
35Baháulláh once again speaks of the blessings in store for the
true seekers and the destiny of those who deny Him:
Blessed is the man who turneth towards Him, and woe
betide such as deny or doubt Him.29
Every question pales in comparison with this one: Who is
Baháulláh, and how should we respond to His call? Ignore
His call or investigate His call? What should be our verdict?
Yes or No? Choosing the right word presents the most
awesome challenge to every human being.
The verdict that we make is so critical, it should be made
with the utmost care. That wordyes or nois so powerful
it can shape our eternal destiny. Astonishing as it may seem,
one careless thought or word can prevent us from attaining
the very purpose for which we came into the world. Jesus
warns us against uttering our words, which express our thoughts
and motives, carelessly, without adequate investigation:
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the
day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
Christ (Matt. 12:36 NIV)
Baháulláh is not a philosopher, a saint, or simply a reformer.
He speaks with divine authority and as the One whose advent
is prophesied in all sacred Scriptures. He calls us to awaken
to our spiritual responsibility and to be faithful to our cov-
enant with God, so that when He sends a Redeemer, we
embrace Him with all our hearts and souls and arise for the
triumph of His cause.
Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you
the crown of life. Christ (Rev. 2:10 NIV)
In this spiritual adventure, the only word we can choose is
Yes or No. Nothing else suffices:
Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No; any-
thing beyond this comes from the evil one.
Christ (Matt. 5:37 NIV)
3640 King of Kings
37Then Baháulláh declares His Message to all humankind in
the most powerful and definitive terms:
Proclaim then unto all mankind the glad-tidings of this
mighty, this glorious Revelation. Verily, He Who is the
Spirit of Truth is come to guide you unto all truth. He
speaketh not as prompted by His own self, but as bidden
by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Say, this is the One Who hath glorified the Son and hath
exalted His Cause. Cast away, O peoples of the earth, that
which ye have and take fast hold of that which ye are
bidden by the All-Powerful, He Who is the Bearer of the
Trust of God.30
Baháulláh then addresses His message to Christian leaders
and teachers, such as pastors, priests, elders, bishops, and
monks.
Baháulláh concludes His Epistle by showering His blessings
on those who recognize Him. He repeats His message of
blessings 21 times. Here are 7 of them:
Say: Blessed the slumberer who is awakened…
Blessed the wayfarer who directeth his steps toward the
Tabernacle of my glory…
Blessed the soul that hath been raised to life and hath
gained admittance into My heavenly Kingdom.
Blessed the ear that hath heard and the tongue that hath
borne witness and the eye that hath seen and recognized
the Lord Himself, in His great glory
Blessed are they that have attained His presence.
Blessed is he who hath remained faithful to My Covenant…
Blessed is the man who hath detached himself from all
else but Me…
Upon him rest My mercy, My loving-kindness, My bounty
and My glory.31
38You Shall Be Called By
a New Name
Isaiah 62:2 NEB
1By My Beauty! He Who is the Monarch of all names is
come…1 Baháulláh
Prophets have prayed, throughout history, that Gods glory,
beauty, and splendor may dawn:
Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto
their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be
upon us… Psalms 90:16-17
242 King of Kings
3Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole
earth be filled with his glory [glory of God].
Psalms 72:19 NIV
Prophets have also asked us to rejoice at His glorious name
and spread the news of its dawning to all nations:
Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing to the glory of
his name; offer him glory and praise! Say to God, How
awesome are your deeds! Psalms 66:1-3 NIV
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, Praise his name; proclaim his salvation
day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his
marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalms 96:1-3 NIV
Chapter 113 of Psalms is all in praise of the glorious name
of the Lord. Here are a few verses:
Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and for-
evermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where
it sets the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is
exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
Psalms 113:2-4 NIV
What is the name or the title designated for the Redeemer of
our age and His followers? Is He to be called Jesus Christ
and are His followers to be called Christians? Or are they to
receive a new name?
Contrary to what many expect, the prophecies point to a new
name. When God renews His covenant, He calls it by a new
name. As Jesus reminded the Jews:
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he
does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run
out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must
be poured into new wineskins. Luke 5:37-38 NIV
We are living at the dawning of a new day, when all things
are destined to be made new:
4Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
5…the old order of things has passed away…I am making
everything new! Revelation 21:4-5 NIV
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth [a new
heavenly and earthly civilization]. The former things will
not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Isaiah 65:17 NIV
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away…
Revelation 21:1 NIV
And they sang a new song… Revelation 5:9 NIV
See also Revelation 14:3
Chapter 62 of Isaiah pertains entirely to our time. It starts by
giving the tidings of a glorious day for Zion (the Holy Land),
and then points to a new name:
For Zions sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalems sake
I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shine out like
the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations
will see your righteousness, and the kings your glory; you
will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord
will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor [a glorious
crown NEB] in the Lords hand, a royal diadem in the hand
of your God. Isaiah 62:1-3 NIV
Similarly, in Chapter 65, which points to our time, Isaiah
predicts a new name for the followers of the new faith, whom
he calls Gods servants. The chapter raises the following points:
People fail to search for the expected Messenger, the Lord
of Hosts:
I was there to be sought by a people who did not
ask, to be found by men who did not seek me. I
said, Here am I, here am I, to a nation that did not
invoke me by name. I spread out my hands all day
appealing to an unruly people who went their evil way…
Isaiah 65:1-2 NEB
644 King of Kings
7 The future of the Holy Land is glorious.
Sharon and Achor (located in the northern half of Israel,
where Baháulláh lived and passed away) will belong to
those who seek the Lord. Many Baháís traveled long dis-
tances on foot to attain the presence of Baháulláh:
…Sharon, and the Vale of Achor…shall belong to my
people who seek me. Isaiah 65:10 NEB
8 Divine punishment awaits those who refuse to respond to
the new Call. Otherscalled Gods servantsreceive the
gift of a new name:
…I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did
not listen; and you did what was wrong in my eyes and
you chose what was against my will. Therefore these
are the words of the Lord God: My servants shall eat
[heavenly food] but you shall starve; my servants shall
drink but you shall go thirsty; my servants shall rejoice
but you shall be put to shame; my servants shall shout
in triumph in the gladness of their hearts, but you shall
cry from sorrow and wail from anguish of spirit; your
name shall be used as an oath by my chosen, and the
Lord God shall give you over to [spiritual] death; but
his servants he shall call by another name [emphasis
added throughout]. Isaiah 65:12-15 NEB
9Baháulláh frequently uses the expression My servants
or My servant:
Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps
of My loving providence among My servants, and the
keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been
sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord,
the Lord of Revelation.2
Here are three examples from The Hidden Words of
Baháulláh:
10Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
11O MY SERVANT !
Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting
dominion, and cast not away celestial sovereignty for
a worldly desire. This is the river of everlasting life
that hath flowed from the well-spring of the pen of the
merciful; well is it with them that drink!3
O MY SERVANT!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose
thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for
it will come to thee no more.4
O MY SERVANT!
Purge thy heart from malice and, innocent of envy,
enter the divine court of holiness.5
To emphasize Gods novel creation, Isaiah points to new
heavens and a new earth (a new world order), and then
to the Holy Landwhere Baháulláh lived for more than
two decadesas a place of joy:
…the former troubles are forgotten and they are hidden
from my sight. For behold, I create new heavens and
a new earth. Former things shall no more be remem-
bered nor shall they be called to mind. Rejoice and be
filled with delight, you boundless realms which I create;
for I create Jerusalem to be a delight and her people
a joy… Isaiah 65:16-18 NEB
Finally, the prophetic chapter ends with the tidings of a
world in peace and unity:
They shall not toil in vain or raise children for misfor-
tune. For they are the offspring of the blessed of the
Lord and their issue after them; before they call to me,
I will answer, and while they are still speaking I will
listen. The wolf and the lamb [antagonistic nations]
shall feed together and the lion shall eat straw like
cattle [domestication of warlike nations]. They shall not
hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
Isaiah 65:23-25 NEB
1246 King of Kings
13Christian Scriptures confirm the Jewish. The Book of Revela-
tion indicates that those who overcome the many obstacles
that stand in the path of the search for truth shall receive the
gift of a new name, which is Gods own name. Both Isaiah and
Revelation refer to the new Jerusalem, the city of God, which
symbolizes a new world order and a spiritual civilization for
humankind:
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of
my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him
the name of my God [Bahá] and the name of the city of
my God, the new Jerusalem [the divine Revelation, namely,
Baháí] which is coming down out of heaven from my
God; and I will also write on him my new name.
Revelation 3:12 NIV
And again:
To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden
manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new
name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Revelation 2:17 NIV
Robert Riggs in his book The Apocalypse Unsealed writes:
The Báb presented His followers and Baháulláh with a
scroll often called the White Stone on which He inscribed
a pentacle (five pointed star) with 360 derivatives of the
word Bahá. This scroll represented a revelation of the
name of the new Manifestation to follow him.6
The following prophecy from Revelation gives us not only
the tidings of a new name, but several other clues as well:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a
white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With
justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blaz-
ing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a
name written on him that no one but he himself knows.
14Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
15He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is
the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following
him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen,
white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword
with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them
with an iron scepter. Revelation 19:11-15 NIV
The Book of Revelation is clothed with symbolism. For in-
stance, heaven symbolizes the divine Revelation, from which
descends the light of knowledge and truth. The rider is the
divine Redeemer; the war he makes is spiritual:
We have decreed that war shall be waged in the path of
God with the armies of wisdom and utterance, and of a
goodly character and praiseworthy deeds.7 Baháulláh
Fire symbolizes many things, among them the power to burn
the veils of mans separation from God, and to destroy evil.
Many crowns symbolizes the vast expanse of the Redeemers
spiritual sovereignty. His vesture dipped in blood points to
the great sufferings He and His followers endure. The armies
of heaven symbolizes the heavenly blessings, or the Redeemers
devoted followers, who stand pure and refined as fine linen,
white and clean. Sharp sword stands for Gods definitive and
decisive Word, which separates the deniers and the believers,
and iron scepter symbolizes authority and power (first spiritual
and later earthly).
Here Baháulláh refers to His word as having the power to
decide the destiny of all created things:
I bear witness that through a word from Thee Thou hast
decided between all created things, causing them who are
devoted to Thee to ascend unto the summit of glory, and
the infidels to fall into the lowest abyss.8
The prophecy bestows several titles on the promised Messen-
ger of our time but does not reveal His name.
1648 King of Kings
1God has many names, such as the Creator, the Lord, and
Jehovah; and many attributes, such as the All-Wise, the All-
Powerful, and the All-Knowing. Prophecies indicate that God
reveals a new Name for Himself, and bestows that Name on
the Redeemer of our time. Although Bahá like the Creator
is an attribute, it is called a Name. This Name has been
prophesied but never divulged until the advent of the new
revelation.
He has a name written on him that no one but he himself
knows. Revelation 19:12 NIV
But on that day my people shall know my name…
Isaiah 52:6 NEB
In His works, Baháulláh refers to this hidden name and
hidden treasure:
I testify that within thee [Tihrán] He who is the Hidden
Name [Baháulláh] was revealed, and the Unseen Treasure
uncovered.9
I pray to Thee, O my Lord, by Thy hidden, Thy treasured
Name
By the righteousness of God! The Hidden Treasure, the
Impenetrable Mystery, hath been uncovered to mens
eyes
Thou art He, by Whose name the Hidden Secret was
divulged, and the Well-Guarded Name was revealed…
shedding thereby its fragrance over all creation
Many passages glorify and praise the name of God. As we
noted, God is beyond all praise. The only way we can praise
Him is through His Messengers or Manifestations. Thus when
we glorify them it is as if we have glorified God.
The following passages first and foremost seem to refer to
the One who comes in the name of the Lord:
2Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
3And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the
whole earth be filled with His glory. Psalms 72:19 NKJ
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the
name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from
this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the
sun to its going down the Lords name is to be praised.
Psalms 113:1-3 NKJ
I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name
of the Lord. I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanks-
giving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalms 116:13, 17 NKJ
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give
glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.
Psalms 115:1 NKJ
Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord.
Psalms 135:1
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Matthew 21:9
Knowing and acknowledging the Name of God brings spiritual
blessings and honors:
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will
deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has
known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer
him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and
honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show
him My salvation. Psalms 91:14-16 NKJ
If the name of the new Redeemer were to be Jesus Christ,
there would be no secrecy about it. Jesus Christ is perhaps
known better than any other name.
Certain facts about the advent of the new Revelation have
been kept secret:
The day and the hour of the advent.
450 King of Kings
5 The name of the Redeemer.
The manner of His coming.
It was the Báb who first lifted the veil from the new name,
from this long-kept secret. He prophesied the exact word with
glaring clarity:
Well it is with him, who fixeth his gaze upon the Order
of Baháulláh, and rendereth thanks unto his Lord! For
He will assuredly be made manifest
This is how the new Name appears in Arabic and Persian:
Bahá
6Baháulláh
In a conference held in a district called Badasht, Baháulláh
adopted the title of Bahá for Himself. This took place before
declaring His mission. At that conference, there were
guests149 units of 9. As stated, the numerical value of
Bahá in Arabic is also equal to 9. Further, the 144,000
mentioned in Revelation is also a multiple of 9.
Seldom if ever does Baháulláh refer to Himself as Baháulláh.
His favorite title for Himself is Bahá. He uses the same
word to identify His followers: the people of Bahá (not of
Baháulláh). The concordance from His Writings has
references to Bahá, but none to Baháulláh. Here are some
examples:
Oh, would that the world could believe Me! Were all the
things that lie enshrined within the heart of Bahá, and
which the Lord, His God, the Lord of all names, hath
taught Him, to be unveiled to mankind, every man on
earth would be dumbfounded.15
Who else but Bahá can speak forth before the face of men,
and who else but He can have the power to pronounce
that which He was bidden by God, the Lord of Hosts?16
7Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
8By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay
hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and
possess the hearts of men. Upon them the eyes of Bahá
are fastened.17
Say: Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven,
inmate of the Exalted Paradise! Drape thyself in whatever
manner pleaseth Thee in the silken Vesture of Immor-
tality, and put on, in the name of the All-Glorious, the
broidered Robe of Light. Hear, then, the sweet, the
wondrous accent of the Voice that cometh from the Throne
of Thy Lord, the Inaccessible, the Most High…Cry out
before the gaze of the dwellers of heaven and of earth: I
am the Maid of Heaven, the Offspring begotten by the
Spirit of Bahá. My habitation is the Mansion of His
Name, the All-Glorious.18
Cling, O ye people of Bahá, to the cord of servitude
unto God, the True One, for thereby your stations shall be
made manifest, your names written and preserved, your
ranks raised and your memory exalted
Orthodox Jews consider the name of the Creator so sacred,
they do not spell it fully. They write G-d, instead of God.
Something like this has happened in relation to the name
Baháulláh without anyone being aware.
The new name is so sacred and so secret, it seems a mysteri-
ous power has prevented people, since the dawn of history,
from adopting it as a personal name. In the Persian and
Arabic languages, parents use many attributes of God for their
children. For instance, they pick names with such meanings
or titles as:
spirit of God friend of God
help of God trustee of God
bounty of God light of God
love of God gift of God
might of God grace of God
remembrance of God
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10The one name I have never seen or heard adopted is Glory
of God, Baháulláh. The name Baháulláh seems to have
been off limits for no apparent reason. This is quite astonish-
ing. The Qurán is known to contain 99 names of God. The
one name and attribute it does not contain is Gods most
glorious nameBahá. Is this coincidence?
Besides glory and glory of the Lord, Baháulláh has been
identified by many titles. Shoghi Effendi has listed some of
them in God Passes By.20 Here is his list arranged in the
following columns:
11On His Head Are Many Crowns.
Revelation 9:12
God hath most excellent names.21 Qurán
He Who is the Lord of Names…22 Baháulláh
The Monarch of all names.23 Baháulláh
the King of the names and attributes of God.24
Baháulláh
12The Everlasting Father The Lord of the Covenant
The Lord of Hosts The Glory of the Lord
The Most Great Name The Prince of Peace
The Ancient Beauty The Counselor
The Pen of the Most High Lord of Lords
The Hidden Name The Prince of this World
He Whom God will make The Comforter
manifest The Spirit of Truth
The Most Great Light The Lord of the Vineyard
The Self-subsistent The Glory of God
The Speaker on Sinai Alpha and Omega
The Sifter of Men The First and the Last
The desire of the Nations The Judge
13Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
14The Lawgiver The Spirit of God
The Redeemer of all man- The All Highest Horizon
kind The Most Great Ocean
The Organizer of the entire The Supreme Heaven
planet The Pre-Existent Root
The Unifier of the Children
1The Establisher of the Most The Fifth Buddha
Great Peace The Buddha named
The Proclaimer of the Maitreye
coming of age of the entire The King of Glory
human race The Lord
The Blessed Beauty The Son of Man Who shall
The Sun of Righteousness come in the glory of His
The Creator of a new World Father
Order The Tree beyond which
The Inspirer and Founder of there is no passing
a World Civilization The Rod come forth out of
Christ returned in the glory the stem of Jesse
of the Father The Branch grown out of
The Fountain of the Most His Roots
Great Justice The Word of God
2Here are still a few other titles of Baháulláh:
3Redeemer The Lord Our Righteousness
The Holy One of Israel A Teacher of Righteousness
Faithful and True. The Root of Jesse
The Throne Youth
Before the Throne The Hidden Mystery
Jehovah or Yahweh The Hidden Name
The Lord God God
The Spirit The Burning Bush
1The Most Great Beauty Bahrám
Our God Súshíánt
The God of gods Amitabha
Ancient Root The Ruler of the Kingdom
Mighty Stock of Names
The Holy Spirit The Revealer of the names
The Sun of God
Lord God Almighty The Lord of Names
The Goodness of the Lord The Monarch of all names
2The list of names and titles offered here is quite incomplete.
Baháulláhs Writings contain many others. The following
passage alone presents five titles:
This, verily, is the Day wherewith Thy [Gods] Scriptures
have been adorned. And He Who now speaketh is, in
3Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
4truth, the Well-guarded Treasure, and the Hidden Secret,
and the Preserved Tablet, and the Impenetrable Mystery,
and the Sealed Book. He, truly, is to be obeyed in what-
soever He commandeth, and decreeth, and revealeth, and
is to be loved in everything He, through His sovereignty,
enjoineth, and, through His power, ordaineth. Whoso will
hesitate for less than the twinkling of an eye, hath, verily,
denied Thy right, and repudiated all that Thou hast revealed
in Thy Books, and in Thy Scriptures, and sent down with
Thy chosen Ones, and Thy Prophets, and Thy Messengers,
and the Trustees of Thy Revelation.25
Never before have so many titles been bestowed on or assumed
by a divine Manifestation. Baháulláh is indeed the Ruler
of the Kingdom of Names.
Although all these names or titles refer to the Redeemer of
our age, the most specific name by which He is known is
Glory of God or Glory of the Lord. The original form of this
name in Arabic is Baháulláh, consisting of two words:
Bahá meaning glory and light, and Alláh meaning God. Bahá
is a word with a unique combination of the most magnificent
meanings.
According to Muhammad Muvahhid, a scholar well versed in
Arabic, no other word in the vast vocabulary of the Arabic
language can compare in grandeur and richness of meaning
with bahá. In addition to brightness, radiance, glory, and
splendor, the dictionary lists the following meanings as well:
beauty, adornment, goodness, greatness, and perfection. (See
Moín Persian Dictionary.) One wonders if a word with such
distinctions can be found in any other language. The Random
House Dictionary of the English Language lists these mean-
ings for glory:
exalted praise, honor, or distinction.
adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving.
a state of splendor, magnificence, or great prosperity.
splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
556 King of Kings
6 a state of absolute happiness; gratification, contentment, etc.
something that makes one honored or illustrious; a distin-
guished ornament; an object of pride.
resplendent beauty or magnificence.
a ring circle, or surrounding radiance of light represented
about the head or the whole figure of a sacred person, as
Christ
According to some Christian authors, Glory of God expresses
the sum total of the divine perfections. 28 It is the manifes-
tation of His divine attributes and perfections. 29 It is the
outward shining of Gods inner being.
According to Baháí Scriptures, all the divine names depend
upon Bahá. It has a unique power that influences all things
both visible and invisible.31 Abdul-Bahá describes it as the
name of comfort, protection, happiness, illumination, love and
unity.
These verses express the greatness of the glory of God:
The moon shall grow pale and the sun hide its face in
shame; for the Lord of Hosts has become king on Mount
Zion and in Jerusalem, and shows his glory [the glory of
God]… Isaiah 24:23 NEB
Great is the glory of the Lord. Psalms 138:5
The glory of Him Whom God shall make manifest
[Baháulláh] is immeasurably above every other glory
The Báb
Baháulláh repeatedly confirms the abundant outpourings of
Gods glory and the blessings destined for the receivers:
The Ancient of Days is come in His great glory!
Baháulláh
O ye peoples of the earth! Turn yourselves towards Him
Who hath turned towards you. He, verily, is the Face of
God amongst you, and His Testimony and His Guide unto
7Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
8you. He hath come to you with signs which none can
produce. The voice of the Burning Bush is raised in the
midmost heart of the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth
aloud among the nations: Lo, the Desired One is come
with manifest dominion!35 Baháulláh
Set your faces towards Him (Baháulláh), on this Day
which God hath exalted above all other days, and whereon
the All-Merciful hath shed the splendor of His effulgent
glory upon all who are in heaven and all who are on
earth.36 Baháulláh
The greatness of the name Bahá can be discerned not only
from its meaning but from its numerical value (gematria) as
well. For it carries a value of nine, which in the decimal
system is the largest single number, and as such symbolizes
both oneness and perfection.
The new name is eulogized in several Scriptures, especially
the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. Few divine attributes, perhaps
none, are repeated throughout the Bible as frequently and
prophetically as glory, the equivalent of the word Bahá. The
total number of biblical references to the word glory and its
derivatives surpass five hundredan average of about once
every two pages.
One of the titles of Baháulláh that is used most frequently
by His Son Abdul-Bahá, as well as by eastern Baháís, is
Blessed Beauty.
The Blessed Beauty saith: Ye are all the fruits of one
tree, the leaves of one branch.37 Abdul-Bahá
Baháulláh uses the title occasionally:
We foresee that in every city people will arise to suppress
the Blessed Beauty
Baháulláh sometimes refers to His Name as this blessed
Name. 39 In the Bible we find a special reference made to
this title:
958 King of Kings
10His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be con-
tinued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in
him: all nations shall call him blessed. Psalms 72:17
The title Blessed BeautyE is often shortened as Blessed.
Baháulláh uses it occasionally to refer to Himself.40 Among
Persian Baháís, the shortened form (Mubárak) is used quite
frequently and has been gradually generalized to refer not
only to Baháulláh but also to the Báb, Abdul-Bahá, and
Shoghi Effendi. It is the only common title that identifies
any or all of them. It is also used to refer to their words. For
instance, instead of saying the words of Baháulláh or
Abdul-Bahá, they often say, the words of the Blessed.
Baháulláh refers repeatedly to the revelation of divine beauty
in this age:
All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld,
Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the veil
of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.41
In this prophecy David first prays for the return of the
Promised One and then refers to His attributes of glory and
beauty:
Return, O Lord, how long?…Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory to their children…And let the
beauty of the Lord our God [Baháulláh] be upon us…
Psalms 90:13, 16,
11E
A dramatic and well-publicized case of near-death vision is that of
Reinee Pasarow, a friend of this author, who has appeared on many
television programs. She had one of the deepest known near-death
experiences. To help her find her way in this confusing world, Reinee
was given certain clues during her vision. One of them was the title
Blessed Beauty. At that time, she had no idea what the clue meant.
Later, she found the Baháí Faith and subsequently learned that the
Blessed Beauty is one of Baháulláhs titles. She is now a Baháí.
Such experiences should never be used as proof, but rather as an
inspiration to search for proofs that God Himself has established,
such as prophecies.
12Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
13David prays again to receive the honor of beholding the
blessed Beauty of the Lord:
One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord
Psalms 27:4 NKJ
These references further confirm the supreme expression of
Gods awesome beauty and glory in this age:
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine
forth. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent
Psalms 50:2-3 NKJ
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship
the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalms 29:2 NKJ
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all
the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the
good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His
glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples
Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty
are in His sanctuary. Psalms 96:1-3, 6 NKJ
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty
Isaiah 33:17 NKJ
In addition to Blessed Beauty, Baháulláh sometimes refers
to Himself as the Ancient Beauty, the Beauty the Most
Great Beauty, and My Beauty (Gods Beauty):
The Most Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty
[Baháulláh] ruleth upon the throne of David.42
…He Who is the Ancient Beauty hath come in the Most
Great Name [Bahá], that He may quicken the world and
unite its peoples.43
Verily this is that Most Great Beauty, foretold in the Books
of the Messengers, through Whom truth shall be distin-
guished from error and the wisdom of every command
shall be tested…Be thou assured in thyself that verily, he
1460 King of Kings
15who turns away from this Beauty hath also turned away
from the Messengers of the past and showeth pride towards
God from all eternity to all eternity.44
Most translations of the Bible attribute beauty to the followers
of the new Revelation. The American Revised Version attributes
the beauty to the Redeemer Himself:
And Jehovah their God will save them in that day as the
flock of his people; for they shall be as the stones of a
crown, lifted on high over his land. For how great is his
goodness, and how great is his beauty!
Zechariah 9:16-17 ARV
The following passage is from an Epistle by Baháulláh. It is
recited by Baháís around the world annually at the moment
when He passed away. In this Epistle Baháulláh uses the
word beauty again and again. Notice the authority with which
Baháulláh speaks:
The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august
Self, and the glory which hath shone forth from Thy most
effulgent Beauty, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art the
Manifestation of Grandeur, and the King of Eternity, and
the Lord of all who are in heaven and on earth! I testify that
through Thee the sovereignty of God and His dominion,
and the majesty of God and His grandeur, were revealed,
and the Day-Stars of ancient splendor have shed their
radiance in the heaven of Thine irrevocable decree, and
the Beauty of the Unseen hath shone forth above the
horizon of creation. I testify, moreover, that with but a
movement of Thy Pen Thine injunction Be Thou hath
been enforced, and Gods hidden Secret hath been divulged,
and all created things have been called into being, and all
the Revelations have been sent down.
I bear witness, moreover, that through Thy beauty the
beauty of the Adored One hath been unveiled, and through
Thy face the face of the Desired One hath shone forth…
16Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
17I bear witness that he who hath known Thee hath known
God, and he who hath attained unto Thy presence hath
attained unto the presence of God. Great, therefore, is the
blessedness of him who hath believed in Thee, and in Thy
signs, and hath humbled himself before Thy sovereignty,
and hath been honored with meeting Thee, and hath at-
tained the good pleasure of Thy will, and circled around
Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe betide him that
hath transgressed against Thee, and hath denied Thee, and
repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy sovereignty, and
risen up against Thee, and waxed proud before Thy face,
and hath disputed Thy testimonies, and fled from Thy rule
and Thy dominion
1According to prophecies, God has kept several secrets, but
promised to reveal them in our time. One is the Beauty of
His Countenance; the other is His greatest and most glorious
Name. David prays for the revelation of His Countenance:
How long, O Lord will You hide Your face from me?
Psalms 13:1 NKJ
O Lord…shine forth. Psalms 94:1 NIV
O Lord…show thyself. Psalms 94:1 NEB
And Ezekiel utters the promise of the disclosure of His
countenance:
I will set My glory [glory of God] among the nations…I
will not hide My face from them anymore…
Ezekiel 39:21, 29 NKJ
Baháulláh confirms the fulfillment of the prayer and the
promise and invites all true lovers and seekers of His Beauty
to His presence:
He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-
conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing
splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt.46
262 King of Kings
3Here Baháulláh encourages the truth seekers to break
through the clouds of concealment and behold the beauty
of the Beloved:
That hour is now come. The world is illumined with the
effulgent glory of His countenance. And yet, behold how
far its peoples have strayed from His path! None have
believed in Him except them who, through the power of
the Lord of Names, have shattered the idols of their vain
imaginings and corrupt desires and entered the city of
certitude. The seal of the choice Wine of His Revelation
hath, in this Day and in His Name, the Self-Sufficing,
been broken. Its grace is being poured out upon men. Fill
thy cup, and drink in, in His Name, the Most Holy, the
All-Praised.47
It behoveth us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavor,
that, by Gods invisible assistance, these dark veils, these
clouds of Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from
beholding the beauty of His shining Countenance, and
that we may recognize Him only by His own Self.48
Baháulláh repeatedly refers to the revelation of divine coun-
tenance in this age:
All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld,
Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the veil
of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.49
Baháulláh declares that when the time came for the unveil-
ing of the divine Countenance, He hid Himself behind a
thousand veils, so that those unworthy of His Beauty could
not see Him:
And when this process of progressive Revelation culmi-
nated in the stage at which His peerless, His most sacred,
and exalted Countenance was to be unveiled to mens eyes,
He chose to hide His own Self behind a thousand veils,
lest profane and mortal eyes discover His glory…He
hath, verily, manifested a glory such as none in the whole
creation hath witnessed
4Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
5Even when God reveals the light of His Countenance with
such intensity, it is astonishing that many still cannot see it.
Baháulláh declares that God, in His Wisdom, conceals His
glory from mortal eyes; from those who want to see His
glory with their perishable and mortal, but not immortal,
eyes; from those who care more for seeing His body come
down in the clouds of vapor than witnessing His heavenly
Soul shine in the clouds of glory.
In the following passage, Baháulláh addresses the people of
our time, who are so fortunate to live in this glorious age,
one that countless people have longed to witness. And yet
they are so wrapt in worldly veils that they cannot behold the
dazzling Beauty of their Beloved:
O SON OF DESIRE !
The learned and the wise have for long years striven and
failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have
spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the
beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least effort
didst attain thy goal, and without search hast obtained the
object of thy quest. Yet, notwithstanding, thou didst remain
so wrapt in the veil of self, that thine eyes beheld not the
beauty of the Beloved, nor did thy hand touch the hem
of His robe. Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder.51
Christ predicted that only the faithful will see the glory of
God:
Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the
glory of God? John 11:40 NEB
He also predicted the faithful will be few:
But when the son of man comes will he find faith on
earth? Luke 18:8 NEB
Once again these verses indicate that certain veils will prevent
Christians from seeing and recognizing the glory of God.
This point is also confirmed in John:
664 King of Kings
7And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor to be with you foreverthe Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor
knows him. John 14:16-17 NIV
8It is ironic that Gods most glorious Name and the most awe-
some revelation of His Countenance have themselves become
veils! It is like saying that the suns glory and splendor prevent
people from seeing it.
As you move forward, consider each chapter as a piece
of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. The coming of two supreme
Messengers and Redeemers in the station of the Lord is
unprecedented in all history. Yet that is the glorious honor
God has bestowed on us. The next chapter presents prophe-
cies, especially from the Book of Revelation, that proclaim
and promise the twin comings.
9The Symbol of the Greatest Name52
The Greatest Name carries such significance and enshrines
such profound meanings, it has received a visible and symbolic
image by Abdul-Bahá. Its image also appears on Baháí
ringstone:
10For My name shall be great among the nations,
says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 1:11 NKJ
11The symbol presents a perfect blending of the Arabic letters
B and H:
12Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
13= B
=H
The symbol for the Greatest Name contains three vertical
levels, portraying the three levels of existence. The upper
level symbolizes the world of God, the middle level the
world of Revelation, Command, or Cause (the world of the
great Messengers and Redeemers),a and the lower level the
world of humanity or creation.
…the three planes represent the World of God, the World
of Command, and the World of Creation…53 Abdul-Bahá
Each plane stands on the separate level, yet is connected with
every other. Each of the upper levels stands exalted far beyond
the understanding of the level or levels below it. The great
Messengers, who exist in the world of Command or Revela-
tion, cannot comprehend the Essence of God; similarly we
cannot comprehend the Essence of the great Messengers.
It is by the power of the world of Commandthe world in
which all great Messengers and Redeemers functionthat
God created the universe and sent His Revelations. He said,
Be Thou! and it was.
I testify, moreover, that with but a movement of Thy
[Baháulláhs] Pen Thine injunction Be Thou hath been
enforced, and Gods hidden Secret hath been divulged, and
all created things have been called into being, and all the
Revelations have been sent down.54 Baháulláh
Here Baháulláh refers to three worlds: the world of God in
which Gods Essence remains concealed, the Greater Worlds,
and the Lesser Worlds:
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! I testify that Thou
wast a hidden Treasure wrapped within Thine immemorial
a
The world of Command (also translated as the world, or kingdom,
of Cause) is known by several other titles such as: the Word, the
Logos, the Primal Point, and the Primal Will.
1466 King of Kings
15Being and an impenetrable Mystery enshrined in Thine
own Essence. Wishing to reveal Thyself, Thou didst call
into being the Greater and the Lesser Worlds, and didst
choose Man [any great Messenger] above all Thy creatures,
and didst make Him a sign of both of these worlds, O
Thou Who art our Lord, the Most Compassionate!55
The twin stars, which appear on the Baháí ringstone, sym-
bolize the Báb and Baháulláh. Literally, the Báb founded the
Bábí Faith and Baháulláh the Baháí Faith. But spiritually,
they are the twin founders of both the Bábí Faith and the
Baháí Faith. Before declaring His Mission, Baháulláh was
the most distinguished Follower and the supreme Supporter
of the Báb. What Baháulláh endured in the Black Pit as a
follower of the Báb surpasses human understanding. If
Baháulláh had a thousand lives, He would have offered them,
without hesitation, to His Beloved the Báb.
It is easy to underestimate the station of the Báb because of
His title (the Gate), His position (the Herald), and His absolute
humility before Baháulláh. Please remember the title that
the Book of Revelation bestows on the Báb, Lord of Lords
and King of Kings, and the title it bestows on Baháulláh,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. These titles point to
perfect equality between the twin Redeemers. Similarly, in
essence, all the titles that refer to Baháulláh also refer to the
Báb. For instance, the title the Lord of Hosts is usually
associated only with Baháulláh, but Abdul-Bahá declares
that it points to both of them.56 The Báb is as much the glory
of the Lord as Baháulláh. They differ only in the expression
of their glory.
Many laws of the Baháí Faith have their origin in the writ-
ings of the Báb. The twin Messengers only look different to
us; in essence, they are one. The two suns on the cover of
this book symbolize both their equality and oneness as well
as the varying intensity of their revelation.
Baháulláh declares that no name, however exalted, can
describe the greatness of Gods Messengers and Redeemers:
16Chapter 2: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part I
17…they have been at all times, and will through eternity
continue to be, exalted above every praising name, and
sanctified from every descriptive attribute. The quintessence
of every name can hope for no access unto their court of
holiness, and the highest and purest of all attributes can
never approach their kingdom of glory.57
The earthly titles bestowed on great Messengers are limited
by human thinking and language. They are only symbols of
their awesome greatness. No human being can fully compre-
hend the meaning of those symbols. Baháulláh states that in
the next Kingdom He beareth the most excellent titles.
Then He refers to one of the titles He has received in this
world, the gift of the Name of God Himself :
He Who, among the Concourse on high [the heavenly
Kingdom], beareth the most excellent titles, and Who, in
the kingdom of creation, is called by the name of God,
the Effulgent, the All-Glorious.59
1in my name, claiming, I am the Christ, and will deceive
many. Matthew 24:4-5 NIV
Regarding the preceding prophecy, Elizabeth Cheney writes:
Jesus warned His disciples to beware of those who claimed
the name of Christ, for He knew that the Promised One
of the latter days would not bear that holy name. It would
be the same Word of God which Jesus brought, the same
Divine Reality, but another human temple and another
name. Ridpaths History of the World shows how Jesus
warning began to be fulfilled within a few years of His own
2Christ and led the revolution of the Jewish nation. May
not the warning be fulfilled today also by the hundreds of
sects, each claiming the name of Christ, each asserting
itself to be the true path to God, and each differing with
the others concerning the divine Truth taught by His Holi-
ness Jesus?60
A Christian writer, explaining the preceding words of Jesus,
states:
Notice carefully! These deceivers would come in Christs
name, saying Jesus is the Christ. They would be calling
themselves Christians.
Baháulláh teaches that return is always spiritual not literal,
that He is not the person of Jesus the Christ, but a new
creation with divine attributes and powers similar to His. We
find an example of this spiritual renewal in John the Baptist
who was the return of Elijah (Matt. 11:14-15; 17:10-13).
The topic of the new name is so extensive that we will con-
3You Shall Be Called By
a New Name
Isaiah 62:2 NEB
1of the new day and its supreme Redeemer in various ways.
In the following prophecy, Isaiah refers to both the darkness
of our time and to the light and glory of the Lord. The word
light in these verses stands for the Baháí Faith (bahá means
both light and glory):
270 King of Kings
3Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the
Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and
thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon
you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to
your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV
Compare Isaiahs prophecy with this passage from Baháulláh:
Arise thou to serve the Cause of thy Lord; then give the
people the joyful tidings concerning this resplendent Light
whose revelation hath been announced by God through
His Prophets and Messengers.1
Let us compare the first verse of the previous passage with
another like it:
Arise, shine, for your light has come… Isaiah 60:1 NIV
Come…let us walk in the light of the Lord. Isaiah 2:5 NIV
Both passages encourage the seeker of truth to walk in the
light of the Lord and to shine or be enlightened. To be
a Baháí literally means to be enlightened. A person who
becomes a Baháí literally walks in the light of God, for
Baháulláh means the light of God. A Baháí also allows the
glory of the Lord to rise upon him and to glorify him:
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:4 NIV
This is how Nelsons Pictorial Bible Dictionary interprets the
preceding verse: Believers will be fully glorified at the end
of time in Gods heavenly prince. 2 Anyone who acknowl-
edges Baháulláh, will appear with Him in glory.
This prophecy from Micah declares that:
…we will walk in the name of Lord our God.
Micah 4:5 NKJ
Baháulláh invites us to walk in the name of God:
4Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
5Walk thou amongst men in the name of God, and by the
power of His might, that thou mayest show forth His signs
amidst the peoples of the earth.3
Isaiahs well-known prophecy about peace contains the same
critical expression:
In the last days…Many peoples will come and say, Come,
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we
may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between
the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They
will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, O house
of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah 2:2-5 NIV
This prophecy also blesses those who walk in the light of the
Redeemers presence:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who
have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of
your presence… Psalms 89:14-15 NIV
Baháulláh declares the coming of the light and invites all
lovers of the light to His presence:
O SON OF MAN!
The light hath shone on thee…free thyself from the veils
of idle fancies and enter into My court, that thou mayest
be fit for everlasting life and worthy to meet Me. Thus may
death not come upon thee, neither weariness nor trouble.4
By the righteousness of God! The Dawn hath truly bright-
ened and the light hath shone forth and the night hath
receded. Happy are they that comprehend. Happy are they
that have attained thereunto.5
672 King of Kings
7O My servants! Deprive not yourselves of the unfading
and resplendent Light that shineth within the Lamp of
Divine glory. Let the flame of the love of God burn
brightly within your radiant hearts.6
In one prophecy, Haggai points to the coming of the One
desired by all nations and then refers to His sublime and
glorious Revelation. It declares that the glory of His house
will be greater than that of former Revelations:
This is what the Lord Almighty says: the desired of
all nations will come, and I will fill this house [Revela-
tion] with glory…The glory of this present house will be
greater than the glory of the former house.
Haggai 2:6-8 NIV
Ezekiel predicts that in the last days God will unveil His face
and His glory among the nations:
I will set My glory among the nations…I will not hide
My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out
My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 39:21, 29 NKJ
It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and
they shall come and see My glory [glory of God].
Isaiah 66:18 NKJ
Like John the Revelator, Isaiah offers several clues concern-
ing the new Name and the new Revelation:
I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not
give to another…Behold the former things are come to
pass, and new things do I declare…Sing unto the Lord a
new song… Isaiah 42:8-10
Since Baháulláh came as the Lord, only He is entitled to
the promised glory, namely the glory of the Lord. Moreover,
Isaiahs prophecies, like those of the Book of Revelation and
Haggai, quoted earlier, point to the passing of the old age and
old order (end of the age) and the dawning of a new one.
8Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
9Both sources refer to a new song (see Rev. 5:9), which would
celebrate the arrival of a new cycle in human history.
The next prophecy also links the second advent with both
glory and renewal:
At the renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits on
his glorious throne… Matthew 19:28 NIV
The following verse also links salvation to the glory of God:
Will you not revive us again…?…Surely his salvation is
near those who fear him, that his glory [the glory of God]
may dwell in our land [Holy Land]. Psalms 85:5, 9 NIV
The Book of Revelation not only prophesies a new name, but
specifies the name as well. Chapters 21 and 22 of this glorious
book refer to the descending of the city of God (divine Revela-
tion) from heaven, and then describe its distinct features.
To demonstrate and emphasize throughout this chapter the
clarity and power of verses that specify the name of the
Redeemer of our time, the prophecies that specify the title of
the glory of God are repeated twice, once with the English
translation of the title from the original language (Hebrew,
Greek, or Aramaic), and again with the Arabic translation of
the title:
And he [an angel] carried me away in the Spirit to a
mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City,
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It
shone with the glory of God… Revelation 21:10-11 NIV
And he [an angel] carried me away in the Spirit to a
mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City,
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It
shone with Baháulláh… Revelation 21:10-11
The prophecy continues:
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on
it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its
1074 King of Kings
11lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of
the earth will bring their splendor into it.
Revelation 21:22-24 NIV
12The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on
it, for Baháulláh gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the
earth will bring their splendor into it. Revelation 21:22-24
Baháulláh fulfills the preceding prophecy. In one of His
Tablets (Epistles) He declares that anyone who enters the
shadow of the divine Tree does not need the sun.7
Isaiah has a similar prophecy. It states that the sun and the
moon, the two most splendid symbols and sources of light,
will be ashamed before His glorious appearance:
The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord
Almighty will reign…gloriously. Isaiah 24:23 NIV
13When on the Mount of Olives (Mt. Olivet), Jesus prophesied
saying:
…and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30
14The phrase great glory is a subtle allusion to the name Glory
of God. For we may ask: What Glory is greater than the
Glory of God? Further, as mentioned, the word Bahá means
both greatness and glory.
Another prophecy points to the Glory of God as the divine
Attribute under which Christ will return:
…when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the
Father and of the holy angels [spiritual and heavenly
disciples]. Luke 9:26 NIV
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Fathers
[Gods] glory… Matthew 16:27 NIV
See also Mark 8:38
15Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
16The Glory of the Father or the Fathers glory is the same
as Glory of God.
A Christian author states that the glory predicted in the pre-
ceding prophecy is threefold, glory upon glory upon glory:
His own, which He has of and for Himself as the exalted
Messiah; the glory of God which accompanies him as
coming down from Gods throne, and the glory of the
angels who surround Him with their brightness.8
A similar prophecy also appears in Matthew:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory. Matthew 25:31 NIV
17Note, it says heavenly, not earthly glory.
Psalms also predicts the coming of the Glory of God:
When the Lord…shall appear in his glory. Psalms 102:16
The Lord is come in his great glory! 9 Baháulláh
Here are two translations of a verse from Titus pointing to
the glory of God:
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God… Titus 2:13
Looking for the…appearing of the glory of the great God…
Titus 2:13 ARV
This frequently quoted verse not only has a literal but sym-
bolic message as well:
The heavens declare the glory of God… Psalms 19:1 NIV
The heavens declare Baháulláh… Psalms 19:1
The word heaven symbolizes religion. All religions have
predicted the coming of Baháulláh.
1876 King of Kings
1never sets.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14 NIV
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of
Baháulláh, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all man-
kind together will see it. Isaiah 40:5 NIV
And Baháulláh will be revealed, and all mankind together
will see it. Isaiah 40:5
…as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the
glory of the Lord. Numbers 14:21
…as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with
Baháulláh. Numbers 14:21
The world is illumined with the effulgent glory of His
countenance.10 Baháulláh
…let your [Gods] glory be over all the earth.
Psalms 57:11 NKJ
This is the Day in which the earth shineth with the
effulgent light of thy Lord, but the people are lost in
error and have been shut out as by a veil.11 Baháulláh
I will display my glory [Glory of God] among the nations…
Ezekiel 39:21 NIV
…I will fill this house [world, faith] with glory…
Haggai 2:7 NIV
And after these things I saw another angel [Baháulláh]
come down from heaven, having great power; and the
2But God…revealed this Light through His sovereign au-
thority and protected it through the power of His might
until earth and heaven were illumined by its radiance
and brightness.12 Baháulláh
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory
be above all the earth. Psalms 57:5
And the earth will shine with the gloryE of its Lord.
Qurán 39:69 Y
All the prophecies pointing to unity and universality find
fulfillment in Baháulláhs New World Order and His supra-
national teachings proclaimed at a time when nationalism
was the highest and most cherished goal of political leaders.
Unity and universality characterize all the teachings of the
new Revelation:
That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself
to the service of the entire human race…It is not for him
to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather
for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one
country, and mankind its citizens.13 Baháulláh
The time will come when everyone will acknowledge God
and His great glory:
The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant…this is the covenant I will make
with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my law in their minds and write it on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they will all
know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares
the Lord. Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV
3E
The literal meaning of the Arabic wordNúrtranslated here as
478 King of Kings
1not just as an attribute of God. This is quite unusual, for
other attributes are seldom if ever personified. For instance,
we never see the Love of God, the Grace of God, the Power
of God, the Knowledge of God, the Justice of God, or simi-
lar attributes used as if to signify a person. These examples
show how the attribute of glory is personified.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at
the right hand of God. Acts 7:55 NIV
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to
heaven and saw Baháulláh, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God. Acts 7:55
Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the
glory of God? John 11:40 NEB
Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see
Baháulláh? John 11:40
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all man-
kind together will see it. Isaiah 40:5 NIV
And Baháulláh will be revealed, and all mankind together
will see it. Isaiah 40:5
And we rejoice in the hope of [seeing] the glory of God.
Romans 5:2 NIV
And we rejoice in the hope of [seeing] Baháulláh.
Romans 5:2
…they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our
God. Isaiah 35:2 NIV
…they will see Baháulláh, the splendor of our God.
2This frequently quoted verse also alludes to the glory of God
primarily as a person:
…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans 3:23 NIV
…all have sinned and fall short of Baháulláh…
Romans 3:23
Why should we have this repeated use of the Glory of God,
and the Glory of the Lord pointing to a person? Only now
can we recognize that this title represented an individual Soul
who would walk in our midst, manifesting Gods Glory and
Splendor. Only now do we realize that the promise of seeing
the Glory of God in the future refers to the realization of this
attribute in a human being. Otherwise why would such a
promise be needed, for the universe has always been an
evidence of Gods glory and greatness.
Some prophecies indicate that the glory of God entered the
court or the temple:
Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the
front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the
Lord filling the temple of the Lord, and I fell facedown.
Ezekiel 44:4 NIV
Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the
front of the temple. I looked and saw Baháulláh filling
the temple of the Lord, and I fell facedown. Ezekiel 44:4
The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate
facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me
into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the
temple. Ezekiel 43:4-5 NIV
Baháulláh entered the temple through the gate facing
east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the
inner court, and Baháulláh filled the temple.
3And the temple was filled with smokeE from the glory of
God and from his power… Revelation 15:8 NIV
And the temple [tabernacle] was filled with smoke from
Baháulláh and from his power… Revelation 15:8
O thou who art waiting, tarry no longer, for He is come.
Behold His Tabernacle and His Glory dwelling therein.
It is the Ancient Glory, with a new Manifestation.14
Baháulláh
See also Ezekiel 3:12, 22-23; 8:3-4; 9:3; 10:4; 11:22-23; Exodus
16:10; Numbers 14:10; Leviticus 9:23; II Chronicles 7:3; Luke
2:9; I Kings 8:11-12.
The word temple, in biblical terms, is synonymous with sanc-
tuary, or tabernacle, and it consists of two parts: the inner
court and the outer court. While in the Holy Land, Baháulláh
had a tent, which He used during His visits to Mt. Carmel.
He called this tent the Tabernacle of Glory:
It is here [on Mt. Carmel] that, by the grace of the Lord
of Revelation, the Tabernacle of Glory hath been raised.15
One meaning of Baháulláh in Arabic is the Goodness of
God. A prophecy from Psalms clearly predicts the coming of
this Goodness to the land of the living:
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong
and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalms 27:13-14 NIV
I am still confident of this: I will see Baháulláh in the
land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take
heart and wait for the Lord. Psalms 27:13-14
4E
Smoke, like cloud, serves as a vehicle for the glory of God. It veils
5Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
1and splendor of the Glory of the Lord:
Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like
a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a
figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared
to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full
of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and
brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a
rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance
around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of
the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown.
Ezekiel 1:26-28 NIV
In his book The Sign, Christian scholar Robert Van Kampen
offers this interpretation for the preceding prophecy:
The figure with the appearance of a man clearly refers
to Christ, who had the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
The prophet later sees the same figure, described in almost
the exact same way: The hand of the Lord fell on me
there. Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appear-
ance of a man; from His loins and downward there was
the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the
appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing
metal (8:2). Previously, like John in our Revelation account,
the Lord gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, which the prophet
says was sweet as honey in my mouth (3:3).16
After quoting Hosea 11:10-11, the author concludes:
Putting all these pieces together, it seems incontestable
that the figure with appearance of a man depicted by
Ezekiel corresponds to the angel described by John in
Revelation 10, and that both passages correspond to the
coming of the Lord When we take these passages together,
then, there are at least four reasons why these passages
2return of Christ to earth First, the strong angel is shown
coming down out of heaven with His open little book
or scroll. Second, Ezekiels description of a figure with
the appearance of a man who had the likeness of the
glory of the Lord and Johns description of the strong
angel of Revelation are remarkably similar (Ezekiel 1:27,
28; 8:2; Revelation 10:1). Third, the heavenly persons give
the two human witnesses of these events (the prophet
Ezekiel and the Apostle John) small scrolls to eat that
were sweet to the taste (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Revelation 10:9). And
finally, the voices of the heavenly persons are compared
to the roaring of lions (Hosea 11:10; Revelation 10:3; cf.
5:5), which, as we shall see, is directly associated with the
1Other sacred Scriptures also allude to the name Bahá. Accord-
ing to the Islamic Scriptures, Bahá (glory) is Gods greatest
name. This knowledge was concealed in an Islamic dawn
prayer. By comparing the names or attributes used in this and
other prayers, a great mystic poet, who lived centuries before
the advent of the Baháí Faith, discovered the mystery. The
concealed name he found was Bahá. Following this discovery,
he adopted the name Baháí for himself. This famous mystic
poet is known in the East as Shaykh Baháí. He may have
been the first person to call himself Baháí!
In one of his works Shaykh Baháí states:
The Greatest Name is unknown to man, but in the list of
all the Names of God it stands first.18
Another great mystic poet, Mawlaví, uses the word Bahá:
We have found Bahá and we hasten to offer our lives to
Him. He is our ransom.19
Baháulláh often refers to His Name or to Himself as the
Most Great Name. In the following passage, He declares that
2Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
3God reveals Himself in two ways: directly and indirectly.
Every atom, every being expresses Gods wisdom, knowledge,
and glory. This influence is direct and universal. The other
influence comes indirectly through Gods Manifestations,
and in this age it has come through His Most Great Name,
Baháulláh:
Consider, for instance, the revelation of the light of the
Name of God, the Educator. Behold, how in all things the
evidences of such a revelation are manifest, how the better-
ment of all beings dependeth upon it. This education is of
two kinds. The one is universal. Its influence pervadeth
all things and sustaineth them. It is for this reason that
God hath assumed the title, Lord of all worlds. The
other is confined to them that have come under the shadow
of this Name, and sought the shelter of this most mighty
Revelation. They, however, that have failed to seek this
shelter, have deprived themselves of this privilege, and are
powerless to benefit from the spiritual sustenance that hath
been sent down through the heavenly grace of this Most
Great Name. How great the gulf fixed between the one
and the other [the believer and the denier]! If the veil
were lifted, and the full glory of the station of those that
have turned wholly towards God, and have, in their love
for Him, renounced the world, were made manifest, the
entire creation would be dumbfounded.20
Here are two more quotations:
It beseemeth all men, in this Day, to take firm hold on
the Most Great Name, and to establish the unity of all
mankind. There is no place to flee to, no refuge that any
one can seek, except Him.21
The Most Great Name beareth Me witness! How sad if any
man were, in this Day, to rest his heart on the transitory
things of this world! Arise, and cling firmly to the Cause
of God. Be most loving one to another. Burn away, wholly
for the sake of the Well-Beloved, the veil of self with the
484 King of Kings
5flame of the undying Fire, and with faces joyous and
beaming with light, associate with your neighbor.22
This passage from Psalms seems to point to the same great
name:
The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned
between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the
Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them
praise your great and awesome name… Psalms 99:1-3 NIV
As the Islamic Scriptures refer to Glory as the Name of
God, so do the Christian Scriptures:
He who is victorious…I will write the name of my God
upon him… Revelation 3:12 NEB
Consider the preceding prophecy in its context:
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have,
that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I
will make him a pillar in the temple of My God [Bahá],
and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the
name of My God and the name of the city of My God
[Baháí], the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new
name [Baháulláh]. Revelation 3:11-13 NKJ
As the Islamic Scriptures refer to the secrecy surrounding the
name, so do the Christian Scriptures:
He has a name written on him that no one but he himself
knows. Revelation 19:12 NIV
Anyone who overcomes the spiritual obstacles, anyone who
conquers his self, receives the gift of the newly revealed
Name of God: Glory. He becomes its follower. (The Baháí
Faith means the Glorious and Enlightened Faith.)
The word glory (an attribute) is granted the station of a Name
of GodNames such as the Lord, God, or the Father:
…to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11 NIV
6Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
7Justice, love, and wisdom are referred to as attributes of God,
but not as His Name.
Dedications are also made, as a rule, to persons, not to
attributes:
…to the glory of God. II Corinthians 1:20 NIV
…to Baháulláh. II Corinthians 1:20
Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31 NIV
Whatever you do, do it all for Baháulláh.
I Corinthians 10:31
William Miller, the leader of the Advent Movement in the
West, might also have gained a glimpse of this mystery. He
made this statement before the advent of the Báb:
I believe the Scriptures reveal unto us, in plain language,
that Jesus Christ will appear again on this earth…in the
glory of God.23
William Miller might have come to his discovery by ponder-
ing this prophecy:
…the Son of Man is going to come in His Fathers glory…
Matthew 16:27 NIV
If we substitute God for Father, the verse reads:
…the Son of Man is going to come in Gods glory [as the
glory of God]…
The great Persian mystic, Mawlaví, refers to Bahá as the
greatest name, one that stands above all other names.
Compare these prophecies from Ezekiel and the Qurán:
…I saw the glory of the God of Israel…the land was ra-
diant with His glory. Ezekiel 43:2 NIV
And the earth will shine with the glory of its Lord.
Qurán 39:69 Y
886 King of Kings
9And the earth will shine with Baháulláh. Qurán 39:69
The following prophecies from Islamic Scriptures are very
direct and clear; they point both to the name Bahá and Akká,
where Baháulláh lived for many years as a prisoner and
exile:
Soon will God reveal a radiance from a most glorious
face, whose name is Bahá. He will appear in the day of
MotlaghE and enter the guest-house of Akká (Acre) and
unify all humanity.24
All the followers of the Promised Qáim [the Báb] shall
be put to death except One Whose face shall shine with
Abhá [the All-Glorious] beauty in the plain of Akká.25
All the súrihs (chapters) of the Qurán begin with the letter
b. There is a special significance to this: a prophecy states
that the letter b stands for Baháulláh. It indicates that
whatever is in the Torah is in the Gospel, whatever is in the
Gospel is in the Qurán, whatever is in the Qurán is in the
first Súrih of the Qurán, whatever is in the first Súrih is in
the first verse of the Súrih,^ whatever is in the first verse of
the Súrih is in the letter b [which is the first letter of the first
Súrih], and the letter b is [stands for] Baháulláh.26
The above prophecy points to the oneness of the knowledge
revealed by Gods great Messengers and Redeemers. All the
sacred Scriptures come from the same Source, the same
generating Point, indicated by the letter b, which stands for
Baháulláh, the Glory of God. The essence of every sacred
Scripture can be found in every other, and the essence of
E
Motlagh means: 1. freed, liberated; 2. free; 3. not bound by
limitations, unconditioned. It is also one of the attributes of God.
Perhaps the third meaning is intended here. This day is so
inconceivably great, no word can adequately describe it. It stands
beyond the limitations of human understanding.
^
The first verse of the first Súrih reads: In the Name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful.
10Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
11all of them in Baháulláh. Thus the prophecy intimates that
Baháulláh is the source and the essence of all knowledge.
The Writings of the Báb also refer to the next Manifestation
or Messenger as the Glory of God, naming Him by the exact
titles Bahá and Baháulláh. More often He uses the word
Bahá:
Well is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order
of Baháulláh, and rendereth thanks unto his Lord. For
He will assuredly be made manifest.27
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…on that Day all the revela-
tions of divine bounty shall circle around the Seat of His
glory
The Buddhist Scriptures refer to their Promised One as
Amitabha, meaning infinite Light. The second part of this
word (bha) is the exact name of Baháulláh as spelled in the
original language. Whether it is by chance or by destiny, the
spelling of the word bahá in Arabic is identical with the
English spelling of bhá as used in Amitabha. For the name
Bahá (which in Arabic means light and glory) contains the
same letters in the same order: bha rather than baha.^
It is even more astonishing that Amitabhas sacred syllables
are ba and ah. Similarly, the most sacred letters in the Baháí
Faith are bá and há.K The name of the Báb likewise contains
bá in both directions.
12^
Bahá is the English version of the original form Bhá. In Arabic some
vowels, such as the short a and short o are not spelled out.
K
In Arabic the letter b is pronounced bá, the letter h is pronounced
há. Baháulláh refers to these two letters in The Hidden Words. (See
the Persian section, No. 77, as well as the symbol of the Baháí ring
stone.)
1388 King of Kings
14The letters B and H also seem to carry a special significance
among the Jews:
The Jewish mystics knew of the significance of the two
letters B and H and attached much importance to
them. Their spiritual leaders and philosophers wrote com-
mentaries and drew the attention of seeking souls to these
letters.29
A scholar in Buddhist Scriptures relates that he had read the
entire Gospel of Buddha in Sanskrit, every word of which he
had understood with the exception of the meaning of a word
composed of B, H and A, which occasionally appears in
Buddhist Scripture. When he learned of the Baháí Faith, the
mystery was solved. The letters, joined together, formed the
name of Bahá.
The following prophecy from Buddha also contains a reference
to the attribute of glory:
I am not the first Buddha who came upon earth, nor shall
I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise…He
shall reveal to you the same eternal truths which I have
taught you. He will preach to you His religion, glorious
in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the
goal
The Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu Scripture, also uses a word like
baha with a similar meaning and spelling: bhih,k meaning
effulgence or radiance. It describes the awesome majesty of
Baháulláh in these words:
Suppose a thousand suns should rise together…such is the
glory of…God.32
The Upanishads, another Hindu Scripture, declares:
15k
The only consonant letters found in both bha and bhih (as well as
bahá) are b and h.
16Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
17Behold the universe in the glory of God, and all that lives
and moves on earth.33 Upanishad 1:1-2
18The word bahá has entered even the prophetic heritage of
the Cuna Indians who live in the San Blas Islands, off the
Atlantic coast of Panama.
The Cunas prophetic heritage includes a promise that God
will send people to them from the outside world with a
new Book, a new Message and a new Name. They believe
that Message will teach them to live in harmony with all
mankind. The Cuna word for God is Bahá.34
The Native American prophecies also indicate that the second
religion that comes to America will bring peace. Those who
carry the message of this religion are called the Bahánís,
meaning the people of Bahá. Some of the Native Americans
in Washington who heard the word Baháí, instantly recog-
nized it as the promised religion for which they have been
waiting.35
As we noted earlier, the title Glory of God is synonymous
with the Most Great Spirit, the Primal Point, and the Word,
through which God created the universe. The following
prophecy from the Avesta, a Zoroastrian Scripture, confirms
the creative power of this Spirit:
We hail the glory…that stands above all other beings…the
glory that is Gods and from its effulgence He created the
beingsvery good, beautiful, bright, and efficient…so that
they may transform the world and make it new, a world
that will neither die nor age nor rot, an eternal, proud,
self-fulfilled world. That is a time when the dead will rise
to immortal life, the time when Súshíánt will appear and
transform the world as He pleases.36
Here is another prophecy from the Avesta:
1990 King of Kings
20The glory that belongs to Súshíánt [Baháulláh] and His
followers [Baháís] at the time when they transform the
world and build it anew
Súshíánt is the World-Savior and the last of the Redeemers
promised in the Zoroastrian Scriptures. Baháulláh fulfills
that promise. Sháh Bahrám (the Kingly Light) or Bahrám
(the Light) is another title bestowed on Him in Zoroastrian
Scriptures.
In one of the chapters of the Avesta, the two attributes of Light
and Glory (Bahá) are glorified again and againfourteen
times within four pages.38
Even as in the Bible, no divine attribute is mentioned in the
Avesta as frequently as glory. The Persian word used for this
attribute is farr, for which the dictionary offers these mean-
ings: glory, radiance, beauty, and loftiness. This is how a
Persian dictionary (Moín) defines the meaning of farr as
stated in the Zoroastrian Scriptures:
It is a radiance from God. A heart that receives it tran-
scends other hearts. It is by the power of this radiance
that a person attains perfection and becomes a divine
Redeemer.39
We also find references to Gods greatest Name in Hindu
Scriptures:
The followers of Krishna also have many references to the
name of Baháulláh. In the prayer, the Mother of the
Vedas, the Hindus stand with great reverence and beseech
guidance from the Glory of God (Baháulláh). Also in
Gita XI:30, it is said, …Thine Blazing BHAH, O Vishnu,
(the Omnipresent God), doth glow intensely.
The supreme potential of the word Bahá can also be found
in its numerical value: 9. The number 9 symbolizes the prin-
ciple of unity in diversity the ultimate fruit of Baháulláhs
21Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
22social teachings. It also symbolizes perfection: it contains all
single digit numbers, which can, in spite of their fewness,
produce an infinite array of numbers. The advent of the Baháí
Faith corresponds to the dawning of the stage of the social
and spiritual maturity of humankind. It represents the highest
stage of unity or oneness in the social development of the
citizens of our planet.
1ways of reason, but to the words of the Scriptures as well. For
we know by both reason and the testimony of the Bible that
God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11).
How could He, the impartial Father who is Love itself (John
3:16; I John 4:8), ignore His children, leave them comfort-
less, keep them deprived, up to a certain point in history, and
thenand not any soonerdecide to save them, to redeem
them, to offer them the gift of eternal life? Can such an
unjustified partiality be expected from the All-Knowing
the God of grace, compassion, love, and mercy? Could we
accept or tolerate such treatment even from our own fallible
parents?
Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of
Gentiles too? Romans 3:29 NIV
2Like parents who give their growing children new gifts, our
Creator crowns each age and each of His Messengers and
Redeemers with special blessings and bounties. But they are
all invested with greatness, for they all come from the same
Source and are tokens of love from the same great Spirit.
There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
392 King of Kings
4GodThe Great Spirit
Gods Messengers
1The Báb The Gate of God
1Baháulláh The Glory of God
1or my way is better than your way?
Is not My way equal? Are not your ways unequal?
Ezekiel 18:25
This is the way, walk ye in it.G Isaiah 30:21
I am the wayand the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me. Christ (John 14:6 NIV)
This is the right way. Qurán 19:37
…follow ye me: this is the right way… Qurán 43:61
e
Seal implies both adornment and approval or acknowledgment of
previous Messengers. It also implies the termination of the Prophetic
Cycle.
G
2Verily this is none other than the sovereign Truth; it is the
Path which God hath laid out for all that are in heaven
and on earth.41 The Báb
Gods way is always one way:
This is the Way of God unto all who are in the heavens
and who are on the earth.42 Baháulláh
God is the only Savior:
Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, God of Israel, the
Savior. Isaiah 45:15 NKJ
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your
Savior… Isaiah 43:3 NKJ
I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior…
Isaiah 43:11 NKJ
Jesus was a Savior who spoke for God:
…God raised up for Israel a SaviorJesus. Acts 13:23 NKJ
But God has many Saviors who speak for Him:
Then Saviors shall come to Mount Zion [Israel].
Obadiah 21 NKJ
Baháulláh refers to the one divine Spirit that appears in
many names:
By God! This is He [Baháulláh] Who hath at one time
appeared in the name of the Spirit [Jesus Christ], there-
after in the name of the Friend [Muhammad], then in the
name of Alí [the Báb], and afterwards in this blessed…
Name [Baháulláh].43
These words are light to all those who search for truth:
The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
II Corinthians 3:6
What is a name? A word made of a few letters. What is the
3Spirit appears with a special name. For that age, that name
is the way to truth.
Although not generally recognized, the following verse also
carries a prophetic message. It offers salvation to those who
call or accept the One promised to come as the Lord:
And everyone who calls on the name of his Lord
1In the following statement, Baháulláh points to the unsealing
of the new name and the unveiling of that which was hidden:
The Best-Beloved is come. In His right hand is the sealed
Wine of His name. Happy is the man that turneth unto Him,
and drinketh his fill, and exclaimeth: Praise be to Thee,
O Revealer of the signs of God! By the righteousness of
the Almighty! Every hidden thing hath been manifested
through the power of truth. All the favors of God have
been sent down, as a token of His grace. The waters of
everlasting life have, in their fullness, been proffered unto
men. Every single cup hath been borne round by the hand
of the Well-Beloved. Draw near, and tarry not, though it
be for one short moment.44
The Báb also alludes to the obstacle of names:
Say, O peoples of the world! Do ye dispute with Me about
God by virtue of the names which ye and your fathers
have adopted for Him…?
Some people cannot take even the first step; they stumble
over the label. Many people decline to examine Baháulláh
and His Revelation, because of the new name. They pass
judgment without searching. Baháulláh reminds them not to
be hindered by the veils of names. Many cling to an old
name without knowing the honors that are bestowed on those
who accept the new name:
2Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
3Then you shall be called by a new name…you will be a
glorious crown in the Lords hand… Isaiah 62:2 NEB
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive
the crown of glory that will never fade away.
I Peter 5:4 NIV
Never before has the name of God been written on people.
Such an honor has been destined only for this dispensation:
Him who overcomes [his attachment to a given name]…I
will write on him the name of my God…
Revelation 3:12 NIV
Bahá is that name and Baháí is the one on whom Gods
own name is written.
What does the name Jesus mean? According to a Christian
source:
When the angel Gabriel told Joseph in a dream that Marys
child was of the Holy Spirit, the angel explained, She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name
Yehoshuah. The English rendition is usually Joshua. In
Hebrew this name means God is salvation or God
saves.
Saving humanity from sin and spiritual death did not begin
with Jesus. God has always saved His people and will con-
tinue to save them. Any belief beyond this limits God. The
sun does not withhold its light from the earth. The clouds do.
The clouds arise out of our hearts and souls, not from God.
In every age, God focuses His light on a special mirror or
mediator. For that age, that mirror is the only name or source
of light from which we should seek enlightenment (Acts 4:12;
John 14:6). When the age changes, so does the name. As
Shakespeare said, A rose by any other name is as sweet.
If we pay close attention to the literal meaning of Jesus
God saveswe recognize that it is God the Creator who
496 King of Kings
5saves, not the word Jesus. It is the Spirit of God in the Son
of Man that saves, not the name itself. That name may be
different in different languages, but it has only one meaning:
God saves. That same God has always saved His beloved
children and will continue to save them for all eternity. He
loves them all equally.
Baháulláh refers to His new name repeatedly and asks us
not to turn it into a veil:
Beware lest any name debar you from Him Who is the
Possessor of all names…Turn unto God and seek His
protection, O concourse of divines [religious leaders], and
make not of yourselves a veil between Me and My crea-
tures. Thus doth your Lord admonish you, and command
you to be just, lest your works should come to naught and
ye yourselves be oblivious of your plight. Shall he who
denieth this Cause be able to vindicate the truth of any cause
throughout creation? Nay, by Him Who is the Fashioner
of the universe!…Tear the veils asunder in such wise that
the inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent.
This is the command of God, in days gone by and for
those to come. Blessed the man that observeth that where-
unto he was bidden, and woe betide the negligent.47
Arise thou amongst men in the name of this all-compelling
Cause, and summon, then, the nations unto God, the Mighty,
the Great. Be thou not of them who called upon God by
one of His names, but who, when He Who is the Object
of all names appeared, denied Him and turned aside
from Him, and, in the end, pronounced sentence against
Him with manifest injustice.48
The Muslims are as attached to names and labels as are the
Christians. Here the Báb addresses them:
Let not names shut you out as by a veil from Him Who
is their Lord, even the name Prophet, for such a name is
but a creation of His utterance.49
6Chapter 3: You Shall Be Called By a New Name, Part II
7The title Son of God has been emphasized so much by
Christians, yet seldom did Jesus refer to Himself by that title.
The following is a rare exception:
He [Jesus] said to him, Do you believe in the Son of
God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I
may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him, You have
both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.
John 9:35-37 NKJ
A few times Jesus used the Son (Matthew 11:27; 28:19),
but His favorite title was Son of Man, which He used over
eighty times. In the following passage, the high priest calls
Jesus Son of God. Jesus accepts that title, but as soon as He
begins to speak on His own, He adopts Son of Man:
Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Yes, it
is as you say, Jesus replied. But I say to all of you: In
the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right
hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of
heaven. Matthew 26:63-64 NIV
We find similar examples of humility in Baháulláh, who
seldom called Himself by that most glorious title: the Glory
of God. He often declares the exalted Station God has bestowed
on Him, but He does not glorify His own self. He glorifies
the Spirit of God in Him and the awesome Revelation of that
Spirit in this great Day of the Lord.
The followers of every religion encounter special tests or
stumbling blocks. What hinders Muslims from investigating
the Message of Baháulláh is the strongly held belief that
no Revelation or Prophet can come after Muhammad. What
hinders Christians is the conviction that no Name can save but
Jesus. When Baháulláh addresses Christians, He especially
refers to His Name. He reminds them that He bears the
greatest Name and is the Creator of all Names:
O followers of the Son [Son of God, or Son of Man]! Have
ye shut out yourselves from Me by reason of My name?50
898 King of Kings
9Tear ye asunder the veils of names and cleave ye their
kingdom. By My Beauty! He Who is the Monarch of all
names is come, He at Whose bidding every single name
hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, been
created, He Who shall continue to create them as He
pleaseth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.51
Jesus predicted that only the faithful will see the glory of
God:
Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the
glory of God? John 11:40 NEB
Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see
Baháulláh? John 11:40
Jesus also predicted that the faithful will be few:
But when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on
earth? Luke 18:8 NEB
Once again these verses indicate that certain veils will prevent
Christians from seeing and recognizing the glory of God.
This point is also confirmed in John:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor to be with you foreverthe Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor
knows him. John 14:16-17 NIV
It is ironic that Gods most glorious Namea Name so radiant,
so resplendenthas itself become a veil! It is like saying that
the suns radiance, beauty, and splendor prevent people from
seeing it.
The beauty in the universe is enhanced by diversity and con-
trast. The next two chapters offer an evidence of this. They
portray the shadows that have followed and tried to extinguish
the light in this great day of the Lord.
1Christ was a divine Center of unity and love. Whenever
discord prevails instead of unity, wherever hatred and
antagonism take the place of love and spiritual fellowship,
Antichrist reigns instead of Christ.2 Abdul-Bahá
As part of the fulfillment of New Testament prophecies, many
Christians expect the appearance of the Antichrist, the
man of sin who utters and spreads the big lie. Few subjects
stir peoples imaginations as much as the coming of the
2Although many people love stories of sin and wickedness, it
is with reluctance that I cover this theme, for it shows the
vilest and most shameful in man, his lowest and meanest
descent. My reason for covering it is not to present proofs,
but to remove a stumbling block in the path of many Chris-
tians, to show that all predictions have been fulfilled. If you
do not like to glimpse the worst in human beings, feel free
to skip this chapter.
Psychologists tell us that most people like to learn about other
peoples sins. The knowledge helps them feel good about
themselves; it gives them the sense of I am glad I am not
1followers of some other faiths, such as Muslims and Zoroas-
trians, also expect such a being. Throughout the centuries,
Christians have desperately searched for someone who would
fit the description of the Antichrist. Among the candidates
suggested are Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Napoleon, Atheism,
Mormonism, and Christian Science. The Reformers…looked
upon the Pope as the Antichrist. The Pope in turn said the
Antichrist was Luther…Some of the Reformers referred to
Mohammed [Muhammad] as Antichrist. 3 Historically, the
Popes have served as a common target, especially by Protes-
tants. As Christian author Henry Feyerabend notes:
Martin Luther came reluctantly to believe that the
Papacy is in truth very Antichrist. Even some Catholics
came to the same conclusion. Arnulf, the bishop of Orleans,
deplored the Roman Popes as monsters of guilt and
declared in a council called by the king of France in 991,
that the Pontiff, clad in purple and gold, was antichrist,
sitting in the temple of God and showing himself as God
When the Western church was divided for about 40 years
between two rival popes, one in Rome and the other in
2Antichrist. John Wycliffe is reputed to have regarded them
both as being right: two halves of Antichrist, making up
the perfect Man of Sin between them.
Because of the interest expressed by many political leaders
of our time in a New World Order, as demonstrated in recent
trends toward the unification of Europe, the idea of an Anti-
christ has once again emerged as the topic of the day among
many religious leaders and scholars. Dr. Charles Taylor has
recently published a book entitled, The Antichrist KingJuan
Carlos, to show that the King of Spain is the true Antichrist.
His views are supported by such Christian authors and scholars
as Dr. Jack Van Impe and J. R. Church. They believe he is
the chief and elusive figure behind the conspiracy to establish
a world government and a New World Order. The advertise-
ment for his book reads, Dr. Charles Taylor is convinced
that the world dictator who will soon take over all nations
is none other than the King of Spain. Two other recent books
on the topic are: Prince of Darkness and Guardians of the
Grail. The latter source also points to the King of Spain as
the expected one.
A common belief today is that the Antichrist is a political
figure, a world dictator biding his time for the right moment
to make his move to conquer the planet. This quotation by
Vance Havner says it well:
Our world is fast becoming a madhouse and the inmates
are trying to run the asylum. It is a strange time when the
patients are writing the prescriptions, the students are
threatening to run the schools, the children to manage the
homes, and church membersnot the Holy Spiritto
direct the churches. Such lawlessness always brings a
dictator and the last of the line will be the Antichrist,
now in the offing awaiting his cue.5
As a Christian author notes, There are almost as many
opinions about this as there are books and sermons on the
subject! From the earliest times, there has been speculation
3that no one can be found to fulfill all the elements of the
prophecies. This chapter introduces a figure, unknown to
Christians, whose life perfectly fits all the pieces of the
1and darkness. Even as in a painting, contrasts enrich and
enhance the panorama of human life. The prophecies declare
that the dawning of the great day of the Lord will be partly
obstructed and obscured by murky clouds:
That day is a day of wrath, a day of anguish and affliction
…a day of murk and gloom, a day of cloud and dense
fog… Zephaniah 1:15 NEB
Ours is an age of extreme contrasts. For the coward it is a time
of vengeance, for the courageous a time of recompense:
Say to those who are fearful-hearted, Be strong, do not
fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with
the recompense of God; He will come and save you.
Isaiah 35:4 NKJ
Before examining the prophecies about the Antichrist, it is
helpful to learn a little about an infamous and elusive figure
named Azal, especially about the critical role he played in the
divine drama.
Perhaps the murkiest and gloomiest cloud to appear in the
heaven of the new Revelation was Baháulláhs half brother,
known as Azal (Eternity). Azal envied with all his heart and
soul the respect and the honor his elder brother Baháulláh
received. It is hard to imagine a level of envy more intense
than that experienced by Azal. We have similar examples in
the story of Abel and Cain, and Joseph and his brothers.
Azal was nominated by the Báb as the leader of His followers,
a sort of figurehead until the appointed time of Baháulláh.
2Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
3Azals thin but big ego was inflated to bursting by a special
title he received from the Báb. The Báb bestowed the title
of Mirror on some of His distinguished disciples, includ-
ing Azal. The symbolism is this: When a mirror turns to the
sun, it becomes a source of light, otherwise it turns into a
dark stone. While the light of heavenly guidance shone on
earth through the Báb, the Mirrors radiated with this light
because they turned towards Him. But when that light began
to shine forth from Baháulláh, those Mirrors who failed to
accept Him and turn toward Him lost their light.
The Báb also compares the appointed Mirrors to the fish
that, while immersed in water, fail to recognize the very
source of their life. This passage shows how fragile those
Mirrors were:
O Sun-like Mirrors! Look ye upon the Sun of Truth
[Baháulláh]. Ye, verily, depend upon it, were ye to
perceive it. Ye are all as fishes, moving in the waters of
the sea, veiling yourselves therefrom, and yet asking what
it is on which ye depend.7
Every gift can be abused. The sun can help us see or blind
our eyes. Similarly, the fish, by swimming to the depths of
the sea can turn water, the very source of their life, into a
veil of darkness. The preceding passage shows that the Báb
knew how some of the appointed Mirrors would act. It seems
to be a special warning to Azal to keep him humble.
When Azal heard that Baháulláh had declared Himself in
Baghdad as the One promised by the Báb, he became ex-
tremely angry and jealous fire consumed him.
Suppose you put a crown on someones head for a few minutes
and then take it off, but the person continues to call himself
king. This is what happened to Azal. After losing the crown, he
kept on wearing it in the world of his dreams and delusions.
The Báb entrusted to a devoted disciple some of His Writings,
including His seal. These Writings contained references to
Baháulláh as the Promised One of the Báb.
4104 King of Kings
5these precious things remained in the possession of
Baháulláh until the days of Adrianople. When Azal asked
to be permitted to see them, Baháulláh consentedbut
they were never returned. Azal kept them to support his
claim to leadership, asserting that the Báb had given them
to him!
Azal forged documents and used the Bábs seal to make them
look authentic. He had much practice in imitating the Bábs
handwriting. He used that skill to mix his own words with
those of the Bábs to produce texts in his own favor.
Envy and pride even led Azal to murder. He issued a decree
for the death of several distinguished disciples of the Báb.
Among them was a man named Dayyán, who caused both
rage and envy in Azal. Rage because he wrote an epistle to
refute and undermine Azals dreams of glory; envy because
of the honors he had received from the Báb. Dayyán was
given the glorious gift of true knowledge. The Báb referred
to him as the repository of the trust of the one true God,
and the treasury of the pearls of His knowledge:
O thou who art named Dayyán! This is a hidden and
preserved Knowledge. We have entrusted it unto thee, and
brought it to thee, as a mark of honor from God, inas-
much as the eye of thine heart is pure.11 The Báb
Azal could not endure this supreme source of knowledge.
Like a candle that loses its light before the sun, he felt pale
and worthless. Instead of seeking enlightenment from Dayyán,
Azal decided to get rid of him!
Dayyán was made by them to suffer so cruel a martyr-
dom that the Concourse on high [heavenly beings] wept
and lamented.12 Baháulláh
Azals rage against Dayyán was so inflamed that he even
ordered and accomplished the murder of an admirer of
Dayyán, who was a close relative of the Báb.
6Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
7the deeds he [Azal] committed were such that Our Pen
is ashamed to recount.13 N Baháulláh
Azal accepted the Message of the Báb for selfish reasons.
The Báb and Baháulláh knew the secrets of his heart, yet
they treated him not according to what they knew, but what
he professed. They concealed his true motives, and treated
him with the utmost respect and love. They granted him
important responsibilities and honors. These pampered his
ego but hardly satisfied his unquenchable thirst for power.
Azal arose with all his might to extinguish the Glory of God
and to replace it with his own delusions and dreams of glory.
He knew he could not succeed in his dream by words and
wisdom. He felt he could occupy Baháulláhs position only
by removing Him from the scene. Since he had successfully
accomplished the murder of several people, he felt confident
he could repeat that success once again. In pursuit of his plot,
he poisoned Baháulláh twicewhich permanently affected
His healthand once he asked a believer to assassinate Him.
The enormity of Azals evil intentions and the consequences
of his delusions of glory can only be assessed when we realize
that he was not attempting to assassinate an ordinary person,
but the One sent by God to establish His Kingdom: King of
Kings and Lord of Lords.
But By far the gravest agony that Baháulláh suffered from
Azal was mental rather than physical. In Shoghi Effendis
words:
It brought incalculable sorrow to Baháulláh, visibly aged
Him, and inflicted, through its repercussions, the heaviest
blow ever sustained by Him in His lifetime.14
But by hurting Baháulláh, Azal unknowingly helped Him.
Azal provided an opportunity for Baháulláh to prove His
8N
For a brief review of his other vile acts, see God Passes By, pp. 112-
113, 164-169.
9106 King of Kings
10nobilityby manifesting His boundless love, patience, and
forgiveness. For some forty years Baháulláh treated him
with the utmost compassion and kindness. Baháulláh did His
best to teach him and protect him during all these years.15 If
we had no other evidence to judge Baháulláh, His treatment
of His half-brother Azal would suffice to prove His divine
distinction, His supreme love, patience, and forgiveness.
The pain and suffering that Azal alone inflicted on Baháulláh
far outweigh what the rest of the worldincluding thousands
of His enemiesinflicted on Him. God in His Wisdom puts
everyone to the test, including His Messengers and Redeemers.
Azal was the ultimate touchstone by which Baháulláh was
tested. The purpose of such tests is to teach us a lesson, not
to measure the trust or patience of the Messengers, for they
stand far beyond the range of temptations.
While in Baghdad, Baháulláh left His family, friends, and
followers to spend about two years alone on the mountains
of Kurdistán. Why did He leave? One reason was this: Azal
believed that it was Baháulláh who prevented him from
rising to leadership. He thought he could prove himself to all
the skeptics if only Baháulláh somehow disappeared from
the scene. Baháulláh, in His infinite wisdom and kindness,
gave him that chance.
How could a man so timid, so shallow, so selfish prove him-
self? How could he command the respect of the believers?
To gain an intimate view of Azals character, let us hear
from Baháulláhs daughter. As she grew up, she had ample
opportunities to see her uncle Azals behavior from day to day,
from hour to hour. She especially had that chance during
Baháulláhs absence. During that time Azal was a permanent
and, from her perspective as a child, an unwelcomed guest
in their house. During that time she got to know him quite
well. Here are her words:
At length my father decided to leave Baghdád for a time.
During his absence, Azal could convince himself whether
11Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
12or not the Bábís desired to turn their faces to him as their
leader…
Before my father left for his retreat into the wilderness, he
commanded the friends to treat Azal with consideration.
He offered him and his family the shelter and hospitality
of our house.
He asked Mírzá Músá [Baháulláhs faithful brother], my
mother and me, to care for them and to do everything in
our power to make them comfortable.
Our grief was intense when my father left us. He told
none of us either where he was going or when he would
return. He took no luggage, only a little rice, and some
coarse bread.
So we, my mother, my brother Abbás [Abdul-Bahá] and
I, clung together in our sorrow and anxiety.
Azal rejoiced, hoping to gain his ends, now that the Blessed
Beauty [Baháulláh] was no longer present.
Meanwhile, he was a guest in our house. He gave us much
trouble, complaining of the food, though all the best and
most dainty things were invariably given to him.
He became at this time more than ever terrified lest he
should one day be arrested. He hid himself, keeping the
door of our house locked, and stormed at anybody who
opened it.
As for me, I led a very lonely life, and would have liked
sometimes to make friends with other children. But Azal
would not permit any little friends to come to the house,
neither would he let me go out!
Two little girls about my own age lived in the next house.
I used to peep at them; but our guest [Azal] always came
and shouted at me for opening the door, which he promptly
locked. He was always in fear of being arrested, and cared
for nothing but his own safety.
13108 King of Kings
14We led a very difficult life at this time as well as a lonely
one. He would not even allow us to go to the Hammám
[public bath] to take our baths. Nobody was permitted to
come to the house to help us, and the work therefore was
very hard.
For hours every day I had to stand drawing water from a
deep well in the house; the ropes were hard and rough,
and the bucket was heavy. My dear mother used to help,
but she was not very strong, and my arms were rather
weak. Our guest never helped.
My father having told us to respect and obey this tyranni-
cal person, we tried to do so, but this respect was not
easy, as our lives were made so unhappy by him.
During this time the darling baby brother, born after our
arrival in Baghdád, became seriously ill. Our guest would
not allow a doctor, or even any neighbor to come to our
help.
My mother was heart-broken when the little one died; even
then we were not allowed to have anybody to prepare him
for burial.16
Baháulláh asked His jealous brother in kind but firm words
to abandon his delusions of grandeur. In His Most Holy Book,
He warned him of the consequences of persisting in his claims.
Notice the blending of supreme power and mercy, of justice
and love, of authority and grace in Baháulláhs words:
O source of perversion! Abandon thy willful blindness, and
speak forth the truth amidst the people. I swear by God
that I have wept for thee to see thee following thy selfish
passions and renouncing Him Who fashioned thee and
brought thee into being. Call to mind the tender mercy of
thy Lord, and remember how We nurtured thee by day and
by night for service to the Cause. Fear God, and be thou
of the truly repentant. Granted that the people were con-
fused about thy station, is it conceivable that thou thyself
art similarly confused? Tremble before thy Lord and recall
15Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
16the days when thou didst stand before Our throne, and
didst write down the verses that We dictated unto thee
verses sent down by God, the Omnipotent Protector, the
Lord of might and power. Beware lest the fire of thy pre-
sumptuousness debar thee from attaining to Gods Holy
Court. Turn unto Him, and fear not because of thy deeds.
He, in truth, forgiveth whomsoever He desireth as a bounty
on His part; no God is there but Him, the Ever-Forgiving,
the All-Bounteous. We admonish thee solely for the sake
of God. Shouldst thou accept this counsel, thou wilt have
acted to thine own behoof; and shouldst thou reject it, thy
Lord, verily, can well dispense with thee, and with all
those who, in manifest delusion, have followed thee. Behold!
God hath laid hold on him who led thee astray. Return
unto God, humble, submissive and lowly; verily, He will
put away from thee thy sins, for thy Lord, of a certainty,
is the Forgiving, the Mighty, the All-Merciful.
This is the Counsel of God; would that thou mightest heed
it! This is the Bounty of God; would that thou mightest
receive it! This is the Utterance of God; if only thou wouldst
apprehend it! This is the Treasure of God; if only thou
couldst understand!17
Have you heard anyone speak in such kindly language to a
brother who poisoned him twice, and tried to turn a faithful
friend into an assassin to kill him? Have you known anyone
who suffered so much mental anguish from his jealous brother
as did Baháulláh, and yet out of compassion cried for him?
Perhaps the clearest evidence of the divine grandeur and the
exalted nobility of Jesus was His unshakable love for human-
ity, even for those who crucified Him. Instead of cursing
them, He asked God to forgive them. We see the same exalted
nobility and grandeur in Baháulláh. Notice how He offers
hope to Azal by saying that, in spite of all his evil acts, he
can still be forgiven. Please reread the passage again and
again to get a glimpse of Gods love even for the meanest,
the most depraved, and sinful of all His creatures.
17110 King of Kings
18Once again Baháulláh invites Azal to come to his senses.
The only evidence He presents is His Word. Notice both the
power and distinction of divine utterance:
Be fair, O My brother. Art thou able to express thyself
when brought face to face with the billowing ocean of
Mine utterance? Canst thou unloose thy tongue when con-
fronted with the shrill voice of My Pen? Hast thou any
power before the revelations of Mine omnipotence? Judge
thou fairly, I adjure thee by God, and call to mind when
thou didst stand in the presence of this Wronged One
[Baháulláh] and We dictated to thee the verses of God,
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Beware lest the
source of falsehood withhold thee from the manifest Truth.
O thou who hast fixed thy gaze upon My countenance!
Say: O ye heedless ones! By reason of a droplet ye have
deprived yourselves of the ocean of heavenly verses and
for the sake of an insignificant atom ye have shut your-
selves out from the splendors of the Day-Star of Truth. Who
else but Bahá hath the power to speak forth before the
face of mankind? Judge ye fairly and be not of the unjust.
Through Him the oceans have surged, the mysteries have
been divulged and the trees have lifted up their voices
exclaiming: The kingdoms of earth and heaven are Gods
We should note that death, even with torture, does not always
inflict the greatest pain. Mental anguish can be far more pain-
ful than physical. This passage from Baháulláh gives us only
a glimpse of what He endured from a brother He nurtured
for forty years:
Alas, alas, for the things which have befallen Me! By
God! There befell Me at the hands of him whom I have
nurtured, by day and by night, what hath caused the Holy
Spirit to lament.19
19Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
1from Azal. Eventually, His connection with His half brother
was entirely severed.
For decades Baháulláh and His followers associated freely
with Azal and his few supporters. As we noted earlier, Azal
even lived in Baháulláhs house for some time. Eventually,
the time of grace came to an end:
He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he
who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
Psalms 101:7 NKJ
2To signal the arrival of a critical juncture in Baháí history,
known as the time of The Most Great Separation,
Baháulláh secluded Himself. Believers now had to make a
choice between the two half-brothers. The light shone, but the
darkness did not understand it (John 1:5). For a while they
were together, but from now on they would be separated.
The Most Great Separation lasted about two months.
During this period Baháulláh secluded Himself and His
family. He did not allow any visits. His absence served a
critical purpose: it allowed the budding desires and motives
to bloom into action. It emboldened a man known as Siyyid
Muhammad, Azals intimate instigator and co-conspirator, to
openly oppose Baháulláh and support Azal. When the sun
is shining, the birds of darkness hide in their nest; they only
come out during the night. Baháulláhs brief departure created
a vacuum, a state of spiritual darkness. The forces of envy and
lust for power in the two intimate dreamers and schemers
turned into action, blossomed into an aggressive campaign of
3112 King of Kings
1Azals rise and role in the new Revelation are predicted not
only in the New Testament but the Old as well. Let us begin
with a reference from a Hebrew prophet. To decode it, one
point needs to be explained. Among the titles bestowed on
Azal by his followers is Subh-i-Azal, meaning Morning of
Eternity. They adopted that title from an Islamic dawn (morn-
ing) prayer that glorifies Baháulláh and refers specifically to
the promised Redeemer of our time as Bahá. Here is a brief
passage from that prayer:
Behold, a light hath shone forth out of the Morn of eternity,
and lo! its waves have penetrated the inmost reality of all
men.20
To exalt him and validate his claim, Azals followers simply
extended his authorized title Azal (Eternity) to Subh-i-Azal
(Morning of Eternity).
But as the prophecies predict and Baháulláh confirms, Azal
was an eternity not of light but of darkness, not of morning
but of night. He cherished the grand illusion that as an eternal
night he could prevent the sun from rising and shining. But
he served only as a backdrop that made the sun appear even
brighter, if that is possible.
As a dark Night of Eternity, Azal offered a perfect contrast
to Baháulláhthe ever-glowing Light and Glory of God, the
most awesome and splendid Morning of Eternity to dawn
upon the earth.
endeavor that perchance thou mayest, through the power
of God and the light of divine guidance, distinguish the
Morn of everlasting splendor from the darksome night of
error.21 Baháulláh
2Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
3O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart
except the unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance,
and out of My mouth proceedeth naught but the essence
of truth, which the Lord your God hath revealed.22
Baháulláh
The following verse predicts how the God of hosts who walks
on the high places of the earth turns morning into darkness:
For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the
wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that
maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the
high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hosts, is
his name. Amos 4:13
In one of His Writings, Baháulláh quotes the preceding
prophecy, and indicates by allusion its fulfillment in Azal.
He states that at the time of the dawning of the divine Mani-
festation, if:
…anyone were to regard himself as the true morn, he will,
through the might and power of God, be turned into dark-
ness. He truly is the false dawn, though believing himself
to be the true one. Woe unto him, and woe unto such as
follow him without a clear token from God, the Lord of
the worlds.23
This is exactly what happened to Azal, who, out of envy,
pride, and vanity, opposed Baháulláh and declared himself
to be the true Morn of divine guidance. The Lord of hosts
(Baháulláh) turned the Morning into Darkness exactly
as Amos predicted.
Azal glowed for a moment with the light of the Báb and
Baháulláh, but suddenly dark clouds rose from his heart and
obscured the light.
O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH,
YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE!
Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when in-
wardly ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye
4114 King of Kings
5are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which,
though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers
of My city astray into the paths of perdition.24 Baháulláh
A true morning is always bright and beautiful, without clouds:
The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was
on my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel
spoke to me: He who rules over men must be just, rul-
ing in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of
the morning when the sun rises, a morning without
clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by
clear shining after rain. II Samuel 23:2-4 NKJ
The prophecy from Amos identifies Baháulláh by several
titles among them he that treadeth upon the high places
of the earth (Amos 4:13). Baháulláh spent nearly two years
of His Ministry upon the mountains of Kurdistán. Later He
walked upon Mt. Carmel. (As we noted earlier, the Báb is also
identified by the same title.) Baháulláh left His followers
and went to Kurdistán to live alone on mountains mostly
because of Azals and his co-conspirators consuming jealousy.
They could not bear to see the respect and the honor He
received. Note that the prophecy from Amos speaks of moun-
tains and high places of the earth. It also refers to the Lord
of Hosts who turns the morning into darkness. This is exactly
what happened. When Baháulláh left for the mountains of
Kurdistán, Azals true naturethe darkness of his soul
became more evident than ever before. He lost the glorious
light that Baháulláh shed on all people, especially on Azal
who was close to Him.
In the following passages Baháulláh explains His reasons for
leaving:
The one object of Our retirement was to avoid becoming
a subject of discord among the faithful, a source of dis-
turbance unto Our companions, the means of injury to any
soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart.25
6Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
7I shunned all else but God, and closed Mine eyes to all
except Him, that haply the fire of hatred may die down
and the heat of jealousy abate.26
Here Baháulláh briefly describes His sufferings during His
stay on those mountains:
The birds of the air were My companions and the beasts
of the field My associates. 27 From Our eyes there rained
tears of anguish, and in Our bleeding heart there surged
an ocean of agonizing pain. Many a night We had no food
for sustenance, and many a day Our body found no rest
Alone, We communed with Our spirit, oblivious of the
world and all that is therein.
The story of Lucifer symbolizes the same sense of pride and
arrogance displayed by Azal. As a Christian author notes:
Lucifer challenged Gods right to rule the universe He had
created. He was literally demanding equality with God: I
will be like the most High. It was an insolent assault
upon Gods throne.29
Lucifer symbolizes a fallen angel:
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son
of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth…You
said in your heart… I will raise my throne above the stars
of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on
the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend
above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the
Most High. But you are brought down to the grave, to
the depths of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15 NIV
Notice Baháulláhs words:
if, at the time of the Manifestation of Him Who conversed
on Sinai [Baháulláh] anyone were to regard himself as
the true morn, he will, through the might and power of
God, be turned into darkness. He truly is the false dawn
8116 King of Kings
9Some Christian scholars link Lucifer to the Antichrist of our
time.31 Azal and Lucifer have a lot in common. They both
swelled with pride and rebelled against God; they both started
with light and ended in darkness; they both appeared in the
high heavens with exalted titles and fell down to the lowest
depths of the Pit (Isaiah 14:15). In some of His Writings
Baháulláh refers to Azal as Satan and compares him to a
fallen angel.32
Harpers Bible Dictionary offers these meanings for Lucifer:
light bringer, shining one, and morning (or day) star.
Lucifer, like Azal, was a false star that misled the light-seekers.
Baháulláh uses the same metaphor:
O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH,
YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE!
Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly
ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye are
even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which,
though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers
of My city astray into the paths of perdition.34
Chapter 36 of Psalms perfectly fits Azals sinful life and the
abundance of Gods forgiveness. Note the similarity between
the Psalms prophecy and Baháulláhs statement about Azals
sinfulness and Gods mercy and forgiveness, quoted earlier:
An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of
the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For
in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or
hate his sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and
deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even
on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful
course and does not reject what is wrong.
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness
to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty moun-
tains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve
both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow
10Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
11of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights. For with
you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Continue your love to those who know you, your righteous-
ness to the upright in heart. May the foot of the proud not
come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me
away. See how the evildoers lie fallenthrown down, not
able to rise! Psalms 36:1-12 NIV
Note this passage from the above prophecy: in your [Lords]
light we see light. The word Baháulláh has several mean-
ings, among them Gods light. In effect the prophecy says,
In Baháulláh we see the light.
The next prophecy from Nahum offers several clues concern-
ing the advent of both the Antichrist and Christ. Here are
some of its basic points:
God has patience, but in time punishes His enemies.
He will not acquit the wicked.
Those who conspire against the Lord will meet their end.
A wicked counselor emerges from people who plots
evil against the Lord.
There appears another figure who walks on the mountains.
He brings good tidings and proclaims peace. (As we
noted earlier, Baháulláh links the One who brings good
tidings to the Báb, who was imprisoned on mountains.)
Be happy and celebrate, for the wicked one shall be
utterly cut off.
Here is the prophecy:
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He
reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger
and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked
What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make
an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second
12118 King of Kings
13time. For while tangled like thorns, and while drunken like
drunkards, they shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
From you comes forth one who plots evil against the
Lord, a wicked counselor Behold, on the mountains the
feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows.
For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he
is utterly cut off. Nahum 1:2-3, 9-11, 15 NKJ
Once again the Psalms refer to the wicked, who faces the
consequences of his own evil deeds:
God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked
every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His
sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also
prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His
arrows into fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked brings forth
iniquity; yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth false-
hood. He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into
the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his
own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his
own crown. Psalms 7:11-16 NKJ
1of the Antichrist:
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will
not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man
of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God or that is wor-
shipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God. II Thessalonians 2:3-4 NKJ
2Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
3It may help to see The Amplified translation of the same verses:
Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that
day will not come except the apostasy comes firstthat
is, unless the [predicted] great falling away of those who
have professed to be Christians has comeand the man
of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom
(of perdition)…Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly
and insolently against and over all that is called God or
that is worshipped, taking his seat in the temple of God,
proclaiming that he himself is God.
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháí Faith, confirms
the relevance of the preceding prophecy to Azal, and the
fulfillment of its message, by him.35 The prophecy describes
his character, his claims, and his relationship with the Baháí
Revelation. The verses quoted point out that the man of sin
exalts himself above that which is called God and shows
himself to be God. Azal did both of these. First, he exalted
himself above Baháulláh, whose advent is regarded in the
Scriptures as the coming of God; and second, he claimed to
be God.
In one of His Epistles Baháulláh states that the idolaters
those who join partners with Godhave taken him as the
Lord.36 He refers to Azal as the first one to turn against God.
Like Annas and Caiaphas, the two leaders who condemned
Jesus to death, he and his instigator, Siyyid Muhammad, will
be remembered for all eternity as symbols of sin and denial.
Let us now look at the titles by which the Antichrist is de-
scribed. In reference to him, different translations of the Bible
use different, but similar, titles: Man of Sin, Son of Perdi-
tion, that Wicked (K J); the man of lawlessness, the lawless
one (NIV); the Enemy, that wicked man (NEB). All these titles
accurately describe Azal. Let us take the lawless one, and
the man of sin. Azals life was a perfect demonstration of
sin and lawlessness. It is hard to find a law he did not break,
a crime he did not commit, a sin he did not cherish. If we
4120 King of Kings
5had to choose a perfect model of sin, he would be an ideal
choice. He would need to do nothing more to make himself
qualified for the title.
The following verse gives further details about Azals decep-
tive schemes:
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit
miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that
deceives those who are perishing. II Thessalonians 2:9 NIV
Azal produced, displayed, and distributed counterfeits from
the Writings of the Báb and Baháulláh, and sometimes claimed
their Works as his own. He spread rumors that he wrote The
Book of Certitude, a book written by Baháulláh. He altered
the Writings of the Báb in such ways as to make himself
appear as the Redeemer heralded and promised by Him. To
make the altered material look authentic, he would use the
Bábs seal which, as mentioned earlier, he had secured from
Baháulláh as a trust but failed to return to Him. Azal was
such a prolific and accomplished master of lies and deceit,
that, as Baháulláh declares, even Azals pen pleaded with
God for deliverance from his hands!
Further, in an attempt to compete with Baháulláh, Azal
claimed counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. In one
case he invited Baháulláh to a Public Challenge or Public
Confrontation. It has been customary among Muslims that
when disagreements cannot be settled by words, one of the
parties challenges the other to settle the issue and prove his
case by attempting a dangerous act, such as jumping from a
minaret or holding burning charcoal in hands. Whoever declines
the challenge is considered by the public as the loser. The
principle behind a Public Challenge or Public Confronta-
tion is the performance of miracles. The message is this: If
we cannot come to a decisive conclusion, we will show our
faith in God by risking our lives or safety, and let Him in-
tervene through His supernatural powers. Azal, of course,
6Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
7wanted to prove, in words and by sheer claim, his supremacy
over Baháulláh. He did not believe Baháulláh would
welcome or accept the challenge, because he knew Baháulláh
was adamantly against the display of His divine powers.
Baháulláh accepted the invitation much to Azals surprise,
and appeared not once but on two separate occasions at the
appointed time and place, only to meet with Azals absence.
Azal believed Baháulláh would not come; Baháulláh knew
Azal would not come. By not showing up, Azal lost his case,
and Baháulláh did not have to perform any miracles against
His will.
A Quránic verse states that people plot against God, but God
is the best plotter. Imagine the consequences if Baháulláh
did not respond to Azals invitation to confront him. What a
weapon that would have given Azal to promote his delusions
of glory!
The following prophecy may refer to this confrontation,
because, as we noted, the Scriptures call Azal that wicked
man. Further, the prophecy from Zechariah asks that a sword
be used against the shepherd:
Arise, O Lord [Baháulláh], confront him, cast him down;
deliver my life from the wicked [Azal] with Your sword
[Word] Zechariah 17:13 NKJ
Compare the preceding prophecy with these prophecies, quoted
earlier. They point to the destruction of the wicked one
with the sword of the mouth:
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming.
II Thessalonians 2:8
The book of Isaiah also contains a similar prophecy:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [Baháulláh]
…he will strike the earth with the rod [command, authority]
8122 King of Kings
9of his mouth, with the breath of his lips [words] he will
slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:1, 4 NIV
For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; He
is utterly cut off. Nahum 1:15 NKJ
The false Morn was finally dimmed and destroyed by the
brightness of the Glory of God; it was turned into the eternal
night of extinction. For although at the beginning Azal attracted
some followers, at the end he was abandoned by even his
close disciples. All his hopes of glory and dreams of grandeur
crumbled.
Baháulláh states that no one in all the world can compare
with him in sin. He compares Azal with Judas Iscariot, because
both of them seemingly at first believed, but later turned
against their Masters. Both of them lusted for power, and had
death wishes for their Lord. One succeeded, the other tried
but failed. And both of them qualify for the same titles.
Baháulláh called Azal Satan; Jesus called Judas a devil
(John 6:70-71). Christian author, Dr. Ray Stedman also finds
the two figures comparable:
…the long-expected Antichrist, the false Messiah, the hope-
lessly lost one, the son of perdition. Only one other person
in the New Testament is called by that name: Judas, the
betrayer of our Lord.37
Both of them also had tempters. Azal was tempted by the
Satan within himself and the Satan without (Siyyid Muhammad);
Judas was also tempted by those negative forces:
the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of
Simon, to betray Jesus. John 13:2 NIV
Besides these similarities, we also find profound differences
between the two figures. First, after betraying Jesus, Judas
became remorseful, and eventually took his own life. But
Azal had no regrets for his vile acts. In fact to the end of
his life he continued to live with his dreams of glory, of
replacing Baháulláh. Second, in terms of upbringing, Judas
10Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
11was far less privileged. During his growing years, Azal had
Baháulláh as a perfect Model to emulate. Baháulláh had
cared for, educated, and protected him as the most loving
father would for twenty years. He had the privilege of ob-
serving for many years his distinguished brother, Baháulláh,
exemplify the noblest deeds and the profoundest wisdom and
knowledge. Third, instead of taking his own life, Azal ordered
the murder of otherssome of the noblest, wisest, and most
learned people. He loved and thrived on sinful living, and
lived many years to pursue his delusions. It is impossible to
imagine an individual more privileged spiritually and yet more
decadent, to find a person with ampler opportunities for en-
lightenment and more ignorant, to think of a human being given
more love and compassion and yet be found so ungrateful.
The twin Satanic symbols of falsehood, denial and deception,
along with their followers, had their short day:
Woe to you, O destroyer, you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor, you who have not been betrayed!
Isaiah 33:1 NIV
The seeds of falsehood may sprout and spread, but they can-
not grow deep roots. The destruction of the destroyer and
traitor was clearly predicted:
Destroyed they shall be, because they did not open their
minds to love of the truth, so as to find salvation. Therefore
God puts them under a delusion, which works upon them
to believe the lie, so that they may all be brought to judg-
ment, all who do not believe the truth but make sinfulness
their deliberate choice. II Thessalonians 2:10-12 NEB
Azal always feared for his life, and used secrecy as his chief
guard. He often hid himself and used elaborate means to
escape detection. He was indeed a master of disguise, deceit,
and counterfeit. When Baháulláh was arrested and put in the
Black Pit (Tihráns most horrible dungeon), Azal was terribly
frightened. He concealed himself, a bewildered fugitive, in
the guise of a dervish, with kashkúl [alms box] in hand,
12124 King of Kings
13wandered in mountains and plains… 38 He traveled with
extreme caution in disguise and used frequent changes of
costumes to escape detection.39 Secrecy was the main method
of survival used not only by Azal but by his small band of
followers. Until recently, some of them took politically
prestigious positions in Persia but pretended to be Muslims.
Abdul-Bahá states that they always hide themselves in
holes.40 Just the opposite has been true for Baháís. They are
asked to acknowledge their faith even in the face of torture
and death. Many of them have paid with their lives for their
openness.
As for the lie (II Thess. 2:10-12), in which they believed and
spread, it is inconceivable that anyone could come up with a
lie bigger than this: that Azal was the Christ and Baháulláh
the Antichrist. This is, of course, the message Azal and his
small band of followers believed and spread. It is impossible
to think of two human beings who could differ more, who
could be farther apart in character, greatness, and glory, who
could more closely personify utter light and utter darkness,
who could more vividly exemplify the station of the Son of
God and the son of Perdition.
The prophecy from Thessalonians speaks also of a restrain-
ing hand:
…you must now be aware of the restraining hand which
ensures that he [the man of sin] shall be revealed only at
the proper time. II Thessalonians 2:6 NEB
The preceding prophecy has baffled Christian commentators
for centuries. Bible scholars Winkie and Chant acknowledge
this:
There is one puzzling part of all that Paul says about this
man of iniquity. This secret power of lawlessness is al-
ready at work, he writes, but it is also being restrained
until the one who holds it back is removed and then it
will be revealed…Fifteen hundred years ago, the learned
Augustine wrote, I frankly confess I do not know what he
14Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
15means (City of God, 20, 19). More recently, the renowned
Australian scholar, Leon Morris, said exactly the same
thing!41
In general, every prophecy has a time-table. The restraining
power of God does not allow it to unfold sooner or later than
ordained. More specifically, this prophecy pinpoints an event
in the life of the man of sin.
The supreme honors bestowed on Azal restrained him from
revealing his true motives. They protected him for many years
from bold and open opposition to the Báb and Baháulláh.
But, according to Gods Wisdom, at an appointed hour, the
armor of protection was withdrawn. At that hour, what had
been simmering secretly in his heart suddenly burst open.
From then on the restraining power of God did not control
him any more. He was let loose to participate in the divine
drama with full freedom and with all his evil powers.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed…
Christ (Mark 4:22 NIV)
…wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is
hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of mens
hearts. I Corinthians 4:5 NIV
The time is at hand when whatsoever lieth hid in the souls
and hearts of men will be disclosed.42 Baháulláh
Verily, God will bring everything to light, though it were
but the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and hidden in
a rock or in the heavens or in the earth Qurán 31:16
In the following statement, Shoghi Effendi refers to these
restraining forces:
It [the supreme crises caused by Azal] had been brewing
ever since the early days of Baháulláhs sojourn in
Baghdád, was temporarily suppressed by the creative
forces and finally broke out, in all its violence, in the
years immediately preceding the proclamation of His
Message.43
16126 King of Kings
17Christian scholar J. R. Church believes that Psalms 109 con-
centrates on the antichrist. 44 Consider these verses from that
chapter about two figures who symbolize spiritual death and
darkness:
Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth
of the wicked [Azal] and the mouth of the deceitful
[Siyyid Muhammad, Azals companion and co-conspirator]
have opened against me; they have spoken against me
with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with
words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give
myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for
good, and hatred for my love. Psalms 109:1-5 NKJ
Chapter 109 also contains certain pleas and prayers such as:
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; let
them seek their bread also from their desolate places. Let
the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plun-
der his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let
his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following
let their name be blotted out. Psalms 109:10-13 NKJ
The preceding verses accurately describe the final destiny of
Azal and his posterity, who abandoned him. He died alone
without the comfort of his children or any of his followers.
Today, no trace of Azal remains except a few followers, who
still carefully conceal their identity. Some of Azals children
expressed a sense of shame for having such a father.
1A prophecy from Zechariah may have double fulfillments. At
the time of the betrayal of Judas, Jesus quoted part of it
(Matthew 26:31). To decode its message, we should see it in
its context in two translations:
2Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
3Sword, awake [arise] against my shepherd, against him
who works with me. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep
will be scattered, and I shall turn my hand against the
lambs. This also is the word of the Lord: It will happen
throughout the land that two thirds of the people will be
struck down and die, while one third of them will be left
there. Then I shall pass this third through the fire; I shall
refine them as silver is refined and assay them as gold is
assayed. They will invoke me by my name, and I myself
shall answer them; I shall say, These are my people;
they will say, The Lord is my God. Zechariah 13:7-9 REB
Awake, sword, against my shepherd and against the man
who is my companionit is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks.
I [Yahweh] am going to strike the shepherd so that the
sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against
the weak [in faith]. And it will happen throughout this
territoryit is Yahweh who speaksthat two thirds in it
will be cut off (will be killed.) I will lead that third into
the fire [of tests], and refine them as silver is refined, test
them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I
shall listen; and I shall say: These are my people; and
each will say, Yahweh is my God! Zechariah 13:7-9 JB
Some Christian scholars believe that Zechariahs prophecy
refers to Jesus, because He was a shepherd struck by His
enemy. But a careful study shows that the prophecy as a
whole points to Gods judgment against the masses of dis-
obedient people, among them a shepherd, who is struck with
a celestial sword, a symbol of Gods wrath. Consider these
examples about the sword:
But as for you who forsake the Lord and forget my holy
mountain I will destine you for the sword, and you will
all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did
not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.
Isaiah 65:11-12 NIV
4128 King of Kings
5Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and
will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:16 NIV
out of his [the Redeemer of our Age] mouth came a
sharp double-edged sword. Revelation 1:16 NIV
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-
edged sword. Revelation 2:12 NIV
the indignation of the Lord is against all nations My
sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come
down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judg-
ment. Isaiah 34:2, 5 NKJ
Prophecies sometimes have multiple meanings and fulfill-
ments. The preceding prophecy from Zechariah may be one
of them. Let us see how it may refer to both Judas and Azal:
In what way were Judas and Azal shepherds? Judas re-
ceived the honor of being selected as one of the Twelve.
The title of Apostle raised him to become a source of
enlightenment or a shepherd for others. Azal received a
similar honor. He was called a Mirror.
Judas was a companion to Jesus; RSV reads, the man who
stands next to me. As Azal stood next to Baháulláh and
ate food with Him so did Judas with Jesus. He dipped
his hand into the bowl with Jesus (Matthew 26:23).
After they betrayed their Lord, both Judas and Azal were
stricken with the sword of Gods judgment. They were
called Satan and Devil (John 6:70-71) by their Masters.
The fall of each false shepherd was followed by the fall
of others. After Judas betrayed Jesus, the remaining Eleven
fell, for a short while, from grace; they abandoned their
Lord. Similarly, after Azal betrayed Baháulláh, some of
the believers abandoned their Lord.
Zechariahs prophecy also declares a warning to humankind:
6Chapter 4: The Antichrist of Our Time
7In the whole land, declares the Lord, two-thirds will
be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.
Zechariah 13:8 NIV
Some interpreters believe that the perishing of two-thirds of
the earths population is literal. They think because of natural
or human-caused disasters, a large segment of humankind
will perish. Major disasters have occurred in the past, and
scientists believe they can occur again in the future. In His
Writings, Baháulláh predicts great sufferings and calamities
for humankind, but His warnings are crowned with hope. He
declares that we can prevent the calamities by turning to God:
We have a fixed time for you, O peoples. If ye fail, at the
appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily, will lay
violent hold on you, and will cause grievous afflictions to
assail you from every direction. How severe, indeed, is the
chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you!45
Such warnings place an awesome responsibility on every one
of us. They show that by recognizing the Redeemer of the
Age and promoting His message of love, unity, peace, and
harmony we can save countless millions from a punishment
that is caused by our own rejection of truth. But as has been
the trend throughout history, humanitys response to the divine
call so far has been limited. After 150 years, only a thou-
sandth of the earths population has accepted Baháulláh.
The prophecies about the Antichrist have not been exhausted.
The next chapter brings the topic to its final conclusion.
8Satan, the Devil
9Prophecies point not only to two divine Redeemers but also
to two demonic deceivers. One of them was Azal. The other
was Azals instigator and most intimate friend and supporter,
Siyyid Muhammad.
The prophecy that refers to that wicked man or the man of
sin refers also to another figureidentified as Satanwho
directs that wicked man:
But the coming of that wicked man is the work of Satan.
II Thessalonians 2:9 NEB
If what people call Satan ever existed and needed a perfect
medium to manipulate, it could find no readier or abler in-
strument than Siyyid Muhammad, a native of Isfahán. Even
as Satan is recognized as the tempter, Siyyid Muhammad
10132 King of Kings
11constantly tempted and enticed Azals vile intentions and
perilous delusions of glory. Baháulláh describes him as
the source of envy and the quintessence of mischief,1 and
Shoghi Effendi characterizes him as the one notorious for
his inordinate ambition, his blind obstinacy and uncontrollable
jealousy.
Let us see the preceding biblical passage in The Amplified
Version, for the wording is more clear. Further, the transla-
tors consider the lawless one to be the Antichrist; they
insert the title between brackets:
The coming [of the lawless one, the Antichrist] is through
the activity and working of Satan…
Although Azal was armed with all the evil intentions, he
suffered from several weaknesses that could stifle his dreams
of grandeur: he was both fearful and feeble-minded. He
needed a shrewd collaborator who would tempt him, prod
him, comfort him, manipulate him, and mastermind his
schemes for him. He could not have asked for an abler and
more qualified assistant than Siyyid Muhammad, who was
not only bold but extremely cunning and crafty as well. He
kept Azals delusions of glory brewing by constantly feeding
the fire of his envious heart, and fanning the flame of his
passion for power. The Scriptures could not have selected and
predicted more fitting titles for these two intimate schemers.
Siyyid Muhammad would tell Azal that the stature of the new
Revelation has risen high throughout the world, that people
honored and trusted the new believers, that he should make
a name for himself, that he should come out of hiding and
have no fear, for the danger had passed. Cease, then, to
follow, he would admonish Azal, that thou may be fol-
lowed by the world… 3 As a result of his influence, Azal
began to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of those who
had become Baháulláhs ardent admirers and were attracted
to His person.
Azals vanity and jealousy pushed him to the edge, beyond
heavenly rescue. He was led to temptation by his ego and
12Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
13could not be delivered from the Evil One, Siyyid Muhammad.
The two schemers were a perfect match; they met each others
needs to the fullest. Abdul-Bahá compares Azal to a suck-
ing child and Siyyid Muhammad to the much-prized breast.
They had much in common; in an Epistle Baháulláh states
that Azal has found someone like himself.6 In The Book
of Certitude Baháulláh identifies Siyyid Muhammad as a
one-eyed man who arose with the utmost malevolence
against Him.7
Here Baháulláh refers to both betrayers, and then prays for
them:
My Pen, verily, lamenteth over Mine own Self, and My
Tablet weepeth sore over what hath befallen Me at the
hands of one [Azal] over whom We watched for successive
years, and who, day and night, served in My presence,
until he was made to err by one of My servants, named
Siyyid Muhammad And there befell Me at the hands of
both of them that which made every man of understand-
ing to cry out, and he who is endued with insight to groan
aloud, and the tears of the fair-minded to flow.
We pray to God to graciously assist them that have been
led astray to be just and fair-minded, and to make them
aware of that whereof they have been heedless. He, in
truth, is the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous. Debar not
Thy servants, O my Lord, from the door of Thy grace,
and drive them not away from the court of Thy presence.
Assist them to dispel the mists of idle fancy, and to tear
away the veils of vain imaginings and hopes. Thou art,
verily, the All-Possessing, the Most High. No God is there
but Thee, the Almighty, the Gracious.8
The Book of Revelation, the most astonishing book of
prophecy, a book that covers many events over the last two
thousand years and a few in the next thousand, also refers to
Azal and his supporter Siyyid Muhammad. It calls them the
beast and the false prophet:
14134 King of Kings
15Then I saw the beast [Siyyid Muhammad] and the kings
of the earth [several kings opposed Baháulláh] and their
armies gathered together to make war against the rider on
the horse [Baháulláh] and his army [followers]. But the
beast was captured, and with him the false prophet [Azal]
who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf.
With these signs he had deluded those who had received
the mark of the beast and worshipped his image [beastlike
or evil-minded people]. The two of them were thrown
alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of
them were killed with the sword that came out of the
mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged
themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:19-21 NIV
As we noted earlier, other prophecies also point to the oppo-
sition of the kings of the earth to the Báb and Baháulláh:
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather
together against the Lord [Baháulláh] and against his
Anointed One [the Báb]. Psalms 2:2 NIV
The title false prophet perfectly describes Azal. The beast
also accurately characterizes Siyyid Muhammad; he indeed
acted like a cruel and cunning beast toward many, especially
Baháulláh and His followers. The prophecies of Paul and
Revelation both refer to the one (Azal) who uses miracles to
deceive people. Both of them declare that in doing his work
he gets help from, or does his work on behalf of, another
figure (the Satan, or the beast), and both of them point to
the destruction of the deceivers and their followers. In one
prophecy, the power that destroys these negative forces is
the Lords brightness and the spirit of His mouth, and in
the other the fiery lake and the sword that comes out of
the mouth of the rider. Fire here symbolizes Gods wrath,
and the sword His Word.
Azal and Siyyid Muhammad personify the spirit of the Anti-
christ, but the title applies to anyone who denies the truth.
Other figures who qualified for the title of the Antichrist,
16Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
17also appeared during the time of the Báb and Abdul-Bahá.
See God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi.
Who is the liar? Who but he that denies that Jesus is the
Christ? He is Antichrist… I John 2:22 NEB
You were told that Antichrist was to come, and now many
antichrists have appeared… I John 2:18 NEB
Pratney and Chant make this comment about the preceding
passage:
Two things are clear in this passage. First of all, there was
an expectation of one particular anti-Christian figurethe
antichrist. But there were also many lesser antichrists in
existence.9
Biederwolf states:
These antichrists in Johns time were the heretical teachers
who had gone out from the Church…and were the fore-
runners of the coming personal Antichrist.10
A Christian author describes the Antichrist as anyone who
will try to pass himself off as the Christ. 11 Here is one
more biblical quotation about the Antichrist:
But do not trust any and every spirit, my friends; test the
spirits, to see whether they are from God, for among those
who have gone out into the world there are many prophets
falsely inspired. This is how we may recognize the Spirit
of God: every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit which
does not thus acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This
is what is meant by Antichrist; you have been told that
he was to come, and here he is, in the world already!
I John 4:1-3 NEB
1The preceding passage carries several messages. These are
a few:
Do not be complacent. Test those who claim to speak for
God.
2136 King of Kings
3 One way to identify a true Spirit is to see if He acknowl-
edges the identity and validity of Jesus Christ.
Antichrist is the title applied to a person who claims to
be a Messenger or a Spirit from God, yet he denies Jesus
Christ.
The last message applies to Azal. By denying Baháulláh (the
return of Christ), he also denied Jesus Christ. To summarize,
the term Antichrist may convey any of these meanings:
Anyone who denies Jesus Christ.
Any impostor who makes false claims.
Anyone who denies or opposes Gods Messengers and
Redeemers.
Anyone who tempts people with falsehood and tries to
keep them from the truth.
Both Azal and Siyyid Muhammad fulfilled all these condi-
tions; the title applies to both of them.
Christ was a divine Center of unity and love. Whenever
discord prevails instead of unity, wherever hatred and
antagonism take the place of love and spiritual fellowship,
Antichrist reigns instead of Christ.12 Abdul-Bahá
The Book of Revelation predicts that after a thousand years,
Satan will be released from his prison (Rev. 2:7). This
indicates that after that span of time the spiritual state of the
world will again decline. This timing matches Baháulláhs
prediction that His Revelation will last at least a thousand
years. The Book of Revelation then goes on to predict that
the devil or Satan will again be thrown into the lake of
burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had
been thrown (Rev. 20:10 NIV). Here again the two demonic
figures, the beast (Siyyid Muhammad) and the false prophet
(Azal) are mentioned together.
As we noted, Chapter 19 of Revelation speaks of two forces
waging war against the rider on the horse (Baháulláh).
4Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
5The two forces mentioned are the kings who waged war against
Baháulláh from without and the beast who waged war from
within. Let us consider that prophecy once again:
Then I saw the beast [Siyyid Muhammad] and the kings
of the earth [four kings have been involved] and their
armies gathered together to make war against the rider on
the horse [Baháulláh] and his army [His followers]. But
the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet
[Azal] who had performed the miraculous signs on his
behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had
received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword
[Word of God] that came out of the mouth of the rider on
the horse… Revelation 19:19-21 NIV
One lesson we can learn from this prophecy is this: truth
is not proven by miracles. The false prophet deluded people
with his false claims of miracles. Prophecies continue:
In that day the Lord will punish with his sword [Word]…
the gliding serpent…the coiling serpent; he will slay the
monster of the sea. Isaiah 27:1-2 NIV
The serpent and the monster of the sea may symbolize
Siyyid Muhammad and Azal. The symbols are quite suitable.
Siyyid Muhammad was as deceptive and clever as a gliding
serpent. The sea symbolizes many meanings, among them
idle fancies or illusions.
In one of His Epistles, after referring to Azal, Baháulláh
reveals this prayer:
O God, my God! Debar not Thy servants from turning
their faces towards the light of certitude Take Thou, O
my God, the hands of such as have been drowned in the
sea of idle fancies, and deliver them by Thy power and
Thy sovereignty. Save them, then, with the arms of Thy
might. Powerful art Thou to do what Thou willest, and in
6138 King of Kings
7Thy right hand are the reins of all that is in the heavens
and all that is on earth.13
In this passage, Baháulláh uses both the metaphors of the
ocean and the sea:
Most of the people in Persia are steeped in deception and
idle fancy. How great the difference between the condition
of these people and the station of such valiant souls as
have passed beyond the sea of names and pitched their
tents upon the shores of the ocean of detachment Few
of My servants are truly thankful. People for the most
part delight in superstitions. They regard a single drop of
the sea of delusion as preferable to an ocean of certitude.
By holding fast unto names they deprive themselves of the
inner reality and by clinging to vain imaginings they are
kept back from the Dayspring of heavenly signs.14
As we previously noted, the Most Great Ocean symbolizes
Baháulláhs Revelation. At some time, Azal and Siyyid
Muhammad were believers who lived in that ocean. Can such
a vast Ocean be without a monster?
We can find similar uses for sea in the Book of Revelation:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea [of delusions]. Revelation 21:1 NIV
The sea [of delusions] gave up the [spiritually] dead that
were in it Revelation 20:13 NIV
Sometimes prophecies partly decode a metaphor:
The waters you saw, where the prostitute [disloyal leaders
or leader] sits [rules], are [deluded] peoples, multitudes,
nations and languages. Revelation 17:15 NIV
In the following passage from the Olivet Discourse, the sea
may symbolize the masses of unstable, disturbed, and deluded
people, or the flood of illusions that are sweeping the human
race:
8Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
9On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at
the roaring and tossing of the sea. Luke 21:25 NIV
The next prophecy also points to two figures: the foe and
the avenger:
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the
earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From
the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Psalms 8:1-2 NIV
The Revised English Bible of verse 2 reads:
You have established a bulwark against your adversaries
to restrain the enemy and the avenger.
As we noted, the word restrain was also used in Pauls
prophecy:
…you must now be aware of the restraining hand which
ensures that he [the man of sin] shall be revealed only at
the proper time. II Thessalonians 2:6 NEB
The following prophecy also seems to point to two figures.
Christian scholar J. R. Church believes that Chapter 109 of
Psalms points mostly to the Antichrist:
Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth
of the wicked [Azal] and the mouth of the deceitful [Siyyid
Muhammad] have opened against me; they have spoken
against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded
me with words of hatred, and fought against me without
a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, but
I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil
for good, and hatred for my love. Psalms 109:1-5 NKJ
As we just noted, after referring to Azal, Baháulláh prayed
for all those drowned in the sea of idle fancies.
The following prophecy points to two divine Figures and two
impostors:
10140 King of Kings
11He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
[the Báb] shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
[Baháulláh]. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall
deliver you from the snare of the fowler [Siyyid Muhammad]
and from the perilous pestilence [Azal] Because you have
made the Lord [Baháulláh], who is my refuge, even the
Most High [the Báb], your dwelling place.
Psalms 91:1-3, 9 NKJ
Some Christian scholars believe that the following prophecy
refers to Satan, because it points to a being who stands against
God. The Amplified Bible is more clear:
Set the trumpet to your lips. [The enemy] comes as a
[great] vulture against the house of the Lord because they
have broken My covenant, and transgressed against My
law. [Brackets belong to original.] Hosea 8:1
The prophecy seems to contain the main ingredients of the
Antichrist. It refers to a vulture that stands against Gods
house or sanctuary (symbolic of divine Revelation). The vul-
ture is both a lawbreaker and a covenant-breaker. The word
they may refer to the covenant-breakers in all ages or to
specific figures.
1period of its dispensation by the figure 1260 days. (See I
Shall Come Again.) That chapter also offers a graphic descrip-
tion of the last war between positive and negative forces:
And there was war in heaven [religion]. Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his
angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and
they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled
2leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth,
and his angels with him. Revelation 12:7-9 NIV
The war between positive and negative powers has endured
for thousands of years, and is now coming to a close. We are
witnessing the dawning of peace. After giving us the good
news of the destruction of the Satanic forces, the prophecy
becomes more specific. It refers to two divine Figures who
stand on one side of the struggle, and a demonic or destruc-
tive figure who stands on the other:
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come
the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our
God [Baháulláh], and the authority of his Christ [the
Báb]. For the accuser [Azal] of our brothers [followers of
Baháulláh], who accuses them before our God day and
night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb [the Báb] and by the word of their
testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to
shrink from death. Revelation 12:10-11 NIV
The prophecy once again declares bad news for evil forces:
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has
gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he
knows that his time is short. Revelation 12:12 NIV
The devil is dying before our very eyes. It has just a little
time to live:
Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new
one spread out in its stead.15 Baháulláh
The devil symbolizes all the negative forces of the world,
but it may also symbolize Azal and Siyyid Muhammad.
Baháulláh called both of them Satan. The murder of Siyyid
Muhammad may also symbolize the death of the devil, or
destruction of the forces of darkness upon the earth.
Astonishing as it may seem, during the last period of his life,
3Turks call the Island of Satan.16 The Covenant of Baháulláh
quotes these prophecies, attributed to Islamic traditions:
Soon will the Satan appear in the Isle of Q [Qibris, i.e.
Cypress] and will prevent people from attaining the pres-
ence of the Lord. When that time comes turn ye towards
the Holy Land wherefrom the sweet savors of God will
be wafting.17
The Satan will appear in the island related to him When
he should come, turn toward Carmel, the holy vale, the
gathering place of mankind, this snow-white spot.18
Christian scholars believe that the following verses from
Genesis describe the divine plan and is the first prophecy
about Jesus. Many authors start their books of proofs and
prophecies about Jesus with these verses. They believe the
phrase he shall bruise your head refers to Jesus:
So the Lord God said to the serpent [Satan]: Because you
have done this, you are cursed And I will put enmity
between you and the woman [Eve], and between your seed
and her seed; he [Jesus] shall bruise your head, and you
shall bruise his heel. Genesis 3:14-15 NKJ
Here is how a Christian author interprets the preceding verses:
God, however, made it known to Satan that his rule over
mankind was temporary and that Satans reign would, in
Gods sovereign time, be destroyed God made clear to
Satan how his defeat would come, saying, I will put
enmity between you and the woman In other words, a
male descendant of the woman would bring the ultimate
downfall and destruction of Satan. That descendant would
come from the line of Abraham (Gal. 3:16).19
Whether the preceding interpretation is accurate or not, one
point is clear: The serpents head, which may symbolize the
negative forces, is not yet crushed, but its dominance will
4Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
1In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus gave this critical warning:
So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the desert,
do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do
not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east
and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son
of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures
will gather. Matthew 24:26-28 NIV
2Failure to understand the purpose of the preceding warning
has prevented many Christians from investigating Baháulláhs
advent. It has strengthened both their excessive fear of being
deceived and their intense desire to remain in their familiar
comfort zone. Christian scholar Biederwolf makes this com-
ment about the preceding prophecy:
The coming of the false Christs shall be more or less
concealed in the wilderness or in the secret chamber, the
quiet of the desert and the secrecy of the chamber being
convenient places for the fomenting of new movements or
of rebellion, but the Coming of Christ shall be open and
discernible like an all-illuminating flash of light which
no one can mistake, its presence to be announced every-
where from east to west over the whole world.20
Jesus prophecy about openness and secrecy may indeed refer
to how Baháulláh and Azal appeared in public. As stated
before, Azal was the master of disguise. He was good at the
art. He was so good that sometimes even the people close
to him, such as his brother, could not recognize him.21 Of
course, he hid himself for self-protection. He was terrified
of being hurt. Living in disguise was his best skill: he could
be relied upon to hide himself very effectively, till it should
be overpast! 22 He was so proud of his ability to conceal his
identity that he called himself: The Concealed Face.
3144 King of Kings
4At the other extreme was Baháulláh, who never hid Himself.
Once there was an attempt on the life of Násirid-Dín Sháh
by two mentally incompetent followers of the Báb. This act
was so serious, no one would have dreamed that Baháulláh
could escape death, because He was the most prominent
follower of the Báb. Although He had an excellent opportu-
nity to escape to Russia, He refused to go, or even hide
anywhere in the land. On the contrary, He openly walked
among the people. People were utterly astonished, even con-
fused by His courage and audacity. He followed the same
course of action during His entire ministry. Baháulláh often
speaks of never hiding Himself :
The One true God beareth Me witness, and His creatures
will testify, that not for a moment did I allow Myself to
be hidden from the eyes of men, nor did I consent to
shield My person from their injury. Before the face of all
men I have arisen, and bidden them fulfill My pleasure.
My object is none other than the betterment of the world
and the tranquillity of its peoples.23
God knows that at no time did We attempt to conceal
Ourself or hide the Cause which We have been bidden to
proclaim.24
From Baháulláhs prayers and meditations:
So highly didst Thou exalt Him [Baháulláh] that He openly
delivered unto the kings Thy messages and command-
ments, and hath never for one moment sought His own
protection, but striven to protect Thy servants from what-
ever might withhold them from approaching the kingdom
of Thy nearness, and from setting their faces towards the
horizon of Thy good-pleasure.25
The prophecy in Matthew also states that wherever there is
a carcass, there the vultures will gather. The carcass sym-
bolizes decayed beliefs and ideologies espoused by corrupt
leaders. We see how true this is today. Simple-minded people
(the birds) are gorging themselves with false beliefs and
5Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
6doctrines proclaimed by deceptive leaders and false prophets
everywhere on our planet. One of those carcasses who found
a few followers was Azal.
The prophecy from Jesus first refers to the coming of the Son
of Man openly like the lightning, then it points to a
carcass that attracts some vultures. It is hard to imagine a
sharper contrast between the two metaphors. The lightning
shines in heaven with power and brilliance. It is a majestic
sight that every sighted person can see. Compare that with a
carcass on the ground in a remote forest or field, surrounded
by a few beasts and vultures. The carcass may symbolize Azal.
As we noted, Revelation 19:19 refers to Siyyid Muhammad
as the beast. To protect the leftovers, some animals hide
their kill. That is, of course, what Azals few followers would
do: they would help him hide from other predators!
Baháulláh was spiritually a perfect contrast to Azal. Azals
intense desire to hide himself is one example of this contrast.
Jesus warns us not to look for Him out in the desert or
in the inner rooms. Those were the very places Azal chose
to hide himself. He was either running in secrecy to remote
outer areasmountains and desertsor hiding in inner
rooms.
Let us once again see Jesus prophecy about secrecy:
So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the desert,
do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do
not believe it. Matthew 24:26 NIV
Now consider the following quotes to see how clearly Azal
fulfilled Jesus prophecy. How did Azal behave when an
attempt was made on the life of Násirid-Dín Sháh?
[He] concealed himself, a bewildered fugitive, in the guise
of a dervish, with kashkúl [alms box] in hand, wandered
in mountains and plains…
he was so frightened for his own life that he disguised
himself in the garb of a dervish and, leaving his wife and
7146 King of Kings
8child behind, fled into the mountains of Mázindarán
Thus he roamed the countryside in fear and trepidation.27
When Azal was hiding in Baghdad, a famous follower of
Baháulláh wanted to meet him. Azal would not give his
consent. After much pleading [he] agreed to meet him
outside the city on a hilltop. 28 As we noted, during his stay
in Baháulláhs house, Azal lived with such fear that:
He hid himself, keeping the door of our house locked,
and stormed at anybody who opened it.29
Notice how clearly and closely the preceding descriptions
correspond to Jesus warning that we should not look for
Him in the desert or in the inner rooms! Azals concern for
his safety was very great. He would not take any chances
even when everything looked safe:
And although throughout this journey [from Baghdad to
Constantinople] the governors and officials observed the
utmost consideration and respectfulness [toward Baháulláh]
nevertheless was he [Azal] always concealed in change
of raiment, and acted cautiously, on the idea that some act
of aggression was likely to occur.30
A common deception used by Azal was to attribute his own
guilt to Baháulláh. He was the source of many false rumors.
Consider this statement from Baháulláh:
It is reported in the press that this Servant [Baháulláh] hath
fled from the land of Tá (Tihrán) and gone to Iráq. Gracious
God! Not even for a single moment hath this Wronged
One [Baháulláh] ever concealed Himself. Rather hath
He at all times remained steadfast and conspicuous before
the eyes of all men. Never have We retreated, nor shall
We ever seek flight. In truth it is the foolish people who
flee from Our presence. We left Our home country accom-
panied by two mounted escorts, representing the two
honored governments of Persia and Russia until We arrived
in Iráq in the plenitude of glory and power. Praise be to
9Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
10God! The Cause whereof this Wronged One is the Bearer
standeth as high as heaven and shineth resplendent as the
sun. Concealment hath no access unto this station, nor
is there any occasion for fear or silence.31
Many people need a miracle before they can believe some-
thing. It is hard to imagine a miracle more astonishing than
this: A Man with thousands of fanatical enemies walks
among them without fear. He has no bodyguards, yet lives
for forty years (1852-1892) to accomplish His miraculous
mission!
Notice Gods standards. Baháulláh was a captive and a
prisoner, yet He appeared in the plenitude of glory and
power. He stood as high as heaven and shined as
brilliantly as the sun. Jesus used the metaphor of the
lightning for His second Advent. In the preceding passage,
Baháulláh uses the metaphor of the sun. Jesus declared He
was the light of the world (John 8:12), yet He had only a few
followers.
In the following statement, Baháulláh first speaks about the
brilliance of His Light, and then refers to some followers of
the Báb who had turned to Azal:
despite the brightness of this Light, the like of which
none of them hath ever beheld, witness how the people
of the Bayán [followers of the Báb] have denied and
contended with Me Among them is he [Azal] who
condemned Me as one that deserved to be put to death,
and who imputed to Me the very offenses of which he
himself was guilty.32
As Baháulláh states, after Azal failed in his attempt to take
Baháulláhs life, he accused Baháulláh of the very offenses
of which he himself was guilty. 33 The sun shines brightly
on the horizon, but a fallen star attributes its darkness to
the sun. After being poisoned, Baháulláh asked His followers
not to spread the news. How did Azal react? He spread the
11148 King of Kings
12rumors that Baháulláh tried to poison him. Thus the Baháís
were forced to tell their side of the story.
We should recognize that there was also a positive side to
Azals supreme talents for secrecy: On the surface, his con-
cealment contributed to Baháulláhs safety. Only a guilty
person has a reason to be fearful and to hide himself. If
Baháulláh was the central Figure behind the new Faith,
people thought, why would He not hide Himself? Thus
most of their attention was drawn to Azal, the shadowy and
the ever-elusive figure. If he was not the guilty one, why
would he hide himself? they wondered.
If Násirid-Dín Sháh and the religious leaders of the time had
realized who Baháulláh truly was, they would not have
allowed Him to leave Iran for Iraq. They would have instantly
killed Him. We should give Azal full credit and even be
grateful to him for this significant contribution. He served:
as a screen in attracting the attention of the people to
himself, thus preventing the premature recognition of Him
Whom God should make Manifest [Baháulláh] until His
Own appointed time.34
By the time Baháulláh reached Baghdád, the well-kept secret
who was the true Leader?was divulged.35 By then it was too
late for the Sháh to execute Baháulláh.
We should also note that God uses instruments to achieve
His purpose:
He Who is the Eternal Truthexalted by His gloryhath
made the fulfillment of every undertaking on earth depen-
dent on material means.36 Baháulláh
13Sometimes even the Enemy unknowingly serves as an
essential instrument or actor in the ever-unfolding divine
drama of the Friend.
14Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
15The Idol and the Evil One
A prophecy from Isaiah uses a metaphor similar to the one
used by Jesuscarcass or carrionto refer to Azal:
For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His
chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury,
and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His
sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the
Lord shall be many. Those who sanctify themselves and
purify themselves, to go to the gardens after an idol in
the midst, eating swines flesh and the abomination and
the mouse, shall be consumed together, says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:15-17 NKJ
The prophecy declares that the Lord will come with the fire
of His judgment and the sword of His Word. He is angry
because His servants deny His Message. What consequence
do they face? Spiritual death. The spiritually slain of the
Lord will lie all over the planet. Among those who face
death, there will be some who will try to purify and sanctify
themselves by following an idol in their midst. An idol is a
substitute for God. The word describes Azal perfectly. The idol
worshippers will not hesitate to eat that which is filthy and
forbidden, such as flesh or carcass of swine and mouse. These
people also will not escape Gods wrath. Both prophecies of
Jesus and Isaiah refer to eating the flesh of undesirable animals.
Baháulláh refers to Azal as the Idol, 37 and Shoghi Effendi
refers to him as the Most Great Idol, 38 which was cast out
of the new Revelation. He declares that Azal was powerless
to divide the Baháí community despite all his efforts:
The Covenant of the Báb with its immutable truths, in-
controvertible prophecies, and repeated warnings, stood
guard over that Faith, insuring its integrity, demonstrating
its incorruptibility, and perpetuating its influence.39
The flesh of dead and undesirable animals symbolizes illusions,
and false and decaying doctrines offered by some religious
16150 King of Kings
17leaders to the masses of people who gorge themselves with
whatever they are fed. The next prophecy predicts that in this
age people will crave to hear false and distorted doctrines:
For the time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear. II Timothy 4:3 NIV
In the following passage, Baháulláh mourns the lack of
spiritual capacity in people. He uses a similar symbolthat
of carcass or carrion (dead and decaying flesh)to portray
corrupt beliefs and doctrines:
Even as the people of Israel, in the time of Moses, bartered
away the bread of heaven for the sordid things of the earth,
these people, likewise, sought to exchange the divinely-
revealed verses for their foul, their vile, and idle desires.
In like manner, thou beholdest in this day that although
spiritual sustenance hath descended from the heaven of
divine mercy, and been showered from the clouds of His
loving kindness, and although the seas of life, at the behest
of the Lord of all being, are surging…yet these people,
ravenous as the dogs, have gathered around carrion, and
contented themselves with the stagnant waters of a briny
lake. Gracious God! how strange the way of this people!
They clamor for guidance, although the standards of Him
Who guideth all things are already hoisted. They cleave
to the obscure intricacies of knowledge, when He, Who
is the Object of all knowledge, shineth as the sun. They
see the sun with their own eyes, and yet question that
brilliant Orb as to the proof of its light. They behold the
vernal showers descending upon them, and yet seek an
evidence of that bounty. The proof of the sun is the light
thereof, which shineth and envelopeth all things. The evi-
dence of the shower is the bounty thereof, which reneweth
and investeth the world with the mantle of life.40
Elsewhere Baháulláh uses the same symbol to portray the
corrupt souls of people who are devoured by voracious
18Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
19beasts, a metaphor for religious leaders who rob their fol-
lowers in the name of God:
…voracious beasts have gathered and preyed upon the
carrion of the souls of men.41
The preceding verse from Isaiah declares that the slain of
the Lord shall be many. Prophecies of this kind are as a rule
symbolic. They point to spiritual death, but Isaiahs prophecy
may also have a literal meaning. The history of the Baháí
Faith shows that thousands of those who persecuted the Baháís
faced death and disaster on a scale far beyond what chance
would allow. Consider this one example among others: all the
750 Muslim soldiers who participated in the martyrdom of
the Báb were killed, some of them by a wall that crashed on
them while resting, the others because of mutiny against the
government. All the kings and rulers who totally ignored
Baháulláhs call to them faced death or defeat and humilia-
tion. Siyyid Muhammad, perhaps the closest person to Azal,
faced a similar fate: he too was killed.
Who killed him and why? Because of his superb cunning,
Siyyid Muhammad enjoyed enormous success in his schemes
against Baháulláh and devoted followers of the new Revela-
tion. His schemes were especially effective against those
followers who walked from Persia to Palestine to get a
glimpse of their Lord. His favorite hobby was to report these
pilgrims to authorities, who would arrest them and send them
back to Persia. The pilgrims returned without attaining their
most cherished and precious purpose. Siyyid Muhammads
numerous crimes, especially his persistent and extreme cruelty
to these pilgrims, pushed some devoted Baháís to the edge;
they could not take it any longer. These few zealous believers
ignored Baháulláhs admonition that Baháís must avoid all
acts of violence, that they should not take revenge, and that
it is better to be killed than to kill. Secretly they plotted and
murdered Siyyid Muhammad.
We should note that only society has the authority to punish.
No human being has the right to take the law into his own
20152 King of Kings
21hands. Baháulláh condemned and deplored violent acts of
revenge. Statements such as the following are abundant in
Baháí Scriptures:
Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow;
lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to
you or a stranger, be he friend or foe. Pray ye for all; ask
ye that all be blessed, all be forgiven. Beware, beware,
lest any of you seek vengeance, even against one who is
thirsting for your blood. Beware, beware, lest ye offend
the feelings of another, even though he be an evil-doer,
and he wish you ill. Look ye not upon the creatures, turn
ye to their Creator. See ye not the never-yielding people,
see but the Lord of Hosts. Gaze ye not down upon the
dust, gaze upward at the shining sun, which hath caused
every patch of darksome earth to glow with light.42
Abdul-Bahá
We must condemn every evil act, yet we must refuse to judge
people. Consider this extreme example: how many of us would
approve of Hitler being murdered before he had risen to
power? Ours is not to judge, but to witness, in this excep-
tional case, the literal fulfillment of an unusual prophecy.
As evil as this violent act of revenge appears to us, it is
prudent for us to assume that it was part of the Divine
Drama. God knew this would happen, and He simply pre-
dicted it. But He did not choose the actors. The power to act
is given to us by God, but we always choose our roles.
Do you refuse to speak to me? Pilate said. Dont you
realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?
Jesus answered, You would have no power over me if it
were not given to you from above. John 19:10-11 NIV
The Son of Man will go just as it is written [prophesied]
about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of
Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.
Christ (Mark 14:21 NIV)
22Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
23God is Merciful, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful. He can al-
ways forgive those who have committed evil and compensate
anyone who has been wronged. He can certainly lessen the
sufferings of Siyyid Muhammad in the life to come because
he lost his life at the hands of a few believers who knew they
were violating a fundamental law of God. Imagine that he had
lived for many more decades and committed more atrocities.
His burden of sin would be much heavier. From an eternal
perspective, death for him was definitely preferable to life.
The backbone of all religions is this: God is the perfect judge
and ultimately perfect justice will be done to every human
being. Whatever comes from God is to our advantage, even
if His verdict is death! Without this conviction, faith has no
meaning. If God took Siyyid Muhammad, this was in his best
interest.
The following prophecy may also refer to the two demonic
figures:
The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons [follow-
ers] of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the
wicked one [Azal]. The enemy [Siyyid Muhammad] who
sowed them is the devil Matthew 13:38-39 NKJ
Baháulláh in one of His Epistles refers to Siyyid Muhammad
as Satan,43 which is the equivalent of the devil.
What will happen to the weeds and those who grow them?
The Son of Man will send out his angels [ambassadors of
love and harmony], and they will weed out of his king-
dom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They
will throw them into the fiery furnace [of remoteness from
God], where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:41-42 NIV
The weeding out happened not only spiritually but literally
as well, because those who entered the new garden with
evil intentions were cast out of the new Revelation. In the
24154 King of Kings
25Baháí Faith such people are called covenant breakers. They
make a commitment to protect the garden, but after entering
it, they begin to destroy it from within. The prophecy declares
that in this Revelation the weeds will be cast out. The prophecy
ends with this verse:
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew 13:43
The following prophecy points to the fall of Satan. It may
refer either to Azal or Siyyid Muhammad. They both fell
from heaven:
I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luke 10:18 NIV
The next prophecy refers to a figure called the wicked who
is slayed by Baháulláh. It may refer to either of the two
demonic figures:
A shoot [Baháulláh] will come up from the stump of
Jesse…He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:1, 4 NIV
Christian scholar Dr. Jack Van Impe states that among those
who are damned for all eternity [are] covenant breakers.
He then adds: The Antichrist is the supreme example of this
type of person. 44 In the Baháí Writings, Azal is called the
arch Covenant Breaker of Baháulláhs Revelation.
This prophecy also predicts the destruction of the leader of
the wicked:
In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you
threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the
land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.
Habakkuk 3:12-13 NIV
26Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
27Christian scholar Robert Van Kampen confirms the relevance
of the preceding prophecy to the coming of Christ and the
Antichrist.45
The following verses portray a contrast between the Lord and
His positive power, and the one who has broken the covenant
and has no regard for man, a symbol of Gods Messengers
and Redeemers. It also refers to the mourning of Israel and
its shame for harboring this covenant breaker on its land:
O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be
their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of
trouble The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He
has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. Wisdom
and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the
strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure
The highways lie waste, the traveling man ceases. He has
broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he regards
no man. The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is
shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, and
Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Isaiah 33:2-9 NKJ
Another translation of verse 8:
…the enemy hath broken the covenant…he regardeth not
man [the Promised One]. Isaiah 33:8 ARV
The following verse states that the Antichrist is a person who
denies Jesus Christ (the Son) and God (the Father):
Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the
Christ. Such a man is the antichristhe denies the Father
and the Son. I John 2:22 NIV
In the preceding statement we can see a second meaning. As
stated earlier, the Scriptures refer to Baháulláh as the Father,
and to the Báb as the Son. Thus the statement can also mean
that the Antichrist is the person who denies the Father
[Baháulláh] and the Son [the Báb]. Both Azal and Siyyid
Muhammad qualify for the title. By denying Baháulláh, they
also denied the Báb.
28156 King of Kings
29Jesus used the expression the evil one to refer to anyone
dominated by the negative forces of his heart and temptations
of others. His words may also contain a prophetic message:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…deliver us
from the evil one. Matthew 6:9 NIV
The Báb and Baháulláh often use the expression the Evil
One to refer to anyone who appears in the guise of sincerity
but tempts people into the trap of degradation and denial:
Watch over yourselves, for the Evil One is lying in wait,
ready to entrap you…The Evil One is he that hindereth the
rise and obstructeth the spiritual progress of the children
of men.46 Baháulláh
The essence of abasement is to pass out from under the
shadow of the Merciful and seek the shelter of the Evil
One.47 Baháulláh
The following passages from Muhammad and the Báb may
refer to Azal who made people disbelieve in the One who
had come as the Lord, and to believe in himself as an equal
with God:
Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides
God, as equal (with God). Qurán 2:165 Y
O peoples of the earth! Bear ye allegiance unto this re-
splendent light wherewith God hath graciously invested
Me through the power of infallible Truth, and walk not in
the footsteps of the Evil One, inasmuch as he prompteth
you to disbelieve in God, your Lord…48 The Báb
Here Baháulláh seems to refer to two beings, the Idol and
the Evil One:
Empower us, then, O my God, to forsake ourselves and
cleave steadfastly to Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy
Self, the Most Exalted, the Most High. Supply us also
with that which is best for us, and write us down with
such of Thy servants as have repudiated the Idol (Mírzá
30Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
31Yahyá) [Azal], and firmly believed in Thee, and been so
established on the throne of certitude that the whisperings
of the Evil One have been powerless to hinder them from
turning their faces towards Thy name, the All-Merciful.49
As we noted previously, the Scriptures call the man of sin
the Enemy (NEB). Here both Muhammad and the Báb call
the Evil One an enemy:
O ye servants of the Merciful One! Enter ye, one and all,
through this Gate [the Báb] and follow not the steps of
the Evil One, for he prompteth you to walk in the ways
of impiety and wickedness; he is, in truth, your declared
enemy.50 The Báb
And do not follow the footsteps of the Evil One, for he
is to you an avowed enemy. Qurán 2:168 Y
The Psalms refer to two figures the enemy and the avenger.
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the
earth, who have set Your glory [Glory of God] above the
heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
[pure-hearted and humble people] You have ordained
strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence
the enemy and the avenger. Psalms 8:1-2 NKJ
In His Wisdom, God uses little people to silence the proud
and the pompous. This is how God manifests His power to
His enemies. This is how Jesus and His humble disciples
gained victory over their powerful opponents.
32The Humans and
the Jinns
It seems everything exists in pairs. The Qurán classifies
people into two groups: humans and jinns. What seems
to separate the two groups more than anything else is the
quality of their faithfirmness and openness versus vacillation
and secrecy. In this context, humans tend toward openness
33158 King of Kings
34and firmness; jinns tend toward secrecy and vacillation.
Each group contains a wide range of people. Some of the
jinns keep moving from denial to faith and from faith to
denial. Others are sheer pretenders and hypocrites (Qurán
46:29; 34:41). Those called humans can also be deceptive,
but they work from without. As enemies, they do not wear
the garb of a friend. Jinns may confess their faith in Gods
covenant without having any intention of honoring it. Covenant
breaking is often their way of life.
The word jinn offers a perfect description of Azal (called
the arch covenant breaker of the Bábs Revelation) and his
followers, who wavered constantly and pretended to be faith-
ful supporters of the Báb, while acting as His enemies.
Several verses in the Qurán seem to refer to Azal, Siyyid
Muhammad, and their followers. Consider the following
passages as parts of a jigsaw puzzle:
And they regard the jinn [Azal and Siyyid Muhammad]E
to be partners with God, though He created them
Qurán 6:100 Y
The word jinn, used in the preceding verse and many
others, has puzzled Muslim commentators for centuries. The
most common and accepted feature of jinn is his ability to
hide himself. Literally the word means to be covered or
hidden. 51 (Genie has the same root.)
As we noted, the most distinct characteristic of Azal and his
followers was secrecy. They developed and practiced this
skill to perfection. They were superb actors of deception in the
divine drama. The verse refers both to a claim to equality with
God and to secrecythe dreams and thoughts that dominated
Azals life.
Consider also this verse:
35E
Azal and Siyyid Muhammad were two beings, yet acted as if they
were one.
36Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
37Relate to them the story of the man to whom We sent Our
signs. But he passed them by. So Satan followed him up,
and he went astray. Qurán 7:175 Y
Who was the man who received the signs of God, who wit-
nessed the Glory of God in Baháulláh? Who was the man
who rejected those signs? Who was the man with a follower
titled Satan? And who was the man who went astray mostly
after the Satan followed him? Azal and Siyyid Muhammad
fulfilled all four conditions.
The Qurán continues:
If it had been Our Will, We should have elevated him
with Our signs. But he inclined to the earth, and followed
his own vain desires Many are the jinns [Azal and his
followers] and men [other deniers of truth] that We have
made for hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand
not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they
hear not. They are like cattlenay more misguided, for
they are heedless (of warning). Qurán 7:175-176, 179 Y
Consider also this verse:
Behold! We said to the angels, Bow down to Adam [the
Spirit of God in Baháulláh and all great Messengers].
They bowed down except Iblís [the fallen angel]. He was
one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord.
Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather
than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the
exchange for the wrongdoers! Qurán 18:50 Y
Iblis is the title of the fallen angel who, like Lucifer, showed
pride before God:
Then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they
bowed down; not so Iblis. He refused to be of those who
bow down. Qurán 7:11 Y
As we just noted, the Qurán 18:50 clearly links the fallen
angel, Iblis, to the jinns. Azal was given a supreme station
38160 King of Kings
39by the Báb, that of an angel, but he refused to bow down
before his Lord, Baháulláh, the Glory of God.
The Qurán declares that the jinns are made of fire, but
the humans are made of clay (55:14-15). What meanings
lie behind those metaphors? Clay is a neutral and inactive
substance. Fire is an active force with the potential to destroy.
The quality of deceptionthe chief weapon used by jinns
combined with blind zeal, is as destructive as a raging fire.
Unchecked, it can destroy even the Faith of God, if that is
possible. All religious wars have been waged with that fire
deception and hypocrisy fueled by selfish desires.
In one of His Tablets, Baháulláh declares that it is better to
be an infidel or a drunkard than to be a deceiver. That is how
dangerous deception is. No wonder, Jesus warned us against
false prophets who are in essence wolves (outsiders), but
appear in the church as sheep (insiders). Every religion has
been destroyed not by outsiders, but by insiders, by believers
who claimed to be doing everything for the Lord. That is
how they gained peoples trust. And that is the strategy the
twin deceiversAzal and Siyyid Muhammadadopted and
applied.
The last Surah or Chapter of the Qurán consists only of six
verses. It seems to prophesy the dawning of the light and the
darkness that seeks to extinguish that light. As we noted, the
Qurán, like the Bible, refers repeatedly to the coming of
Baháulláh as the advent of the Lord or God. The last chap-
ter of the Qurán bestows three titles on Baháulláh. It calls
Him the Lord, the King, and the God of humankind. It
refers to Azal as the Whisperera word that carries the
connotation of secrecy:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Power-
ful. Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King
of mankind, and the God of mankind, from the mischief
of the Whisperer [Azal] who withdraws (after his whisper),
the one who whispers into the hearts of mankindamong
40Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
41jinns [Azals followers] and among men [Baháulláhs
followers]. Qurán 114:1-6 Y
1people feel a desire to investigate. But they find themselves
surrounded by friends, family members, or authority figures
who discourage them by making seemingly innocent state-
ments such as Are you not afraid of being deceived? What
is wrong with your own faith? Deceivers are everywhere!
How can you be sure? Ask your pastor, priest, or rabbi!
These people discourage others without any reason other than
simply assuming that their inherited illusions and interpreta-
tions are the truth. They confess Gods command Seek and
ye shall find, but violate it in deeds with a clear conscience!
This is sheer hypocrisy, among the gravest of sins, condemned
by Jesus in the harshest of words.
How can we protect our spiritual life from such tempters who
discourage independent investigation of truth? By following
the instructions of the apostle James:
Resist the devil [the tempter] and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 NKJ
Rejecting the Redeemer of the Age is the grievest of misdeeds
or sins we can commit. And among the most evil people are
those who discourage or prevent others from exercising their
freedom of choice to investigate the truth for themselves.
How does God view them?
It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with
a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one
of these little ones [humble and innocent believers] to sin.
Christ (Luke 17:2 NIV)
Failing to exercise the gift of spiritual freedom reduces a
2Creatorto a level lower than that of insects. It is our
freedom to choose good instead of evil that sets us above
animals. What does the snake in the story of Adam and
Eve symbolize? And what did it accomplish? The snake
symbolizes anyone who tempts others away from paradise.
The consequences of having an opportunity to enter the
heaven of faith, but failing because of timidity or temptation
are enormous. Titles such as the Evil One the Satan or
the Devil are not inappropriate or too strong to describe
deceivers and tempters. Imagine having a chance to enter the
highest paradise, but failing because of seemingly innocent
illusions such as The tried and true is better. or Why are
you unfaithful to your faith? Whats wrong with being a
Jew? Whats wrong with being a Buddhist? Whats wrong
with being an atheist? These simple, innocent statements
only appear simple and innocent. If heeded blindly, they
will lead to everlasting consequences. No wonder Jesus
said that we are accountable for every careless word we
speak (Matthew 12:36).
The symbolic story of creation demonstrates how easy it is
to disobey God and how a little disobedience can cause
inconceivable consequences. As a seemingly innocent risk by
a driver can lead to his death, so does a little risk in the
spiritual journey. This is among the most fundamental and
yet least recognized principles in human life. It is known
as the law of the weakest critical link discussed in detail
by this author in One God, Many Faiths; One Garden, Many
Flowers.
When we deal with evil people or evil forces, it is good to
look at the big picture. Here are a few pieces of the puzzle:
Like a piece of a painting, life is enriched by contrasts.
Joy always feels better after pain. The spring always shines
more brightly after a harsh winter.
God never makes us engage in misbehavior, but He does
3 Sometimes God prevents evil persons from carrying out
their plans. We cannot always know where He draws the
line. If God had left us entirely to ourselves, we would
have already destroyed the planet and its people.
It seems that as the intensity of good increases, so does the
intensity of evil. The intense expression of heavenly light in
this age led to a similar expression from the forces of dark-
ness. This supreme contrast gains special significance when
it appears from two half-brothersBaháulláh and Azal
who grew up and lived together for more than half a century.
Imagine the honor of being Baháulláhs brother and the
shame of trying to kill Him! Two brothers having so much
in common, yet differing so much! Human language has no
word to describe their differences. In the Baháí Revelation,
the same contrast appears a second time between Abdul-
Bahá and His half-brother, who like Azal, was also honored
with a special title. How can such a contrast appear between
two brothers raised by the supreme Manifestation of God?
For someone who lacks a conscience, the ends always justify
the means. No lie was too big or out of Azals reach, if it
would feed his starving ego. Only some of what he said or
did is recorded. From the pieces of the puzzle we have, we
can see a clear match between the prophecies and the lives
of the two demonic figures: the Man of Sin (Azal), and Satan
(Siyyid Muhammad).
Most people prefer to have a single source of focus, to con-
centrate on only one person who stands for a title. That way
most or all the blame for the prevailing evils can be placed
on him. The idea of Satan follows this principle and fulfills
this need. As stated, we have had hundreds, or even thousands,
who qualify for the title of the Antichrist. But if we had to
narrow down our choice, Azal and Siyyid Muhammad would
definitely emerge as the champions. Since they were intimately
united in their thoughts and acts against Baháulláh, any title
that applies to one of them, must necessarily apply to the other.
4more than qualify for the appearance of the Antichrist that
the Christians have expected and are still expecting.
Azal was a balloon filled with honors and set afloat by the
winds of divine destiny. While floating, he was caught by a
violent storm of pride and vanity. When the storm raised him
beyond his limits, he lost the outer protection, and continued
to climb and expand until it burst open and he fell from glory
to infamy and abasement. We should despise his evil acts,
but not the actor himself. May we pray that he too, like all
Gods children, will receive abundant blessings from his
Master, and will bask in the glory and forgiveness of his
Lord, Baháulláh, who suffered so much.
We have never gloried in any thing, nor did We seek
preference over any soul. To everyone We have been a most
kindly companion, a most forbearing and affectionate
friend. In the company of the poor We have sought their
fellowship, and amidst the exalted and learned We have
been submissive and resigned. I swear by God, the one true
God! grievous as have been the woes and sufferings which
the hand of the enemy and the people of the Book inflicted
upon Us, yet all these fade into utter nothingness when
compared with that which hath befallen Us at the hand of
1the Christian Faith, not without. Consider how easy it has
been to divide the one house of God, Christianity, into thou-
sands of denominations and sects. According to Christianity
Today, every year over 200 new denominations are formed!
Now look outside Christianity. Try to find even one indepen-
dent religion, totally outside Christianity, that is founded on
the second advent of Christ. I do not know even a single case,
except the Baháí Faith. A few who dared to make any claims
started as pastors and preachers, gained peoples confidence,
2Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
3and then made some vague references to their station. One
of them was arrested and imprisoned for tax evasion!
God has always allowed denominations to be formed, but He
has promised to prevent false independent religions to be
established in His name:
Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted
will be uprooted. Christ (Matt. 15:13 NKJ)
Besides Gods promise, we can find other reasons. The dif-
ference between the true Christ and a false one is like the
difference between day and night, provided people use Gods
standards, such as His Word, and not their own, such as
miracles. If all false prophets, who will ever live, put all their
deceptive geniuses together, they will be unable to come up
even with a small fraction of the evidence the Báb and
Baháulláh present.
False prophets are those who cast fear in the hearts of
people to prevent them from looking anywhere except at their
denomination and the beliefs that they hold to be true. These
leaders violate the most emphatic commands of Jesus to all
Christians, that they should search for Him with courage and
confidence, and trust in His guidance and protection.
Fear is among the most powerful emotions. Every Christian
remembers this warning:
many false prophets will appear and deceive many
people. Matthew 24:11 NIV
For false Christs and false prophets will appear
Matthew 24:24 NIV
As we previously noted, the forces of light and darkness have
always been at work. Being deceived is not unique or new.
But what was Jesus purpose in giving us this warning? Was
it to cast fear, avoidance, and complacency in our hearts or
to teach us prudence and caution? Most people have turned
Jesus warning into a phobia and built with it an iron-cast
cubicle of self-protection, avoidance, escape, and unawareness.
4166 King of Kings
5Consider this example. In this age of high crime rates, we are
all concerned about our safety. Imagine if this concern reached
a point where we always stayed in our houses and refused
to open them to anyone who knocked, including our loved
ones. This is exactly the way many Christians are respond-
ing to Baháulláhs invitation to open their hearts and souls
just to get a glimpse of His glory. They completely ignore
the supreme honor of responding:
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 NKJ
be like men who wait for their master, when he will
return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks
they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those
servants whom the master, when he comes, will find
watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird him-
self and have them sit down to eat, and will come and
serve them. Luke 12:36-37 NKJ
Since fear and complacency dominate so many lives, let us
examine Jesus warning to be cautious in its context:
At that time if anyone says to you, Look, here is the
Christ! or, There he is! do not believe it. For false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great
signs and miracles to deceive even the electif that were
possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
Matthew 24:23-25 NIV
In these verses Jesus clearly links false prophets with
miracles. In fact, His warning is primarily aimed against
miracles. He shows that a miracle can be a deceptive device.
After referring to miracles as the first sign of deception, Jesus
mentions the second sign: secrecy.
So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the desert,
do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do
not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east
6Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
7is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the
Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass [such as Azal],
there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24:26-28 NIV
We noted how clearly Azal fulfilled both of the preceding
signs and many more. In one of His Writings, quoted earlier,
Baháulláh first speaks of the brightness of His Light and
then refers to Azal as the hidden star, who accused Baháulláh
of the very offenses he himself was guilty of, including
escape and concealment from danger. Later in the same
discourse, Jesus makes this statement:
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what
day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner
of the house had known at what time of night the thief
was coming, he would have kept watch and would not
have let his house be broken into. So you also must be
ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when
you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44 NIV
Jesus raises the flag of caution by giving the two signs of
falsehoodmiracles and secrecy. He then instills courage in
the sincere seekers of truth by asking them to search, and
to be spiritually ready because the hour comes and goes
undetected, just as a thief comes and goes undetected. Then
Jesus asks this question, and offers this encouragement:
Who then is the faithful and wise servant [leader], whom
the master has put in charge of the servants in his house-
hold to give them their food at the proper time? It will
be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so
when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in
charge of all his possessions. Matthew 24:45-47 NIV
In the preceding verses, Jesus encourages the wise and faith-
ful religious leaders to prepare Christians for His advent, to
give them the spiritual food or the true knowledge they need
to recognize their Master. After instilling courage to investi-
gate, Jesus gives this warning to those leaders who fail to
offer the food at the proper time to their followers:
8168 King of Kings
9But suppose that servant [leader] is wicked and says to
himself, My master is staying away a long time, and he
then begins to beat [spiritually abuse] his fellow servants
[followers] and to eat and drink with [spiritually] drunkards.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he
does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.
He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Matthew 24:48-51 NIV
The warning is addressed to unwise and unfaithful religious
leaders, who do not do their job of preparing Christians for
their Lord. It is directed at negligent, worldly, and self-
righteous leaders who keep telling people that the time for
the coming of the Master is in the future. The implication
of Jesus prophecy is clear: The advent takes place, but it
remains undetected by many religious leaders. They lack the
wisdom to search and recognize the time and are not faithful
in obeying their Masters instructions for finding Him. They
keep telling people that the Master has not yet come, they
keep pointing to the future, saying He is staying away a long
time. These leaders by their very teachingsdiscouraging
search, instilling unjustified fear of false prophets, and always
predicting that Christ will come in the futurethemselves
become false prophets! Statements like the following are
found in virtually every book of biblical prophecy:
His [Jesus] return will be very, very soon!53
Todays books of prophecy are filled with countless specula-
tions about the future coming of Christ. Prophesying in the
name of the Lord is a popular topic and subject of debate
and disagreement, especially among evangelical Christians.
Unlike evangelicals, the Catholic church avoids the issue.
Catholics seldom talk about the second Advent. Countless
books of prophecy are being published and promoted. The
authors and promoters of these predictions think they are
doing a great service to their Lord. Notice how clearly, in
the following statement, Jesus predicted their illusion that
10Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
11they should be rewarded for making predictions in His name.
Notice the phrase in Your name. It indicates that these
false prophets are Christians:
Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied IN YOUR NAME ? And then
I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness! Matthew 7:21-23 NKJ
What is the will of the Father? It is to acknowledge our
shortcomings and ignorance before the Glory of God and to
listen to His interpretation:
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23 NIV
judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the
Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in
darkness I Corinthians 4:5 NIV
As we just noted, the negligent leaders, who are supposed to
give people spiritual food or true knowledge about the return
of the Master, remain preoccupied with their physical and
selfish needs, such as eating and drinking, and associating
with people like themselves, who are drunkards or unaware
of what has happened or is happening. They are so deeply
asleep, so unaware, so self-righteous that they even prevent
other Christians from paying attention to or watching for the
news of the advent of their Master, Baháulláh. What is their
punishment? Where will they go? According to Jesus, their
final destiny is hell, the place of weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Why are they sent to hell? Because of their hypocrisy.
They pay lip service to the Master, but do not accomplish
their task of preparing Christians for Him. They fail to en-
courage them to watch, to inquire and to investigate. That is
exactly what is happening today. Instead of helping Christians
to search, many leaders keep telling them just the opposite:
to wait and wish, and to keep their churches and their hearts
12170 King of Kings
13closed to all outsiders. They themselves refuse to investigate.
Notice how clearly Jesus predicted the response of the people
of our age, especially the religious leaders, to Baháulláhs
invitation.
We have no right to judge people. We must love and respect
every human being. If we break this rule, we fall from grace.
Instead of judging we should learn about Gods judgment.
The purpose of knowing is to protect our soul from denying
our Master. If there were no need to know the severe conse-
quences of our denial, why would God give us that knowledge?
There is a clear difference between knowing and judging.
You should have noticed that God is extremely angry at those
who occupy positions of authority, but use those positions for
selfish ends. Jesus words are aimed at those leaders who
neglect their duty to stay awake and watchful, who encour-
age complacency rather than courage and a need for an urgent
search for the Master. Their action may not appear too serious
to us, but how does God view it? He calls those who engage
in this violation wicked and hypocritical. Notice the harsh
metaphors Jesus uses to describe their punishment:
They will be cut to pieces.
They will be assigned a place with the hypocrites.
They will be sent to hell, a place of sadness and weeping
for lost opportunities, and of anger (grinding of teeth) at
their negligence to accomplish their divine duty.
Why does God condemn them so harshly? Because they are
hypocrites: they say they believe but they dont. How would
you feel if your fiancé or your husband told you that he
loved you, but in his heart he loved someone else?
Gods anger grows intense, especially against the privileged,
who have ample opportunities, but fail to act. He calls them
hypocrites and wicked. Why? The backbone of all virtues is
honesty and sincerity. Such people lack those prized virtues.
14Chapter 5: Satan, the Devil
15Daniel uses the same two wordswise and wickedto describe
either the leaders who accomplish their task or those who fail
to do so.
Many shall purify themselves and be refined, making
themselves shining white, but the wicked shall continue in
wickedness and none of them shall understand; only the
wise leaders shall understand [the meaning of prophecies].
Daniel 12:10 NEB
Daniel offered the preceding statement along with a time
prophecy that specifies the year of the advent of Baháulláh.
(See I Shall Come Again.)
In the parable of the talents, Jesus used one additional word
to describe the servant, or the leader, who fails to invest his
talents to search for the Master. He called him not only
wicked but lazy as well:
The fearful leader says: So I was afraid and went out and
hid your talent in the ground (Matthew 25:25 NIV)
The Master responds: You wicked, lazy servant! (Mat-
thew 25:26 NIV)
The question is this: Why are so many Christians afraid of
being deceived, but not afraid of denying the very Lord and
Master they love and worship?
True ChristiansChrist loversneed not fear Baháulláh, the
Glory of God, whose magnificent rainbow has circled the
world. They do not need to run away from the glorious
lightning that flashed forth from the East to the West. They
need fear only the Evil One and the Idol who stood high
for a moment, and dared to challenge the awesome powers
of heaven, but the lightning struck them dead and turned
them into an abandoned corpse and carcass in the dark of
disbelief and remoteness from God and His glorious angels.
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as
far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
16172 King of Kings
17Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Matthew 24:27-28 NRSV
In the Holy Books it is recorded that when the Sun of
Truth dawns, it will appear in the East, and its light will
be reflected in the West. Already its dawning has taken
place in the East, and its signs are appearing in the West.
Its illumination shall spread rapidly and widely in the
Occident. The Sun of Truth has risen in Persia, and its
effulgence is now manifest here in America. This is the
greatest proof of its appearance in the horizon of the
world, as recorded in the heavenly Books. Praise be to
God! That which is prophesied in the Holy Books has
been fulfilled.54 Abdul-Bahá
Say: In the East the light of His Revelation hath broken;
in the West have appeared the signs of His dominion.
Ponder this in your hearts, O people, and be not of those
who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions of Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised. Let the Breeze of
God awaken you. Verily, it hath wafted over the world.
Well is it with him that hath discovered the fragrance
thereof and been accounted among the well-assured.55
Baháulláh
Jesus shone as brightly as the sun. He was the light of the world
(John 8:12), but He went unnoticed by most people. The
historians of His time barely mentioned Him. To the majority
of humankind, that light still is invisible. Some scholars have
even come to the conclusion that Jesus did not exist because
of scarcity of evidence about Him! They assume that He was
simply a fictitious figure created by early Christians!
Human beings have always cast their vote for a victorious
Redeemer. It is hard to imagine a divine Being who is gentle
and defenseless. It is hard to follow and believe in someone
who accepts ridicule, humiliation, suffering, and death at the
hand of his enemies as if they are gifts from heaven. The
next few chapters shatter this entrenched illusion.
18I Was Sick and in
Prison and You Did Not
1throughout the Bible. It is hard to believe so many have
failed to notice them. Often our attitudes and expectations,
rather than reality, determine our perceptions. Just as the color
of the glasses we wear affects every object we see, so do our
attitudes and expectations, especially if they are ingrained
upon us from childhood by parents and culture.
One reason prophecies of rejection have remained unnoticed
is a deep desire in all human beings for rewards without
delay and effort. It is far more pleasant to see the City of
God descend upon us with heavenly splendor than to arise
and build that City brick by brick.
2174 King of Kings
3But God always has work for us to do. He has a master plan
that unfolds progressively, little by little day by day. Many
Jewish and Christian scholars acknowledge Gods progressive
plan, but make an exception for the Advent of their own
Redeemer. Consider this statement from a Jewish scholar,
rabbi Avrohom Chaim, who believes that:
It is both unreasonable and unwise to pass judgment on a
work of art before it has been completed; even a master-
piece may look like a grotesque mass of strokes and
colors, prior to its completion. Human history is Gods
masterpiece. Physical creation was completed at the end
of the sixth day, but the spiritual development of mankind
will continue When the panorama of human history is
completed, the seventh millennium will be ushered in as
the day of everlasting Sabbath. At that time all Adams
descendants will look back and admire Gods completed
masterpiece.1
To appreciate Gods progressive plan, consider this analogy.
To build a house, we must go through three stages:
Prepare the ground. (The birth of the global village.)
Obtain the materialsthe bricks, the blocks, the doors, the
windows, and the lights. (The experiences, insights, and
appreciations the human race has gained), and then
Begin to build.
Human history has passed through the first two stages. We
are now at the beginning of the third stage. Only now are we
given the blueprint for building Gods Kingdom on earth as
it is in heaven. Even after the House of God is built, the
work will not end. It will need constant care and repair.
Recently two famous theologians representing Judaism and
Christianity conducted a debate on national television about
certain Christian beliefs. Among the ideas they exchanged
was the validity of Jesus claim as the Messiah of the Jews.
4Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
5The Jewish theologian said that according to the prophecies
of the Hebrew Scriptures the Messiah must bring peace. About
2,000 years have passed since the advent of Jesus and still
peace has not prevailed upon our planet. The Christian theo-
logian responded that according to the same prophecies the
Messiah must also suffer; He cannot do both. (Bringing peace
requires a great deal of power. A person with power does not
fall prey to peoples cruelty.) The Christian theologian con-
cluded that the fulfillment of one part of the prophecy meant
we can be certain that the other part too will be fulfilled.
Then the Jewish theologian wondered how long the Jews
should wait for the second part. (They have already suffered;
what they now need is glory.)
Most Christians of today cherish a dream similar to that
cherished by the people of Israel since ancient times. They
cannot believe that their Redeemer comes to suffer again. (He
has already suffered enough; now He needs glory.) Like the
people of Israel, they can quote prophecies to prove their point.
Christian authors often indicate that the Jews somehow missed
the prophecies about a suffering Messiah. Examples like this
are found abundantly in their works:
It is most unlikely that the Jews would have rejected an
earthly kingdom. What they rejected, was a Messiah who
disappointed them by not carrying out their expectations.
Had they studied the prophecies, they would have known
that He would come as a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief, (Isaiah 53:3) who was wounded for our
transgressions, and was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).2
Christian authors and scholars look objectively at the proph-
ecies of the first Advent, but when they see the prophecies
of the second Advent, their vision and standards suddenly
change. Consider this statement from Dr. Ray Stedman:
6176 King of Kings
7The last time it [the world] saw him [Jesus] was on a
bloody cross, writhing in the agonies of death, apparently
a shameful failure with no glory, no power and no success.
But when it sees him again it will see him coming trium-
phant in power and glory.3
This chapter is written to awaken Christians to many prophe-
cies that point to suffering, to tests and trialsthe ones they
somehow miss! It presents prophecies that seldom if ever
receive due attention: those that do not conform to the pre-
vailing expectations.
How numerous the verses which have been revealed
concerning the grievous tests ye shall experience on the
Day of Judgment, yet it appeareth that ye have never
perused them; and how vast the number of revealed
traditions regarding the trials which will overtake you on
the Day of Our Return, and yet ye seem never to have set
your eyes upon them.4 The Báb
Why do the great Messengers and Redeemers suffer? Why
does God offer the deepest and bitterest cup of pain to the
Ones He loves the most? Why does He allow some cruel
people to oppose and persecute those who respond to His call?
Pain and suffering add diversity and contrast to lifes
portrait. Without them the world would lose much of its
luster and drama. Compare the birth of each religion to the
birth of a baby. The joy and honor of raising children comes
partly from the pains, the hazards, and the challenges of
raising them!
Every achievement requires a sacrifice. The celestial Seed
must sacrifice itself to bear heavenly fruits. Creating a
new civilization requires the supreme sacrifice.
Gods Messengers and Redeemers always serve as models
of perfection for humankind. They excel us in every imagin-
able way. Their resignation to their sufferings shows their
patience, trust, endurance, and detachment from worldly
pleasures and desires.
8Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
9 Their willingness to subject themselves to every conceiv-
able loss and humiliation serves as the first and most
obvious evidence of their dedication to the divine. Such
supreme self-sacrifice, detachment, and devotion rule out
any ulterior motives, any selfish desires in advancing their
claim.
Consider these critical questions from Baháulláh:
Do ye imagine that He seeketh His own interests, when
He hath, at all times, been threatened by the swords of the
enemies; or that He seeketh the vanities of the world, after
He hath been imprisoned in the most desolate of cities?
Be fair in your judgment and follow not the footsteps of
the unjust.5
The purpose of suffering becomes evident in the light of all
other proofs and signs of distinction. We can appreciate the
wisdom of pain and adversity only when we discern the light
behind the clouds, when we recognize its higher purpose. Its
wonders become manifest when we see the wisest and the
most spiritually advanced individuals the world has ever known
endure it and even accept it as a glorious gift from God.
1How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to
shame? Psalms 4:2 NKJ
Prophecies portray a negative picture of the people of our
time. This picture gives us our first clue about the way the
expected Redeemer will be treated.
But when the son of man comes, will he find faith on
earth? Luke 18:8 NEB
If people are not faithful to the one they know and worship,
how can they be faithful to the new Redeemer, to the One
they do not know? What can be expected from those who
have lost their faith, spiritual strength, and sincerity? No
2178 King of Kings
3prophecy could better describe the state of religion in our
time than this:
For the time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
II Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
Consider also these well-known prophecies:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,
without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers
of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.
And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those
who creep into households and make captives of gullible
women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
always learning and never able to come to the knowledge
of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses,
so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds,
disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no
further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also
was. II Timothy 3:1-9 NKJ
Do not such prophecies apply to followers of all religions,
including Christians? Can the followers of any religion claim
an exemption? Christian author Van Impe states that all the
19 signs prophesied in the preceding prophecy have come to
pass.6
Several prophecies indicate that the people of our time will
be drunk. Drunkenness can be both physical and spiritual. It
can come from alcohol, drugs, and being surrounded by
worldly comforts and wonders. It can also come from a false
sense of security, self-satisfaction, and self-righteousness.
4Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
5Such states of the mind create unawareness. They prevent
people from recognizing spiritual blessings surrounding them.
Today a state of spiritual drunkenness pervades all the peoples
of the earth:
We see men drunken in this Day, the Day in which men
and angels have been gathered together.7 Baháulláh
Thou hast made thy people drunk with a bitter draught,
thou hast given us wine that makes us stagger.E
Psalms 60:3 NEB
Our age is not unique. Whenever God sends a Redeemer,
He faces people who are at the lowest point of spiritual
development.
For whatsoever the people of a former Dispensation have
manifested, the same hath been shown by the people of
this latter generation.8 Baháulláh
Micah portrays a rather detailed description of human life on
our planet in this terrible day of the Lord:
Woe is me! For I am as when the summer fruits have been
gathered, as when the vintage grapes have been gleaned,
and there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig for which
my appetite craves. The godly man has perished from the
earth, and there is none upright among men; they all lie
in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net. Both
their hands are put forth and are upon what is evil to do
it diligently; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters his evil desire. Thus they twist
between them (the course of justice). The best of them is
like a brier; the most upright or the straightest is as a
thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even of Gods
judgment and your punishment is come; now shall be their
perplexity and confusion. Trust not in a neighbor, put not
6E
God does not give us wine. He simply gives us the ability to create
it and drink it. Without this power, we would have no freedom.
7180 King of Kings
8confidence in a friend; keep the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your bosom. For the son dishonors
the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a mans enemies
are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look
to the Lord and (confident) in Him I will keep watch; I
will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my
salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7:1-7 AB
Baháulláh confirms Micahs and Pauls description of the
people of our time. He portrays the same picture of our
generation as did Jesus of His:
What an unbelieving and perverse generation!
Christ (Matt. 17:17)
All this generation could offer Us were wounds from its
darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the
cup of its venom. On our neck We still bear the scar of
chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the evidences of
an unyielding cruelty.9 Baháulláh
Reflect upon the villainous behavior of this generation,
and witness their astounding ingratitude. Observe how they
have closed their eyes to all this glory 10 Baháulláh
Had it been in my power, I would have, under no circum-
stances, consented to distinguish myself amongst men, for
the Name I bear utterly disdaineth to associate itself with
this generation whose tongues are sullied and whose hearts
are false.11 Baháulláh
Denial of the Baháí Faith is even more puzzling: The evidence
pointing to its divine origin is far stronger than the evidence
pointing to any other Faith. Apparently the abundance of
proofs and prophecies seem to make no difference to the
sleeping masses. A person whose eyes are covered cannot tell
the difference between the sunlight and candlelight.
Though the clearest proofs attest the truth of His Cause
yet, behold how this generation hath rejected His au-
thority, and rebelled against Him!12 Baháulláh
9Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
10Say: The True One is come evident as the shining sun; O
pity that He should have come into the city of the blind!
Baháulláh
Their eyes are drunken; they are indeed a blind people.14
Baháulláh
What about the leaders of our time?
In that day…O My people, your leaders cause you to err,
and confuse (destroy and swallow up) the course of your
paths. Isaiah 3:7, 12 AB
If people are worldly, if the leaders cause them to err, con-
fuse them, and destroy their paths, then what can we expect
except apathy, ignorance, and denial? The role of the leaders
has never changed:
Is there a single one of our rulers who has believed in
him…? John 7:48 NEB
Baháulláh confirms:
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 Content with a transitory dominion, they have
deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty. Thus,
their eyes beheld not the light of the countenance of the
Well-Beloved For this reason, in all sacred books men-
tion hath been made of the divines of every age.15
And again:
the reins of every community have fallen into the grasp
of foolish leaders, who lead after their own whims and
desire. On their tongue the mention of God hath become
an empty name; in their midst His holy Word a dead letter.
11182 King of Kings
12Such is the sway of their desires, that the lamp of con-
science and reason hath been quenched in their hearts
The denials and protestations of these leaders of religion
have, in the main, been due to their lack of knowledge
and understanding.17
The main problem is this: no one is willing to admit that the
prophecies that portray a negative picture of the people of
our time may point to himself. Everyone believes that they
point to someone else! Christians believe that they refer to
peoples of other faiths and no faith and to non-churchgoers,
especially those who are not born again. Non-churchgoers
believe that they refer to the established church, which is
dominated by division, worldliness, inertia, apathy, hypocrisy,
a sense of pride, and self-righteousness. It may be hard to
find even one person on our planet who would admit the
relevance of these prophecies to himself!
Here is one more prophecy that describes the spiritual state
of the people of our time. It specifically asks the Christian
churches to hear its message:
I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive,
but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and
is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete
in the sight of my God…But if you do not wake up, I will
come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I
will come to you. He who has an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:1-6 NIV
It may be helpful to see the reasons why people always deny
their Redeemers:
n Conformity to social groups or peers.
n Unreasonable expectations from the Redeemer due to literal-
13mindedness.
n Fear of rejection by relatives and friends.
14n Fear of being deceived.
15Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
16n Conditioning of behavior and attitudes; the emotional aspect
of religion grows too deep to allow thought processes to
work.
n Lack of faith.
17n Lack of self-confidence in ones ability to find the truth.
18n Unawareness, lack of knowledge of the new Revelation,
19or having preconceived notions about it.
n The example and influence of religious leaders.
20n Attachment to ones beliefs.
21n Worldliness, selfishness.
22n Apathy, negligence.
23n Impurity of the heart, lack of sincerity.
24n Shortcoming of the new believers; their inability to gain
25knowledge and teach their Faith with tact and wisdom.
Christian author Dr. David Reagan gives four reasons for lack
of interest in the Second Coming: unbelief, ignorance, fear,
and carnality.18
For 2,000 years Christians have been converting people from
all religions to their faith. Now they see themselves in the
same position they have put others. The roles are reversed.
They feel this way, We have always converted others. Now
you have come to convert us! No way! We should sympathize
with anyone in this position.
The way Christians can become impartial and objective is to
put themselves in the position of those they have converted.
They should ask, What attitude would I expect from a Jew
or a Buddhist to become Christian? They should adopt that
attitude.
If people believe someone has come to deceive them, they
take a defensive position. This is the position many Christians
are assuming, yet they expect an opposite position from others!
Reasons for denial are extremely complex, interrelated, and
circular. For instance, people deny because of ignorance. But
26184 King of Kings
27what causes ignorance? Perhaps laziness. What causes lazi-
ness? Perhaps lack of purpose. What causes lack of purpose?
Perhaps ignorance.
Can we find deeper reasons for ignorance? Yes, ignorance can
be purposeful. Why? Perhaps because of fear. Why? Because
the believer fears the loss of his spiritual possessions. Why?
Because he lacks faith. Why? Because he keeps himself inten-
tionally ignorant.
The same rule applies to the strategies people use to remain
ignorant. Instead of investigating, a person may depend on
religious leaders. Why? Perhaps he does not want to take
the time to investigate. Why? Because he is worldly. Why?
Because he lacks faith. Why? Because he is ignorant. Why?
Because he depends on religious leaders.
Why do religious leaders deny? Because they are security
conscious. Why? Because they lack faith What strategies do
religious leaders use to deny? By far the most common
strategy is literal-mindedness. Why? Because they have been
influenced by their theology professors. Why are the theology
professors literal minded? Because of tradition. Why? Because
it is easy to stay on the track. Why? Because they keep them-
selves ignorant Why? Because they lack faith
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on
earth? (Luke 18:8 NEB). At that time many will turn
away from the faith (Matthew 24:10 NIV). the love of
most [for truth] will grow cold (Matthew 24:12 NIV).
Matthew 24:10 is also translated as, And then shall many
stumble. Christian scholar William Biederwolf interprets the
verse by saying that many Christians will stumble because
of new phases of truth presented [to them], or because of the
delayed coming of the Lord. 19 This indeed has happened.
Many Christians reject Baháulláh because He reveals new
phases of truth that require them to leave their traditions and
comfort zones. Many have also stumbled because they think
the Lord has delayed His return.
28Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
29Isaiah predicts that the Lord, the Redeemer of our time, shall
rebuke many people:
He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many
people Isaiah 2:4 NKJ
Why would the Lord rebuke many people if they welcomed
Him? Both the Báb and Baháulláh have fulfilled Isaiahs
prophecy. Consider these words of rebuke from The Hidden
Words of Baháulláh. Notice the divine authority with which
He speaks:
O MOVING FORM OF DUST !
I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no
trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree
of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou
art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen
for thee, yet boundless shame thou hast chosen for thy-
self. While there is yet time, return, and lose not thy
chance.20
O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD
ON THE COUCH OF HEEDLESSNESS!
Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh
ended, yet not a single breath of purity hath reached Our
court of holiness from you. Though immersed in the
ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one
true faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and
of My foe ye have made a friend. Notwithstanding, ye
walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied, heedless
that My earth is weary of you and everything within it
shunneth you. Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would,
in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would
count death itself better than this life.21
O SON OF DESIRE!
The learned and the wise have for long years striven and
failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have
spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the
beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least effort
30186 King of Kings
31didst attain thy goal, and without search hast obtained the
object of thy quest. Yet, notwithstanding, thou didst remain
so wrapt in the veil of self, that thine eyes beheld not the
beauty of the Beloved, nor did thy hand touch the hem
of His robe. Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder.22
O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH,
YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE!
Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when in-
wardly ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye
are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which,
though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers
of My city astray into the paths of perdition.23
O YE SEEMING FAIR YET INWARDLY FOUL !
Ye are like clear but bitter water, which to outward seem-
ing is crystal pure but of which, when tested by the divine
Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the sun beam falls
alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ they in reflec-
tion even as doth the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable
is the difference!24
O LOVERS OF WORLDLY DESIRE!
Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the
Beloved One, and have set your hearts on satanic fancies.
Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it
truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it
a flower. Not a pure breath have ye breathed, nor hath the
breeze of detachment been wafted from the meadows of
your hearts. Ye have cast to the winds the loving counsels
of the Beloved and have effaced them utterly from the
tablet of your hearts, and even as the beasts of the field,
ye move and have your being within the pastures of desire
and passion.25
Consider also these words of rebuke from the Báb:
What hath befallen you, O people of the Book? Will ye
not fear the One true God, He Who is your Lord, the
Ancient of Days?…Hath your learning deluded you by
32Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
33reason of your impiety? Take ye heed then, for verily
your God, the Lord of Eternal Truth, is with you and in
very truth is watchful over you
In the Book of Revelation Jesus uttered perhaps the harshest
example of rebuke found in all sacred Scriptures. It is directed
at apathetic and lukewarm Christians who say they believe in
Him, yet ignore the news of His return:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I
wish you were either one or the other! So, because you
are lukewarmneither hot nor coldI am about to spit
you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich; I have ac-
quired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not
realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the
fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear,
so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to
put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I
rebuke… Christ (Rev. 3:15-19)
Notice Gods infinite love for the people He calls wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked. He rebukes them in such
harsh words, and then He says He loves them!
1Micah predicts that the Lord will rebuke strong or power-
ful nations:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the
mountain of the Lords house shall be established on the
top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and
say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His
ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion
the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and
rebuke strong nations afar off. Micah 4:1-3 NKJ
2188 King of Kings
3Baháulláh sent Epistles to the most powerful nations of
His time. (See The Proclamation of Baháulláh.) He both
counseled them and rebuked them for their injustices. To
Napoleon III He wrote:
For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown
into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine
hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought.
Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred. Com-
motions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou
arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the
Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) in this, the Straight Path. Hath
thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It shall not
endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest
fast by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after
thee, whilst thou art of the heedless. It behoveth thee
when thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory
to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out: Here
am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on
earth!
Exultest thou over the treasures thou dost possess, know-
ing they shall perish? Rejoicest thou in that thou rulest a
span of earth, when the whole world, in the estimation of
the people of Bahá, is worth as much as the black in the
eye of a dead ant? Abandon it unto such as have set their
affections upon it, and turn thou unto Him Who is the
Desire of the world. Whither are gone the proud and their
palaces? Gaze thou into their tombs, that thou mayest
profit by this example, inasmuch as We made it a lesson
unto every beholder. Were the breezes of Revelation to
seize thee, thou wouldst flee the world, and turn unto the
Kingdom, and wouldst expend all thou possessest, that
thou mayest draw nigh unto this sublime Vision.28
Chapter 110 of Psalms is devoted entirely to the Lords victory
over His enemies:
The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I
make your enemies a footstool for your feet. you will
4Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
5rule in the midst of your enemies The Lord is at your
right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the [spiritually]
dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
Psalms 110:1-6 NIV
All the kings who were addressed by Baháulláh were literally
crushed. They were either assassinated, deposed, or humiliated
in defeat. They were indeed made a footstool of divine
power. Even their names are forgotten; they are only symbols
of history. But Baháulláhs Kingdom continues to extend
until it will encompass the whole world. Both Baháulláh and
the country that was later born (Israel) have been ruling in
the midst of their enemies.
Baháulláh showed His supreme glory and power even
during His exile and imprisonment. Abdul-Bahá testifies to
Baháulláhs literal sovereignty, especially during the final
years of His earthly life:
He [Baháulláh] proclaimed His Cause in prison and
hoisted His standard under the menace of the sword. He
was a person against whom two reigning monarchs arose
in enmity and were bent upon His extermination. These
two sovereigns gave orders that the Blessed Beauty
[Baháulláh] should be imprisoned in one room.29
Although the policy of Sultán Abdul-Hamíd was harsher
than ever; although he constantly insisted on his Captives
strict confinementstill, the Blessed Beauty now lived, as
everyone knows, with all power and glory occasionally
His tent would be pitched on the heights of Mount Carmel.
Friends from everywhere presented themselves and gained
an audience. The people and the government authorities
witnessed it all, yet no one so much as breathed a word.
And this is one of Baháulláhs greatest miracles: The
prison changed into a palace, the jail itself became a
Garden of Eden. Such a thing has not occurred in history
before; no former age has seen its like: that a man con-
fined to a prison should move about with authority and
6190 King of Kings
7might; that one in chains should carry the fame of the
Cause of God to the high heavens, should win splendid
victories in both East and West, and should, by His al-
mighty pen, subdue the world.30
Consider the following example and try to see if anything like
it has ever happened. Once an order came from the capital
that two individuals must visit Baháulláh. One of them was
the governor of the city who was Turkish, the other was a
European who also had a significant position in the govern-
ment. The governor asked for permission to visit Baháulláh.
Permission was granted. When the two visitors attained the
presence of Baháulláh, they felt so transformed and humbled
they sat on their knees near the door on the ground. Out of
courtesy, they refused to use the water-pipe that was brought
for them. Their humility astonished all those who were
present.31 Has anything like this ever happened? This is a
total reversal of roles: the Prisoner acts as the ruler, and the
ruler as the prisoner!
8Which Comes First,
Suffering or Glory?
The Book of Revelation shows the order in which suffering
and glory come:
And I saw a Lamb [the Báb] standing as though it had
been slain…worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to
receive the power and glory… Revelation 5:6,
The prophecy shows clearly that power and glory come as
a result of being slain. The statement made by Jesus in His
Olivet discourse about His return clearly shows which comes
first, suffering or glory. Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew are
parts of the same discourse. The two chapters contain the
most significant instructions Jesus gave about His return,
delivered just before His crucifixion. That discourse may in-
deed be considered His Will and Testament to His faithful
9Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
10followers. As we noted in Volume I, at the beginning of His
discourse Jesus twice referred to His suffering and rejection
by the people:
But first he must suffer and be rejected… (Luke 17:25 NIV)E
Just as it was in the days of Noah… (Luke 17:26 NIV)
At the end of His discourse, Jesus predicted again suffering
and pain for His new followers and Himself :
Then he [the Son of Man] will say to those on his left,
Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry
and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did
not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe
me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after
me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick
or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell
you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least
of these [lowliest], you did not do for me. Then they will
go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life. Matthew 25:41-46 NIV
Baháulláh spent the whole span of His ministry, about
years, a prisoner and an exile, a stranger in different countries
and cities. Only a few of those who wanted to help could
reach Him. But many of His suffering servants, who had not
lost their freedom, were reachable, and could be helped. Those
who extended a helping hand to these suffering servants, in-
deed extended it to the Master Himself.
We should note that the above prophecy refers not only to
the sufferings of the Redeemers followers as stated earlier,
but also to the sufferings of the Redeemer Himself. It seems
11E
We should note that Jesus used both the pronouns I and He to
refer to Himself.
12192 King of Kings
13quite unlikely that the Redeemers followers would suffer,
while He would remain in safety and comfort.
All the pains and anguish included in the above prophecy
(being hungry, thirsty, a stranger, without clothes, sick, and
homeless) came true in Baháulláhs life. For instance, when
He was imprisoned in a horrible dungeon known as Síyáh-
Chál (the Black Pit), He endured every physical pain and
discomfort imaginable. Imagine a person accustomed to com-
fort experiencing all these 12 tortures, pains, and annoyances
simultaneously:
Total darkness. The underground prison had neither lights
nor windows.
A terrible stench. About 150 of the worst criminals were
thrown in that dark, deep, damp dungeon with no air cir-
culation or sanitary facilities.
Mud. The ground was covered with several inches of filthy
mud and mire.
Heavy chain on His neck. To hold the weight of the chain,
Baháulláh had to press His hand against the ground
covered with slime up to His wrist.
Stocks on His feet.
Fleas. The closed environment was infested with fleas.
Hunger and thirst. For the first three days and nights
Baháulláh received neither food nor water.
Severe pain and lack of mobility. Baháulláhs feet were
put in stocks and on His neck was placed a chain so heavy
that He could not hold Himself straight. From the weight
of the harsh metal, His neck became inflamed and injured.
Little if any sleep. Under those terrible conditions Baháulláh
could hardly sleep.
Lack of clothes. His outer garments were stripped away
on His way to prison.
14Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
15 Illness. Because of the unsanitary conditions, and poison
put in His food, Baháulláh suffered grave illness.
Homelessness. All His property was confiscated.
Baháulláh also suffered mental anguish:
n Being surrounded by the worst criminals who had little if
any hope of survival or freedom.
n Anxiety about His family. Baháulláhs family, which in-
cluded young children (Abdul-Bahá was then nine years
old), were at the mercy of fanatical mobs filled with rage
and incited to vengeance.
n Deep grief and concern for His devoted and distinguished
followers who were being hunted, tortured, and killed by
enraged mobs outside the prison.
n Concern about the future. From that prison Baháulláh
was banished to strange lands. He became a stranger (an
exile) as the prophecy states. Never again did He see His
homeland.
n Loneliness. During this time none of His friends were
able to get access to Him.32 Only His nine-year-old Son
was once allowed to see Him.
n Deep sorrow for people who were rejecting Gods choicest
blessings and bounties.
Isaiah utters a similar prophecy:
I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that
no one gave support; so my own arms worked salvation
for me… Isaiah 63:5 NIV
Baháulláhs arrest and imprisonment in that dungeon gives
us only a glimpse of the sufferings that He endured for almost
forty years. How could anyone survive the scourge of such
unrelenting pressures? How much pain can a human being
endure? Why would God allow the One He loved the most
to go through so much suffering? Did not Jesus go through
similar ordeals?
16194 King of Kings
17It is helpful to see in their context all the events that occurred
in the Síyáh-Chál (the Black Pit) as portrayed by Shoghi
Effendis masterly pen. This account includes the testimony
of Baháulláh Himself, and the recollections of Abdul-Bahá
as well:
From Níyávarán [a resort town near Tihrán] He was con-
ducted on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare
feet, exposed to the fierce rays of the midsummer sun,
to the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán. On the way He several times
was stripped of His outer garments, was overwhelmed with
ridicule, and pelted with stones. As to the subterranean
dungeon into which He was thrown, and which originally
had served as a reservoir of water for one of the public
baths of the capital, let His own words, recorded in His
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, bear testimony to the
ordeal which He endured in that pestilential hole.33
This is how Baháulláh describes the Black Pit:
We were consigned for four months to a place foul beyond
comparison…Upon Our arrival We were first conducted
along a pitch-black corridor, from whence We descended
three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement
assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick dark-
ness, and Our fellow-prisoners numbered nearly one hundred
and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though
crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which
We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue
describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had
neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth
what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy
place!34
Shoghi Effendi continues:
Baháulláhs feet were placed in stocks, and around His
neck were fastened…chains of such galling weight that
their mark remained imprinted upon His body all the days
of His life. A heavy chain, Abdul-Bahá Himself has
18Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
19testified, was placed about His neck by which He was
chained to five other Bábís [followers of the Báb]; these
fetters were locked together by strong, very heavy, bolts
and screws. His clothes were torn to pieces, also His head-
dress. In this terrible condition He was kept for four
months.
For three days and three nights, He was denied all manner
of food and drink. Sleep was impossible to Him. The place
was chill and damp, filthy, fever-stricken, infested with
vermin, and filled with a noisome stench. Animated by a
relentless hatred His enemies went even so far as to inter-
cept and poison His food, in the hope of obtaining the favor
of the mother of their sovereign, His most implacable
foean attempt which, though it impaired His health for
years to come, failed to achieve its purpose. Abdul-
Bahá, Dr. J. E. Esslemont records in his book, tells how,
one day, He was allowed to enter the prison yard to see
His beloved Father, where He came out for His daily
exercise. Baháulláh was terribly altered, so ill He could
hardly walk, His hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled
and swollen from the pressure of a heavy steel collar, His
body bent by the weight of His chains.
It was under such conditions that the Most Great Spirit
(represented as Dove in the Gospel) descended upon the
agonized soul of Baháulláh. This is how He describes the
workings of that Most Great Spirit on His own Spirit:
One night, in a dream, these exalted words were heard on
every side: Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by
Thyself and by Thy pen. Grieve Thou not for that which
hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art
in safety. Ere-long will God raise up the treasures of the
earthmen who will aid Thee through Thyself and through
Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such
as have recognized Him.
The Black Pit of Tihrán was an underground public bath
reservoir, which was used as a prison. Its ground was covered
20196 King of Kings
21with mud and slime several inches deep. The information
comes from an Austrian physician who served the shah and
had the honor of visiting Baháulláh briefly in the Black Pit.
He states that he found Baháulláhs hand in mud up to His
wrist. (Baháulláh had to put His hand on the ground to
support the heavy weight of the chain on His neck.) Several
prophecies in Psalms speak of pain and suffering. Some verses,
especially in Psalms 31, 38, and 40 seem to relate to Baháulláhs
life. For instance:
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard
my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud
and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm
place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth.
Psalms 40:1-3 NIV
Who is the I in the preceding prophecy? It is David who
speaks, but it seems he speaks not only for himself but also
for another Being. Davids prayers and meditations may be
a blending of his own destiny and feelings as well as those
of the Redeemer of our time. Thus David sometimes speaks
for himself and sometimes on behalf of Jehovah to Jehovah!
After Baháulláh was released from the Black Pit, He had
many wounds and needed constant care. But who would have
the courage to provide a shelter for Him and serve Him?
People were terrified to associate with Him for fear of retri-
bution. Most of His many friends and relatives abandoned
Him. Two young ladies of exceptional courageclose relatives
of Baháulláhtook upon themselves the honor of taking
Him to their home and providing the care He needed. The
abandonment of Baháulláh after His release from the Black
Pit may also have been predicted:
My friends and companions avoid me because of my
wounds; my neighbors stay far away. Those who seek my
life set their traps [poisoning], those who would harm me
talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception. I am like
a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot
open his mouth; I have become like a man who does not
22Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
23hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. I wait for you, O
Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God.
Psalms 38:11-15 NIV
Many conspired to assassinate Baháulláh. The following
prophecy seems to describe not only the abandonment of
Baháulláh by His friends but also the plotting of His enemies
to take His life:
Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my
neighbors; I am a dread to my friendsthose who see
me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them
as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every
side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
Psalms 31:11-13 NIV
Consider Baháulláhs favorite title as a clue to His suffer-
ings. In all of His works translated into English, there is only
one case where Baháulláh is used. Even in that case, the
original title He used is Bahá. We may wonder why. What
was Jesus favorite title for Himself? Son of Man. Why did
He not choose Son of God? Perhaps to express His humility.
Baháulláhs preference for Bahá instead of Baháulláh may
indicate the same purpose.
What is Baháulláhs favorite title for Himself? The Wronged
One. A Concordance to the Writings of Baháulláh lists
uses of the Wronged One, but only 29 uses of Bahá.
Baháulláhs favorite title, the Wronged One, gives us a
clue to His burden of suffering.
24Plots Against Baháulláh
The previous prophecies from Psalms refer to plots against
Baháulláh:
all day long they plot deception. Psalms 38:12 NIV
they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
Psalms 31:13 NIV
25198 King of Kings
26Another prophecy from Psalms also refers to rejection and
hostility of nations and rulers and their plots against the twin
Redeemers of our time:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The
kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather
together against the Lord [Baháulláh] and against his
Anointed One [the Báb]. Let us break their chains [of
authority], they say, and throw off their fetters. The
One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in
his wrath, saying, I have installed my King on Zion, my
holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord…
Psalms 2:1-7 NIV
Scofield, a Christian scholar, states that the preceding verses
give the order of the establishment of Gods kingdom upon
the earth. He states that the first stage is the rage of the
Gentiles [non-Jews], the vain imaginings of the people (the
Jews), and the antagonism of the rulers against Jehovahs
Anointed.
J. R. Church, a Christian author, says this about the quoted
verses from Psalms (2:1-7): This is no ordinary mockery but
rather it is the last laugh. Nowhere does Scripture record God
laughing except on this day.
In the history of the Baháí Faith there are many records of
plots to destroy Baháulláh and His influence. Here are a few
examples, including three plots to take His life:
Whilst at Constantinople, the fame of the wisdom of
Baháulláh had gone abroad, and many noble-minded
people were anxious to come into His presence. Such a
profound impression was made on these visitors, that they
spoke of the majesty of His person, and the holiness of
His teaching to their friends. This made His enemies again
uneasy, and they plotted on some pretext or another to get
Him removed from Constantinople. This plan was success-
ful, and our Beloved One was sent to Adrianople.39
27Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
28On one occasion, when Baháulláhs half brother Azal read
one of His Epistles about His station, he became intensely
angry and jealous fire consumed him.
He invited Baháulláh to a feast and shared a dish with
Him, one half of which he had mixed with poison. For
twenty-one days Baháulláh was seriously ill from the
effects of this attempt.
Incensed at this failure, Azal tried another plan. He asked
the bath attendant (for a bribe) to assassinate Baháulláh
whilst he should be taking His bath, suggesting how easily
it could be done without fear of detection.40
Next to Azals plots, perhaps the most vicious and persistent
conspiracy against Baháulláh ensued from a collaboration
between a powerful religious leader and a political figure
while He lived in Baghdad. It is hard to imagine a person
more evil than this religious leader. He was so troublesome
that even the Shah of Iran could not stand him in his coun-
try. He banished him to Baghdad. Baháulláh describes this
religious leader (Shaykh Abdul-Husayn) as the scoundrel,
the schemer, the wicked one, who drew the sword of his
self against the face of God, in whose soul Satan hath
whispered, and from whose impiety Satan flies, the de-
praved one, from whom originated and to whom will return
all infidelity, cruelty and crime. 41 Here is just one example
of several plots planned by these two collaborators:
The consul-general had even gone so far as to hire a
ruffian, a Turk, named Ridá, for the sum of one hundred
tumáns, and to provide him with a horse and with two
pistols, and to order him to seek out and kill Baháulláh,
promising him that his own protection would be fully
assured. Ridá, learning one day that his would-be-victim
was attending the public bath, eluded the vigilance of the
Bábís in attendance, entered the bath with a pistol con-
cealed in his cloak, and confronted Baháulláh in the inner
chamber, only to discover that he lacked the courage to
29200 King of Kings
30accomplish his task. He himself, years later, related that
on another occasion he was lying in wait for Baháulláh,
pistol in hand, when, on Baháulláhs approach, he was so
overcome with fear that the pistol dropped from his hand;
whereupon Baháulláh bade Áqáy-i-Kalím [Baháulláhs
brother], who accompanied Him, to hand it back to him,
and show him the way to his home.42
they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
Psalms 31:13 NIV
1Baháulláh met horrible conditions again when He entered
the Akká prison (known as the Most Great Prison). This time
He had His family and quite a few of His devoted disciples
with Him. Baháulláhs sufferings in this prison even sur-
passed those He had endured in the Black Pit. These are
some of the conditions13 of themBaháulláh and His loved
ones encountered when they entered that infamous prison in
a desolate city He called the metropolis of the owl:
Overcrowded prison cells.
Unbearable filth.
Excessive heat.
Terrible stench.
Lack of sanitary facilities.
Uncontrolled fleas.
Widespread disease (malaria, Dysentery, etc.) among
Baháulláhs family and disciples.
Hunger and thirst.
Foul water and terrible food.
Sudden death of three of Baháulláhs disciples.
No friends to help them.
Insult and enmity from the residents of the city. (Baháulláh
called the people of Akká the generation of vipers.)
2Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
3 Strict control and harsh treatment of the new prisoners by
the soldiers.
Abdul-Bahá, who as a child had been accustomed to comfort
and luxury, was placed in an extremely damp room previously
used as a slaughter house. Yet He was one of the two, among
70 inmates, who remained healthy and able to serve others.
Baháulláh often describes the horrible conditions that He
and His disciples had to endure in that prison:
None knoweth what befell Us, except God, the Almighty,
the All-Knowing
He [Baháulláh] hath, during the greater part of His life
been sore-tried in the clutches of His enemies. His suffer-
ings have now reached their culmination in this afflictive
Prison, into which His oppressors have so unjustly thrown
Him.45
In 1911, in an interview with a newspaper editor in Great
Britain, Abdul-Bahá gave a brief description of the Akká
prison:
We had no communication whatever with the outside world.
Each loaf of bread was cut open by the guard to see that
it contained no message There were one-hundred and
fifty of us together in two rooms and no one was allowed
to leave the place with the exception of four persons, who
went to the bazaar or market each morning, under guard.
The first summer was dreadful. Akká is a fever-ridden
town. It was said that a bird attempting to fly over it
would drop dead. The food was poor and insufficient, the
water was drawn from a fever-infected well During the
intense heat, malaria, typhoid and dysentery attacked the
prisoners, so that all, men, women, and children, were sick
at one time. There were no doctors, no medicines, no
proper food, and no treatment of any kind.46
Abdul-Bahás sister offers a few other details:
4202 King of Kings
5All the townspeople had assembled to see the arrival of
the prisoners. Having been told that we were infidels,
criminals, and sowers of sedition, the attitude of the crowd
was threatening. Their yelling of curse and execrations
filled us with fresh misery. We were terrified of the un-
known! We knew not what the fate of our party, the friends
and ourselves would be.
We were taken to the old fortress of Akká, where we were
crowded together. There was no air; a small quantity of
very bad coarse bread was provided; we were unable to get
fresh water to drink; our sufferings were not diminished.
Then an epidemic of typhoid broke out. Nearly all became
ill.47
Baháulláh described Akká as:
the most desolate of the cities of the world, the most
unsightly of them in appearance, the most detestable in
climate, and the foulest in water. It is as though it were
the metropolis of the owl
Baháulláh repeatedly refers to His sufferings:
By the righteousness of God! Every morning I arose from
My bed, I discovered the hosts of countless afflictions
massed behind My door; and every night when I lay down,
lo! My heart was torn with agony at what it had suffered
from the fiendish cruelty of its foes. With every piece of
bread the Ancient Beauty breaketh is coupled the assault
of a fresh affliction, and with every drop He drinketh is
mixed the bitterness of the most woeful of trials. He is
preceded in every step He taketh by an army of unforeseen
calamities, while in His rear follow legions of agonizing
sorrows.49
Once Baháulláh had this dream:
I saw the Prophets and the Messengers gather and seat
themselves around Me, moaning, weeping and loudly lament-
ing. Amazed, I inquired of them the reason, whereupon
6Chapter 6: I Was Sick and in Prison and You Did Not Look After Me
7their lamentation and weeping waxed greater, and they
said unto me: We weep for Thee, O Most Great Mystery,
O Tabernacle of Immortality! They wept with such a
weeping that I too wept with them. Thereupon the Concourse
on high addressed Me saying: …Erelong shalt Thou behold
with Thine own eyes what no Prophet hath beheld….Be
patient, be patient…. They continued addressing Me the
whole night until the approach of dawn.50
The Book of Revelation confirms the message of the Olivet
discourse and other prophecies. It predicts suffering for the
Báb, Baháulláh, and their followers:
He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name
is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:13 NKJ
Then one of the elders asked me, These are in white
robeswho are they, and where did they come from? I
answered, Sir, you know. And he said, These are they
who have come out of great tribulation [the great massacre
of the Bábs followers]; they have washed their robes and
made them white [purified their souls] in the blood of the
Lamb [martyrdom of the Báb]. Revelation 13:14 NIV
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast [they
will side with the negative forces]all whose names have
not been recorded in the book of life belonging to the
Lamb [the Báb]. Revelation 13:8 NIV
They will make war against the Lamb [the Báb], but the
Lamb will overcome them… Revelation 17:13 NIV
Did the world recognize Christ in His first advent?
He was in the world the world did not recognize him.
John 1:10 NIV
Jesus once again predicts rejection:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor to be with you foreverthe Spirit of truth.
8204 King of Kings
9The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him
nor knows him. John 14:16-17 NIV
The preceding prophecy confirms the prophecies of the thief
in the night. In the preceding prophecy Jesus explains that
the reason people will reject the other Counselor, or the Spirit
of truth that God will send, is that the world will not see
him. The thief comes and leaves unnoticed and unknown.
The Spirit is a title bestowed in both Islamic and Baháí
Scriptures on Jesus. Jesus refers to Baháulláh as the Spirit
of truth. Baháulláh also calls Himself the Spirit and the
Spirit of truth. The following is not recognized as a prophecy
but may indeed contain a prophetic message:
Do not quench [extinguish] the Spirit [Baháulláh]. Do not
despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.
I Thessalonians 5:19-21 NKJ
It seems there is no end to prophecies of denial. We will
continue this topic in the next chapter and beyond.
1to the rejection and persecution that He and His humble ser-
vants must again endure:
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a
wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants [the new
believers] to those who had been invited to the banquet
to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he
sent some more servants and said, Tell those who have
been invited that I have prepared my dinner…Come to the
wedding banquet. But they paid no attention and went
2fanatic non-believers] seized his servants, mistreated them
and killed them. Christ (Matt. 22:2-6 NIV)
The king may refer to all great Messengers and Redeemers;
they all manifest the glory of Gods Kingdom, and servants
may point to their followers, for they were, in all ages,
mistreated. But in the preceding passage, the king may
specifically symbolize Baháulláh, and the son may symbol-
ize the Báb. (See Lord of Lords for other biblical references
to the Báb as the Son.)
As the prophecy foretells, Baháulláh asked His servants or
supporters to invite people to the Bábs glorious Banquet.
Most of them paid no attention and continued with their own
lives. But the rest, namely the Muslim fanatics, seized the
Bábs servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
During its brief but turbulent history, the Baháí Faith has
encountered countless obstacles. Thousands of its followers
have been put to death with the utmost cruelty. At this writ-
ing, 300,000 Baháís are being persecuted by fanatic Muslims
in Iran. Some are in prison; others have faced firing squads,
or been hanged. They have chosen the dignity of death over
the humiliation of denying their Master. These are among the
noblest people on our planet. Their exemplary courage will
inspire countless generations to come. They indeed are the
salt of the world:
How blest you are, when you suffer…for my sake. Accept
it with gladness and exultation, for you have a rich reward
in heaven; in the same way they persecuted the prophets
before you. You are salt of the world.
Christ (Matt. 5:11-13 NEB)
The parable of the wedding contains a few more messages:
After people refused to come to the banquet, the king was
enraged. He sent His heavenly army to punish the
wrongdoers who murdered His followers. The history of
the Baháí Faith shows that those who persecuted the
3Time and again they met with disaster. (See The Dawn-
Breakers for examples.)
After the King was disappointed with those who were
self-righteous, who considered themselves the saved and
faithful, He asked His new followers to invite other people,
anyone they could find, both good and bad, including non-
Christians; and many accepted the invitation and came.
But among those who came some were found unfit for the
banquet. They had come for the wrong reason; they called
themselves by the new name but were not living up to the
required standards. In the Baháí Faith, there have been a
few calling themselves Baháís who have tried to confuse
the believers, and divide the banquet. They are called
covenant breakers.
The king ordered the disloyal believers out of His banquet,
where they would experience only grief and anger.
The final message of the parable is this:
For many are invited, but few are chosen.
1most marvelous and touching parable (Matt. 25:1-13) about
the fate of ten young girls who wished to go to the wedding
banquet of the kingdom. They fell asleep while waiting for
the bridegroom. Then at midnight a cry was heard: Here is
the bridegroom! Come out to meet him (Matt. 25:6). Those
who were wise had taken along not only their lamps but
some extra oil as well. The foolish ones had taken only their
lamps. Since the bridegroom was late, their oil was burnt up,
and they had no light to guide them. And when they asked
the others for some oil, they were told there was not enough
2The foolish ones went to buy some oil. While they were
away, the bridegroom arrived. Those who had lighted lamps
entered the banquet. But by the time the others returned, the
door to the wedding banquet was shut. They asked if anyone
would open the door for them. They were told they were
strangers, and did not belong to the banquet.
This parable clearly implies that anyone who wishes to enter
the heavenly banquet must carry his own lighted lamp, with-
out depending on others. It is one of Gods laws that every
soul must carry its own spiritual burden:
…no soul laden bears the load of another. Qurán 17:15 A
Wisdom, the inner light or insight (oil), is not something the
wise girls could simply give to the foolish. Each individual
must acquire it through his or her own endeavors. Those
who fail to do so, cause their own deprivation of the divine
bounties.
Every man shall bear his own burden… Galatians 6:5
It is Gods wish that everyone enter the banquet of His king-
dom. It is also His wish to honor the freedom of choice He
has granted to every human being. All great religions declare
that without spiritual guidance and preparation, a soul cannot
enter the heavenly banquet. Why should the Master reward
equally those who honor His words by dressing for the
banquet, and those who disregard His words?
Those active in the Advent Awakening of the mid-19th
century believed that they played a part in the fulfillment of
this parable, and that their voice was indeed the midnight cry
raised in the darkness of complacency, indifference, and
worldliness. Because of their cry people were buying and
reading the Bible more than ever before.1 Miller, the pioneer
preacher, declared:
It is to me almost a demonstration, that Gods hand is seen
3have been made to study the Scriptures by the preaching
of the time.2
In 1831 William Thorp wrote about the sleeping church:
The…slumber of the church; and the midnight cry that has
recently been raised, and that is now ringing in the ears
of an infidel world, and a sleeping church; all indicate that
the 1260 years have nearly, at least, run out their course.
And when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. Of that day and that hour knoweth no
man; but we may know with certainty, by these signs and
these prophecies, that it is fast approaching.3
The midnight cry is now heard: is not his coming, there-
fore, near, very near; even at the door? 4 …the midnight cry
is now heard, from a thousand voices; behold the bride-
groom cometh; he comes in clouds of flaming fire.5
The parable of the coming of Christthe Bridegroomat
midnight, the darkest hour, when many are asleep, clarifies
and supports the prophecies that point to the coming of the
Redeemer in a way a thief would come: quietly and in the
midst of darkness, on a day and at an hour people do not
expect. The Bábthe Bridegroomfulfilled the prophecies
not only symbolically, but literally as well; symbolically,
because the masses of people were spiritually asleep and
unconscious, without an inner light to guide them; literally,
because He declared His Mission in the dark hours of the
evening, and declared it not to a waiting crowd, but to one
seeker, a total stranger who had been led to His presence for
no apparent reason. The Bábs conversation with the stranger
continued through the evening, past midnight, and until the
4210 King of Kings
1Jesus also used the parable of the vineyard to refer to peoples
denial of the divine message in all ages. The parable starts
in the past and extends into the future. He used the follow-
ing passage to refer not only to the Jews who rejected Him
but to the followers of all religions who would reject Him
at His Second Coming:
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you [deniers] and given to the people who will
produce the fruit. Matthew 21:44 NIV
Again:
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes…he will
rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his
share of the crop at harvest time. Matthew 21:40-41 NIV
Sacred Scriptures have promised that the kingdom of God
will be established in this age. Therefore, the privilege of
building Gods kingdom is taken away from those who reject
Christ at His Second Coming. The harvest time also stands
for the end of the age, which is our time. Jesus quoted the
following passage from the Hebrew Scriptures to clarify His
point:
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Matthew 21:42 NIV
The rejected stone primarily symbolizes disadvantaged
people; those who are looked down upon by the established
segment of society. In all ages, the disadvantaged are the first
to recognize their Redeemer. Mary Magdalene, a peasant with
a bad reputation, and Peter, a very simple fisherman, recog-
nized their Lord, but the great theologians, the self-righteous
Pharisees, and the powerful leaders all rejected Him. It is
fascinating to note that that is how God prefers it. He says,
It is marvelous in our eyes. The Olivet Discourse pertains
2Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
3to the second Advent and is addressed to Christians. In that
discourse Jesus predicted:
And then many will be offended and repelled and begin
to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and
obey] and will stumble and fall away [brackets belong to
original]… Matthew 24:10 AB
4The hearts of some self-righteous Christians are so closed,
that after hearing the news of the Second Coming of Christ,
instead of welcoming the news and looking into it, they feel
offended and repelled, exactly as the prophecy has predicted.
In interpreting the previous prophecy, Christian scholar
Biederwolf states that many Christians stumble because of
new phases of truth presented, or because of the delayed
coming of the Lord.
Numerous prophecies (II Tim 3:1-8; 4:3-4) predict that at the
end of the age people will descend to the lowest level of
morality and spiritual development. What can we expect from
such people? Acceptance or rejection?
Jesus compared the events surrounding His Second Coming
with those that surrounded Noah. His prophecy is as clear,
as literal, and as definitive as any prophecy can be, yet it is
widely ignored. It does not fit the paradigm of a powerful
Redeemer who comes from heaven with angels and fire:
The coming of the Son of Man will repeat what happened
in Noahs time. Matthew 24:37 NAB
5If we judge with fairness, the preceding verse alone will give
us the insight to awaken from the never-ending illusions of
waiting and wishing that somehow the sky will disclose its
glorious Gift, that someday the clouds will deliver their celes-
tial Rider.
6212 King of Kings
7Isaiahs Prophecies
Earlier we reviewed some verses from Chapter 65 of Isaiahs
prophecy about the gift of the new name. But most of the
chapter points to the response of the people to the divine call.
It seems fitting to see some of those prophecies again.
Chapter 65 of Isaiah offers numerous clues about the peoples
response to Gods message. First it states that people ignore
the divine call:
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was
found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did
not call on my name, I said, Here am I, here am I. All
day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imagi-
nationsa people who continually provoke me to my
very face… Isaiah 65:1-3 NIV
Isaiahs prophecy is similar to the verse from the Olivet dis-
course where Jesus declared that people would ignore Him: I
was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat (Matt. 25:34-46).
As our Creator offers His hand, saying Here am I, we
should also extend our hand and say, Here am I:
It behoveth whosoever hath hearkened to the Call of
God, as voiced by Him Who is the Day Spring of Glory
[Baháulláh], to arise and cry out: Here am I, here am
I, O Lord of all Names; here am I, here am I, O Maker
of the heavens! I testify that, through Thy Revelation, the
things hidden in the Books of God have been revealed,
and that whatsoever hath been recorded by Thy Messengers
in the sacred Scriptures hath been fulfilled. 7 Baháulláh
Isaiah then describes those who ignore the divine call. He
says they are infected with pride and a sense of superiority.
To other people, who are outside their circle, they say:
Keep away; dont come near me, for I am too sacred for
you! Isaiah 65:5 NIV
8Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
9Isaiah then points to the glory of Sharon and Achor as a
place of rest for those who hear the divine call and seek their
Redeemer:
Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley
of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who
seek me. Isaiah 65:10 NIV
Isaiah refers again to those who ignore the divine call:
But as for you who forsake the Lord and forget my holy
mountain…I will destine you for the sword [a means of
separation], and you will all bend down for the slaughter
[spiritual death]; for I called but you did not answer, I
spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and
chose what displeases me. Isaiah 65:112 NIV
Then Isaiah declares that the rewards of the believers (re-
ferred to as My servants) is spiritual nourishment and joy,
and the punishment of disbelievers is anguish, thirst, hunger,
and death. At the end of the prophecy he declares that to the
new believers (His servants), He will give them a new name.
Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My ser-
vants will eat, but you will go hungry; my servants will
drink, but you will go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but
you will be put to shame. My servants will sing out of the
joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of
heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your
name to my chosen ones as a curse; the Sovereign Lord
will put you to death, but to his servants he will give
another name. Isaiah 65:13-15 NIV
Baháulláh calls His followers My servants quite frequently.
In one of His Epistles addressed to a banished and faithful
friend He refers to His followers as O My servants! nine
times. Consider these few passages from that Epistle. In these
verses, He invites all seekers and lovers of truth to His King-
dom with supreme kindness and authority:
10214 King of Kings
11O My servants! Were ye to discover the hidden, the shore-
less oceans of My incorruptible wealth, ye would, of a cer-
tainty, esteem as nothing the world, nay, the entire creation
O My servants! My holy, My divinely ordained Revela-
tion may be likened unto an ocean in whose depths are
concealed innumerable pearls of great price, of surpassing
luster. It is the duty of every seeker to bestir himself and
strive to attain the shores of this ocean, so that he may,
in proportion to the eagerness of his search and the efforts
he hath exerted, partake of such benefits as have been
pre-ordained in Gods irrevocable and hidden Tablets
O My servants! The one true God is My witness! This
most great, this fathomless and surging Ocean is near,
astonishingly near, unto you. Behold it is closer to you than
your life-vein! Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can, if
ye but wish it, reach and partake of this imperishable
favor, this God-given grace, this incorruptible gift, this
most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty
O My servants! Could ye apprehend with what wonders of
My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust your
souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment
to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of
your own selvesa knowledge which is the same as the
comprehension of Mine own Being. Ye would find your-
selves independent of all else but Me, and would perceive,
with your inner and outer eye, and as manifest as the
revelation of My effulgent Name.8
Isaiah finally gives the tidings of a new heavenly (spiritual)
and earthly (material) civilization:
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The
former things will not be remembered… Isaiah 65:17 NIV
Chapter 63 of Isaiah also confirms Baháulláhs sufferings
and Gods anger at the deniers:
Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his
garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor,
12Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
13striding forward in the greatness of his strength? It is I,
speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. Why are your
garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? I
have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one
was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them
down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and
I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance [justice]
was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.
I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled
that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salva-
tion for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled
the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground. Isaiah 63:1-6 NIV
Edom symbolizes the land of rebellion. In this age, Persia,
the birthplace of Baháulláh is that land. Bozrah was the
main city of Edom and the home of an Edomite king. In this
age, that city is Tihrán, the place of residence for Persian
kings at the time of Baháulláh. Edomites were constantly
in conflict and at war with the Israelites and their kings,
including Saul, David, and Solomon. According to Ungers
Bible Dictionary:
When Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem the Edomites
joined him, and took an active part in the plunder of the
city and slaughter of the Jews. Their cruelty at that time
seems to be especially referred to in the 137th Psalm. It
was on account of these acts of cruelty committed upon
the Jews in the day of their calamity that the Edomites
were so fearfully denounced by the later prophets (Isaiah.
34:5-8; 63:1-4; Jeremiah 49:17; Lam. 4:21; Ezekiel 25:13-
14; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah 8, 10).9
The prophets foretold judgment on Edom for her bitter
hatred (Joel 3:19). Like Sodom and Gomorrah, Edom is
a despised city (Isaiah 49:18). Concerning Edom…Has
their wisdom decayed? Edom will become an object of
horror… (Jeremiah 49:7, 17 NIV). It is under Gods ven-
geance (Ezekiel 25:14).
14216 King of Kings
15Crimson or red symbolizes both suffering and Gods wrath.
The one who wears garments stained crimson may symbolize
any suffering soul, but specifically Baháulláh, because the
verse speaks of the One robed in splendor. Baháulláh means
the glory and splendor of God. The verses clearly point to
a divine Being who can both punish and offer redemption.
The verses also point to the lack of support for the Redeemer
from the nations as did Chapter 65 of Isaiah. The idea of
rebellion is also found in Chapter 65:
I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious
people Isaiah 65:2 NKJ
Crimson garments may give us a further clue. It is well
known that Baháulláh owned a red garment made of many
pieces of cloth. His garment may symbolize both the spiritual
wars He encountered, and His triumph in unifying the war-
like and diverse segments of the world. Here is the story of
the red garment as told by Baháulláhs granddaughter:
I was told how my grandmother and Khánum made a
wonderful coat for Baháulláh, to be ready for Him when
He should return from the retreat in the wilderness of
Sulaymáníyyih. They worked at this labor of love, using
small pieces of red tirmih, very precious stuff, which had
survived, in some way, the loss of nearly all her extensive
and rare wedding treasures. For six months they sewed
and fitted these pieces together, and a beautiful coat was
the result. Very acceptable indeed, for He came back in
the coarse, rough coat of a dervish. And they had no money
for buying coats at that time in Baghdád.10
The Book of Revelation refers not only to a red robe, but
also to one of Baháulláhs titles, the Word of God:
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is
the Word of God. Revelation 19:13 NIV
Many people have had the honor of seeing Baháulláh in
their dreams and visions, including this author. Consider the
following dream dreamt by Roma Freeman, when she had not
16Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
17even heard the name of Baháulláh. The reason I am quot-
ing the dream is because of the red robe:
We were expecting our third child…It had been an extremely
difficult pregnancy from beginning to end. At the same
time, I was suffering from a broken rib and pneumonia,
and every cough racked my body with pain…almost two
months early, severe labor pains began to develop. I thrashed
about the bed, whipping from side to side, turning, twist-
ing, thinking and verbalizing many thoughts that were far,
far from lofty or noble.
All of a sudden to the right of the bed, approximately five
feet away, there appeared a male figure clad in a floor-
length deep red robe. His beautiful hands were opened
and extended towards me. He had a black, neatly groomed
beard and black shoulder-length hair that produced red
highlights in the sunlight streaming through the bedroom
window. His eyes were gentle, filled with love and com-
passion, yet those same eyes seemed to register such
disappointment and sorrow, as he witnessed the behavior
I was exhibiting.
At that moment, I felt such shame and yet such fright!
Who was he? What was he doing here! He reminded me
of the statues and paintings I had seen of Jesus Christ, but
I knew he wasnt Jesus…I quickly turned my head away
from those eyes and those beautiful hands. When I turned
back to look again, he was gone. I began to cry uncon-
trollably. Oh God, what did all this mean?
There was no one I could ask. What would they think?
Perhaps they would believe that I was losing touch with
reality, or hallucinating because of the many months of
pain and difficulty. But I knew in my heart that it was real!
It was true. Yet I had never, never believed such things. I
had always scoffed at those who mentioned such experi-
ences, which I viewed as figments of the imagination.11
18218 King of Kings
19Several years later, after much spiritual struggle, Roma
became a Baháí and went on pilgrimage to the Baháí World
Centre in Haifa, Israel. Her vision of the unknown figure
reached its climax and conclusion after she entered the build-
ing in which the Baháí sacred relics are treasured:
In the Archives Building on Mount Carmel, I saw for the
first time the precious photograph of Baháulláh. I was
devastated and completely overwhelmed! It was He whom
I had seen in my bedroom fifteen years beforeone year
prior to hearing the word Baháí. Another long search
had ended.12
Chapter 52 of Isaiah also refers to the Second Coming. First
it points to the Lords great glory:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who
bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good
tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your
God reigns! Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of
joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has
comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The
Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the
nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salva-
tion of our God. Isaiah 52:7-10 NIV
After referring to glory, the chapter ends with a brief descrip-
tion of both glory and suffering. The New International
Version divides the chapter into two parts. It adds this sub-
heading to the second part (verses 13 to 15): The Suffering
and Glory of the Servant. These verses are presented under
part II:
See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and
lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who
were appalled at himhis appearance was so disfigured
beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond
human likeness. Isaiah 52:13-14 NIV
20Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
21The previous verses about suffering perfectly describe
Baháulláhs appearance during His imprisonment in the
Black Pit. He was so disfigured that His friends and relatives
could hardly recognize Him. They were literally appalled by
what they saw.
The next chapter of Isaiah points to the first Advent, to both
the sufferings and glory of Jesus. As a Christian scholar notes,
In Isaiah 53, the Messiah is portrayed as both the suffering
Servant and the conquering King. 13 Just as the Jews failed
to see the relevance of Chapter 53 to Jesus, so have many
Christians failed to see the relevance of Chapter 52 to
Baháulláh. The parallels between the first advent and the
second are astonishing.
In both Chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah we are given two op-
posite portraits of the promised Redeemer. Which portrait is
easy to miss? The suffering portrait, of course. Who wants a
suffering Savior? But Gods way and the human way are
often in conflict:
how can My way accord with thine? 14 Baháulláh
The Kingdom of Heaven does not start with a great tree; it
always starts with a little seed that must be nourished and
helped by every human being to grow:
To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with
what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed
which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all
the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and
becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large
branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its
shade. Mark 4:30-32 NKJ
22Daniels Prophecy
To those who understand the meaning of prophecies of the
last days, Daniel refers as the wise:
23220 King of Kings
24Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and
sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified,
made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue
to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but
those who are wise will understand. Daniel 12:9-10 NIV
As we noted earlier, wisdom was the attribute that empowered
the five young women to enter the heavenly banquet. In
another prophecy, Daniel refers to the sufferings of the
wise, the ones who have recognized the Redeemer and are
teaching the good news of His coming to others:
Those who are wise will instruct many [teach the Good
News], though for a time they will fall by the sword or
be burned or captured or plundered. Daniel 11:33 NIV
After referring to the sufferings of these teachers of the Word
of God, Daniel predicts two more events:
Some people who are not sincere will join the wise.
Some of the wise will face grave tests that will make
them pure.
Here is the whole prophecy:
Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time
they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or
plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help,
and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the
wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified
and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still
come at the appointed time. Daniel 11:33-35 NIV
As we noted in the Parable of the Wedding, when the King
asked His followers to invite other people, many came, among
them some who were unfit for the banquet. This point of the
prophecy has also been fulfilled. Sometimes people who are
spiritually unfit enter the Baháí Faith. Once again we see
harmony between Jesus and Daniels prophecies.
25Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
26The believers in Baháulláh have faced, and are still facing,
countless tests and trials. Purity requires tests and trials.
Storms uproot the shallow plants, but strengthen the well
grounded.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because
when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of
life James 1:12 NIV
27Joels Prophecy
Chapter 1 of the Book of Joel is devoted entirely to the
terrible conditions of our time. It portrays in a poetic and
moving language the low state to which religion has fallen
in these terrible times:
The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Hear this, you elders, and give ear, all you inhabitants of
the land! Has anything like this happened in your days,
or even in the days of your fathers? Tell your children
about it, let your children tell their children, and their
children another generation.
What the chewing locust [destroyers of religion] left, the
swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left,
the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust
left, the consuming locust has eaten.
Awake, you [spiritually] drunkards, and weep; and wail, all
you drinkers of wine [of unawareness], because of [being
deprived of] the new wine [new Revelation], for it has
been cut off from your mouth. For a nation [of faithless
people] has come up against My land [spiritual dominion],
strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a
lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid
waste My vine [Gods garden], and ruined My fig tree; he
has stripped it bare and thrown it away; its branches are
made white.
28222 King of Kings
29Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband
of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering
have been cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests
mourn, who minister to the Lord. The field is wasted, the
land mourns; for the grain [spiritual food] is ruined, the
new wine is dried up, the oil [of wisdom] fails.
Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, for the
wheat and the barley; because the harvest of the field has
perished. The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has
withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the
apple tree; all the trees of the field are withered; surely
joy has withered away from the sons of men.
Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who
minister before the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth,
you who minister to my God; for the grain offering and
the drink offering are withheld from the house of your
God. Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the
elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house
of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it
shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Is not the
[spiritual] food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness
from the house of our God? The seed shrivels under the
clods, storehouses are in shambles; barns are broken down,
for the grain has withered. How the animals groan! The
herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
O Lord, to You I cry out; for fire has devoured the open
pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water
brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open
pastures. Joel 1:19-20 NKJ
30Let us review the main points of the prophecy:
31Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
32 Insects (who rob religion of its nourishment) have destroyed
the heavenly harvest.
You who are spiritually drunk, wake up and weep, because
you have lost the new wine (the new Revelation).
People, strong and of great number, have occupied Gods
land and turned His vineyard into a wasteland.
Lament, because all the nourishing food has been cut off
from the house of the Lord.
Be ashamed, you farmers (teachers and promoters of the
Word of God) because Gods harvest has perished; joy
has withered away from the heart of humankind.
Wail, you priests and pastors because the water of life and
the celestial grain are withheld from the house of the Lord.
Gather together, in a sacred assembly, all you leaders and
peoples of the world in the house of your Lord, and cry
out to Him for His help and blessings.
The day of the Lord is at hand, but it is a day of destruc-
tion (spiritual death).
All joy and gladness are gone. Storehouses (religious centers)
are in shambles, their grain is gone.
People are restless and without food.
The fire of remoteness from God has burned the pasture.
Because of lack of faith, people have destroyed the earth,
even the beasts of the field cry out for help. Their
forests have burned, and their sources of water made dry.
Light always follows darkness. In Chapter 2, Joel gives us the
good news: that the heavenly harvest will finally be restored:
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has
done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the
field; for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree
33224 King of Kings
34bears its fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the
Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain
faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for
you; the former rain, and the latter rain [the two Revela-
tions] in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full
of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and
oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming
locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust,
and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among
you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise
the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously
with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.
Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I
am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people
shall never be put to shame. Joel 2:21-27 NKJ
Contrary to what many people believe, rejection or repudia-
tion in itself validates Baháulláhs claim. Concerning the
firmness and dedication of His heroic followers in spite of
the grave sufferings they endured, Baháulláh wrote:
The one God is My witness! the repudiation, cursing,
and execration, pronounced by the people of the earth, are
in themselves the mightiest proof and the surest testimony
of the truth of these heroes of the field of resignation and
detachment.15
It is Gods way to exalt the humble and humiliate the proud.
He chooses a rejected stone and builds a magnificent edifice
upon it.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone. This was the Lords doing, and it is marvelous
in our eyes? Matthew 21:42 NKJ
Beauty comes from contrast. We see Jesus rejected and ridi-
culed upon the cross and then witness with wonder and awe
His glory and power not only on earth but in heaven, indeed
35Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
36in all creation. The same contrast, the same story is once
again repeated in our time.
God has always been powerful, yet He has never used His
power to make us believers. Why would He suddenly change
His ways now? Notice the authority with which God speaks
through the Báb:
Had it been Our [Gods] wish, We would have brought all
men into one fold round Our Remembrance [the Báb]
Prophecies that point to rejection should make everyone
vigilant. What do all the negative messages imply? Do they
indicate that the majority will respond to the divine call or
reject that call? If they indicate that the majority will reject,
then following the majority means being on the wrong path.
No wonder Jesus said:
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many
who go in by it. Mark 7:13 NKJ
many are called, but few chosen. Matthew 20:16
1They had two opposite profiles of their Messiah: the suffer-
ing one, and the supreme one. They ignored the first and
insisted on the second. Consider the following statement from
a Christian author, written under the topic of The Puzzle of
the Two Portraits of Messiah:
In one sense, its easy to see how they [the Jews] were
confused about Jesus and his claim to be Messiah. The
Old Testament seemed to predict two very contradictory
pictures of Messiah. One showed him as coming from the
family of King David, rising from obscurity into national
prominence, destroying all the enemies of Israel and setting
2spiritually. The Jewish people were to be appointed as po-
litical and spiritual leaders in the kingdom. Such a picture
fit in well with the nationalistic hopes of the Jews suffer-
ing under the iron-fisted oppression of the Roman Empire.
The other picture of the Messiah, which emerged from the
prophecies in the Old Testament, was that of a humble,
gentle servant who would teach patiently, but would suffer
and die for the sins of his people. He would be rejected
by his own countrymen as well as hated by other peoples.
This picture of Messiah is sometimes called The Suffer-
ing Messiah and Isaiah speaks much about him.
Before Jesus lived on this earth, the two pictures were
confusing to students of prophecy. They grasped the two
roles of Messiah clearly but the connection between them
escaped the most brilliant of interpreters. How could one
man have such contradictory aspects? Most Jewish scholars
just left the problem of how to harmonize these two roles
to be solved by any future prophets who might come.
Other commentators invented a theory that perhaps two
Messiahs were meant to come. The conquering King would
be the Son of David and the suffering, lowly one would be
in the tradition of Joseph, the Jewish lad who had suffered
so badly at the hands of his brothers by being sold into
slavery in Egypt and then had risen to prominence there.
This Messiah began to be referred to as Messiah ben Joseph.
What all these learned men failed to see was that all the
predictions of the Messiah, both concepts of him, were to
be fulfilled in one man, but not at one time.17
History is once again repeating itself. The parallels between
the two Advents are astonishing. Once again we face two
seemingly opposite portraits of our Redeemer. The two por-
traits are so puzzling that some Christian scholars have come
up with the same solutions the Jewish scholars considered
3scholar Dr. Ray Stedman, who believes Jesus comes twice,
once as a thief, and again as a King:
Some friends of mine live in a two-story house, with bed-
rooms upstairs. One morning they came downstairs to find
that while they had slept peacefully in their beds upstairs
a thief had been very busy downstairs. Their silverware and
many other costly items and furnishings had been stolen.
They had heard nothing, because a thief never knocks,
never rings the doorbell, never announces his presence. He
enters silently, takes what he wants, then disappears again.
The Lord says that is what His coming again will be like
not His visible coming when He appears to establish His
kingdom, when every eye will see Him, as described in
Revelation 1:7.18
Some of the most brilliant Rabbis have failed to understand
the true meaning of Hebrew prophecies about their Messiah.
The only solution to their failure is a little humility. The only
remedy is to say, We do not understand all the mysteries,
we are not infallible. Christian theologians are facing the
puzzle that Jewish theologians have been facing for 2,000
years. All they need to do is express a little humility, all they
need to say is, We too, like the Jewish scholars and leaders,
may be unable to resolve the paradox of the suffering Re-
deemer and the powerful Conqueror. To be true to our faith,
to be obedient to our Scriptures, we must act exactly as we are
told, to let the Lord bring to light what is hidden in darkness:
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait
till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden
in darkness. I Corinthians 4:5 NIV
no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.
II Peter 1:20
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
4Do the churches have the ear to hear this most clear and
categorical command: that they should let the Lord bring to
1After many centuries, the good news is that the tragedies
will turn into triumphs, the sufferings into celebrations,
and lamentations into joy and laughter:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud
voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God
is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with them and be their
God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will
be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the
old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:1-4 NIV
all nations and kindreds will be gathered together under
the shadow of this Divine Banner, which is no other than
the Lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation.
Religious and sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races
and peoples, and differences among nations, will be elimi-
nated. All men will adhere to one religion, will have one
common faith, will be blended into one race, and become
a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland,
which is the planet itself.19 Abdul-Bahá
National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease, and
racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial
amity, understanding and cooperation. The causes of religious
strife will be permanently removed, economic barriers and
restrictions will be completely abolished, and the inordinate
distinction between classes will be obliterated.20
1Chapter 7: The Parables and Prophecies
2Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle
shall gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is
but the beginning of its growth, and the dayspring of the
revelation of its signs. Ere the close of this century and
of this age, it shall be made clear and evident how won-
drous was that spring-tide, and how heavenly was that
gift!21 Abdul-Bahá
The Lord their God will save them on that day as the
flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like
jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will
be! Grain [heavenly food] will make the young men thrive,
and new wine [teachings] the young women.
Zechariah 9:16-17 NIV
3The Day of Mourning
4Some prophecies declare that on that day the peoples of the
earth will mourn. These prophecies point to several kinds of
mourning. The first comes from the stresses, the pains, and
pressures of being remote from God:
all the nations of the earth will mourn.
Christ (Matt. 24:30 NIV)
Baháulláh interprets the previous prophecy, and declares its
fulfillment:
These words signify that in those days men will lament
the loss of the Sun of the divine beauty, of the Moon of
knowledge, and of the Stars of divine wisdom.1
5232 King of Kings
6Verily, the Inevitable is come and mankind is sore vexed
[disturbed] and fearful and the tribes have lamented, for
fear of God 2 Baháulláh
all the tribes of the earth have mourned 3 Baháulláh
Everywhere we look we see spiritual starvation and death, we
find people who hunger for the Light of truth, who thirst for
celestial beauty, heavenly knowledge, and divine wisdom.
The famine and the thirst are so intense, many have lost the
will to live. People instinctively know something is seriously
wrong but cannot pinpoint the disease. Only God knows the
inner pain and hears the mourning of humankind. The spiri-
tual state of the world is so grave, so desperate that even the
earth mourns:
The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes
and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish.
The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,
broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has
devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned [with the
fire of remoteness from God], and few men are left. The
new wine fails, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted
sigh. The mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the
jubilant ends, the joy of the harp ceases. They shall not
drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who
drink it. The city of confusion is broken down; every house
is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for
[heavenly] wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the
mirth of the land is gone. In the city desolation is left, and
the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus
in the midst of the land among the people, it shall be like
the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes
when the vintage is done. Isaiah 24:4-13 NKJ
This kind of mourning is not an outward crying, but a
subconscious longing of the souls for God. The mourning
7Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
8of the souls becomes especially intense at the dawn of the
advent of great Messengers and Redeemers. The advent of
spring stirs a new life into the world. Plants begin to wake
up and flourish. Now assume plants had a soul like us. How
would the flowers feel if they sensed that the spring has
sprung, but they are unable to awaken, to smile, to embrace
the sun, and dance with the winds. That is the inner state of
the souls who are out of touch with the Spring of divine
Revelation, with this supreme outpouring of the light and
glory of God. Jesus quoted part of this prophecy from Isaiah
to show the purpose of His coming:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the
Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lords favor and the
day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zionto bestow on
them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a
spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV
Most Christian scholars believe that Jesus did not quote
several verses of the prophecy because He did not intend to
fulfill them in His first advent. He stopped with to proclaim
the year of the Lords favor. They believe He intended to
accomplish the following goals at His second advent:
To proclaim the day of vengeance of our God, and
To comfort all who mourn
The purpose for which Jesus came is now accomplished.
Baháulláh, the supreme Comforter, has come to comfort all
who mourn for His splendor and glory. This kind of mourn-
ing is wonderful; it is a sign of spiritual health, like a hungry
baby who cries. No wonder we are told:
9234 King of Kings
10Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4 NKJ
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near… Isaiah 13:6 NIV
The souls who do not mourn are the sickest: they have lost
the will to live. They are the complacent people who are
satisfied with hibernating in a cold and dark winter, who feel
secure and not in need of the new Spring:
This is what the Lord Almighty says: I am very angry
with the nations that feel secure Zechariah 1:14-15 NIV
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus chastised two groups of
Christians most severely: the complacent, and the fearful.
He threatened the fearful with hell-fire (Revelation 21:8).
Concerning the complacent or apathetic, He said:
because you are lukewarmneither hot nor coldI am
about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich;
I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you
do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind
and naked. Revelation 3:16-17 NIV
The reason Jesus condemned fear and complacency so harshly
is this: He knew these two qualities more than any other
would prevent Christians from seeking Him and finding Him
at His second coming. Fear makes a person run away from
the truth, while apathy causes him to ignore it. Can you teach
bats to love light? Can you instill excitement in the hard-
headed turtles?
Christ addressed the following parable, which contains the
most severe warning, specifically to the masses of compla-
cent Christians who glorify themselves as Jesus chosen or
intimate friends. He addressed it to the self-righteous ones,
who believe they are their Lords intimate neighbors, who
assume they walk, drink, and eat with Jesus, the ones who
think they are the inspired teachers of the Gospel, the ones
who regard themselves as truly saved, and the first among
Christians:
11Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
12Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because
many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Once the owner of the house [the Redeemer] gets up and
closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and plead-
ing, Sir, open the door for us. But he will answer, I
dont know you or where you come from. Then you will
say, We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our
streets. But he will reply, I dont know you or where
you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers! There
will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you
see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People
will come from east and west and north and south, and
will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and
first who will be last. Luke 13:24-30 NIV
It is clear, the first are not the ones who are the first in
Gods sight; they are the first only in the darkness of their
own illusions and imaginations. These people are so sure of
owning the truth that they become totally careless and deaf
to all invitations. Because of their pride they fall from the
first position to the last. The higher a person positions him-
self, the harsher the crash.
Gods judgment against such people is extremely harsh. In
the preceding prophecy, Jesus calls them evildoers. In the
parable of the talents, He refers to them as wicked and lazy.
Daniel uses the same word: wicked:
none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall
understand. Daniel 12:10 NKJ
Why use such harsh words? Because such people are hypocrites.
In Gods sight, hypocrisy ranks among the most grievous sins.
Why did Jesus condemn the Pharisees so severely? Because
of their hypocrisy. To show His anger and indignation for such
people, He told them WOE TO YOU eight times (Matthew
23:13-29). The Pharisees also considered themselves the first,
13236 King of Kings
14while in Gods sight they were the last. They also felt self-
satisfied and complacent. Complacency, self-righteousness,
and hypocrisy are perfect partners. They always support one
another.
The Báb made a similar prediction about the way some of
His followerswho considered themselves God-fearing
witnesseswould respond to Baháulláh:
On that Day ye will continue to rove distraught, even as
camels, seeking a drop of the water of life. God will cause
oceans of living water to stream forth from the presence of
Him Whom God shall make manifest [Baháulláh], while
ye will refuse to quench your thirst therefrom, notwith-
standing that ye regard yourselves as the God-fearing
witnesses of your Faith yet when He cometh ye will
tarry and will fail to be of those who are well-assured in
His Faith.4
Baháulláh states that His advent has upset the prevailing
balance in peoples lives. The loss of balance creates a sub-
conscious awareness in the soul that a new dawn has broken.
The awareness leads to a longing to arise and witness the
wonders of the new Day.
The worlds equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrat-
ing influence of this most great, this new World Order.
Mankinds ordered life hath been revolutionized through
the agency of this unique, this wondrous Systemthe like
of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.5 Baháulláh
Here are two more excerpts from Baháulláh describing how
the power released by His Revelation has caused a revolution
in the planet and its people, how it has disturbed the estab-
lished balance to create a new and dramatic growth, how it
has awakened the souls to wail and mourn for their Beloved:
Thus have the mighty verses of Thy Lord been again sent
down unto thee, that thou mayest arise to remember God,
the Creator of earth and heaven, in these days when all the
tribes of the earth have mourned, and the foundations of
15Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
16the cities have trembled, and the dust of irreligion hath
enwrapped all men, except such as God, the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise, was pleased to spare. Say: He Who is the
Unconditioned is come, in the clouds of light, that He may
quicken all created things with the breezes of His Name,
the Most Merciful, and unify the world, and gather all
men around this Table which hath been sent down from
heaven.6
Wash from your hearts all earthly defilements, and hasten
to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth and
heaven, Who caused the world to tremble and all its peoples
to wail, except them that have renounced all things
The Qurán confirms the same message:
One Day everything that can be in commotion will be in
violent commotion, followed by oft-repeated (commotions).
Hearts that Day will be in agitation Qurán 79:6-8 Y
One day, the disturbing trumpet-blast [the advent of the
Báb] shall disturb it [the world order], which the second
blast shall follow [the advent of Baháulláh]. Mens hearts
on that day shall quake. Qurán 79:6-8 R
The severe and universal distress prophesied by Jesus in the
Olivet Discourse has occurred because of the loss of spiritual
strength, the disturbance of old values, norms, and systems,
and the souls subconscious awareness of being deprived of
all the joys and blessings of the glorious advent of the divine
springtime:
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the
beginning of the world until nowand never to be equaled
again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would
survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be
shortened. Christ (Matt. 24:21-22 NIV)
The evidences of distress and disturbance are everywhere.
The rising waves of violence, crime, mental disease, depres-
sion, loneliness, stress, suicide, divorce, child abuse, rape,
17238 King of Kings
18racism, fraud, and relentless destruction of the environment
are all symptoms of souls who are out of touch with God,
who are withering and shaking in the cold of winter, who are
mourning the loss of hope and joy.
There is yet another kind of mourning. It comes from the
anger of the deniers, who witness the triumph of the Redeemer
of the age, but are unable to stop Him. This prophecy is
similar to the one in Matthew, but with the additional phrase
because of Him:
all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.
Revelation 1:7 NIV
In this case, peoples mourning is connected to the Redeemer.
In their book, The Return, Christian scholars Dr. Barry Chant
and Winkie Pratney have recognized such a mourning:
We can see once again why the nations of the world will
mourn when they see Him come! The dismay, the confu-
sion, the disbelief will be plain to see. How can it be, they
will ask. How can it be that this carpenter from Nazareth
Whom we dismissed so easily from our thinking as an
irrelevant, impotent figure is now towering over us in in-
disputable and irresistible glory?
All those who thought that they were so strong, so influ-
ential, so dominating, so self-sufficient, so independent of
God or man, will find themselves cringing in terror at the
fierce gaze of the Son of God.8
The Book of Psalms asks, Why do the nations rage?
(Psalms 2:1). They rage because they see the triumph of the
One they have rejected; they see the spread of a new social
Order they do not like. They rage and mourn because they
see their security threatened, because they see someone else is
receiving attention, gaining influence, and becoming popular.
Fear and envy make them burn, fume and fret. Raging is an
act of seething and protesting in anger.
19Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
20The great day of the Lord is nearnear and coming
quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be
bitter… Zephaniah 1:14 NIV
fear and trembling seized the people of envy and
wickedness 9 Baháulláh
People cannot stand the triumph of truth over their cherished
traditions, but their efforts to withstand the mighty forces
released by the new Revelation are in vain:
For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able
to stand? Revelation 6:17 NKJ
This kind of bitter mourning and raging have already occurred.
The continuous advancement of the Baháí Faith has aston-
ished, angered, and made envious the fanatical believers of
past religions. Many years ago I met a young zealous Muslim
who had just come from Iran to the United States. Soon after
his arrival he encountered some American Baháís. He could
not believe educated Americans would accept a man from
Iran as their Redeemer. His astonishment turned into jealousy,
disappointment, and anger, when he found an active Baháí
community in Saginaw, Michigan, but no society of active
Muslims there! We can hardly imagine the bitter feelings of
prejudiced people who dismiss the Baháí Faith as a small
passing wave, and suddenly discover that the wave is encir-
cling the globe!
Some years ago I spoke with a university student about the
Baháí Faith and lent him a part of the I Shall Come Again
manuscript. He spent many hours in the library trying to find
a flaw in my reasoning. The flaw he found was this: Daniel
did not say, after 2,400 days. The Greek word He used
meant, After 2,400 evenings and mornings. You cannot
count those as days. Then in a state of consuming rage, he
added, You use the university library and other state facili-
ties to prove and spread your Faith! On his face I saw all
the negative feelings I have known: anger, envy, bitterness,
21240 King of Kings
22and frustration. He would do anything to prevent me from
spreading the Baháí message, but he felt totally powerless.
At the university in which I now teach, the Baháí commu-
nity has faced continuous harassment from a small group of
zealous Christians. Before they had fully recognized our
beliefs, we enjoyed a period of total freedom. But when they
learned that we believe Christ has come again, they tried to
prevent us from spreading our message. They have repeatedly
removed our fliers from bulletin boards over a course of
some 30 years. Such a response has not been sporadic. It
has been persistent and relentless. We have also received
many anonymous telephone calls. Early on, the callers would
talk and ask questions to measure our strength. When they
realized that some of us may know the Bible better than they
do, they began to call without saying a word. To stop the
ringing, we would disconnect our phone for several hours.
Once a few zealous believers blocked the Baháí display in
a university fair, so that people could not see it. A pastor
came forward and said, Not all Christians are like them. He
apologized for the unseemly behavior of his fellow-believers.
Abdul-Bahá predicts that a time will come when the mourn-
ing and crying of all nations will be raised. He mentions
even the name of the countries, such as China and India.10 A
Baháí friend of mine recently had a dream in which Abdul-
Bahá confirmed this prediction by saying, Yes, even the
mourning of China and India will be raised.
Many prophecies predict widespread rage and anger from
both political and religious figures and institutions:
The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusa-
lem; the pastures [religious institutions] of the shepherds
mourn, and the top of Carmel [those in high positions of
power] withers. Amos 1:2 NKJ
The noise of a multitude in the mountains [institutional
powers], like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of
23Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
24the kingdoms of nations gathered together! Wail, for the
day of the Lord is at hand! Isaiah 13:4, 6 NKJ
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth
[the old systems] be removed, and though the mountains
[institutions] be carried into the midst of the sea; though
its waters [masses of people] roar and be troubled, though
the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river
[of knowledge and wisdom] whose streams shall make
glad the city of God [the city of Baháulláh, the Baháí
Faith], the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High
[the Báb]. God [Baháulláh] is in the midst of her [the
river], she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at
the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were
moved; He uttered His voice [proclaimed His message],
the earth melted [the old order vanished].E
Psalms 46:1-6 NKJ
The preceding prophecy from Psalms asks us not to fear,
even though the earth be removed, and though the moun-
tains be carried into the midst of the sea. Here Baháulláh
refers to the state of the earth and the mountains:
The earth hath been shaken, and the mountains have
passed away, and the angels have appeared, rank on rank,
before Us. Most of the people are bewildered in their
drunkenness and wear on their faces the evidences of
anger.11 Baháulláh
The preceding prophecy from Psalms offers a perfect example
of the metaphoric language God speaks. That language differs
radically from our language. Let us take one word: river. What
is the river that will bring joy to the two Revelations, that
shall make glad the city of God as well as the holy place
25E
As we noted earlier, verses 4 and 5 also have a literal fulfillment. A
pilgrim in the presence of Baháulláh saw a scene described in this
prophecy and suddenly remembered the verses.
26242 King of Kings
27of the Most High? River symbolizes all the blessings of God.
Consider these examples from the Writings of Baháulláh:
This is the Day whereon the true servants of God partake of
the life-giving waters of reunion, the Day whereon those that
are nigh unto Him are able to drink of the soft-flowing
river of immortality, and they who believe in His unity,
the wine of His Presence
O MY SERVANT !
Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting domin-
ion, and cast not away celestial sovereignty for a worldly
desire. This is the river of everlasting life that hath flowed
from the well-spring of the pen of the merciful; well is it
with them that drink!13
The River of Mercy floweth, and the Ocean of Utter-
ance surgeth, and the Sun of Revelation shineth forth
resplendent.14
Make haste that while there is yet time our lips may
taste of the immortal draught, for the breeze of life, now
blowing from the city of the Well-Beloved, cannot last,
and the streaming river of holy utterance must needs be
stilled
Here are a few other metaphoric uses of river in Baháulláhs
Writings:
the river of divine knowledge
the sacred river of wealth17
the River of God, and His favor
the River that is life
Whose heavenly River is Thy love
the river of glory
the heavenly river of My loving providence
the river of divine wisdom
Baháulláh often uses the word mourn in reference to
those who protest His coming, because they cannot stand
28Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
29His triumphs. Concerning the Muslim clergy who raised
their voices against the spread of the Baháí Faith in Iran,
Baháulláh wrote:
The lamentations of the pulpits, in that country, are be-
ing raised continually pulpits, erected for the purpose of
remembering the True Oneexalted be His gloryhave
now, in Persia, become places wherefrom blasphemies are
uttered against Him Who is the Desire of the worlds.24
The Hebrew Scriptures have stated the reasons why the lam-
entation of religious leaders will be raised:
At that time…Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing
of the leaders of the flock, for the Lord is destroying
their pasture. Jeremiah 25:33, 36 NIV
Leaders who weep and wail against the Lord can never win:
Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you
leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has
come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. The
shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the
flock no place to escape. Jeremiah 25:34-35 NIV
Can anyone escape from Gods plan and purpose? In an Epistle
to a powerful religious leader, Baháulláh used the same
expression found in the preceding prophecy:
By My life! There is no place for you to flee to in this day.25
The wailing, raging, and mourning will find their fullest ex-
pression in countless speeches that will be delivered and books
written against Baháulláh. The wailers and mourners will
look for loopholes in His Writings to discredit Him, exactly
as the Pharisees did some 2,000 years ago. The lamentation
is absolutely essential for the triumph of truth. It will awaken
many sincere seekers who would not learn about Baháulláh
in any other way. This will set in motion the process of sift-
ing the peoples of the earth, bringing out what lies hidden
in the hearts and souls of humankind. God never imposes
30244 King of Kings
31Himself on His people; He always leaves a way out for those
who do not like His banquet.
When Baháulláhs House in Baghdád was desecrated, He
predicted that the abasement and desecration will continue
until the day of lamentation. That is the time when the
supreme honors bestowed on His House will cause His enemies
to mourn:
This is not the first humiliation inflicted upon My House.
In days gone by the hand of the oppressor hath heaped in-
dignities upon it. Verily, it shall be so abased in the days
to come as to cause tears to flow from every discerning
eye. Thus have We unfolded to thee things hidden beyond
the veil, inscrutable to all save God, the Almighty, the
All-Praised. In the fullness of time, the Lord shall, by the
power of truth, exalt it in the eyes of all men. He shall
cause it to become the Standard of His Kingdom, the
Shrine round which will circle the concourse of the
faithful. Thus hath spoken the Lord, thy God, ere the day
of lamentation arriveth.26 Baháulláh
This prophecy shows a clear contrast between the followers
of the new Redeemer and the deniers:
My servants [new believers] will sing out of the joy of
their hearts, but you [deniers] will cry out from anguish
of heart and wail Isaiah 65:14 NIV
Baháulláh confirms such a contrast between Gods chosen
ones, who have recognized and glorified the Most Great
Name (Baháulláh), and those who have lamented because
of the new Name:
Glory be to Thee, O Thou the Best-Beloved, for that Thou
hast uncovered Thy Beauty, and written down for Thy
chosen ones what will cause them to attain unto the seat
of the revelation of Thy Most Great Name [Baháulláh],
through which all the peoples have lamented except such
as have detached themselves from all else except Thee
32Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
33As we noted, Jesus predicted that all the peoples of the
earth will mourn because of Him. A prophecy from Amos
declares that people will mourn because the Lord passes
through them, because God passes by. If people recognized
their Redeemer and their Lord, they would celebrate rather
than lament His presence and His walking among them:
Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty,
says: There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of
anguish in every public square. The farmers will be sum-
moned to weep and the mourners to wail. There will be
wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your
midst, says the Lord. Amos 5:16-17 NIV
The mourning does not stop with human beings; it can per-
meate the whole creation. This happened at the crucifixion of
Jesus:
Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath
to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping.28
Baháulláh
Because of His deep love, when we reject Gods immortal
blessings, Our Creator also mourns our pitiful plight:
O BOND SLAVE OF THE WORLD!
Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted
over thee and found thee upon the bed of heedlessness fast
asleep. Bewailing then thy plight it returned whence it
came.29 Baháulláh
People can lament for many reasons. Another reason is this:
hearing the news of the coming of King of Kings and Lord
of Lords not only makes them angry but casts fear in their
hearts. They might fear this possibility: I know I am too
attached to my beliefs to investigate or accept the new
message. What if it is true? What will I lose?
Hath the Hour come? Nay, more; it hath passed, by Him
Who is the Revealer of clear tokens! Verily, the Inevitable
is come, and He, the True One, hath appeared with proof
34246 King of Kings
35and testimony…and the tribes have lamented, for fear of
God, the Lord of Strength, the All-Compelling.30
Wash from your hearts all earthly defilements, and hasten
to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth
and heaven, Who caused the world to tremble and all
its peoples to wail, except them that have renounced all
things
Another kind of wailing and mourning comes from the citizens
of the next Kingdom because of the pain they feel for the
rejected and reviled Redeemer:
The dwellers in the pavilion of glory and the celestial
concourse [heavenly beings] bewail and lament, while ye
repose in the realm of negligence, and esteem yourselves
as of the true friends. How vain are your imaginings!32
Baháulláh
I implore Thee, by the eternity of Thy Self, to enable me
[Baháulláh] to be patient in these tribulations which have
caused the concourse on high [heavenly beings] to wail
and the denizens of the everlasting Paradise to weep
There is yet another kind of mourning: that of the followers
for the sufferings of their Redeemer. The following prophecy
is attributed to Jesus, but it also applies to the Báb, as He
was also pierced. The phrase on that day pertains espe-
cially to our time:
It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on
the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the
Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me
whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one
mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves
for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:9-10 NKJ
As mentioned before, suffering comes not only to the Lamb
of God but also to His followers:
36Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
37These are they who have come out of the great tribula-
tion; they have washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14 NIV
After referring to the martyrdom of the Bábthe Lamb that
was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 7:14)
the Book of Revelation speaks again of the sufferings of His
followers:
If anyone is [destined] to go into captivity, into captivity
he will go. If anyone is [destined] to be killed with the
sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for
patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints
[the suffering followers]. Revelation 13:10 NIV
Christian authors often see an irony in the rejection of Jesus:
How ironic that in rejecting Jesus the Jews fulfilled proph-
ecies that identified Him as the Messiah!34
It seems that history always repeats itself. Once again we
need to say how ironic that those who say how ironic
about the Jews denial of Jesus do not see the irony that by
denying Baháulláh, they too fulfill the prophecies!
1Then the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash
like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trum-
pet Zechariah 9:14 NIV
They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.
Hosea 11:10 NIV
These prophecies find their fulfillment in Baháulláhs su-
preme utterance. He proclaims His advent in thunderous
words. Have you ever heard anyone speak with such power
and authority?
2248 King of Kings
3This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down
in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sover-
eignty. He well knoweth the actions of men. He it is
Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but comprehend
it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the
earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the
angels of God are seen descending. Say:E This is the Day
of mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains have
passed away, and the heavens have been folded together,
and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but
understand it. Who is it that can protect you? None, by
Him Who is the All-Merciful! None, except God, the
Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Beneficent…
Say: Is there any doubt concerning God? Behold how He
hath come down from the heaven of His grace, girded
with power and invested with sovereignty. Is there any
doubt concerning His signs? Open ye your eyes, and con-
sider His clear evidence. Paradise is on your right hand,
and hath been brought nigh unto you, while Hell hath
been made to blaze. Witness its devouring flame. Haste ye
to enter into Paradise, as a token of Our mercy unto you,
and drink ye from the hands of the All-Merciful the Wine
that is life indeed.35 Baháulláh
Some people who hear Baháulláhs mighty voice flee in
fear. They cannot endure the message:
At the thunder of your [the Lords] voice, the people flee;
when you rise up, the nations scatter. Isaiah 33:3 NIV
Why do people flee? For many reasons. What happens when
there is a thunderstorm? As Christian scholar Biederwolf
observes:
4E
The word Say in the form of a command, appears frequently in
the Writings of Baháulláh. It indicates that the speaker is the Spirit
of God. It is equivalent to the biblical expression, Thus says the
Lord.
5Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
6The approach of Jehovah is likened to an advancing
thunder storm, which is His voice, causing the peoples
to flee.36
Baháulláhs Voice is indeed like a thunderstorm. Have
you ever seen or heard anyone speak with such power and
authority?
He Who is the Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with
clouds, and the decree hath been fulfilled by God, the
Almighty, the Unrestrained.37
Many prophecies point to fear, terror, and trembling.
Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror
of the Lord and the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks
of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be
bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that
day. Isaiah 2:10-11 NKJ
Baháulláh confirms their fulfillment:
The All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sover-
eignty. The Balance hath been appointed, and all them that
dwell on earth have been gathered together. The Trumpet
hath been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up with
terror, and the hearts of all who are in the heavens and
on the earth have trembled, except them whom the breath
of the verses of God hath quickened, and who have de-
tached themselves from all things.38 Baháulláh
Cry and weep! The day is coming when the mighty Lord
will bring destruction. All people will be terrified. Hands
will grow limp; courage will melt away. Everyone will
tremble with pain like a woman giving birth; they will
stare at each other with horror on their faces.
Isaiah 13:6-8 CEV
This is the Day on which all eyes shall stare up with
terror, the Day in which the hearts of them that dwell on
earth shall tremble, save them whom thy Lord, the All-
Knowing, the All-Wise, pleaseth to deliver Drunken are
7250 King of Kings
8the eyes of those men that have openly refused to behold
the face of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised.39
Baháulláh
To a believer not overcome by terror, Baháulláh wrote:
The manifold bounties of God have ever been and will
continue to be vouchsafed unto thee. Praised be God! Thou
hast been shielded from the most great terror and hast
succeeded in drawing nigh unto the Most Great Bounty at
a time when all men were prevented from recognizing the
eternal King by the interposition of the veils of outward
glory, namely the divines [religious leaders] of this day.40
In a prayer, Baháulláh refers to the various responses dis-
played by people to the Great Terror:
No sooner had He [Baháulláh] proclaimed Thy [Gods]
Cause, and risen up to carry out the things prescribed unto
Him in the Tablets of Thy decree, than the Great Terror
fell upon Thy creatures. Some turned towards Thee, and
detached themselves from all except Thee, and sanctified
their souls from the world and all that is therein, and were
so enravished by the sweetness of Thy voice that they
forsook all Thou hadst created in the kingdom of Thy
creation. Others recognized Thee and then hesitated, others
allowed the world to come in between them and Thee and
to withhold them from recognizing Thee. Others disdained
Thee, and turned back from Thee, and wished to prevent
Thee from achieving Thy purpose.41
What do people do when they cannot stand something? They
run away in fear. The various names of Baháulláh such as
Jehovah, Lord Almighty, King of Kings and Lord of Lords
are so awesome, that they cause the fearful to tremble, they
even make the earth move:
The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells be-
tween the cherubim; let the earth be moved! The Lord is
great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples. Let
them praise your great and awesome name; He is holy
9Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
10Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; He
is holy. Psalms 99:1-5 NKJ
Baháulláh speaks frequently about those who try to avoid,
ignore, or flee from encountering the news of His coming:
The thing that must come hath come suddenly; behold
how they flee from it! The inevitable hath come to pass;
witness how they have cast it behind their backs!
We, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne the
misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the One
Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened?
O high priests! The Hand of Omnipotence is stretched
forth from behind the clouds; behold ye it with new eyes.
The tokens of His majesty and greatness are unveiled;
gaze ye on them with pure eyes…Say, O high priests! Ye
are held in reverence because of My Name, and yet ye
flee Me!
There is no place to flee to, no refuge that any one can
seek, except Him.45
When a new order, a new way of thinking appears, the estab-
lished order feels threatened. As futurist Alvin Toffler, in his
classic book The Third Wave, declares:
A new civilization is emerging in our lives, and blind men
everywhere are trying to suppress it…Pieces of this new
civilization exist today. Millions are already attuning their
lives to the rhythms of tomorrow. Others, terrified of the
future, are engaged in a desperate, futile flight into the
past and are trying to restore the dying world that gave
them birth. The dawn of this new civilization is the single
most explosive fact of our lifetimes.46
Some prophecies declare that the promised Redeemer will be
as powerful and majestic as a lion (Rev. 5:5), and that people
who encounter His message will be gripped with fear. Many
will be unable to bear His news or stand the greatness and
the wrath of His day (Rev. 6:17).
11252 King of Kings
12…all hands will go limp, every mans heart will melt.
Terror will seize them… Isaiah 13:7-8 NIV
Baháulláh confirms:
Verily, the Inevitable is come and mankind is sore vexed
[disturbed] and fearful and the tribes have lamented, for
fear of God
the blast of the trumpet [proclamation of Baháulláhs
Message] must needs spread confusion throughout the
world, and fear and trembling amongst all men. Well is
it with him who hath been illumined with the light of trust
and detachment. The tribulations of that Day will not
hinder or alarm him.48
In the following passage, the Ark of God symbolizes the
Baháí Faith, which like Noahs Ark is the ship of safety and
salvation, and the Mariner symbolizes Baháulláh, who
guides the ship:
Waves have encompassed the Ark of God, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Fear not the tempestuous gales,
O Mariner! He Who causeth the dawn to appear is, verily,
with Thee in this darkness that hath struck terror into
the hearts of all men, except such as God, the Almighty,
the Unconstrained, hath been pleased to spare.49
Baháulláh links the spread of fear to the greatness of His
Revelation:
In the Book of Isaiah it is written: Enter into the rock,
and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the
glory of His majesty. No man that meditateth upon this
verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or
doubt the exalted character of this Daythe Day of God
Himself.50
What does fear lead to? To fight or flight. Some people try
to suppress the news; others run away from it or ignore it.
What is it that people cannot stand? More than anything else,
13Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
14Baháulláh intimates, it is His station as the Father. Imagine
the consequences if Jesus had called Himself the Father. In
this age people have the potential to bear this awesome mes-
sage: the coming of Lord of Lord and King of Kings. No
wonder Jesus said:
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on
His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;
and He will tell you things to come. John 16:12-13 NKJ
Baháulláh confirms the fulfillment of Jesus prophecy:
Proclaim then unto all mankind the glad-tidings of this
mighty, this glorious Revelation. Verily, He Who is the
Spirit of Truth is come to guide you unto all truth. He
speaketh not as prompted by His own self, but as bidden
by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.51
Prophecies that point to fleeing or escaping have already
been fulfilled. Many Muslims are told by their religious
leaders to shun the Baháís. The same is gradually happen-
ing in the West. I have already encountered many fearful
Christians who shun the Baháís for fear of being deceived.
They also fear the rejection of their loved ones, the ridicule
of the world, and the loss of power and possessions.
This indeed is a bitter day for all those who cling to old and
archaic beliefs and institutions:
I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs
into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning
for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.
Amos 8:10 NKJ
The punishment is extremely grave for those who flee their
responsibility and refute reality through their fear of the truth,
for whatever reasonwhether it is being ridiculed by others
for recognizing the new Redeemer, stepping out of their
15254 King of Kings
16comfort zone, or witnessing the awesome power and glory of
the Lord:
But the cowardly declares Jesus, their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev. 21:8 NIV). To the fearful
servant who concealed his talents Jesus said: You wicked
and lazy servant (Matt. 25:26).
Prophecies declare that the people of our time will be fear-
ful, faithless, confused, asleep, blind, and drunk! If we truly
believe in the Word of God, what can we expect other than
denial? The problem is this: a drunk does not know he is
drunk until he is sober, and a sleeper does not know he is
asleep until he wakes up. No wonder people who live in the
darkness of denial fail to see the state of their soul. How can
an unconscious person know he is unconscious?
We should recognize Gods supreme love for all human be-
ings. In the following passage, Baháulláh declares that people
are in a state of stupor like someone sleeping. He asks us
to be forbearing with such sleepers, and not to shake them
up, but gently wake them up:
Being overcome by the drunkenness of corrupt inclina-
tions, the people of the earth find themselves in a state of
stupor. They are, therefore, debarred from the wondrous
signs of God, are prevented from attaining the ultimate
goal and are deprived of the liberal effusions of divine
grace.
It behoveth the people of God to be forbearing. They
should impart the Word of God according to the hearers
particular measure of understanding and capacity, that
perchance the children of men may be roused from heed-
lessness and set their faces towards this Horizon which is
immeasurably exalted above every horizon.52
17Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
1or the Baháí Faith is the expression Here am I, or Here I
am. What does the expression imply? It indicates a willing-
ness to give or receive without any reservations. It points to
a state of readiness, an absolute desire to be the bestower
or the receiver of truth and knowledge. When our Creator
declares, Here am I, it means, I am ready to give you My
blessings and the knowledge of immortal life. I am your
Lover and Beloved. Come and embrace Me. Our response
should be, Here am I ready to receive your glorious gifts. I
am infinitely honored to receive such a wholehearted invita-
tion from my Creator!
Here is a prophecy from Isaiah with this expression:
Then your light [Bahá] shall break forth like the morning,
your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteous-
ness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord [Baháulláh]
shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord
will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am.
Isaiah 58:8-9 NKJ
Another expression with a similar meaning is It is I.
Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they
shall know in that day that I am He who speaks: Behold,
it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who
brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation,
who says to Zion, Your God reigns! Isaiah 52:6-7 NKJ
In an Epistle addressed to a religious leader who rejected His
invitation, the Báb wrote:
For hadst thou uttered Here am I at the time We sent
thee the Book, We would have admitted thee to the com-
pany of such of Our servants as truly believe, and would
have graciously praised thee in Our Book, until the Day
2is in truth far more advantageous unto thee than all the
acts of worship thou hast performed for thy Lord during
all thy life, nay, from the beginning that hath no begin-
ning. Assuredly this is what would have served and will
ever serve thy best interests. Verily We are cognizant of
all things.53
Gods great Messengers and Redeemers express utter love
and infinite humility toward each other. Baháulláh confers
the most glorious titles upon Jesus, such as the Spirit of God
and the Lord of the visible and invisible. Jesus bestows simi-
lar titles on the twin Redeemers of our time. In His Epistle
to Christians, Baháulláh points to Jesus supreme love for
Him. The implication is clear: if the one you worship ex-
presses such love for Me, why are you failing to follow His
example? Here is a passage from the Epistle containing the
expression Here am I.
Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates of the
Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My
face? This indeed is naught but a grievous error. He,
verily, hath again come down from heaven, even as He
came down from it the first time. Beware lest ye dispute
that which He proclaimeth, even as the people before you
disputed His utterances. Thus instructeth you the True
One, could ye but perceive it.
the Son [Jesus], in the holy vale, crieth out: Here am
I, here am I O Lord, my God!, whilst Sinai circleth
round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: He
Who is the Desired One is come in His transcendent
majesty. Say, Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye
were promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!
Today a state of spiritual apathy prevails throughout the world.
People are far more attached to gold than to God. In the
following passage Isaiah refers both to Gods invitation and
the peoples refusal or failure to respond:
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was
3not call on my name, I said, Here am I, here am I. All
day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imagina-
tions Isaiah 65:1-2 NIV
This Revelation is so great that all past Messengers have
uttered the words Here am I, Here am I, yet the people
who were created by these Messengers refuse to do so! They
studied their Scriptures, prayed for His coming, recited the
words Here am I, but when they saw Him, they rose
against Him:
Behold, how the divers peoples and kindreds of the earth
have been waiting for the coming of the Promised One.
No sooner had He, Who is the Sun of Truth, been made
manifest, than, lo, all turned away from Him, except them
whom God was pleased to guide.55 Baháulláh
Whenever His [the Bábs] blessed name was mentioned,
all would say: May God hasten the joy His coming will
bring! On the day of the Revelation of that Sun of Truth,
however, all, as hath been observed, have exclaimed, say-
ing: May God hasten His chastisement! He Who was
the Essence of being and Lord of the seen and unseen [the
Báb] they suspended,E and committed what made the
Pen to groan, and the cries of the sincere to break forth,
1Writings of Baháulláh
The Purpose of Suffering
The Ancient Beauty [Baháulláh] hath consented to be
bound with chains that mankind may be released from its
bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within
this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may
E
The Báb was suspended above the ground and shot.
2258 King of Kings
3attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup
of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto
abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the
mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merci-
ful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the
Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered
manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish.57
Say: We have accepted to be tried by ills and troubles, that
ye may sanctify yourselves from all earthly defilements.
Why, then, refuse ye to ponder Our purpose in your hearts?
By the righteousness of God! Whoso will reflect upon the
tribulations We have suffered, his soul will assuredly melt
away with sorrow. Thy Lord Himself beareth witness to
the truth of My words. We have sustained the weight of
all calamities to sanctify you from all earthly corruption,
and ye are yet indifferent.58
Suffering, the Destiny of all Great
Messengers or Manifestations of God
as far back as the First Manifestation, all have at the
time of Their appearance suffered grievously. Some were
held to be possessed, others were called impostors, and
were treated in a manner that the pen is ashamed to de-
scribe. By God! There befell Them what hath made all
created things to sigh, and yet the people are, for the most
part, sunk in manifest ignorance! We pray God to assist
them to return unto Him, and to repent before the door of
His mercy. Potent is He over all things.59
Suffering as an Evidence
Consider, therefore, how the generality of mankind, what-
ever their beliefs or theories, have recognized the excel-
lence, and admitted the superiority, of these Prophets of
God. These Gems of Detachment are acclaimed by some
as the embodiments of wisdom, while others believe them
to be the mouthpiece of God Himself. How could such
4Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
5Souls have consented to surrender themselves unto their
enemies if they believed all the worlds of God to have
been reduced to this earthly life? Would they have will-
ingly suffered such afflictions and torments as no man
hath ever experienced or witnessed?
The Abundance of Suffering
So great have been Our sufferings that even the eyes of
Our enemies have wept over Us, and beyond them those
of every discerning person.61
Thankful Despite Suffering
He [Baháulláh] summoned men unto the most sublime
Paradise, and yet they seized Him and paraded Him
through cities and countries. How many the nights during
which slumber fled from the eyes of My loved ones, be-
cause of their love for Me; and how numerous the days
whereon I had to face the assaults of the peoples against
Me! At one time I found Myself on the heights of moun-
tains; at another in the depths of the prison of Tá (Tihrán),
in chains and fetters. By the righteousness of God! I was
at all times thankful unto Him, uttering His praise, engaged
in remembering Him, directed towards Him, satisfied with
His pleasure, and lowly and submissive before Him. So
passed My days, until they ended in this Prison (Akká)
An Expression of Both Supreme
Power and Resignation
O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus,
the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once
more, in My person, been made manifest unto you. Deal
with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down My
life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the
powers of earth and heaven be leagued against Me I
have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and am
invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily,
6260 King of Kings
7is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. I, verily, an-
ticipate from you the treatment ye have accorded unto
Him that came before Me [the Báb].63
A Prayer for the Suffering Believers
Thy glory is my witness! At each daybreak they who love
Thee wake to find the cup of woe set before their faces,
because they have believed in Thee and acknowledged
Thy signs. Though I firmly believe that Thou hast a greater
compassion on them than they have on their own selves,
though I recognize that Thou hast afflicted them for no
other purpose except to proclaim Thy Cause, and to enable
them to ascend into the heaven of Thine eternity and the
precincts of Thy court, yet Thou knowest full well the
frailty of some of them, and art aware of their impatience
in their sufferings.
Help them through Thy strengthening grace, I beseech
Thee, O my God, to suffer patiently in their love for Thee,
and unveil to their eyes what Thou hast decreed for them
behind the Tabernacle of Thine unfailing protection, so
that they may rush forward to meet what is preordained
for them in Thy path, and may vie in hasting after tribu-
lation in their love towards Thee.64
A Prayer About Suffering
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? Thy might beareth Me witness! The
companions of all who adore Thee are the tears they shed,
and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans
they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee
is the fragments of their broken hearts. How sweet to my
taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and
how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine
enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation
8Chapter 8: The Day of Mourning
9of Thy Word! Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God and
my Master, whatsoever Thou didst desire, and send down
upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain. By Thy glory!
I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what Thou
cherishest. In Thee have I, at all times, placed My whole
trust and confidence. Thou art verily the All-Possessing,
the Most High. Raise up, I implore Thee, O my God, as
helpers to this Revelation such as shall be counted worthy
of Thy Name and of Thy sovereignty, that they may re-
member Thee among Thy creatures, and hoist the ensigns
of Thy victory in Thy land, and adorn them with Thy
virtues and Thy commandments. No God is there but Thee,
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.65
The Tablet of Visitation
The following is part of a Tablet or Epistle by Baháulláh
that enumerates some of His sufferings. Baháís read this
prayer when they visit His final resting place. They also recite
it throughout the Baháí world, at the moment of Baháulláhs
passing:
I bear witness that he who hath known Thee [Baháulláh]
hath known God, and he who hath attained unto Thy pres-
ence hath attained unto the presence of God. Great, there-
fore, is the blessedness of him who hath believed in Thee,
and in Thy signs, and hath humbled himself before Thy
sovereignty, and hath been honored with meeting Thee,
and hath attained the good pleasure of Thy will, and
circled around Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe
betide him that hath transgressed against Thee, and hath
denied Thee, and repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy
sovereignty, and risen up against Thee, and waxed proud
before Thy face, and hath disputed Thy testimonies, and
fled from Thy rule and Thy dominion
I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed
upon one wronged like Thee [Baháulláh]. Thou wast
immersed all the days of Thy life beneath an ocean of
10262 King of Kings
11tribulations. At one time Thou wast in chains and fetters;
at another Thou wast threatened by the sword of Thine
enemies. Yet, despite all this, Thou didst enjoin upon all
men to observe what had been prescribed unto Thee by
Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
May my spirit be a sacrifice to the wrongs Thou didst
suffer, and my soul be a ransom for the adversities Thou
didst sustain. I beseech God, by Thee and by them whose
faces have been illumined with the splendors of the light
of Thy countenance, and who, for love of Thee, have ob-
served all whereunto they were bidden, to remove the
veils that have come in between Thee and Thy creatures,
and to supply me with the good of this world and the
world to come. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most
Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most
Compassionate.66
1in righteousness He judges and makes war
Revelation 19:11
People have always waged war against God:
O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of
your fathers, for you shall not prosper!
II Chronicles 13:12 NKJ
And now I say to you, keep away from these men [early
Christians] and let them alone; for if this plan [of Jesus]
or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it
is of God, you cannot overthrow it; lest you even be found
2An awesome war, the like of which the world has never
known, is predicted to be waged in this age. Prophecies
pointing to war are numerous. They indicate that the earth
will turn into a battleground between God and His enemies
those whose security or power is threatened. The following
prophecies present us with more evidence of the universal
rejection of the Redeemer of our time:
Then the Lord will be seen over them, and His arrow will
go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the
trumpet Zechariah 14:14 NKJ
The great day of the Lord is near a day of trumpet and
alarm against the fortified cities [strong institutions] and
against the high towers [people of high status].
Zephaniah 1:14, 16 NKJ
Notice the phrase weapons of his indignation in the Ameri-
can Revised Version:
The noise of a multitude in the mountains [established
institutions] Jehovah of hosts is mustering the host for
the battle and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy
the whole land. Isaiah 13:4-5
Are these wars promised to be waged with bullets, bombs,
missiles, and arrows, or with Gods weapons of indigna-
tion? Are they declared with trumpets or with potent thoughts
and words? Are these wars physical, for the mass killing of
non-believers, or are they spiritual, for conquering the hearts
and minds of humankind? Today, most Christians take the
predicted wars literally. Some of them actually believe that
Jesus will use nuclear weapons to destroy His enemies. Some
interpreters even give detailed accounts of the war between
God and the earthly residents:
Jesus speaks the Word which releases a plague to smite
the vast armies of the Antichrist and the 200 million strong
Oriental army. They are immediately blinded; their eyes
are consumed away in their sockets. They are immediately
3In fright, they reach out and grab one another for security.
That only frightens them more, so they turn to fight among
themselves. Their flesh begins to consume away from their
bones. Their blood gushes to the earth, creating the pool
of blood described in Revelation 14. It stretches over an
area of about 185 miles in the valley of Megiddo and the
Plains of Jezreel.1
The idea of God fighting with bombs, bullets, and battalions
against His own creatures is the most awesome, amazing,
strange, irrational, unlikely, and incredible thought. Yet it is
extremely popular. Why? Perhaps for the same reasons that
science fiction is popular. Human imagination craves the
miraculous, the sensational, the spectacular. There is one more
reason: human beings love the fulfillment of their I told you
so! predictions. They like this kind of scenario, Jim tells
Joe again and again to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and
Savior. But Joe continues to brush aside Jims invitation.
Then suddenly the Lord comes and lifts Jim to heaven, but
leaves Joe to face pain and utter destruction. Jim looks at Joe
for the last time and says, Buddy, it is too late. You deserve
what you get. Todays books of prophecy are filled with
sensational descriptions of wars between the forces of Jesus
Christ and non-Christians. Let us consider a few descriptions
from some popular authors:
the weapons will be made out of wood. We know this
from verse 9, which tells us that it will take seven years
for them to burn all of the weapons. If Russia were to
invade the nation of Israel today, they certainly would not
be using wooden weapons. However, during the millen-
nium, without any foundries and factories (which pollute),
there will not be a source of metal available and so any
weapons would, of necessity, have to be made of wood.
We also see in this passage that it will take seven months
to bury the dead. Some of them will be consumed by the
fire and some of them will be eaten by predatory birds
and beasts, but the remainder will require seven months
4The Russian and Muslim armies initially launch a co-
ordinated two-pronged attack from the north and south
of Israel. The Russian commander sweeps through the
strategic land bridge that begins at Istanbul and continues
southward to the Suez canal This battle plan seems to
indicate that the Russian commander double-crosses many
of the Muslim nations, including Egypt. Perhaps they are
nations that will not go along with Irans fanatical brand
of Islamic Fundamentalism Even demonic power helps
facilitate this largest-of-all-time armys rapid advance into
the Middle East. The mighty Euphrates River, the recog-
nized boundary-barrier between East and West for ages
past, will be supernaturally dried up to facilitate the rapid
march of this Oriental juggernaut 3 Apocalypse Code
He [Jesus] will come powerfully accompanied by myriads
of angels At this point, we must recognize our need to
dispense with the traditional, rather effeminate concepts of
angels, that many people have. Angels are not just inoffen-
sive, mild creatures, who spend all their time playing gentle
harps on heavenly clouds, their golden wings glowing in
the sunlight. They are powerful servants of God, minister-
ing spirits whose role is to serve His people (Hebrews
1:7, 14). Just one angel was able to destroy a whole army
1Russias invasion of Israel Armageddon itself climaxes
the campaign as the Lord and His armies appear from
heaven hundreds of millions of men (Revelation 9:16)
will engage in this Middle East military confrontation So
great and complete will be the destruction resulting from
this battle that the blood of those killed will form a river
200 miles long, rising even unto the horse bridles (Revela-
tion 14:20). Seven months will be required to bury the dead
(Ezekiel 39:12).5 Everything You Always Wanted to Know
2Baháís believe that it is infinitely below the dignity and
kindness of heavenly Redeemers and Teachers to use bombs
and bullets to purify the earth. But spiritual wars have always
been waged between the forces of light and darkness.
And war broke out in heaven [of divine Revelation]
Revelation 12:7 NKJ
Aid ye your Lord with the sword of wisdom and of utter-
ance. This indeed well becometh the station of man. To
depart from it would be unworthy of God, the Sovereign
Lord of all, the Glorified. [Emphasis added throughout.]6
Baháulláh
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before
you He is your shield and helper and your glorious
sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will
trample down their high places. Deuteronomy 33:27, 29 NIV
Who are Gods soldiers? Who are His heavenly hosts?
They are the servants who obey Him.
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do
his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his
heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Psalms 103:20-21 NIV
God has always taught us to win our wars through the power
of reason, not rockets; proofs and prophecies, not supersonic
planes; gentle persuasion, not soldiers and generals; open
minds, not military officers; sincere hearts, not hatred and
savagery. I felt honored when someone once told me that she
dreamed she had gone to war with I Shall Come Again as
her sole weapon!
The Baháí Faith is a religion of peace, love, joy, and gentle-
ness, yet its Scriptures contain many metaphors of war. The
Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) is the best-known Baháí plan
devised by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháí Faith,
31335 in Lord of Lords.) The abundant use of metaphors of
war in Baháí Writings point to the spiritual purpose and
fulfillment of prophecies. Consider these examples:
The stage is set. The hour is propitious. The signal is
sounded. Baháulláhs spiritual battalions are moving
into position. The initial clash between the forces of dark-
ness and the army of light, as unnoticed as the landing,
two millenniums ago, of the apostles of Christ on the
southern shores of the European continent, is being regis-
tered by the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom [Heavenly
Kingdom]. The Author of the Plan that has set so titanic
an enterprise in motion is Himself mounted at the head of
these battalions, and leads them on to capture the cities
of mens hearts.7 Shoghi Effendi
He Who leadeth to true victory is come. By the righteous-
ness of God! He is fully capable of revolutionizing the
world through the power of a single Word. Having enjoined
upon all men to observe wisdom, He Himself hath adhered
to the cord of patience and resignation.8 Baháulláh
Who is it that can dismay you? A touch of moisture sufficeth
to dissolve the hardened clay out of which this perverse
generation is molded. The mere act of your gathering to-
gether is enough to scatter the forces of these vain and
worthless people.9 Baháulláh
Verily God rendereth His Cause victorious at one time
through the aid of His enemies and at another by virtue
1Many prophecies contain the words fire and sword:
For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His
chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury,
and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by
2Chapter 9: War Against God
3His sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of
the Lord shall be many. Isaiah 66:15-16 NKJ
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God
comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages. Psalms 50:2-3 NIV
I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient
of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and
the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was
a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream
issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand
thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before Him. Daniel 7:9-10 NKJ
The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do
not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel
II Thessalonians 1:7-8 NKJ
See also Matthew 13:41-42
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed
by fire; and the fire shall try every mans work
I Corinthians 3:13
every one shall be salted with fire Christ (Mark 9:49)
Come and see the works of the Lord…He makes wars
cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and
shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
Psalms 46:8-9 NIV
See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burn-
ing anger and dense clouds and smoke; his lips are full
of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire…
Isaiah 30:27 NIV
The Lord shall appear above them, and his arrow shall
flash like lightning; the Lord God shall blow a blast on
the horn and march with the storm-winds of the south.
Zechariah 9:14 NEB
4270 King of Kings
5Are the words fire, smoke, sword, horn, spears, arrow, tem-
pest, breaking, burning, and shattering literal or symbolic?
Baháulláh has written an Epistle called The Fire Tablet. In
it we can find both the fire, and the sword. Here is a
brief quotation:
Coldness hath gripped all mankind: Where is the warmth
of Thy [Gods] love, O Fire of the worlds? Calamity hath
reached its height: Where are the signs of Thy succor, O
Salvation of the worlds? Darkness hath enveloped most of
the peoples: Where is the brightness of Thy splendor, O
Radiance of the worlds? The necks of men are stretched
out in malice: Where are the swords of Thy vengeance,
O Destroyer of the worlds? Abasement hath reached its
lowest depth: Where are the emblems of Thy glory, O
Glory of the worlds? Sorrows have afflicted the Revealer
of Thy Name, the All-Merciful: Where is the joy of the
Dayspring of Thy Revelation, O Delight of the worlds?
Anguish hath befallen all the peoples of the earth: Where
are the ensigns of Thy gladness, O Joy of the worlds?11
What does the fire stand for? Tests and trials:
This third [of people] I will bring into the fire; I will refine
them like silver and test them like gold. Zechariah 13:9 NIV
Fire also symbolizes Gods wrath for those who deny His
Redeemers:
These verses are a light unto those who believe in them
and a fire of afflictive torment for those who turn away
and reject them.12 The Báb
What type of sword does God use? Consider this prophecy
about the Redeemer of our time:
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.
And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes
were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many
6Chapter 9: War Against God
7crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except
Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and
His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in
heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed
Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He
Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself
treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Al-
mighty God. Revelation 19:11-15 NKJ
What type of weapon does the heavenly Warrior carry? A
sword. Where does He carry it? In His hand? No, in His
mouth. What does His army wear? Suits of armor and hel-
mets? No, they wear fine linen, white and clean. What does
white linen symbolize? Purity, gentleness, and an impec-
cable character. These warriors have stainless hearts rather
than hearts of steel. What does the sword symbolize? The
Word of God. Baháulláh has declared war for winning the
hearts and minds of humankind. He commands His followers
to arise for the battle with ready swords:
Beware lest ye shed the blood of any one. Unsheathe the
sword of your tongue from the scabbard of utterance, for
therewith ye can conquer the citadels of mens hearts.13
O people of Bahá! Subdue the citadels of mens hearts
with the swords of wisdom and of utterance.14
What kinds of swords can conquer the heart of humanity?
What can produce the sharpest blade?
By the righteousness of God! The sword of a virtuous
character and upright conduct is sharper than blades of
steel.15 Baháulláh
The sword of wisdom is hotter than summer heat, and
sharper than blades of steel, if ye do but understand. Draw
it forth in My name and through the power of My might,
and conquer, then, with it the cities of the hearts of them
that have secluded themselves in the stronghold of their
8272 King of Kings
9corrupt desires. Thus biddeth you the Pen of the All-
Glorious, whilst seated beneath the swords of the wayward.16
Baháulláh
What kind of sword do Gods enemies use?
In these days there are some who, far from being just and
fair-minded, have assaulted Me with the sword of hatred
and the spear of enmity 17 Baháulláh
At present no day passeth without the fire of a fresh tyranny
blazing fiercely, or the sword of a new aggression being
unsheathed.18 Baháulláh
When those who had for years been hiding behind the
veils perceived that the horizon of the Cause was resplen-
dent and that the Word of God was all-pervasive, they
rushed forth and with swords of malice inflicted such harm
as no pen can portray nor any tongue describe.19
Baháulláh
In one city, the governor accused the Baháís that they had
been laying up arms. To that accusation, Baháulláh offered
this response:
This people need no weapons of destruction, inasmuch as
they have girded themselves to reconstruct the world. Their
hosts are the hosts of goodly deeds, and their arms the
arms of upright conduct, and their commander the fear
of God. Blessed that one that judgeth with fairness. By the
righteousness of God! Such hath been the patience, the
calm, the resignation and contentment of this people that
they have become the exponents of justice, and so great
hath been their forbearance, that they have suffered them-
selves to be killed rather than kill What could have
caused such resignation and serenity?
The predicted war against God has been waged in several
Muslim countries with both literal and symbolic swords. In
Iran, the birthplace of the Baháí Faith, Baháulláhs opponents
have spread every conceivable lie and accusation to uproot
10Chapter 9: War Against God
11the Baháí Faith. Such a war has not started in Christian
countries, but it is bound to happen, especially when the es-
tablished churches are threatened.
Once again consider the following prophecy about the greatest
of all wars, known as the Armageddon:
The armies of heaven were following him [the Promised
One], riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen,
white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword
with which to strike down the nations…The rest of them
were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of
the rider on the horse… Revelation 19:14-15, 21 NIV
Are the armies of heaven heavenly or earthly? Is the sword
of the Lord made of iron or of the divine power? This verse
alone should convince every seeker of truth that Gods battle
is spiritual, that the war is waged by the sword of the tongue,
for the Word of God cuts like a sword, separating truth from
falsehood. Isaiah 13:5 declares that the Lord will wage war
with His weapons of indignation. Again we see the sym-
bolism involved. Yet most Christians consider Armageddon a
literal war that will be by far the bloodiest of all wars.
Hal Lindsey, a very popular Christian author, believes that
Armageddon will be so dreadful that blood will stand to the
horses bridles for a total distance of 200 miles northward and
southward of Jerusalem. The depth of blood is calculated to
be over one meter.21
Ezekiel 39:12 predicts a war so horrible that for seven months
the house of Israel will be burying them [the people of Cog]
in order to cleanse the land. A Christian writer has estimated
that this would involve 360 million corpses.
Zechariah states that all the nations of the earth will be
gathered in Jerusalem to fight the Lord. A literal interpreta-
tion would mean that Christians and Muslims will put their
armies together to fight a common enemy: Christ. It would
mean that Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics, Russians,
12274 King of Kings
13Chinese, Japanese, Swedish, Islanders and people of over
other countries and dependencies will form a united front
against the heavenly angels!
Armageddon is a Greek word for part of the mountain range
(Mt. Carmel) on which Baháí International Institutions are
located. According to Nelsons Bible Dictionary:
Armageddon (mountain of Megiddo)is the site of the
final battle of this age in which God intervenes to destroy
the armies of Satan and to cast Satan into the bottomless
pit (Rev. 16:16; 20:1-3, 7-10). Scholars disagree about the
exact location of this place, but the most likely possibility
is the valley between Mount Carmel and the city of Jezreel
Because of this history, Megiddo became a symbol of the
final conflict between God and the forces of evil. Accord-
ing to the Book of Revelation, at Armageddon the cup
of the wine of the fierceness of His [Gods] wrath (Rev.
16:19) will be poured out, and the forces of evil will be
overthrown and destroyed.23
Thus on one side stands the Baháí World Centre on Mt.
Carmel, the Mountain of the Lord, and on the other, count-
less millions of fanatical warriors, from every region, nation,
and culture, who wish and even try to eradicate that Centre
of Divine Guidance. This is the metaphoric meaning of
Armageddon.
The metaphors of sword and fire appear abundantly in
Baháulláhs Writings with both positive and negative mean-
ings. Here are some examples of metaphoric uses of the fire:
the fire of hatred 24 the flames of the nethermost
the fire of rebelliousness 25 fire
the fire of tyranny 26 the fire of bereavement
veiled in fire 27 the fire of Hell
the fire of separation from the fire of the tongue
God 28 the fire of self
14Chapter 9: War Against God
15fire of unbelief 34 the fire of Thy glorification
fire of blindness 35 the fire of their hearts
the fire of your desires 36 the fire of my remembrance
the fire of oppression 37 of Thee
the lowest abyss of the fire 38 the fire of being
the fire of Thy wrath 39 the fire of hope
the fire of animosity 40 the fire of the lovers heart
the fire of a fresh tyranny 41 the fire of Thy Sacred Tree
the fire of the impious 42 the fire that blazed in the
the fire of strife and disorder 43 Burning Bush
the fire of wisdom 44 the fire of God
the fire of yearning 45 the fire of love
the fire of Thy Cause 46 the flame of this undying Fire57
16A few more examples:
Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring
fire
The most burning fire is to question the signs of God
17hell hath been made to blaze with the fire of the impious.60
the fire of the love of Jesus consumed the veils of Jewish
limitations
with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our
servants.62
I know not, O my God, what the Fire is which Thou didst
kindle in Thy land.63
O Thou my God who settest my soul on fire
18Although war is far more often used as a metaphor for
spiritual warfare, we cannot deny that the metaphor may also
have a literal meaning. For instance, more people have been
killed in the 20th century than during all past centuries. Each
of the two world wars of that century may demonstrate a
literal fulfillment of the prophecies of the Armageddon.
19276 King of Kings
20The followers of the Báb were attacked several times by the
Persian army. But instead of submitting, they took defensive
positions. The story of their incredible courage and sacrifice
against a well-prepared and powerful army is a book in itself.
(See The Dawn Breakers.) Although the Bábs followers were
not trained as soldiers, they withstood the Persian army for
months. Never before in the history of warfare has such a
small group of untrained people attained the astonishing vic-
tories gained by the Bábs followers. Chapter 2 of Joel seems
to describe their valor and mighty powers. In the course of
these wars and other tribulations, thousands of those saintly
souls were killed. The Book of Revelation confirms such
wars against the Lamb and His followers:
Then one of the elders asked me, These in white robes
who are they, and where did they come from? I answered:
Sir, you know. And he said, These are they who have
come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [the
Báb]. Revelation 7:13-14 NIV
21When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of those who had been slain because of the word
of God and the testimony they had maintained. They
called out in a loud voice, How long, Sovereign Lord,
holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth
and avenge our blood? Then each of them was given a
white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until
the number of their fellow servants and brothers who
were to be killed as they had been was completed.
Revelation 6:9-11 NIV
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will
overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of
kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and
faithful. Revelation 17:14 NKJ
22Chapter 9: War Against God
23The Book of Revelation even points to the way many of the
followers of the Báb and Baháulláh were killed. Beheading,
at that time, was the most common means of execution:
Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for
their witness to Jesus [the Báb] and for the word of God
[Baháulláh]. Revelation 2:6 NKJ
24It is commonly accepted that Jesus sacrifice was a price that
had to be paid for the salvation of Christians. Prophecies of
the Book of Revelation indicate that the drama of sacrifice
and suffering will be repeated again.
Now has come the salvation and the power and the king-
dom of our God [Baháulláh], and the authority of his
Christ [the Báb]. For the accuser of our brothers [new
believers], who accuses them before our God day and
night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb [the Báb] and by the word of their
testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to
shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and
you who dwell in them! Revelation 12:10-12 NIV
25The accuser of our brothers symbolizes the negative forces
of our planet, the enemies of truth and justice. It may also
symbolize a specific person, an antichrist, such as Azal or
Siyyid Muhammad. The prophecy declares that those forces
were defeated. The victory was achieved by the blood of the
Lamb [the Báb], and the testimony of His followers, who
testified to the truth of His Word and without fear offered
their lives just as their Master had done.
Daniel also predicts suffering for the followers of the new
Faith:
Those who are wise will instruct many [about the second
advent], though for a time they will fall by the sword or
be burned or captured or plundered. Daniel 11:33 NIV
26278 King of Kings
1well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of
the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem
an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to
move it will injure themselves. Zechariah 12:2-3 NIV
Jerusalem is selected symbolically as the center of spiritual
conflict for several reasons. First, it symbolizes the heart of
religion; and second, the Book of Revelation refers to the
Baháí Faith as the new Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God (21:2). Jerusalem even has a close literal
connection with the Baháí Faith. It stands in the same coun-
try in which the Baháí international institutions have been
established.
On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that
attack Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:9 NIV
The prophecy was partially fulfilled when a few Muslim
countries fought against Israel. But how is it possible for all
nations, including the western powers, to fight or stand against
Israel? It is possible if we look at the inner meaning of the
prophecy. Jerusalem symbolizes the City of God, or Gods
Blueprint for a new civilization. As we noted earlier, a time
will come when all nations will wage spiritual warfare against
the spread of the Baháí Faitha Faith that brings a New
World Order, a New Jerusalem, from heaven.
The Book of Revelation points to an army of 200 million who
will be gathered in Jerusalem. In a recent war in the Middle
East, it took the United States with all its might several weeks
to gather half a million soldiers. Imagine gathering and trans-
2Franceto one city to fight against Jesus Christ and His
angels!
This prophecy points to both the humiliation and the final
victory of the residents of the City of God:
I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the
city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women
ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the
remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations,
as He fights in the day of battle. Zechariah 14:2-3 NKJ
In the next passage, Baháulláh uses the metaphor of war. He
portrays the futility of wars waged against Him. Can 10,000
soldiers stop the sun from shining?
The Sun of Truth shineth resplendently, at the bidding of
the Lord of the kingdom of utterance, and the King of the
heaven of knowledge, above the horizon of the prison-city
of Akká [in the Holy Land]…and ten thousand hosts
arrayed against it were powerless to withhold it from
shining.65
The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the
purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand
firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all genera-
tions. Psalms 33:10-11 NIV
Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by
Thy Pen.66 Baháulláh
The day is approaching when God will have exalted His
Cause and magnified His testimony in the eyes of all who
are in the heavens and all who are on the earth.67
Know ye of a certainty that He will render you victorious,
will exalt you among the peoples of the world and will
demonstrate your high rank before the gaze of all nations.68
3280 King of Kings
1Our age is called the day of vengeance:
Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me
1Isaiah 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart.
The following is a prayer and a pleading for the coming of
Baháulláh:
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs; O God, to
whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge
of the earth; render punishment to the proud. Lord, how
long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
Psalms 94:1-3 NKJ
The word vengeance appears also in this prophecy:
when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those
who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. II Thessalonians 1:7-8 NKJ
What does vengeance mean? It means treating others the
way we are treated. All sacred Scriptures promise that God
will treat us the way we treat Him. For instance, if we ignore
Him, He will ignore us; if we deny His new Redeemer, He
will deny us:
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Christ (Matt. 7:2 NIV)
God will verily do unto them that which they themselves
are doing, and will forget them even as they have ignored
His Presence in His day.69 Baháulláh
he who disowns me will be disowned.
2Thus vengeance in the preceding prophecies indicates mutual
denial both by people and by God on a wide scale. Disobe-
dience always leads to vengeance, which we always impose
on ourselves; it is always a consequence of our choices.
I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations
that have not obeyed me. Micah 5:15 NIV
People may say, I am a good Christian, a good Muslim, or
a good Jew. I am honest, sincere, loving, and faithful. I am
not the kind who would deny his Lord. Only evil people
would do such a thing. This deadly attitude of self-protection,
self-righteousness, and self-comfort has always prevailed. It
is like having fun in a room and feeling totally safe, while
the house is on fire. Only a sense of absolute humility can
save a person from denying his Lord:
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them
his way. Psalms 25:9 NIV
I was brought low and he saved me. Psalms 116:6 NEB
seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day
of the Lords anger. Zephaniah 2:3 NIV
The virtue of humility, as a prerequisite for recognizing the
Lord, is confirmed in all sacred Scriptures. Are people humble
enough to see the relevance of the message of humility to
their souls?
Why would God save humble people? Because they do not
start with the assumption of I am safe and saved! They
step out of their room to check their surroundings and to see
what is going on in the rest of the house.
The Scriptures clearly indicate that our perception of our
righteousness and Gods perception are often radically differ-
ent. What we think of ourselves has absolutely no signifi-
cance. Only what God thinks is valid. According to Gods
judgment, anyone who denies His new Redeemer falls from
3of dishonor and disgrace. Baháulláh calls anyone who denies
Him an infidel, and as we noted, both Jesus and Daniel refer
to such a person as wicked.
The invisible trap of self-satisfaction captured many Pharisees,
some of them as noble in character as we find in the best
Christians and Jews of our time. They had no idea of their
spiritual state. They lived with a clear conscience, and died
with the hope of eternal life with their Lord. Yet Jesus
condemned them in the harshest words. The lesson of the
Pharisees speaks so clearly and so loudly, it is hard to imagine
1Hebrew Scriptures speak of a heavenly war against Edom
a metaphor for rebellious people. Where does the metaphor
come from? From the story of Isaacs twin sons: Jacob and
Esau. Esau was Isaacs favored son, but because of an un-
seemly behavior he fell from grace (Gen. 25:29-34).70 Most
of the biblical narratives about Esau draw a great contrast
between him and his [twin] brother, Jacob.
Genesis 36:8-9 refers to Esau as the father of the Edomites.
Who were the Edomites? They were an idolatrous (II Chronicles
25:14) and warlike people, who continually plagued the Jews.
They refused to let Moses pass through their land. Herod, who
mocked Jesus, was an Edomite and is considered by some
Christian scholars a type of antichrist. Biederwolf considers
Edom to be representative of all heathen nations.72 Accord-
ing to The Amplified Bible, Moab and Edom represented
symbolically the enemies of Christ.
Before examining several prophecies about the Edom of our
time, we should note that since 1844 thousands of the fol-
lowers of the Báb and Baháulláh in the Middle East and
North Africa have been killed and persecuted by fanatical
Muslims in their own country. The persecutions have been
2Chapter 9: War Against God
3most severe in Iran, the birth-place of the Baháí Faith. When
a Muslim recognizes the Báb and Baháulláh, often family
members turn against him:
How many fathers have turned away from their sons; how
many lovers have shunned their beloved! So mercilessly
trenchant was this wondrous sword of God that it cleft
asunder every relationship!74 Baháulláh
The Baháís, and the cruel Muslims who persecuted them,
were, just like Jacob and Esau, of one nation; they were
brothers and sisters. A prophecy from Obadiah likens the
Muslims and Baháís of our time to Esau and Jacob:
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom [an Islamic
power]: Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be greatly despised. The pride of your heart has
deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, Who
will bring me down to the ground? Though you ascend
as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among
the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the
Lord the men at peace with you shall deceive you and
prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a
trap for you. No one is aware of it.
Will I not in that day, says the Lord, Even destroy the
wise men from Edom, and understanding from the moun-
tains of Esau [Islamic institutions]? For violence against
your brother Jacob [the Báb and His followers], shame
shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever For the
day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have
done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return
upon your own head But on Mount Zion [Israel] there
shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house
of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob
[the Bábs Revelation] shall be a fire, and the house of Jo-
seph [Baháulláhs Revelation] a flame; but the house of
4284 King of Kings
5Esau [the dead body of Islam] shall be stubble; they [the
fire and the flame] shall kindle them [the dead residents]
and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house
of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. Obadiah 1-18 NKJ
Similar prophecies are also found in Jeremiah and Isaiah. In
these prophecies, several ancient cities in Edomsuch as
Bozrah, Teman, and Dedan in a neighboring districtare
used symbolically to refer to their counterparts in our age.
Only the names have changed, not the people or the system
that govern them. The names refer first and foremost not to
places but the kind of people who appear in every age and
the unjust system they establish to serve their self-interests.
Prophecies about the Edom of our time are being fulfilled at
this very moment. As events unroll, their meanings will be-
come progressively clearer.
Concerning Edom: This is what the Lord Almighty says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel per-
ished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? Turn
and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for
I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him. If
grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few
grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not
steal only as much as they wanted? But I will strip Esau
bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot
conceal himself. His children, relatives and neighbors will
perish, and he will be no more. Leave your orphans; I will
protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me.
This is what the Lord says: If those who do not deserve
to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpun-
ished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. I
swear by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah will
become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and
of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.
I have heard a message from the Lord: An envoy was sent
to the nations to say, Assemble yourselves to attack it!
6Chapter 9: War Against God
7Rise up for battle! Now I will make you small among the
nations, despised among men. The terror you inspire and
the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live
in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the
hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagles,
from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by
will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with
their neighboring towns, says the Lord, so no one will
live there; no man will dwell in it. Like a lion coming up
from Jordans thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase
Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one
I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can
challenge me? And what shepherd [religious leader] can
stand against me? Therefore, hear what the Lord has
planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those
who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged
away; he will completely destroy their pasture [religious
institutions] because of them. At the sound of their fall the
earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
Look! An eagle [of victory] will soar and swoop down,
spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of
Edoms warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Jeremiah 49:7-22 NIV
O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you
that can rival Me in vision or insight? Where is he to be
found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance
or wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the
earth shall pass away; and this is the face of your Lord,
the Almighty, the Well-Beloved.75 Baháulláh
8A prophecy from Isaiah refers to the coming of Baháulláh
from Bozrah, which may symbolize Tihrán. Bozrah was the
capital or the main city of Edom:
9286 King of Kings
10Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments
from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel,
traveling in the greatness of His strength?; I who speak
in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is Your apparel red
[a symbol of suffering], and Your garments like one who
treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress
alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I
have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My
fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I
have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in
My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. I
looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered
that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm
brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained
Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made
them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength
to the earth. Isaiah 63:1-6 NKJ
11Gods Way of Attaining Victory
The emphasis in Baháulláhs works is always on noble deeds.
That weapon more than anything else assures Gods victory:
O God, my God! Adorn the heads of Thy loved ones with
the crown of detachment and attire their temples with the
raiment of righteousness.
It behoveth the people of Bahá to render the Lord vic-
torious through the power of their utterance and to ad-
monish the people by their goodly deeds and character,
inasmuch as deeds exert greater influence than words.76
Baháulláh
This Wronged One hath forbidden the people of God to
engage in contention or conflict and hath exhorted them
to righteous deeds and praiseworthy character. In this day
the hosts that can ensure the victory of the Cause are
those of goodly conduct and saintly character. Blessed
12Chapter 9: War Against God
13are they who firmly adhere unto them and woe betide
such as turn away therefrom.77 Baháulláh
The armies of victory need a commander. That commander
is fear of God:
Verily I say, fear of God is the greatest commander that
can render the Cause of God victorious, and the hosts which
best befit this commander have ever been and are an upright
character and pure and goodly deeds.78 Baháulláh
What does fear mean? It means an awareness of divine
justice. It is a reminder that denying Gods great Messengers
and Redeemers has grave consequences. The consequences are
not torture and pain inflicted by angels of wrath, but a state
of spiritual poverty, as Abdul-Bahá describes it. Punishment
is not inflicted on us; we inflict it on ourselves. We are not
dragged into darkness; we decide to stay in darkness. When
we deny the truth, in effect we say, I have no need for the
Sun. I choose to live in the dark of my own illusions and
selfish desires.
Heaven is reaching out for Gods blessings and bounties; hell
is refusing to reach out. Heaven is running toward God; hell
is fleeing away from God.
People need to be reminded, in the kindest and gentlest way,
that denying or ignoring Baháulláhthe most awesome
expression of Gods glory and grandeuris a grave injury
they inflict on their everlasting essencetheir souls. This
seemingly and deceptively minor injury has unimagined,
unparalleled, and ever-enduring consequences. From Gods
perspective, we remain spiritually dead until we reach out for
His remedy.
Instead of forcing people to believe, instead of firing missiles,
God unsheathes the sword of His utterance: His creative
and supreme Word. He untaps the power of persuasion as a
means of transforming the hearts and souls of humankind:
14288 King of Kings
15Say: 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-Compel-
ling 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 thereby become the recipients of
divine good. This is but a token of Gods bounty vouch-
safed unto them. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the
Most Exalted.79 Baháulláh
God, unlike human beings, is patient:
He Who leadeth to true victory is come. By the righteous-
ness of God! He is fully capable of revolutionizing the world
through the power of a single Word. Having enjoined upon
all men to observe wisdom, He Himself hath adhered to
the cord of patience and resignation.80 Baháulláh
In the following prayer Baháulláh indicates that Gods
purpose in not using His supreme powers to gain immediate
victory is to separate the sincere from the insincere, the
faithful from the unfaithful:
I know full well Thou [God] hast delayed to manifest Thy
triumph in the kingdom of creation that thereby those
who have entered beneath the shadow of Thy transcendent
mercy may be separated from those who have dealt dis-
dainfully with Thee, and turned back from Thy presence
at the time when Thou didst manifest Thy most exalted
Beauty.81
Gods ways of guiding do not change. How did Jesus gain
victory?
Jesus Christ gave His life upon the cross for the unity of
mankind Only a few were attracted to Him All of them
were men of the least consequence in the eyes of the world
With this small army Christ conquered the world of the
East and the West. Kings and nations rose against Him.
16Chapter 9: War Against God
17Philosophers and the greatest men of learning assailed and
blasphemed His Cause. All were defeated and overcome,
their tongues silenced, their lamps extinguished, their
hatred quenched; no trace of them now remains. They have
become as nonexistent, while His Kingdom is triumphant
and eternal.82 Abdul-Bahá
1this age is no exception. They have more to lose than any
other group. God expresses His anger against the shepherds
who fail to guide their flock:
For the idols [revered figures] speak delusion; the diviners
[predictors] envision lies, and tell false dreams; they com-
fort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep;
they are in trouble because there is no shepherd. My
anger is kindled against the shepherds [religious leaders],
and I will punish the goatherds [those who disobey God].
For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock
Zechariah 10:2-3 NKJ
Alas for the worthless shepherd who abandons the sheep!
A sword shall fall on his arm and on his right eye; and
his right eye blinded. Zechariah 12:17 NEB
In His Book of Certitude Baháulláh describes the role of
religious leaders:
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.
2seats of authority and learning have inflicted upon the true
Monarchs of the world, those Gems of divine virtue!
Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived
themselves of an everlasting sovereignty.83
Islamic Scriptures pass the same harsh judgment on Muslim
laity and leaders as do the biblical Scriptures on all the peoples
of the world. Consider this prophecy from Muhammad:
There will come a time for my people when there will
remain nothing of the Qurán except its outward form and
nothing of Islam except its name and they will call them-
selves by this name even though they are the people
furthest from it. Their mosques will be full of people but
they will be empty of right guidance. The religious leaders
(fuqahá) of that day will be the most evil religious leaders
under the heavens; sedition and dissension will go out
from them and to them will it return.84
We should not conclude that all religious leaders deny or
deviate from the truth. Baháulláh asks us to respect those
leaders who are just and sincere:
Respect ye the divines [religious leaders] and learned
amongst you, they whose conduct accords with their
professions, who transgress not the bounds which God
hath fixed, whose judgments are in conformity with His
behests as revealed in His Book. Know ye that they are
the lamps of guidance unto them that are in the heavens
1secution of Baháulláh or His followers. On the contrary,
they have on many occasions offered helping hands. In
one city, they aided the dependents of Baháí prisoners.
Baháulláh testifies to their assistance and sympathy:
2…what sin have the little children committed? Hath any-
one, in these days, had pity on the dependents of the
oppressed?…the followers of the Spirit [Christ]…secretly
sent them provisions and befriended them out of utmost
sympathy.86
Baháulláh was poisoned three times. On one occasion, the
poison made Him gravely ill and bedridden for a month. The
doctor who attended Him was a Christian named Shishmán.
He found Baháulláhs condition so alarming that he lost
all hope of helping Him. Instead of writing a prescription, he
fell at His feet. The offering he made at that instant served
its purpose. After leaving, he fell ill. To a disciple whom
Baháulláh sent to see him, he said that his prayer to sacri-
fice himself for his patient had been answered. His death
came in a few days. (That someone sacrifices himself for
his Lord is not unusual; that someone who is not even a
believer does so is incredible.) Before his death, Dr. Shishmán
recommended another doctor to treat his patient. Baháulláh
recovered, but the poison left its mark: He suffered from
hand tremors for the rest of His life.
As stated in Lord of Lords, the Báb was also treated by a
Christian doctor for the injury inflicted on His face. Simi-
larly, a Christian regiment assigned to execute the Báb was
miraculously relieved from that burden. When Baháulláh
and His disciples were being banished from Adrianople, many
people cried, but it was the Christians who cried the most.
Again during the recent persecution of Baháís in Iran, many
Christian countries defended the rights of the Baháís and
accepted them as refugees to their lands.
According to the Qurán, Christians also showed more affec-
tion toward Muslims than any other group:
thou shalt certainly find those to be nearest in affection
to them [Muslims] who say, We are Christians.
3Until now, the general response of Christian clergy has been
simply to ignore the challenge that Baháulláh presents to
them. In The Promised Day Is Come, Shoghi Effendi states:
the members of the Christian clerical order for the
most part, have ignored the Faith of Baháulláh, whilst a
few among them have, as its Administrative Order gained
in stature and spread its ramifications over Christian coun-
tries, arisen to check its progress, to belittle its influence,
and obscure its purpose.87
The time will come when humankind will no longer be able
to ignore such a mighty and glorious Revelation from God.
Then the leaders will become the followers.
Grieve thou not at mens failure to apprehend the Truth.
Ere long thou shalt find them turning towards God, the
Lord of all mankind. We have indeed, through the potency
of the Most Sublime Word, encompassed the whole world,
and the time is approaching when God will have subdued
the hearts of all that dwell on earth. He is in truth the
1they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4 NKJ
Also Micah 4:3
Baháulláh has not come to wage war but to wage peace.
Universal peace is one of His fundamental teachings. This
peace can be established not through violence but nonviolence,
not through fear but faith. It has taken us several thousand
years of pain and suffering and growing up to reach the age
of universal peace, justice, and unity. We see some evolution
toward peace even in the present age.
The believers in the Báb were allowed to defend themselves.
2that is unparalleled in history. (See their stories in The Dawn-
Breakers.) But when the Bábs dispensation ended, Baháulláh
asked His followers not to defend themselves. Baháulláh
describes the distinguishing features of His followers in these
terms:
By the righteousness of God! Such hath been the patience,
the calm, the resignation and contentment of this people
and so great hath been their forbearance, that they have
suffered themselves to be killed rather than kill What
could have caused such resignation and serenity?
The time for waging wars has passed. Baháulláh encourages
and urges His followers a thousand times and more to win
victories through goodly deeds:
Now is the time for you to put forth your leaves, and
yield your fruit. The fruits of the tree of man have ever
been and are goodly deeds and a praiseworthy character.
Withhold not these fruits from the heedless. If they be
accepted, your end is attained, and the purpose of life
achieved. If not, leave them in their pastime of vain dis-
putes. Strive, O people of God, that haply the hearts of
the divers kindreds of the earth may, through the waters
of your forbearance and loving-kindness, be cleansed and
sanctified from animosity and hatred 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 encom-
1in abundance throughout the Bible. These are a few examples:
Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all
things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the
Lord is against all nations, and His fury against all their
armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them
over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out;
their stench shall rise from their corpses, and the moun-
tains shall be melted with their blood For My sword
shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on
Edom [symbolic of any rebellious country such as Persia],
and on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword
2Chapter 9: War Against God
3of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made overflowing
with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the
fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice
in Bozrah [symbolic of any rebellious city, such as Tihrán],
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. The wild oxen
shall come down with them, and the young bulls with the
mighty bulls; their land shall be soaked with blood, and
their dust saturated with fatness. For it is the day of the
Lords vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of
Zion. Isaiah 34:1-3, 5-8 NKJ
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake
up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let
them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your
pruning hooks into spears For their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
Joel 3:9-14 NKJ
Then they will cry to the Lord, but He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time, Be-
cause they have been evil in their deeds. Thus says the
Lord concerning the [false] prophets who make my people
stray; Who chant Peace but who prepare war
Micah 3:4-5 NKJ
O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very
deep. A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool
understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass,
and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that
they may be destroyed forever…Your enemies shall perish;
all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
Psalms 92:5-9 NKJ
Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also
who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let
the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righ-
teous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them
rejoice exceedingly. Psalms 68:1-3 NKJ
4298 King of Kings
5Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you 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. Psalms 24:8-10 NKJ
Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His
priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against
you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord
God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!
II Chronicles 13:12 NKJ
Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise
in the coastlands. The Lord shall go forth like a mighty
man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall
cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His
enemies. Isaiah 42:12-13 NKJ
Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations,
as he fights in the day of battle This is the plague with
which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against
Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing
on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their
tongues will rot in their mouths. Zechariah 14:3, 12 NIV
The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war. They
come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens
the Lord and the weapons of his wrathto destroy the
whole country. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it
will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Isaiah 13:4-6 NKJ
God does not conquer the hearts of humankind through
violence. He wins victories through His Word.
The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch
as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men,
which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked.95
Baháulláh
6Chapter 9: War Against God
7How vast is the tabernacle of the Cause of God! It hath
overshadowed all the peoples and kindreds of the earth,
and will, erelong, gather together the whole of mankind
beneath its shelter.96 Baháulláh
The hour is approaching when ye will witness the power
of the one true God triumphing over all created things and
the signs of His sovereignty encompassing all creation.97
Baháulláh
Questions such as, Why would God allow good people to
suffer? Why would God allow His Messengers to suffer?
have puzzled the human race since the dawn of history. The
next chapter will shed some light on this topic.
1Baháulláh
1Why did Jesus, the Báb, Baháulláh, and other great Messen-
gers and Redeemers suffer? How severe were their sufferings?
And in what spirit did they bear them?
We have borne it all with the utmost willingness and
resignation, so that the souls of men may be edified, and
the Word of God be exalted…My grief exceedeth all the
woes to which Jacob gave vent, and all the afflictions of
Jacob are but a part of My sorrows. [Emphasis added.]1
2Say: Because He [Baháulláh] bore injustice, justice hath
appeared on earth, and because He accepted abasement,
the majesty of God hath shone forth amidst mankind.2
I have been, most of the days of My life, even as a
slave, sitting under a sword hanging on a thread, knowing
not whether it would fall soon or late upon him. And yet,
notwithstanding all this We render thanks unto God, the
Lord of the worlds.3 Baháulláh
Why should Gods Messengers suffer? They are the perfect
models for noble acts and attitudes. Are we not inspired to
do the same if we see them keeping their trust in God despite
their trials? If we see them living a simple life, in spite of their
supreme powers to gain earthly riches, are we not motivated
to put more emphasis on the spiritual than the material? It
is impossible to identify with and be inspired and elevated
by a model who surrounds himself with all the luxuries and
pleasures of an earthly life. What would be Jesus influence
on the world, if instead of carrying His cross to His death,
He had walked to His castles along with His body guards?
Further, when we learn that our Best-Beloved welcomed His
adversities, we develop a more positive attitude about our
own inevitable sufferings. Often our attitude about what we
experience is more critical than the experience itself.
Gods wisdom ordains that every achievement should require
efforts and sacrifices, that a price must be paid for every gain.
In Gods Kingdom nothing is easy or cheap. His Messengers
and Redeemers are the first to demonstrate this law. They are
the vanguards of the forces of sacrifice. Their suffering is
essential. At the end of this passage, Baháulláh refers to the
price He had to pay to crown the world with glory and justice:
I sorrow not for the burden of My imprisonment. Neither
do I grieve over My abasement, or the tribulation I suffer
at the hands of Mine enemies. By My life! They are My
glory, a glory wherewith God hath adorned His own Self.
3The shame I was made to bear hath uncovered the glory
with which the whole of creation had been invested, and
through the cruelties I have endured, the Day Star of Justice
1Messengers Sufferings
Because Gods Messengers and Redeemers are perfect models,
their suffering is also perfect: it covers the full spectrum of
pain and anguish, to the deepest level. It has a depth that no
human being can ever conceive. They appear whenever it is the
darkest and wherever fanaticism, ignorance, and corruption
have reached their very depths. Therefore, they encounter the
worst that humans can offer from the vilest of generations:
All this generation could offer Us were wounds from its
darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the
cup of its venom. On our neck We still bear the scar of
chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the evidences of
an unyielding cruelty.5 Baháulláh
God gives His Messengers special strength to endure more
pain than others can, but the strength does not lessen the
pain. Because of their knowledge of human potential, they
have high expectations, and suffer acutely when people ignore
their invitation. They have total understanding and boundless
compassion for the suffering of others. They see all, know
all, and suffer all.
Know that if We reveal to thee but a sprinkling of the
showers which, through Gods decree, and at the hands of
the envious and the malicious, have rained upon Us, thou
wouldst weep with a great weeping, and wouldst bewail
day and night Our plight. Oh, would that a discerning and
fair-minded soul could be found who would recognize the
wonders of this Revelationwonders that proclaim the
sovereignty of God and the greatness of its power.6
Baháulláh
2304 King of Kings
3Can anyone else endure the burden of perceiving the pain and
the suffering of all humanity, even for one instant? Suffer-
ing has puzzled humankind since the dawn of history. Many
believers cannot understand why a loving God allows good
people to suffer. This subject requires a separate and detailed
treatment.^ Briefly, we should recognize that the removal
of suffering would require a complete alteration of the laws
of nature. It would lead to a capricious universe in which
the supreme Architect, after designing and building His
House, would need to stand on guard to constantly modify
and repair it.
We must make every effort to live in a state of supreme joy
and happinessan achievement that can come only from
harmonizing our souls with God. But we must recognize that
without adversity, happiness loses much of its depth and won-
der. The ecstasy of achievement comes from effort. Contrasts
always enrich our lives. They generate a sense of appreciation.
God does not show His involvement in our lives by breaking
His laws. He does it in His own unique, subtle, and mysterious
ways. Dreams offer the most direct and miraculous way through
which our Creator communicates with us and shows His
involvement in our lives. To demonstrate Gods side of the
enduring and emotional puzzle of suffering, let me cite a
dream I had many years ago, while afflicted with a deep and
long lasting depression. One night I was blessed by seeing
Baháulláh in my dream. We walked together for a long time,
perhaps for 20 to 30 minutes. We strolled through many
different terrains: streets, deep slopes, high hills, shattered
buildings, meadows, and mountains. During this journey we
conversed continuously as two intimate friends. It was won-
derful, like being in heaven. I felt so intimate with Him that
at one point I found myself perhaps a step ahead of Him.
Instantly I recognized my fault and exclaimed, I am walking
4^
For a detailed treatment of this topic, see Does Your Fish Bowl Need
Fresh Water? by this author.
5Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
6ahead of my Lord! E I slowed down and let Him catch up.
Baháulláh spoke in a language I had never heard before, yet
I understood everything He said. We continued to walk and
talk until I saw Baháulláh suddenly put His hand on His
chest and fall to the ground in great pain. I woke up know-
ing why: His pain came from my pain. When I woke up, I
could not recall even a single word He had uttered.
This dream did not eliminate the source of my anguish,
but it comforted me. What a wonderful feeling to know that
Someone knows and cares!
The scenario that follows may give us a glimpse of what
Gods great Messengers and Redeemers go through; it may
portray the depths of their pain and anguish.
Suppose you are placed in a large cage filled with various
animals varying from the friendly to the ferocious.L Later,
some of themthe gentle onesfind you likable and become
your loyal friends. They bring you food and water, and try
to defend you against intruders and attackers. You, too, deeply
love them and accept them as your only companions. In the
cage you also find some harmless animals, like snails, that
ignore you, that mind their own business.
But to your dismay, you soon discover that the ferocious
animals far outnumber the gentle ones. They are strong,
angry, violent, fearful of your presence, and are determined
to destroy you. Suppose you are built in such a way that you
can be badly hurt but not killedthat is, until your time
comes, perhaps years or even decades later. You learn that as
long as you live, you remain resilient; you are chewed, torn
7E
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
L
Words such as ferocious are used in accordance with human
standards and judgment. All animals, whether friendly or ferocious,
act according to the natural design of creation. In this sense, all
animals are good. Among all creatures, only humans, because of their
freedom of choice, can become ferocious.
8306 King of Kings
9apart, scraped and scratched, yet you miraculously survive.
The animals are astonished by this and they even begin to
like your presence; you have become a safe and long-lasting
target for their anger, outrage, and violence.
The variety of the vicious animals in that cage astonishes
you. Some of them act like snakes. They crawl close, strike
quickly, and run away. Others, like wolves, feast on your
flesh. Still others, like flies and mosquitoes, seek constant
nourishment from your skin. Every animal in that cage prides
in its special skills to hurt you.
You wish time and again to leave the cage, to be free. But
alas, you are asked to wait, to be patient, to suffer and pray.
Who are you? Are you an ordinary prisoner caught in this
cage of destiny? Are you weak and powerless to escape? No,
just the opposite, you have the power to subdue and destroy
all those animals with one stroke. Indeed, you have the power
to rule the whole earth, to live a life of comfort beyond the
hope of the most daring dreamers. Yet you decline to use
your powers. Why? You have a goal that you see far ahead,
you have a dream that you know will prevail centuries after
you are gone. Patience and suffering are the price for your
dream; adversity the crowning of your goal.
Imagine the frustration of having those incredible powers and
not being able to use them to protect yourself, to subdue the
violent beasts that hurt you and hunt you. No one can fully
conceive of this or comprehend it. Imagine your agony when,
time and again, you call them to pause and to listen to your
call for one instant, but to no avail.
Your love for all the animals is infinite, even for the vicious
ones. You could lead them to greener pastures, you could give
them rest and refuge, you could even make them immortal,
but alas, they do not heed your call, and you know that their
heedlessness will only lead them to suffering and eternal loss.
The animals in the cage also attack your protectors, the people
you love. They repeatedly torture them and cut them to pieces
10Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
11before your very eyes. How long could you stay in that cage?
How long could you endure the torture? Would not an instant
death be a blessing? But alas you are asked to wait, to endure
the pain for a dream you see far ahead. You are told to be
patient, and pray hard and long. Is this scenario far fetched?
Witness how We are, at present, living in a nest of ser-
pents.7 Baháulláh
In both the biblical and Baháí Scriptures animals represent
various kinds of people. Sheep, lambs, doves, pigeons, pea-
cocks, and gazelles portray beauty and nobility of character.
Wolves, vultures, serpents, dragons, dogs, pigs, leopards, scor-
pions, bats, owls, goats, and beetles represent the depravity
of the heart, the destructive forces of evil. Let us look at one
animal, the wolf :
Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Christ (Luke 10:3 NIV)
…after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and
will not spare the flock. Acts 20:29 NIV
Beware that you allow not the wolf to become the shep-
herd of Gods flock…8 Baháulláh
The following prophecy, which promises an enduring peace
among antagonistic peoples, is yet to be fulfilled:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down
with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling to-
gether… Isaiah 11:6 NIV
See also 65:25
O ye that are foolish, yet have a name to be wise! Where-
fore do ye wear the guise of the shepherds, when inwardly
ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock?
Baháulláh
Some people are like bloodthirsty wolves: if they see no
punishment forthcoming, they will kill men merely for
pleasure and diversion. One of the tyrants of Persia killed
12308 King of Kings
13his tutor merely for the sake of making merry, for mere
fun and sport. The famous Mutavakkil, the Abbásid [the
tenth Caliph], having summoned his ministers, councilors
and functionaries to his presence, let loose a box full of
scorpions in the assembly and forbade anyone to move.
When the scorpions stung those present, he burst forth
into boisterous laughter.10 Abdul-Bahá
Consider also this passage from Jesus. It compares the cruel
deniers to snakes:
You snakes! You brood of vipers! Matthew 23:33 NIV
The next passage points to the sufferings of the Redeemer of
our time:
My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men who
are set on fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and
their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted, O God, above the
heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth.
Psalms 57:4-5 NKJ
Christian author, J. R. Church believes that bees and thorns
in the following prophecy typify the antichrist. Midrash
Shocher Tov described the bees as typical of that final war
when God gathers all the nations of the world and brings
them against Jerusalem.
All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I
will destroy them. They surrounded me, yes, they sur-
rounded me; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy
them. They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched
like a fire of thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will
destroy them. Psalms 118:10-12
In the following passage, Baháulláh names several animals
to symbolize His enemies.
O My friend! Many a hound pursueth this gazelle of the
desert of oneness; many a talon claweth at this thrush of
14Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
15the eternal garden. Pitiless ravens do lie in wait for this
bird of the heavens of God, and the huntsman of envy
stalketh this deer of the meadow of love.12 Baháulláh
Unlike Jesus who came from a poor family, Baháulláh was
born to gold and luxury. In those days probably only one
family in a hundred thousand could have competed with His
family in fame and fortune. To give an example, Baháulláhs
father owned a valuable manuscript in the handwriting of
the most famous and perhaps the best Persian calligrapher.
Muhammad Sháh wanted to buy that manuscript. When he
found out the price, he changed his mind. (Baháulláhs father
was a friend of Muhammad Sháh.) Prior to His ministry,
Baháulláh shared much of his fathers enormous wealth with
the needy. People called Him the father of the poor. They
did not know that someday He too would join the ranks of
the poor.
Why, then, did the One who had at His command all
earthly blessings and bounties deny Himself the comforts
and pleasures of which most people can only dream? Why
did He exchange gold and comfort for grief and sorrow?
Why did He choose to live in that horrible cage for forty
years? Would a man of His wisdom and nobility advance a
lie that would lead Him and all His loved ones into a need-
less arena of pain and torture, imposed by a long procession
of cunning and deadly animals? Yes, for Baháulláh, indeed
for anyone who knows there is more to life than meets the
eye, this world is but a cage:
O SON OF SPIRIT !
Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love
soar into the firmament of holiness. Renounce thyself and,
filled with the spirit of mercy, abide in the realm of celes-
tial sanctity.13 Baháulláh
Hear Me, ye mortal birds! In the Rose Garden of change-
less splendor a Flower hath begun to bloom, compared to
which every other flower is but a thorn, and before the
16310 King of Kings
17brightness of Whose glory the very essence of beauty must
pale and wither. Arise, therefore, and, with the whole en-
thusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness of your
souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concentrated
efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the paradise
of His presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance of
the incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of
holiness, and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celes-
tial glory. Whoso followeth this counsel will break his
chains asunder…will attain unto his hearts desire, and will
surrender his soul into the hands of his Beloved. Bursting
through his cage, he will, even as the bird of the spirit,
wing his flight to his holy and everlasting nest.14
Baháulláh
18Baháulláhs References
to His Sufferings
Before examining a few passages from Baháulláh about His
suffering, it is appropriate to review a description of the way
He, His family, and some 60 of His disciples were treated
when they entered the desolate city of Akká. The description
is given by Baháulláhs daughter, who was interviewed by
Myron Phelps from the United States:
Arrived at the barracks, it was proposed to put the Blessed
Perfection [Baháulláh] and his family on the second floor,
and he was sent up; but I fainted from exhaustion and was
unable to ascend the stairs. [Here the narrator paused a
moment, visibly trembling, and then continued.] Of my
own experience perhaps this is the most awful. The hor-
rible sufferings of the voyage had reduced me almost to
the point of death. Upon that came the seasickness. When
we landed in Akká all the people of the town came crowd-
ing about us, talking loudly in Arabic, which I understood.
Some said that we were to be put in the dungeons and
chained; others that we were to be thrown into the sea.
19Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
20The most horrible jests and jeers were hurled at us as we
were marched through the streets to this dreadful prison.
Imagine, if you can, the overpowering impression made by
all this upon the mind of a young girl, such as I was then…
When we had entered the barracks the massive door was
closed upon us and the great iron bolts thrown home. I
cannot find words to describe the filth and stench of that
vile place. We were nearly up to our ankles in mud in the
room into which we were led. The damp, closed air and
the excretions of the soldiers combined to produce horrible
odors. Then, being unable to bear more, I fainted. As I
fainted, those about me caught me before I fell; but be-
cause of the mud and filth there was no place upon
which I could be laid. On one side of the room was a man
weaving a mat for the soldiers. One of our friends took
this mat and I was placed upon it. Then they begged for
water, but they could not get it. The soldiers would per-
mit no one to go out. There was a pool of water on the
dirt floor, in which the mat-maker had been moistening
his rushes. Some of this water was dipped up and strained
and put to my lips. I swallowed a little and revived; but
the water was so foul that my stomach rejected it, and I
fainted again. Then a little of this water was thrown into
my face; and at length I revived sufficiently to go upstairs.
In the meantime my brother [Abdul-Bahá] had slipped
out and gone down to assist in the landing of the remain-
der of our company, whom we had left in the boats. When
the soldiers discovered that he had disappeared, they at
once notified the governor, who had search made for him
and found him helping the others ashore. The followers
were all brought to the barracks together and lodged on
the ground floor. Among them were the women and chil-
dren, almost dying with hunger and parched with thirst.
My brother begged to be permitted to go out for food and
water. The soldiers replied: You cannot put a foot outside
of this room. If you do, we will kill you. Our orders are
21312 King of Kings
22not to let you leave the barracks under any pretext. Then
he asked permission to send out a servant guarded by
soldiers. This was refused.
The above was related to us by my brother, when he at
length returned to our family quarters, in reply to our
inquiries as to the occasion of his absence. He had been
away for hours, and our hearts had been filled with
anxiety for his safety.
Then came another time of heart-sickening suffering. The
mothers who had babes at breast had no milk for them,
for lack of food and drink, so the babes could not be
pacified or quieted. The larger children were screaming for
food and water, and could not sleep or be soothed. The
women were fainting.
Under these conditions, my brother spent the first part of
the night in passing about among the distressed people,
trying to pacify them, and in appealing to the soldiers not
to be so heartless as to allow women and children to
suffer. About midnight he succeeded in getting a message
to the governor. We were then sent a little water and some
cooked rice; but the latter was so full of grit and smelled
so badly that only the strongest stomach could retain it. The
water the children drank; but the rice only the strongest
could eat. Later on, some of our people in unpacking their
goods found some pieces of the bread which had been
brought from Gallipoli, and a little sugar. With these a
dish was prepared for the Blessed Perfection [Baháulláh],
who was very ill. When it was taken to him, he said: I
command you to take this to the children. So it was given
to them, and they were somewhat quieted.
The next morning conditions were no better; there was
neither water nor food that could be eaten. My brother
sent message after message to the governor, appealing in
behalf of the women and children. At length he sent us
water and some prisoners bread; but the latter was worse
even than the riceappearing and tasting as though earth
23Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
24had been mixed with the flour. My brother also succeeded
in getting permission to send out a servant, guarded by
four soldiers, to buy food. But before this permission was
given, the governor commanded the presence of my brother
and told him that neither he nor any of our peoplenot
even a childwas to leave the prison under any circum-
stances whatever, and that unless this was promised the
servant would not be permitted to go out. Under the cir-
cumstances my brother was obliged to give this promise.
The servant selected was told that if he spoke to a man
or woman except in bargaining for supplies, he would be
spitted on the swords of the soldiers.
The servant procured some provisions; yet even thus we
were still badly off for food, for we were all so poor that
we could buy but little. So the Blessed Perfection requested
that the prison allowance for our support should be com-
muted for money. The governor consented, and gave to my
father the amount allowed our family, and to my brother
the amount allowed to the others. Then my father gave his
own share and that of our family to my brother for the
people, the whole being insufficient for them, saying: I
will eat bread. Thereafter, when the supply of provisions
was insufficient and he learned of it, he would take only
bread and water.
When we were first brought to the barracks we had no
knowledge as to the manner of life to which we were to
be consigned. We feared that the Blessed Perfection, my
brother, and perhaps others would be placed in dungeons
and chained. The only information we could obtain was
that our sentence would be read on Fridayour arrival
being early in the week. This uncertainty was an additional
horror. When the sentence was read to us, we learned
that it stated that we were political prisoners, nihilists,
murderers, and thieves; that wherever we went, we cor-
rupted the morals of the people; that we had leagued to
overthrow the Ottoman Empire; that we could be given no
25314 King of Kings
26leniency, and that the orders to keep us under bolt and bar
must not be broken. It was because of this evil reputation,
which had doubtless been given to the government by
those who had reasons for desiring our destruction, and
not from any want of humanity on the part of our jailers
(who later became very kind and friendly to us) that we
were subjected to such stern treatment and were given no
more latitude or aid.
The season was summer (1868) and the temperature very
high. All our people were huddled together on the damp
earth floor of the barracks; with little water to drink…with
no water with which to bathe, and scarcely enough for
washing our faces. Typhoid fever and dysentery broke out
among us. Every one in our company fell sick excepting
my brother, my mother, an aunt, and two others of the
believers. We were not allowed a physician; we could not
procure medicine. My brother had in his baggage some
quinine and bismuth. With these two drugs and his nursing,
he brought us all through with the exception of four, who
died. These were two months of such awful horror as words
cannot picture. Imagine it, if you can. Some seventy men,
women, and children packed together, hot summer weather,
no proper food, bad water, the most offensive odors from
purging and excretions, and a general attack of the terrible
diseases of dysentery and typhoid.
There was no one with strength to be of any general
service but my brother. He washed the patients, fed them,
nursed them. He took no rest. When at length he had brought
the rest of usthe four who died exceptedthrough the
crisis and we were out of danger, he was utterly exhausted
and fell sick himself, as did also my mother and the three
others who had been well. The others soon recovered, but
Abbás Effendi [Abdul-Bahá] was taken with dysentery, and
long remained in a dangerous condition. By his heroic ex-
ertions he had won the regard of one of the officers, and
when this man saw my brother in this state he went to the
governor and pleaded that Abbás Effendi might have a
27Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
28physician. This was permitted, and under the care of the
physician my brother recovered.
For long after our departure from Adrianople none of the
friends and followers of the Blessed Perfection in Persia
knew our whereabouts. We were not permitted to send any
letters. Great efforts were made to find us, and our friends
finally traced us to Akká; but this whole city was then
practically a prison from which strangers were carefully
excluded, and they found it impossible to get into com-
munication with us, or even to pass the city gate.
There was a Persian follower of the Báb who some time
before, having failed in his business at home, had emi-
grated to Akká. He had not dared to disclose his faith,
and no one suspected it. The servant who marketed for us
happened one day, as he went about the bazaar, to come
to this mans shop; and though he was not allowed to speak
with him, he seems to have known intuitively that he was
a friend. So thereafter he made most of his purchases of
provisions at his shop.
Some of the Persian believers who had come to Akká but
who had been unable to enter the city, effected communi-
cation with this man and arranged with him to send a note
to the Blessed Perfection. This the shopkeeper accomplished
by concealing the note among some vegetables and giving
them to the servant with such a look that the latter under-
stood and afterwards searched for it. The note begged the
Blessed Perfection to send out some word; but this seemed
to be beyond our power.
The physician who visited my brother, on seeing our condi-
tion, had so much sympathy with our distress, and became
so fond of Abbás Effendi, that he asked him if there was
not something which he could do for us. My brother begged
him to take a message to the believers who were waiting
to hear from the Blessed Perfection. He undertook to do
so, and carried a tablet away in the lining of his hat. For
29316 King of Kings
30two years this physician conveyed tablets and messages to
and fro for us in this way.
After this first message had been transmitted from the
Blessed Perfection, many believers came here from Persia
and remained in the neighborhood with the hope of effect-
ing some communication with him, or at least of getting
a glimpse of him. They would go to some prominent point
where they could be seen from his window. Some of us,
seeing them, would call my brothers attention to them,
whereupon he would inform the Blessed Perfection and
follow him to the window and wave his handkerchief.
We were imprisoned in the barracks, without any substantial
change in our manner of life, for two years. During this time
none of us left the prisonnot even my brother or any
of the children. The Blessed Perfection passed his time in
his room, writing tablets, or rather dictating them to my
younger brother, who was a rapid penman. Abbás Effendi
would copy them and send them out by the physician.
It was usual to carry on this work during the evening. One
evening towards the end of the second year, my younger
brother came, as was his habit, to write for his father. But
as he was not very well, and as some others of the family
were also ill, the Blessed Perfection told him to go and
come later. So he went up to the flat roof of the barracks,
where we were accustomed to walk, and which was our
only recourse for fresh air and exercise. He was walking
up and down, repeating tablets and gazing at the sky, when
he stumbled, lost his balance, and fell through the open-
ing to which the ladder from below led up. The room into
which he fell had a lofty ceiling; it was the living-room
of the family. No one was in the room at the time, but,
hearing his cries, some of the family rushed in and found
him lying in a heap on the floor with the blood pouring
from his mouth. The Blessed Perfection, hearing the com-
motion, opened the door of his room and looked out. When
31Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
32he saw his son he turned back and reentered his room,
saying: Mihdí has gone!
We took him up and laid him on his mat. He was perfectly
conscious. Later the Blessed Perfection came and remained
with him. The physician was sent for; he said that there
was no hope.
My brother lived for about thirty hours. When he was
about to pass away the Blessed Perfection said to him:
What do you desire? Do you wish to live, or do you
prefer to die? Tell me what you most wish for. My
brother replied: I dont care to live. I have but one wish.
I want the believers to be admitted to see their Lord. If
you will promise me this, it is all I ask. The Blessed
Perfection told him that it would be as he desired.
So, after much patient suffering, my brothers gentle spirit
took its flight. As we could not leave the barracks, we
could not bury our dead; nor had we the consolation of
feeling that we could provide for him through others the
grateful final tribute of a proper and fitting burial, as we
had no means wherewith even to purchase a coffin. After
some consideration and consultation among ourselves,
finding that we had nothing to dispose of, and at a loss
how to proceed, we told our Lord [Baháulláh] of the sad
situation. He replied that there was a rug in his room
which we could sell. At first we demurred, for in taking
his rug we took the only comfort he had; but he insisted
and we sold it. A coffin was then procured, and the re-
mains of my deceased brother placed in it. It was carried
out by our jailers, and we did not even know whither it
was taken.
The death of this youngest and favorite childof a very
gentle and sweet dispositionnearly broke his mothers
heart. We feared for her reason. When the Blessed Perfec-
tion was told of the condition of his wife, he went to her
and said: Your son has been taken by God that His people
might be freed. His life was the ransom, and you should
33318 King of Kings
34rejoice that you had a son so dear to give to the cause of
God. When our mother heard these words she seemed to
rallyknelt, and kissed the Blessed Perfections hands,
and thanked him for what he had said. After that she did
not shed a tear.15
This is a question we should always ask: Would any person of
reason subject himself to a lifetime of torture and suffering?
Would a man of His wisdom and nobility advance a lie that
would expose Him and all His loved ones to exile, prison,
poverty, ridicule, and rejection?
Had it been in my power, I would have, under no circum-
stances, consented to distinguish myself amongst men
Baháulláh
Baháulláhs references to His sufferings fill a whole volume.
Why did He mention them so often? We can only wonder.
Perhaps He wanted to teach us some lessons, perhaps talking
gave Him some relief from the unbearable pain. Whatever the
reasons, it is essential that we meditate on the depth of His
pains and try to understand His plight. For He assures us, no
Messenger ever suffered as much as He did:
I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed
upon one wronged like Thee.17 Baháulláh
Perhaps other Messengers either did not stay in the cage of
cruelty as long as Baháulláh did, or else they did not encoun-
ter creatures as wild and venomous. The following quotations
should give us a glimpse of what Baháulláh went through.
The cruelties inflicted by My oppressors have bowed Me
down, and turned My hair white. Shouldst thou present
thyself before My throne, thou wouldst fail to recognize
the Ancient Beauty [Baháulláh], for the freshness of His
countenance is altered and its brightness hath faded, by
reason of the oppression of the infidels. I swear by God!
His heart, His soul, and His vitals are melted!…Before
Me riseth up the Serpent of wrath with jaws stretched
35Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
36to engulf Me, and behind Me stalketh the lion of anger
intent on tearing Me in pieces, and above Me, O My Well-
Beloved, are the clouds of Thy decree, raining upon Me
the showers of tribulations, whilst beneath Me are fixed
the spears of misfortune, ready to wound My limbs and
My body…By the righteousness of God! Every morning I
arose from My bed I discovered the hosts of countless
afflictions massed behind My door, and every night when
I lay down, lo! My heart was torn with agony at what it
had suffered from the fiendish cruelty of its foes.18
In the next passage, Baháulláh declares that His bed is
drenched in tears:
How numerous the tribulations which have rained, and will
soon rain, upon Me! I advance with My face towards Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Bounteous, whilst behind
Me glideth the serpent. Mine eyes have rained down tears
until My bed is drenched.19
Compare Baháulláhs statement with this prophecy:
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my
bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My
eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my
foes. Psalms 6:6-7 NIV
In the next quotation Baháulláh declares that He is not
forced to accept His sufferings. He does so out of His own
choosing:
My God, my Master, my Highest Hope, and the Goal of
my desire!…By Thy Beauty, O Thou Whose glory is un-
covered to the face of men! I am not impatient in the
troubles that touch me in my love for Thee, neither in the
adversities which I suffer in Thy path. Nay, I have, by
Thy power, chosen them for mine own self, and I glory in
them amongst such of Thy creatures as enjoy near access
to Thee, and those of Thy servants that are wholly devoted
to Thy Self.20
37320 King of Kings
38Although it is natural for us to feel sad when we see suffer-
ing, Baháulláh asks us not to grieve for His adversities:
With every piece of bread the Ancient Beauty [Baháulláh]
breaketh is coupled the assault of a fresh affliction, and
with every drop He drinketh is mixed the bitterness of the
most woeful of trials. He is preceded in every step He
taketh by an army of unforeseen calamities, while in His
rear follow legions of agonizing sorrows.
Such is my plight, wert thou to ponder it in thine heart. Let
not, however, thy soul grieve over that which God hath
rained down upon Us. Merge thy will in His pleasure, for
We have, at no time, desired anything whatsoever except
His Will, and have welcomed each one of His irrevo-
cable decrees. Let thine heart be patient, and be thou
not dismayed.21
It is human to complain; it is divine to submit. In spite of the
incredible tortures Baháulláh endured, He never complained.
In His Paris Talks Abdul-Bahá said:
None other in prison could have been like unto Him.
In spite of all the hardships He suffered, He never com-
plained.22
Baháulláh not only declined to complain of His sufferings,
He considered them a blessing:
By God! Mine head yearneth for the spear out of love for
its Lord. I never passed a tree, but Mine heart addressed
it saying: O would that thou wert cut down in My name,
and My body crucified upon thee, in the path of My Lord!
…By God! Though weariness lay Me low, and hunger
consume Me, and the bare rock be My bed, and My fellows
the beasts of the field, I will not complain, but will endure
patiently as those endued with constancy and firmness
have endured patiently, through the power of God, the
Eternal King and Creator of the nations, and will render
thanks unto God under all conditions.23
39Chapter 10: That the Souls May Be Edified
40Sometimes Gods way runs opposite to ours. Instead of expect-
ing Him to adjust to our way, we need to adapt to His. We
may wonder why He allows His Messengers and Redeemers
to suffer. The good that comes from their suffering is incal-
culable. It manifests itself in such virtues as self-control,
strength against adversity, resilience, and trust in God in the
lives of countless millions for thousands of years. From their
example we learn to set our hearts and hopes on heaven, for
we know the earthly pains pass away, but heavenly pleasures
endure. We see the One who is our Model and the source of
all wisdom and knowledge to be so transformed by the love
of His Lord as to declare:
We render Thee thanks, O our Lord, for all the troubles
which have touched us in Thy path. Oh, that the span of
my earthly life could be so extended as to embrace the
lives of the former and the latter generations, or could
even be so lengthened that no man on the face of the earth
could measure it, and be afflicted every day and every
moment with a fresh tribulation for love of Thee and for
Thy pleasures sake!24 Baháulláh
Can anything inspire more patience, endurance, hope, trust,
strength, and optimism in the face of adversity than the above
words? We can relate to our great Teachers only when we see
elements in their lives in common with our lives (Hebrews
2:18).
Of course, suffering should never be valued or sought for its
own sake, but only as an inevitable means to a noble purpose:
self-development and service to others. What does a kind
father wish for his children? Happiness. The same holds true
with our heavenly Father. But happiness must be earned;
suffering is sometimes the inevitable price.
God sends His Messengers to teach us the art of happiness,
the art of overcoming obstacles, the strength and wisdom to
cope with suffering. The example of His Messengers is our
best guide.
41322 King of Kings
42This prayer from Baháulláh on suffering is a fitting conclu-
sion for this chapter:
Wherefore, do I plead My grief and My sorrow to Him
Who created Me and entrusted Me with His Message.
Unto Him do I render thanks and praise for the things He
hath ordained, for My loneliness, and the anguish I suffer
at the hands of these men who have strayed so far from
Him. I have patiently sustained, and will continue to sus-
tain, the tribulation that touched Me, and will put My
whole trust and confidence in God. Him will I supplicate
saying: Guide Thy servants, O My Lord, unto the court of
Thy favor and bounty, and suffer them not to be deprived
of the wonders of Thy grace and of Thy manifold bless-
ings. For they know not what Thou hast ordained for them
by virtue of Thy mercy that encompasseth the whole of
creation. Outwardly, O Lord, they are weak and helpless;
inwardly they are but orphans. Thou art the All-Bountiful,
the Munificent, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Cast
not, O My God, the fury of Thy wrath upon them, and
cause them to tarry until such time when the wonders of
Thy mercy will have been made manifest, that haply they
may return unto Thee, and ask forgiveness of Thee for the
things they have committed against Thee. Verily, Thou art
the Forgiving, the All-Merciful.25
43Do Not Put Your God
to the Test
Christ (Matt. 4:7 NIV)
44Part I, The Role of Miracles
in Religion
1portents? Christ (John 4:48 NEB)
The followers of many religionsespecially Jews, Christians,
and Muslimsmistakenly consider miracles the primary proof
of their Messengers Mission. Hal Lindsey, a widely read
Christian author, for instance, states:
2He [Jesus] merely set forth his miracles as totally sufficient
credentials that he was Messiah
Those who base their faith on miracles, transfer their belief
about the past to an expectation about the future. They assume
that if their Redeemer proved Himself through miraculous
means, then why would He not follow the same course the
next time?
This assumption about the past and its extension into the
future suppresses any incentive or desire in the soul of the
believers for any knowledge beyond the confines of their
inherited beliefs. In this context, evidence and proof become
worthless. Searching, reasoning, and understanding lose their
honor. All glory goes to visual images. Religionthe supreme
expression of Gods grace and love for humankindturns
into a magic show! To be convincing, the images must grow
more spectacular each time, and the show must become ever
more astonishing, more entertaining.
This is one reason why people express no genuine interest in
testing any religion other than their own. Investigation loses
its relevance to believing. People cling to their own religions
because they have been told to believe, all because of a
visual image that a few people happened to see long ago!
For this reason, religions have remained separate throughout
the centuries. Spiritual segregation is even more widespread
than racial segregation. It covers the entire planet. Most people
inherit their religious beliefs as if what they were told by
their parents is as fixed as the genes and chromosomes they
received from them.
This chapter examines the fallacy of basing ones beliefs on
miracles and then extending this belief into the future. It
demonstrates that the great Messengers and Redeemers have
never glorified their supernatural powers and have never dis-
played them with the intention of advancing their Cause. On
the contrary, they have sought to keep their miraculous acts
3See that no one knows about this. Christ (Matt. 9:30 NIV)
See that you dont tell anyone. Christ (Matt. 8:4 NIV)
Jesus repeatedly asked that His miracles be kept secret (Luke
5:14; 8:56; Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36), yet people disobeyed Him:
But they went out and spread the news [of miracles] about
him all over that region. Matthew 9:31 NIV
When the sick implored Jesus to restore their health, His
deep compassion would prompt Him to respond. His motive
in performing these acts was not to astound or impress the
crowds, but to express His deep love for the afflicted. More-
over, the miracles involved only a small number of viewers,
and were of such a nature and carried out in such a way as not
to compel the masses into believing. Hence those who wished
to deny could feel free to rationalize or find a reason for
1the Messengers Mission
Is it essential that a Redeemer perform miracles? Can miracles
be used as a proof of divine Revelation? Should we expect
them from a Messenger before we accept Him? A study of the
sacred Scriptures reveals that, although the great Messengers
can perform miracles, they refrain from using them as proof
of the validity of their Mission.
The reason is this: performing supernormal acts is totally
irrelevant to the Cause they are inspired to serve! The great
Saviors do not come to amuse or astound us. Their Mission
is to educate us, to elevate our ethical standards, and to give
us a new and abundant life. They come not to bring the bread
that perishes, but that which bestows eternal peacethe bread
that lasts, multiplies, and satisfies the hunger of the spirit.
Ponder the conversation between Jesus and the tempter:
2326 King of Kings
3The tempter: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones
to become bread.
Jesus: It is written: Man does not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from
the mouth of God. Matthew 4:3-4 NIV
Which food is more precious? The ephemeral or the everlasting?
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures
to eternal life… John 6:27 NIV
It is axiomatic that ones claim to competence should be
substantiated by an act relevant to the claim. The physicians
competence as a physician lies not in his ability to build a
marvelous mansion or sing an enchanting song, but rather in
his success in healing and comforting the sick. Likewise, the
validity of the claims of a Redeemer cannot rest on His
ability to raise a dead body, but rather to raise a dead soul, a
new society, or a new race of man. If the divine Educators
tried to satisfy the curiosity of the masses for miracles, they
would have little time left for teaching spiritual wonders.
Abdul-Bahá once gave a very pointed illustration of this
subject by telling the story of a sick man, desperately ill
and suffering, who called in a physician. He inquired from
him if he was a skilled practitioner, and the doctor assured
him he was, indeed a genius, and flew round the room to
prove it! Although this was no doubt a very interesting
experience for the patient, said Abdul-Bahá, it did not
improve his condition; he needed medicine, not miracles!
Which miracle is greater and matters more? To save a victim
from the belly of a whale or to rescue many millions from
the depths of wickedness? A Christian author first quotes this
biblical verse from the story of Jonah: The people of Nineveh
believed God (Jonah 3:5). Then he states that the preceding
verse is one of the most remarkable statements in the story.
But it never seems to make the impression the whale does.
The swallowing of a little man by a big fish is merely a
4Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
5matter of size. The man has only to be small enough and the
fish big enough and the job is done. But for that little prophet
to walk into New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, London, or
any other city and bring that city to repentance and belief in
God is some achievement!
If miracles were to serve as proof of divine Revelation, what,
then, would distinguish the Messengers from magicians? If
Gods great Messengers and Redeemers applied their spiritual
gifts to perform earthly wonders, their roles and missions would
totally alter. They would no longer be known as Light Bringers
and Saviors, but rather as great sorcerers and soothsayers.
Gods greatest miracle is His Word, the knowledge He reveals
through His Messengers:
…through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
Proverbs 11:9
Our sense of justice touched by the divine knowledge gen-
erates the force of faith.
6Gods Respect for Our Freedom
Divine Wisdom ordains that we should find the truth through
our own sincere efforts, and not through miraculous means.
It is certainly within Gods infinite power to make all His
creatures perfect believers, but such an act would imply that
He has imposed His Will upon His most exalted creation
humans. In that state we would no longer be free beings.
Let us assume we have a very precious jewel. We offer it to
someone who couldnt care less if he received it. In spite of
his attitude, we offer him the jewel. But he refuses to take
it. What should we do? Should we force him to accept the
jewel by any means within our power, or should we give him
the freedom of choice?
The wonders that the Messengers and Redeemers perform
do not overwhelm people. They might awaken the receptive,
7328 King of Kings
8but will never impose faith on anyone. We have a perfect
example in the martyrdom of the Báb that is discussed in the
next chapter. It is certain that many of those who observed
His miraculous martyrdom, could hardly believe what they
saw. Yet there is no evidence that they recognized the station
of the Báb. The Christian colonel, who was in charge, saw
more than others did, and had sympathy for the Báb. Yet he
did not become a follower of the new Faith either. Divine
Wisdom ordains that people should be allowed to wage their
spiritual battles with freedom. The unyielding souls are
never disarmed.
We can also find many examples in the Christian dispensation.
When some of those who had made up their minds against
Jesus saw Him perform miracles, they thought of an ingenious
way to use what they saw to their own advantage. They said:
it was with the aid of demonic powers that He could perform
those wonders (Matt. 12:22-24). The human mind is such that
it can never fail to find ways of convincing itself of what it
wants to believe.
If Jesus radiant and divine demeanor could not touch the
spiritually unripe and unreceptive minds, then, nothing short
of a total reshaping of the soul and restructuring of the basic
laws of the universe could perform such a miracle.
If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets they will
pay no heed even if someone should rise from the dead.
Christ (Luke 16:31 NEB)
There came to you Messengers before me with clear signs
and even with what [miracles] ye ask for. Why then did
ye slay them, if ye speak the truth? Qurán 3:183 Y
9Even were We [God] to open above them a gate in Heaven
…they [people] would surely say: It is only that our eyes
are drunken: nay, we are a people enchanted.
Qurán 15:14-15 R
10Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
11As it is said, Convince a man against his will, and he will
believe the same still.
Abdul-Bahá indicates why the narratives of miracles do not
and cannot serve as proof:
But these narratives are not decisive proofs and evidences
to all; the hearer might perhaps say that this account may
not be in accordance with what occurred, for it is known
that other sects recount miracles performed by their founders.
For instance, the followers of Brahmanism relate miracles.
From what evidence may we know that those are false and
that these are true? If these are fables, the others also are
fables; if these are generally accepted, so also the others
are generally accepted. Consequently, these accounts are
not satisfactory proofs. Yes, miracles are proofs for the
eyewitness only, and even he may regard them not as a
miracle but as an enchantment. Extraordinary feats have
also been related of some conjurers.4
12Disloyalty to Gods Covenant
and Commandment
Asking for miracles shows lack of faith in what God Him-
self has established as the evidence of truth. It also proves
disloyalty to His eternal Covenant and Commandment that
creatures are not given the right to test their Creator:
Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Deuteronomy 6:16 NIV
See also Matthew 4:7
Those who have made their faith dependent on seeing signs
and portents have received the harshest and most demeaning
response:
A wicked and adulterous [faithless, disloyal] generation
asks for a miraculous sign! Matthew 12:39 NIV
See also I Cor. 10:9-11; Mark 8:12; 15:32; Luke 11:29
13330 King of Kings
14In spite of such harsh words, people continue to ignore Gods
way of establishing the truth, and to insist on their own way,
their own desire to view displays of power and pageantry.
To use miracles as evidence of validity is extremely demean-
ing to the supreme station of Gods great Messengers and
Redeemers. It is like saying to someone: before I can respect
you, trust you, or make you my friend, prove to me that you
are very powerful and prestigious. Jesus words clearly show
how our Creator perceives those who seek miracles from His
Messengers. There is a world of sadness and desperation
hidden in these words of Jesus:
Will none of you ever believe without seeing signs and
portents? John 4:48 NEB
He sighed deeply and said, Why does this generation ask
for a miraculous sign? Mark 8:12 NIV
What a difference between saying I believe because I have
heard of your miracles, and saying, I believe because you
yourself are a miracle, a marvelous sign, a manifest wonder.
What a difference between saying, I believe because you
have turned stone into bread, and saying, I believe because
I behold in you the glory of God, the splendors of the divine,
the heavenly fruits of knowledge and wisdom. How much
more reasonable to say I believe because of the wonders that
I see in your Word through my own eyes than to say I
believe because of what I have seen through the eyes of
others who have narrated or recorded the signs.
Finally, why would the divine Messengers need to resort to
miracles? Are not their very Beings, in themselves, manifest
miracles? To the discerning and deserving eye, the Messen-
gers every word, every move, every glance, constitutes a
wonder. Nothing about them is ordinary or commonplace;
and no one, however astute, can ever fully comprehend the
marvels of their acts, the wonders of their transcendent visions.
Whatever is perceived or discerned remains forever confined
to the limits of the human potential.
15Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
1they can serve as a sign or secondary evidence. Let us
assume we listen to a speaker several times and find him
capable and competent. By his skill, he proves himself to us
as a speaker. Later we learn that he has other talents: he is
an accomplished musician, athlete, scientist, inventor, writer,
poet, and sculptor. These observations serve to enhance our
admiration for him. They may even serve as an evidence of
his greatness, but not as a proof of his speaking skills. We
continue to judge his speaking ability only by the speeches
we have heard, not by his other gifts or talents. Miracles
performed by great Messengers are like these other talents.
Their superb gift, indeed the only one they ask us to judge
them by, is their ability to produce marvelous fruits.
Abdul-Bahá refers to wonders that appeared from Baháulláh
continuously as a sign of His supremacy,5 yet He down-
grades the significance of miracles as a primary proof. He
must have witnessed countless miracles from Baháulláh, yet
He declines to describe them:
I do not wish to mention the miracles of Baháulláh, for
it may perhaps be said that these are traditions, liable both
to truth and to error, like the accounts of the miracles of
Christ in the Gospel, which come to us from the apostles,
and not from anyone else, and are denied by the Jews.
Though if I wish to mention the supernatural acts of
Baháulláh, they are numerous; they are acknowledged in
the Orient, and even by some non-Baháís.6
In a way, all the acts performed by Gods Messengers consti-
tute miracles, because they are all extraordinary. For these
supreme Beings, the supernatural is the natural because their
whole lives are nothing less than an accumulation of unusual
and miraculous events. But only those acts that are relevant
to their missions can be counted as proof of their station. The
2miracle passes beyond the acceptable range of the Messengers
mission or purpose, it turns into entertainment and amusement.
Consider this incident. Once when Baháulláh entered a
crowded mosque, the preacher stopped. He forgot his sermon.
The audience that was responding to the sermon with words
and expression of emotions also stopped. They were suddenly
filled with such awe and wonder that they became speech-
less. The Muslims spread this news in the city, and called
it a miracle. Baháulláh dismissed the peoples response as
an illusion. To Him it was not a miracle.7 What we can learn
from this incidence is this: Baháulláh made absolutely no
attempt to perform a miracle. What happened was a natural
consequence of His supreme spiritual powers. He was simply
being Himself and doing nothing unusual.
Consider also the way Baháulláh treated people. In spite of
His exalted station, He acted with absolute humility, courtesy,
and consideration towards all people, whether rich or poor,
powerful or lowly. His love was so sincere, so extraordinary,
some people suspected that it was all an act of sorcery, a
game, a pretension. They thought He practiced magical acts
of kindness simply to win or impress the people.8 As we can
see, everything about Baháulláh was unusual: miraculous and
magical. People perceived His distinction and made an effort
to explain it in their own way.
Those who obey Gods call will use His established standards
the fruitsto find the truth. Prophecies are an integral part
of the fruits. (See The Glory of the Son, and The Glory of
the Father by this author.) As for those who disobey, who
set their own standardmiraculous signsabove Gods stan-
dard, they can in no way discover the truth. And why should
they? If they did find the truth, then what would be the dif-
3Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
4Religion Grows By Pains,
1In spite of the many miracles attributed to Jesus, only a few
seekers from the multitudes who were called or exposed to
His wondrous works, could set their souls free from earthly
bounds. Only a handful were willing to give up their long-
cherished and deeply rooted doctrines, traditions, and miscon-
ceptions for the gift of eternal life. The multitudes refused
to acknowledge the validity of Jesus claim for three long
centuriesan extremely illuminating and instructive fact, yet
seldom cited or recognized.
For those who have seen nothing but the triumph and gran-
deur of Christendom, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to
perceive such an unreasonably long delay on the part of the
masses in responding to the divine Call. Every believer would
rather assume that the truth of his beliefs was made so plain
and evident as to have been readily perceived, even by the
most skeptical thinkers.
Many Christians are unaware that, in its early stages, Chris-
tianity was called an Oriental sect. Suetonius, the Roman
historian, called it a new…superstition. 9 Truth always tri-
umphs through the sacrifices and dedicated efforts of the
enlightened. That is what caused the seed of Christianity
to blossom and enrich the lives of hundreds of millions for
centuries.
2Baháulláhs Response to Those
1It is generally not recognized that Gods Messengers have
refused to perform miracles at the request of the people. For
instance:
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because
for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From
2334 King of Kings
3what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him per-
form some miracle. He plied him with many questions,
but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the
teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accus-
ing him. Luke 23:8-10 NIV
Evidently, Herods questions, to which Jesus did not respond,
concerned the performance of miracles. Jesus disappointed
both Herod and the religious leaders by refusing even to
respond.
Muhammad likewise repeatedly declined to honor requests
made for miracles:
They say, Why have signs not been sent down upon him
from his Lord? Say: The signs are only with God, and
I am only a plain warner. Qurán 29:49 A
Baháulláh made a rare exception to this rule when He was
tested by Muslim religious leaders of Iráq.E To appreciate
fully this significant event, unmatched in religious history, it
is helpful to know why it happened. When Baháulláh lived
in Baghdad, His fame grew beyond measure. The brilliance
of His glory, as Shoghi Effendi notes, created a combustible
mass of hatred, fear, and jealousy in the hearts and minds of
many Muslim fanatics. Only a spark was needed. This was
provided by a crafty and obstinate Muslim priest named Shaykh
Abdul-Husayn.10
Shaykh Abdul-Husayns evil character and intentions knew
no bounds. Baháulláh characterizes him as the scoundrel,
the schemer, and the wicked one. Shoghi Effendi refers
to him as crafty, and that vicious plotter.
Shaykh Abdul-Husayn engaged in many ingenious plots
to uproot Baháulláh and His Revelation. These are five
of his plots:
E
The rule of refusing to respond to requests for miracles was first
broken by the Báb. He, like Baháulláh, offered to perform a miracle,
but the Muslim religious leaders found His offer too risky for their
own security. See The Chosen Highway, pp. 25-26.
4Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
5 He initiated friendly relations with the Persian consulate
to enhance his own powers. With the consuls help he
tried to obtain from the governor of Baghdad an order for
Baháulláhs banishment. The first plot failed.
Then he induced some people to insult Baháulláh in pub-
lic to draw retaliation from His followers, which in turn
could be used for false charges. The second plot also failed.
He then hired a man named Ridá (a Turk) to assassinate
Baháulláh. Ridá decided to carry out His scheme while
Baháulláh attended a public bath. He entered the bath
with a pistol concealed in his cloak, and confronted
Baháulláh in the inner chamber, only to discover that he
lacked the courage to accomplish his task. He himself,
years later, related that on another occasion he was lying
in wait for Baháulláh, pistol in hand, when, on Baháulláhs
approach, he was so overcome with fear that the pistol
dropped from his hand; whereupon Baháulláh bade Aqáy-
i-Kalím, who accompanied Him, to hand it back to him,
and show him the way to his home. 11 The third plot also
failed.
Abdul-Husayn, the obstinate plotter, then tried to draw
the Persian government to his aid. Through false accusa-
tions, he induced that government to recall Baháulláh to
Tihrán. Among his accusations was that Baháulláh has
won the allegiance of the nomadic tribes of Iráq, and that
He is in a position to muster, in a day, fully one hundred
thousand men ready to take arms at His bidding. 12 He
received a mandate from the sháh of Iran asking religious
leaders of Iráq to give him their full support. He instantly
sent the mandate to some of those leaders, and invited
them to assemble for consultation. His goal was to gain
from them a verdict for a holy war against the Baháís.
By their verdict he intended to gather an army of excited
fanatics who would launch a sudden and deadly assault on
Baháulláh and His followers living in Baghdad. He suc-
ceeded in bringing the religious leaders together. But after
6336 King of Kings
7his intentions became known, the chief religious leader, a
pious Mujtahid, whose signature on the verdict was essen-
tial, refused to lend him his support. He said he had seen
nothing from the Baháís at variance with the teachings of
the Qurán. To the disappointment of most of the assembled
leaders, he abruptly left the meeting. The fourth plot also
failed.
The remaining leaders believed that they could invalidate
Baháulláh by asking for miracles that He could not
perform. Therefore, they selected and sent a representative
a learned and pious manto Baháulláh to present their
request for a sign. After attaining the presence of Baháulláh,
the representative stated that the religious leaders and
scholars were unanimous in acknowledging His unmatched
knowledge and wisdom despite His lack of schooling; they
also acknowledged His pure and pious deeds; but they
could not regard these as clear and convincing proofs of
His Mission. They sought miracles. Baháulláh replied:
Although you have no right to ask this, for God should
test His creatures, and they should not test God, still I
allow and accept this request…The Ulamás [religious
leaders] must assemble, and, with one accord, choose
one miracle, and write that after the performance of
this miracle they will no longer entertain doubts about
Me, and that all will acknowledge and confess the truth
of My Cause. Let them seal this paper, and bring it to
Me. This must be the accepted criterion: If the miracle
is performed, no doubt will remain for them; and if
not, We shall be convicted of imposture.13
The representative found Baháulláhs offer reasonable.
He then gathered the religious leaders and gave them the
message, but they refused to challenge Baháulláh. The
reason they shared with each other was this:
8Chapter 11: Do Not Put Your God to the Test
9This man is an enchanter [sorcerer or magician]; perhaps
he will perform an enchantment, and then we shall have
nothing more to say.14 E
Thus, the fifth plot also failed.
Why did both Jesus and Muhammad decline to comply with
requests for miracles, as an evidence of their divine Mission,
yet Baháulláh consented? We can only speculate. Perhaps
Baháulláh knew that His offer would be rejected. Perhaps the
doubting people of our age need more evidence. Perhaps ours
is the day of divine bounties and we are blessed with many
favors not granted to previous generations.
Beyond this highly publicized and well-documented event,
Baháulláh performed many wonders that did not receive
publicity. For it was His desire that such events remain un-
known to the people. As we noted, Jesus expressed the same
desire. One of Baháulláhs disciples, a prominent historian,
is known to have prepared an entire volume on Baháulláhs
miracles. After completing the task of research and writing,
the author reportedly offered the book to Baháulláh, only
to be disappointed by His refusal to approve it. It was the
eventual destiny of this workthough precious to many
Baháísto be thrown into a river and thus remain forever
unknown to future generations. Another man, a Muslim (a
Sunnite savant of Baghdad), wrote a short treatise in which
he related certain supernatural acts…
Although Baháulláh had wished that His wondrous gifts
would not be publicized or emphasized (fearing that they
might eventually be regarded as the sole evidence of His
divine mission, as has happened in so many other religions),
nevertheless a few of His followers proceeded to record and
preserve some of the unusual happenings they had witnessed.
10E
For further details of this event, see Some Answered Questions, pp.
34-35, Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 131-132, and
God Passes By, p. 144.
11338 King of Kings
12But the intention of these followers was not to prove the
validity of Baháulláhs Revelation. They simply wished to
remain faithful to the history of His Mission, recording and
reflecting the events as they unfolded. A few of those wonders
are explored in the next chapter.
As stated at the beginning of this chapter, the gravest conse-
quence of putting ones trust in miracles is this: it takes the
initiative away from the individual and puts it all in Gods
Hand. Many Christians today are waiting for a heavenly hand
to lift them to heaven. They believe they do not need to do
anything except to be good Christians and wait. They do not
put their trust in proofs and prophecies. Why then, waste time
for prophecies if everything is going to be miraculous? These
beliefs and attitudes have created not only apathy but also
avoidance.
Because of the supreme significance many believers attach
to miracles, we will examine this topic further in the next
chapter and will present some examples of signs and wonders
in the Baháí Revelation.
1Micah 7:15 NIV
2Par t I I, Examples of Extraordinary
Events in the Lives of the Báb,
Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
3In referring to the supernormal powers possessed by Gods
Messengers and Redeemers, it may be helpful to differentiate
between the acts expressed spontaneously, and the acts dis-
played deliberately with the clear intention of convincing the
doubtful. Communication would improve if we had two
separate words for each of these two acts. The word miracle,
as often used, implies a deliberate attempt to impress or con-
vince. As stated, such is not and has never been the intent
4340 King of Kings
5of Gods Messengers. Words perhaps free from the undesirable
connotation associated with miracle are wonder and marvel.
Once the distinction is established, communication improves
considerably.
Thus in the Baháí Faith, we do not speak of miracles as such,
but of wonders and marvelsworks or attributes that charac-
terize every aspect of the lives of Gods great Messengers and
Redeemers.
The following is a prophecy about our time:
As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show
them my wonders. Micah 7:15 NIV
The following passage applies not only to the Báb but to all
the great Messengers:
He [the Báb] is in truth endowed with supernatural
powers…1 The Báb
To illustrate the character and magnitude of such wonders,
several examples will be cited here. But the purpose in citing
them is not to imply in any way that the seeker of truth
should use them as proof of the divine mission, as the stan-
dard of recognizing Gods great Messengers. The accounts are
included here for three reasons. First, they are an essential
part of the history, and simple curiosity prompts one to want
to investigate. Second, many seekers are so accustomed to
associating miracles with Messengers that they cannot recon-
cile themselves to believing otherwise. The absence of such
wonders would in itself serve as a stumbling block in their
search for truth. Third, the divine Messengers transcend
others in every conceivable way. Not only do they transcend
the human spirit, but the world of matter as well. Yet in spite
of their ascendancy over earthly powers, they never pride
themselves therein. Thus their refusal to use their supremacy
to fulfill their wishes (whether selfish or unselfish), or to es-
cape adversity, is in itself an evident proof of their sincerity
and distinction over others.
6Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
7The Martyrdom of the Báb
Reasons for Sacrifice
Among the many parallels between Jesus and the Báb was
their desire to sacrifice their lives:
The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.
Christ (John 10:11)
…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many."
Christ (Matt. 20:28 NKJ)
I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted
curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but
martyrdom in the path of Thy love. Sufficient witness
unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient of
Days.2 The Báb
I heard a Voice calling in my inmost being: Do thou
sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of
God… 3 The Báb
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.4 The Báb
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people
to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through
whom they come! Christ (Matt. 18:7)
The Báb was martyred in July of 1850, a few months short
of His 31st birthday. His martyrdom is one of the best docu-
mented and most incredible events in religious history. It was
observed by an estimated audience of 10,000 and recorded
by writers of various religious persuasions, and even by the
official historian of the state that ordered the execution.
First, a few words about the reasons behind martyrdom. Why
did Jesus and the Báb offer their lives? An essential feature
8342 King of Kings
9of the design of creation is that every worthy achievement
must be preceded or accompanied by self-sacrifice. Whether
it is raising well-behaved children, getting a degree, staying
healthy, losing weight, or eliminating racism, sexism, and
poverty, some degree of sacrifice is required.
To grow and multiply, to bear flowers and fruits, the seed
must sacrifice itself:
Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it
remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds. Christ (John 12:24)
What is by far the greatest achievement? It is educating
humanity, elevating the human spirit to everlasting hope and
happiness; it is leading the soul from the kingdom of earth
to the Kingdom of Heaven. Can such a glorious purpose be
achieved without sacrifice?
Human beings are best inspired by models who show their
devotion and sincerity through examples. The first ones to
offer perfect examples of devotion, nobility, and self-sacrifice
are Gods chosen Messengers. If they, with all their perfections
and powers, submitted themselves to the law of sacrifice, are
we not inspired to do the same?
I have set you an example: you are to do as I have done
for you. Christ (John 13:15)
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. Christ (John 10:11)
For most of us self-sacrifice has negative connotations. It
implies giving up something, but that is a misconception.
Self-sacrifice involves no loss; it is the process by which
short-term interests are exchanged for long-term dividends. It
is like exchanging junk bonds for reliable and late-maturing
bonds, or junk food for nourishing food. Self-sacrifice is the
catalyst of perfection; it is the yeast that elevates the human
spirit by breaking down apathy, inertia, complacency, pride,
10Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
11self-glory, and attachment to the world. It is the price that
must be paid for lasting and genuine happiness.
Gods ways are often opposite to ours. By His standard We
must lose to gain; we must give to obtain; we must be humble
to be exalted; we must be least to be greatest; we must die
to live.
how can My way accord with thine?5 Baháulláh
Behold how contrary are the ways of the Manifestations
of God, as ordained by the King of creation, to the ways
and desires of men!6 Baháulláh
To promote the Cause of God, all great Messengers have
endured pain and suffering. The only difference is this: some
have accepted martyrdom by death, others have become
living martyrs. Death does not necessarily impose the gravest
suffering. In some ways, being tortured and killed can be less
painful than a continuing life of suffering. Baháulláhs life
was of this kind. Martyrdom by death attracts our attention
because, in addition to being tragic, it is dramatic. The deaths
of Jesus and the Báb were of this kind.
In the Bábs death we can discern evidence of a divine power
at work. Should we use that evidence as proof of His station?
Definitely not! Then what purpose should it serve? Only this:
It should elevate us from apathy to awareness. It is not an
evidence in itself, but a call to investigate the evidence. For
instance, you know you will be asleep at 7:00 a.m. You set
your clock to awaken you at that time to be ready for an
invited guest. In the state of sleep, you are unaware of the
coming of the guest. But when you are awakened by the
alarm clock, you begin to see and hear your visitor. That is
the only purpose miracles should serve. You do not welcome
your guest because of the alarm clock. You welcome him
because you see him and recognize him with your own eyes.
With these points in mind, let us proceed with the story of
the Bábs martyrdom.
12344 King of Kings
1This quotation from The Dawn-Breakers, the most compre-
hensive narrative about the Báb and His disciples, gives us
a glimpse of the events prior to the martyrdom:
That day witnessed a tremendous commotion in the city of
Tabríz. The great convulsion associated in the ideas of its
inhabitants with the Day of Judgment seemed at last to
have come upon them. Never had that city experienced a
turmoil so fierce and so mysterious as the one which seized
its inhabitants on the day the Báb was led to that place
which was to be the scene of His martyrdom. As He ap-
proached the courtyard of the barracks, a youth suddenly
leaped forward who, in his eagerness to overtake Him, had
forced his way through the crowd, utterly ignoring the risks
and perils which such an attempt might involve. His face
was haggard, his feet were bare, and his hair disheveled.
Breathless with excitement and exhausted with fatigue, he
flung himself at the feet of the Báb and, seizing the hem
of His garment, passionately implored Him: Send me not
from Thee, O Master. Wherever Thou goest, suffer me to
follow Thee. [The Báb answered the youth]: Arise, and
rest assured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall
witness what God has decreed.
That night the face of the Báb was aglow with joy, a joy
such as had never shone from His countenance. Indifferent
to the storm that raged about Him, He conversed with us
[His disciples] with gaiety and cheerfulness. The sorrows that
had weighed so heavily upon Him seemed to have com-
pletely vanished. Their weight appeared to have dissolved
in the consciousness of approaching victory.8
The Persian government wanted to make the execution of the
Báb a lesson to all people, especially to His followers. Hence
a decision was made to make it a public event. But, as we
shall see, God had a different plan.
2Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
3Just before the time of the execution, the Báb was in prison
speaking to a disciple. A government official came to the
Bábs prison cell and told Him to come to the public square
for the impending execution. The Báb asked for a little time
to finish His conversation with the disciple, but the official
would not comply. The Báb offered this warning: Not until
I have said to him all those things that I wish to say, can
any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed
against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from
fulfilling, to the last word, My intention. 9 The official ig-
nored the warning and took the Báb (along with the young
disciple who wanted to die with Him) to the public square
to be shot by a regiment of 750 soldiers, who stood in three
lines ready to fire.
The regiment was headed by an Armenian colonel, Sám Khán,
who had no animosity toward the Báb and no interest in
executing two young men for their religious beliefs. To ab-
solve himself of responsibility, he went to the Báb and said,
I profess the Christian Faith, and entertain no ill will against
you. If your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free
myself from the obligation to shed your blood.
The Báb replied, Follow your instructions, and if your inten-
tion be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you
from your perplexity.
The martyrdom of the Báb and His disciple was planned with
precision. To give people a good view of the event, officials
suspended the Báb and His disciple above the ground by
passing two heavy ropes under their armpits and tying the
ropes to a heavy nail driven into a thick wall. The Bábs
disciple pleaded to be placed in such a position that his body
would shield that of his Master. He was suspended so that
his head rested on his Masters chest.
At about 10:00 a.m., the gaze of thousands of onlookers was
fixed on the two young men suspended in the air. The first
of the three lines of soldiers, 250 of them, was ordered to
4346 King of Kings
5fire. They fired, then knelt so that the second and then the
third lines of soldiers could fire. The firing of 750 bullets
created a cloud of smoke that obscured peoples vision. (The
smoke came from the gun powder used in those days.) For
a few minutes, the people could not see, but when the smoke
cleared, they saw no trace of the Báb. His disciple was stand-
ing unharmed on the ground just below the point of suspension.
It is hard to imagine the uproar, the astonishment, and the
confusion that seized the onlookers, especially the government
officials. The nervous and puzzled officials searched franti-
cally for the Báb. Where do you think He was found? In His
original prison cell where He was completing His unfinished
conversation with His disciple.
The man who located Him was the same man who had taken
Him for execution. When he arrived, the Báb was ready. His
face radiated with unruffled calm. He welcomed the official
by saying, Now you may proceed to fulfill your intention.12
The guard was so shaken by what he saw that he refused to
take the Báb a second time. He left the scene and resigned
from his position.
In the meantime, the Christian colonel, who had been look-
ing for any excuse to free himself from the ominous task of
executing the Báb, was jubilant. He saw this as a sure sign
from God and immediately withdrew his soldiers and swore
never again to engage in that task, even if his refusal resulted
in death.
A second regiment volunteered for the task. Two hours had
passed; it was about noon. Because of the seemingly miracu-
lous event, the Báb now had a more receptive audience. He
had a chance to address the people:
Had you believed in Me, O wayward generation, every
one of you would have followed the example of this youth
[the disciple who wanted to die with Him]…The day will
come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall
have ceased to be with you.13
6Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
7Everything was now ready. The second regiment took position
and was ordered to fire. This time the bullets hit their targets.
The two bodies were so shattered and riddled with bullets
that they were blended into one mass of mangled flesh and
bone, except for the face of the Báb, which miraculously
remained intact.
The very moment the shots were fired, a gale of exceptional
severity arose and swept over the whole city. A whirlwind
of dust of incredible density obscured the light of the sun and
blinded the eyes of the people. The entire city remained en-
veloped in that darkness from noon till night.14
Unto God do I commit my affair and yours, and He verily
is the best judge…Naught shall touch Me besides that which
God, My Lord, hath pre-ordained for Me. In Him have I
placed My whole trust…15 The Báb
I am well pleased to lay down My life in Thy path and
ere long to return to Thy presence. Unto Thee be praise
in the heavens and on the earth.16 The Báb
Glory be unto Thee, O my God. Thou art well aware that
I have proclaimed Thy Word and have not failed in the
mission Thou didst enjoin upon me.17 The Báb
I, verily, have not fallen short of My duty to admonish that
people, and to devise means whereby they may turn towards
God, their Lord, and believe in God, their Creator.18
The Báb
The One called the Desire of nations, the Savior and Re-
deemer of humankind, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, was
made a sacrifice for the world. This is the way it has been
and may always be:
You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet
your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those
who predicted the coming of the Righteous One.
Acts 7:51-52
8348 King of Kings
9Great spirits have always encountered opposition from
mediocre minds. Albert Einstein
The sacrifices made by the Báb and Jesus present us with
two dramatic examples by which God teaches us lessons of
detachment and dedication. He allows the Ones He loves
most to become sacrificial Lambs. The few examples of self-
sacrifice by Gods chosen Messengers have had and will
continue to have far more influence in elevating the human
spirit than countless books of commandments and counsels.
Just after the Báb was executed, Sir Justin Sheil, Queen
Victorias Envoy in Tihrán, sent an official letter to the Sec-
retary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Palmerston. This is
part of his letter:
He [the Báb] was killed by a volley of musketry, and his
death was on the point of giving his religion a luster which
would have largely increased his proselytes. When the
smoke and dust cleared away after the volley, [the] Báb
was not to be seen, and the populace proclaimed that he
had ascended to the skies.19
Why, we may ask, was such an event allowed to occur? We
can be certain that the intention was not to impress or con-
vince the crowds. Had the Báb intended to transform the
hearts of the people, it would have been within His power
to do so; a miracle would not have been required. So why
was the event allowed to happen? The Báb was determined
to complete His letter, and as He said, nothing could have
prevented Him from doing so. There could have been other
reasons as well. Perhaps divine Wisdom ordained that the
Christian colonel be relieved from the ominous responsibility
placed on him. Perhaps this was Gods final testimony, an
awakening call, to a doubting and wayward generation.
There could have been other reasons, which we may never
know. One thing we do know: that the event did occur, that
it cannot be ignored or overlooked, and that it is now a part
of history, which we are entitled to know.
10Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
11The following prophecy from Zephaniah seems to predict the
martyrdom of the Báb. The word guests may symbolize
thousands of viewers who witnessed Gods great sacrifice:
Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the day of
the Lord is at hand, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has invited His guests. Zephaniah 1:7 NKJ
The Bábs brief period of ministry is characterized by many
such wonders. Those interested in pursuing the subject further,
may wish to consult The Dawn-Breakers, a comprehensive
account of His dramatic story.
1life. Recorded narratives of Baháulláhs wondrous powers
are numerous and diverse. Among the most common are those
relating to His complete knowledge of the thoughts, dreams,
and desires of all those around Him. It is repeatedly reported
by those attaining His presence that they would suddenly feel
as if they had lost the protective guards of their souls. It was
as if Baháulláh was gazing directly into the inmost depths of
their beings. It was as if their thoughts, motives, and desires
were being unveiled.
…wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is
hidden in darkness. I Corinthians 4:5 NIV
On that day ye shall be brought before Him [the promised
Redeemer]; none of your hidden deeds shall remain hidden
[to Him]… Qurán 69:18 R
We are told that when believers and unbelievers alike came
to visit Baháulláh, His presence would produce:
…such an effect on most of them that they could not utter
a word. How many times it happened that one of His
most bitter enemies would resolve within himself, I
2and I will dispute and argue thus with him, but when he
entered the Holy Presence, he would become amazed and
confounded, and remain speechless.20
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all
the earth keep silence before Him. Habakkuk 2:14, 20 NKJ
Be silent in the presence of the Lord God.
Zephaniah 1:7 NKJ
Some of those paying a visit to Baháulláh, have attested that,
once in His presence, they could no longer remember their
questions. Then unexpectedly, and to their amazement, they
would find that their questions were being answered. Such
events were commonplace, not only with Baháulláh but with
other Figures of His Faith as well. As we shall see later, the
first believer in the Báb and the emissary sent by the king
to investigate His Claim, received responses to questions they
1Revelation 10:1
2Baháulláh often uses the sun symbolically. In this passage,
He refers to Himself as this Sun:
Say: O concourse of divines [religious leaders]! Hear ye
not the shrill voice of My Most Exalted Pen? See ye not
this Sun that shineth in refulgent splendor above the All-
Glorious Horizon? For how long will ye worship the idols
of your evil passions? Forsake your vain imaginings, and
turn yourselves unto God, your Everlasting Lord.21
Several prophecies describe Baháulláh as the sun and the fire:
…his [Baháulláhs] face was like the sun…
Revelation 10:1 NIV
He [Baháulláh]glorified be His mentionresembleth
the sun…22 The Báb
3Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
4…unto you that fear the Lord shall the Sun of righteous-
ness [Baháulláh] arise with healing in his wings [teach-
ings]… Malachi 4:2
Suppose a thousand suns should rise together into the sky:
such is the glory of…God…Brilliant like the sun; like fire
blazing, boundless.23 Bhagavad-Gita
…his eyes were like blazing fire…His face was like the
sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1:14, 16 NIV
Some pilgrims, who attained the presence of Baháulláh,
have acknowledged their inability to look directly into His
face. A pilgrim offers this testimonial:
Know with absolute certainty that if anyone, whether
friend or foe, claims that he was able to look directly into
the blessed face of Baháulláh, he is a liar. I tested this
repeatedly and tried time and again to gaze upon His
blessed countenance, but was unable to do so. Sometimes,
when a person attains the presence of Baháulláh, he is
so enamored and carried away that in fact he becomes
dumbfounded, awe-struck, oblivious of himself and forget-
ful of the world. And whenever he is not carried away,
should he try to look into His blessed face with concen-
tration, it would be like looking into the sun. In the same
way that the eye is blinded by the effulgent rays of the
sun, causing tears to flow, should one persist in gazing
upon the countenance of the Blessed Beauty [Baháulláh],
tears will fill the eyes making it impossible to gain any
impression of Him.
I myself had this experience. During the seven months that
I stayed in Adrianople, I was so carried away and dazzled
[by His presence] that I was completely oblivious of my-
self and all creation.24
Another pilgrim also describes Baháulláhs Face as a bril-
liant Sun:
5352 King of Kings
6Whenever I attained Baháulláhs presence I witnessed
such wonders and blessings and experienced such joy and
radiance that cannot be put in words Whenever Baháulláh
turned His Face toward the believers in His presence, no
one could look at His Face and view that brilliant Sun
of Oneness. Therefore, when He spoke, it was His way
to look constantly toward the right, so that the friends
could gaze at His sacred Face freely. And whenever He
looked toward His audience, He would close His eyelids
and speak, so that the friends would not be deprived of
seeing His blessed Face.25
Let us substitute the Arabic translation of the Glory of God
in the prophecy from the Bhagavad-Gita to see how clearly
it confirms the two pilgrims descriptions:
Suppose a thousand suns should rise together into the sky:
such is Baháulláh…Brilliant like the sun; like fire blaz-
ing, boundless.26 Bhagavad-Gita
The pilgrim who described Baháulláhs face as a brilliant
Sun of Oneness was asked by some of his Baháí friends to
remember them and mention them while in the presence of
Baháulláh. He wanted to do this, but he soon discovered that
thinking about them would prevent him from focusing on
Baháulláhs words and enjoying the moment. Then suddenly
this thought passed through his mind, If You are aware of
our hearts, why mention the names? He says this thought
entered his mind unintentionally. At this point, Baháulláh
suddenly turned His smiling face toward him and uttered the
names of the six believers this pilgrim had in mind and wanted
to mention before Baháulláh. After naming them, Baháulláh
concluded, Yes, yes, your pilgrimage for you and for them
is accepted, is accepted, is accepted!
After witnessing such an expression of divine knowledge from
Baháulláh, the pilgrim lost his composure, his eyes turned
dark, and he was about to fall. At this point, Baháulláh
asked His secretary to bring some sweets. He gave one piece
7Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
8to all those present. To this pilgrim, He gave two pieces!
When the time came to leave, this pilgrim still had not fully
regained his composure and had difficulty walking. He lost
his balance once and his friends had to help him.
In a recent dream, I found myself following Baháulláh at a
distance. I saw Him stop at a modest shop with two workers
who were barely visible. The place looked bare and filthy,
like an empty automobile repair shop.
I thought Baháulláh was teaching those workers about the
Baháí Faith. I said to myself, I should pay close attention
to the way He communicates, perhaps I can learn some les-
sons. But since I was at a distance from Him, I could not
hear Him. At one point I saw Him hug the workers to show
His love for them.
The shop was rather dark and Baháulláhs image was barely
visible. Then there was a transformation. From that dark back-
ground two brilliant eyes suddenly emerged, shining like two
small moving lamps. I recognized that the two shining eyes
were Baháulláhs. I knew that no one could focus on those
eyes, and decided to test this idea for myself. But since they
were moving, I could not focus on them for more than a few
seconds at a time.
I felt exhilarated to watch those beautiful piercing eyes shine,
to see them gently and consciously move. On the outside they
looked like two round, shiny, soft globes of glass that radi-
ated with various shades of soft blue light. At no time was I
able to see Baháulláhs face. His eyes were surrounded by
darkness. While basking in this heavenly spectacle, I woke
up with the images clearly imprinted on my mind.
The following prophecies indicate that the supreme Redeemer
is surrounded with light (a symbol of life) and fire (a symbol
of power):
I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked
like glowing metal, as if full of fire…and brilliant light
9354 King of Kings
10surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the
clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of
the Lord. When I saw it, I fell face down…
Ezekiel 1:27-28 NIV
His throne was flaming with fire and its wheels were all
ablaze. A river of fire was flowing… Daniel 7:9-10 NIV
The metaphors of the sun and the light are used repeat-
edly for the great Redeemers. Chapter 19 of Psalms is entirely
about the coming of the promised Ones of our time, especially
Baháulláh. Jewish and Christian commentators take it literally,
but it also has a prophetic message. Let us first see the verses
in sequence, and then study some of their metaphors verse
by verse:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech
or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice
goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the
world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one
end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is
perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are
trustworthy, making wise the simple May the words of
my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in
your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalms 19:1-7, 14 NIV
Verses 1-2:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
Heaven symbolizes religion; all great religions have declared
the coming of Baháulláh, the Glory of God. The heavens
11Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
12here may refer specifically to the Revelations of the Báb and
Baháulláh. The volume of writings and knowledge poured
forth by these two Revelations is phenomenal.
Verses 3-4:
There is no speech or language where their voice is not
heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words
to the ends of the world.
Since the Baháí Faith has come for the entire planet, peoples
of all languages will hear the Voice and the Words of the two
Redeemers.
Verse 5:
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is
like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a
champion rejoicing to run his course.
In the heaven of divine Revelation, God has designated a
place or a dawning point for Baháulláh, the Sun of Truth,
who radiates with the light and glory of God. The coming
of the glory of God from the heaven of divine Revelation is
compared to a bridegroom coming from his chamber. We
know Jesus compared Himself to a Bridegroom and religion
to a Bride coming from heaven. According to Nelsons Illus-
trated Bible Dictionary: In the New Testament Christ is
the Bridegroom (John 3:29), and the church is His bride (Eph.
5:25-33).
The New English Bible personifies the sun by using the
pronoun who instead of which:
In them [the heavens] a tent is fixed for the sun [Baháulláh],
who comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding
canopy Psalms 19:4-5 NEB
Verse 6:
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to
the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
13356 King of Kings
14The Sun of Baháulláh covers the entire planet. Nothing
remains beyond His power, His reach and radiance.
Verse 7:
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The stat-
utes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
Baháulláh has a Book of laws called The Most Holy Book
(The Kitáb-i-Aqdas). The laws contained in that Book are
perfect. They serve as a source of wisdom to all those en-
dowed with hearts as pure, as simple and as uncomplicated
by illusions and prejudice as those of children.
1us through dreams or visions. The prophet Joel was inspired
to utter this prophecy about our time:
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young
men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams…
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved. Acts 2:17, 21 NIV
See also Joel 2:28,
2We find many instances in the rich history of the Baháí Faith
that confirm or fulfill Joels prophecy. A disciple of Baháulláh
states that during the earlier stages of his search for truth, he
found the evidence for the Baháí Faith convincing. But he
had doubts until he had a dream in which he saw a divine
Being who was pacing up and down among some people.
This is what happened in his dream:
I arrived and spontaneously prostrated myself at His [divine
Beings] feet. Graciously, He lifted me up with His own
hands and, standing, said A person may claim that he has
come here wholly for the sake of God, and has truly at-
3by the onslaught of the peoples of the world, who with
drawn swords attack him and intend to take his life be-
cause he has embraced the Cause of God. Otherwise, he
cannot truthfully say that his motive was to seek God.
On hearing these words, I woke up from my dream and
found myself assured, joyous and thankful. All my doubts
had completely disappeared. I learnt the mysteries of
martyrdom, persecution and sufferings…I was amazed
as I looked back upon the doubts I had entertained, my
ignorance, low-mindedness, weakness of faith and shallow-
ness of thought…And now, through this dream, I had
acquired faith…
…about fourteen years later I was in the Land of Mys-
tery [Adrianople] where I stayed for seven months. Every
day, through His bounty, I used to attain the presence of
Baháulláh once, twice and sometimes more. But during
this period, I never thought of my dream
Then one day, when this pilgrim visited Baháulláh, he en-
countered this amazing experience:
I saw the Ancient Beauty [Baháulláh] pacing in the
roofed area of the house. The stream of His utterance was
flowing and a few souls were standing. I prostrated myself
at His feet, whereupon He lifted me up with His blessed
hands. He turned to me and said:
A person may claim that he has arrived here wholly for
the sake of God, and has truly attained the presence of His
Lord when he is not held back by the onslaught of the
peoples of the world, who with drawn swords attack him
and intend to take his life because he has embraced the
Cause.
These were exactly the words I had heard fourteen years
before, and I saw the same incomparable Beauty and the
same building as in my dream. I stood by the wall, awe-
4not, God forbid, to attribute any miracles, but rather to
state the facts as they happened
The following is a similar story about an eminent poet and
a distinguished disciple of Baháulláh named Varqá, who
eventually sacrificed his life for his Lord:
The first time he [Varqá] gazed upon the face of His
Lord he was surprised, because he thought that he had
previously seen Him somewhere, but he could not remem-
ber the occasion or the place. He was puzzled by this until
one day after several times coming into His presence,
Baháulláh said to him, Varqá! Burn away the idols of
vain imaginings! On hearing these words, Varqá imme-
diately recalled a dream he had had when he was a child.
He was in a garden playing with some dolls when God
arrived, took the dolls from him and burned them in the
fire. When he told this dream to his parents they pointed
out to him that no one can see God. However, he had com-
pletely forgotten this dream until that day when the words
of Baháulláh, exhorting him to burn the idols, aroused his
memory, and he knew that he had seen Baháulláh in his
dream as a child.30
The experience of a relative of mine (Hakím Áqá Ján)a
physician and one of the first among the Jews to accept
Baháulláhis another example. While lying on his deathbed,
semiconscious, he suddenly raised himself and exclaimed,
Turn this way and look! A relative who was tending him,
said, Why? The dying man responded, Cant you see
Baháulláh entering? The relative looked in the desired
direction, but could see nothing. The man with the vision then
bowed his head, recited a verse from the Torah in Hebrew,
lay down and died. About two months later, the surviving
relatives received a Tablet (Letter) from Baháulláh in honor
of the deceased man. Near the end of the Tablet Baháulláh
states that He was with him at the time of his death and
5Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
6point is this: no one had informed Baháulláh about the death
of this man. I have a copy of Baháulláhs Tablet.
1Among other unusual events attributed to Baháulláh, the
Báb, and Abdul-Bahá are those relating to the fulfillment of
spoken and sometimes unspoken requests, desires, or thoughts
of a few individuals who would wish for certain gifts or
necessities of life, such as health, wealth, a long life of se-
renity, or perhaps a child. Here is an eyewitness account:
One of the most famous merchants of Qazvín was Hájí
Muhammad Báqir. Not only was he well known as a mer-
chant, but he was also prominent in his service to the
Cause, a service which was much appreciated by all the
believers. Once he sent a letter to Baháulláh asking Him
to bestow upon him the bounty of wealth so that he could
serve the Cause with greater capacity. Baháulláh answered
that the doors of wealth would be opened to him from all
sides, but he must be ever vigilant lest material prosperity
become a veil between him and his Creator.
Baháulláh also said to those in His presence at the time
that Muhammad Báqir would soon be drowned in wealth,
but material success would close his eyes to the realities
of life to such a degree that he would turn his back on the
Cause and even deny God. Then he would suffer tremen-
dous losses and would return to his Lord in repentance.
Because of his repentance, God would change his losses
into ample profits to such an extent as to enable him to
become the leading merchant in Tabríz and Constantinople.
This time he would become even more proud and would
again ignore the Faith, and then his wealth would be gone
forever. He would no longer be able to trade and would
become helpless. He would then return in repentance once
more and remain poor but content. In this state, he would
serve the Cause and achieve great success in his service
2360 King of Kings
3to God. At the end of His wondrous and ominous state-
ment, Baháulláh addressed me and advised that I should
remember all the events as they unfolded.
After some time, Muhammad Báqirs brother was arrested
and thrown into prison because of his Faith. Muhammad
Báqir paid a large sum of money to obtain his brothers
release. After that, Muhammad Báqir made his way to
Constantinople. Upon his arrival, he recanted his faith and
approached the court of the sultan and the Persian ambas-
sador, begging them to consider him a true Muslim.
Baháulláh immediately remarked that this was the starting
point of the chain of events he had described before.
I then went to Constantinople, where I stayed fourteen
months. There I learned that Muhammad Báqir had pur-
chased great quantities of cotton. All of a sudden, the
price of cotton dropped so low that our friend lost his
wealth and became submerged in debt. In this deplorable
condition, he again remembered his Lord and wrote a
letter to Baháulláh in which he repented and begged Him
to come to his aid. Baháulláh replied, assuring him that
he would regain his wealth.
When I was in Egypt I learned that the price of cotton had
risen sharply. Muhammad Báqirs wealth grew to ten times
more than ever before. Although he had been tested once,
he fell a second time into the trap of greed and failed to
know his Lord and Provider. Baháulláh wrote him again
and alerted him to the danger of material temptation. He
exhorted him to remain steadfast in the Path of God and
grateful for His bounties. But once more Muhammad Báqir
ignored God and remained heedless.
When after many years I found him again in Tabríz, he told
me, After I received the Tablet, it seemed to me that even
the nails and curtains on the walls of my room had ears
to hearken and obey. One by one, all of my possessions
slipped quietly from me. I was reduced to poverty and was
4Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
5forced to leave Constantinople for Tabríz where I live in
this house, which belongs to my wife, and wear clothes
that are made by my children.
6Abdul-Bahás Wondrous Gifts
Abdul-Bahá was also endowed with distinct spiritual gifts.
We read many stories about Jesus healing powers. The fol-
lowing story written by an eyewitness about Abdul-Bahás
healing powers gives us a more detailed picture of how Jesus
may have healed the sick:
At one in the afternoon we arrived at a small village,
called Majdal [in the Holy Land].
Have you any acquaintance in this village? the Master
[Abdul-Bahá] asked.
Yes, Master, the headman of the village is a good Chris-
tian and an acquaintance of mine.
The Master then told me to inform him of His arrival…I
went at once to the home of the headman of the village,
who was called Khúrí, and told him of the arrival of
Abdul-Bahá. The headman, and many of the notables of
the village ran towards the Masters carriage, and with
great respect helped Him to alight. Abdul-Bahá, His atten-
dants, the host, and some of the notables entered the house
and sat in the guest room. The Master told Khusraw to
make tea and prepare a repast. The food had been brought
from Haifa, and the host produced some honey, yogurt,
olives, and eggs. Abdul-Bahá tasted only a few spoonfuls
of honey, a little broth, and some olives, and after the
meal He slept about an hour. Arising, He washed His
hands and bathed His face with cool water, and came again
to sit in the guest room. He spoke words of wisdom to
the host, and to the notables, and advised them on many
of their problems and difficulties caused by the war.
7362 King of Kings
8The host thanked Abdul-Bahá for His advice, and for the
great honor bestowed upon his humble dwelling and upon
himself by this visit.
Your visit at such a time of distress…will bring heavenly
bounties…to all the dwellers in this village. Now I have
one more request to make of you.
What is your request? said Abdul-Bahá. It will be
a happiness to grant it if I have the power.
The Master was always courteous to every creature. He
was the symbol of what Baháulláh had said long ago.
Courtesy is my garment with which we have adorned the
temples of our favorite servants.
The headman continued: I have only one child, a girl
of fourteen, who has been consumptive [has tuberculosis]
for two years. All the physicians have pronounced her a
hopeless case. Days and nights her mother and I and our
relatives can do nothing but weep, wail, and moan. God
has not given us another offspring. If your Holiness would
pray for the restoration of my only child to health, I feel
that a new life would be bestowed upon her, as has been
bestowed upon us all by your sympathy and wise advice.
We feel sure that the prayers of your Holiness are accept-
able to God, and we know that Abdul-Bahás bounties
shower on all men, regardless of their deserving. At this
point the headman burst into tears.
Abdul-Bahá immediately arose from His seat.
Where is your little girl?
In the other room, the headman answered.
Abdul-Bahá went into the other room and saw the young
girl lying on a bed on the floor, in the middle of the
room. The members of her family were seated about
her. Some were acting as nurses, and some only wept.
Abdul-Bahá approached the head of the bed, and sat down
9Chapter 12: I Will Show Them My Wonders
10beside her. He took the little hand and felt the pulse. The
temperature was very high. The child coughed incessantly,
and spat blood. She was like a creature of skin and bones.
She was in a condition of utter weakness. Abdul-Bahá laid
His blessed hand upon the childs forehead and caressed
her. Turning to Jalál, He said, Bring a cup of tea. This
was done at once. Abdul-Bahá drank some of the tea,
and prayed for about five minutes. He Himself gradually
poured the rest of the tea with a spoon into the maidens
mouth, and twice placed His hands on her forehead. Once
more He prayed, this time for about ten minutes.
Then with a movement of great authority He arose, and
turned to the parents, saying in a loud voice of command:
Be assured God will grant a complete cure to your
daughter. Do not be perturbed, and neither weep nor moan.
With utmost assurance nurse her. Before long she will be
in perfect health.
He then returned to the guest room, and comforted the
people present with words of great wisdom for half an
hour. Then bidding them farewell, He walked out of the
house, and stepped into the carriage. Khusraw and I also
took our seats.
Abdul-Bahá told Isfandíyár to drive on to Nazareth. All
the people of the village, men, women, and children were
crowding about the carriage, and until the last second of
His remaining there were begging and pleading with the
Master for His prayers and blessings.
On the night of that day the maiden perspired a great deal,
and gradually the fever abated. According to the word of
her father, within two months his daughter was restored
to complete health, and in the year 1922 she was married
to a Christian man of Akká, who is a government official.
She is now the mother of three healthy children. Since
then, at Akká, Haifa, and at Nazareth, the father of the
11364 King of Kings
12girl has recounted this story many times, and always ends
his tale with:
My daughter was given back to me by His Holiness Abbás
Effendi [Abdul-Bahá].
The preceding story shows how ineffective miracles are as a
means of inducing beliefs. The father firmly believed that
Abdul-Bahá saved his dying daughter, yet this awareness did
not convince him to become a Baháí.
I have had the privilege of hearing firsthand a number of
unusual events about Baháulláh and Abdul-Bahá recounted
by pilgrims who were blessed by attaining the presence of those
divine Beings. A few years ago I conducted and recorded on
tape an interview with a rich and extremely generous man
(Mr. A. Mítháqíyyih) who had attained five wishes he had
cherishedbut never divulgedwhile in the presence of
Abdul-Bahá, one being to become rich. (A copy of the tape
has been filed in the Baháí Archives in the Holy Land.)
The Baháí historical records are a rich source of many won-
drous events. The purpose in citing a few examples here is not
to use them as evidence or proofs of the Baháí Revelation.
They might, however, be helpful to those who place undue
emphasis on personal-spiritual transformations or encounters,
who cling unjustifiably to miracles, declining to consider
seriously the claims of the Báb and Baháulláh unless they
are confronted with the power of the supernatural.
1Redeemers consists of no less than an accumulation of unusual
or wondrous events and happenings. It seems more reason-
able, when looking for evidence of validity, to gaze at the
magnificent and majestic Prophetic Profile, which stands
supremely above and beyond any man-made or earthly profile.
2divine Manifestation, if viewed with a keen and perceptive
mind, constitutes the most dramatic and the most miraculous
event in the history of the world.
Is it not a miracle that Gods great Teachers and Messengers
reveal teachings that satisfy the needs of so many for so
many generations?
Is it not a miracle that they exert the most far-reaching in-
fluence on the lives of millions for centuries?
Is it not a miracle that they can tear the dark veil of the
future and reveal mysteries far beyond the vision of the
wisest and the most learned of people?
Is it not a miracle that so many willingly make sacrifices in
their Path, giving their all to attain their presence or partake
of the fruits of their love?
Is it not a miracle that they reveal Words so exquisite, so sub-
lime, and with such spontaneity, novelty, grace, and grandeur?
Is it not a miracle that they manifest such a harmony in
their teachings and such a constancy in their beliefs and
their Missions?
Is it not a miracle that they fulfill distinctly so many proph-
ecies revealed in the Revelations of the past?
Is it not a miracle that the kings and the high ones of the
earth stand so powerless before their all-pervasive dominion?
Is it not a miracle that they succeed in the most challenging,
unyielding, and perplexing taskthe changing of the hearts
and minds of people?
Is it not a miracle that they manifest deeds so noble and
purelove that knows no bounds, forgiveness beyond measure,
humility in its pure essence, detachment beyond human vision,
serenity unimpaired?
Is it not a miracle that in spite of their meekness and lack
3Is it not a miracle that they so willingly make sacrifices and
endure so patiently adversities and afflictions far beyond hu-
man conception?
Is it not a miracle that in spite of centuries of separation, and
the extreme diversity of their cultures, they manifest such a
unity of Purpose, always reaffirming and acknowledging the
Works and the Missions of those sent before them?
Is it not a miracle that despite their limited or lack of school-
ing, they unseal and unravel the mysteries and manifest a
Knowledge that baffles the minds of the wisest and the most
learned?
Is it not a miracle that the opposition of the masses of people,
and that of the established religions of the day, is so power-
less in the face of their all-pervasive dominion?
To accomplish any of these tasksunaided, single and alone
is in itself a miracle. How much more is it to accomplish
them all? Together they constitute a Supreme Miracle far
beyond the vision and comprehension of the human mind.
If these proofs are viewed with justice, with an unbiased and
open mind, the distinction of the divine Manifestations and
the validity of their claim will become so clear and apparent
that no one could fail to recognize them, or hesitate to accept
them, even for one short moment.
Behold Him manifest and resplendent as the sun in all its
glory.33 Baháulláh
We are living at the dawning of a new Revelation from God,
when the masses of humankind are still sleeping. In their
dreams, they think it is inconceivable that they may be among
those who deny their Lord. Yet history shows that the incon-
ceivable not only has always been possible but commonplace.
The next chapter explains this paradox. It shows how some
of the most wonderful people can fail to see the state of their
1Revelation 10:1 NIV
2The Pa r adox of Ant icipation and Denial
1like the sun… Revelation 10:1 NIV
Indeed the face of the sun of justice and fairness is hidden
behind the clouds of idle fancy…1 Baháulláh
A formal prayer recited by the Jews in Israel on Indepen-
dence Day after a trumpet blast:
May it be thy will, O Jehovah, our God and the God of
2redemption, so may we be granted to hear the trumpet of
the Messiah.2
Can anything be more astonishing than this: people dream,
hope, and pray for their Redeemer; they consider His advent
the crowning point in human history. They wish to get a
glimpse of the glory of their fondest hopes and dreams, to be
mentioned by Him, and to be His humble servant. Yet when
they see Him, they ridicule Him, renounce Him, argue with
Him, torture Him, and even kill Him. They can respect Him
only when separated from Him by a distance of centuries.
Why?
Woe to you…you hypocrites! You build tombs for the
prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And
you say, If we had lived in the days of our forefathers,
we would not have taken part with them in shedding the
blood of the prophets. Christ (Matt. 23:29-30 NIV)
The paradox of anticipation and denial has not happened just
once:
Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?
Acts 7:52 NIV
This paradox needs to be understood. This chapter offers an
explanation based on psychological principles. The explana-
tion relates mainly to a prophecy put in a question by the
Psalmist:
1Fantasy or imagination is a gift from Heaven. It can give
birth to creative works in the arts, literature, and science. It
can open new and vast horizons to the human mind. But like
any other gift, its misuse can lead to disaster. It can lead to
separation and remoteness from reality. Some people enjoy
specific or multiple fantasies; a few create and live in a world
2Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
3of fantasy that to them appears in perfect order, solid, and
unshaken until a gentle breeze shatters their world.
We may take fancy for a companion, but must follow
Reason as our guide. Samuel Johnson
In many of His Writings, Baháulláh declares that people for
the most part judge their Redeemers by what their own fancy
creates and learns from other sources of fancies. The follow-
ing are some of the words and expressions Baháulláh presents
to portray the critical obstacle that has prevented peoples of
all ages, including ours, from seeing the truth:
idle fancy
idle thoughts
idle tales
idle sayings
illusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy
obscuring dust
vain and obscure thought
vain fancies
false imaginings
fanciful thoughts
fanciful images
clouds of idle fancy
satanic fancy
fads and fancies
fleeting fancies
images that their idle fancy has carved
mists of idle fancy
imprisoned in the cage of their fancies
veils of fancy and false imaginings
smoke of idle fancy
Baháulláh also uses the word cloud to symbolize obstacles:
These thick clouds are the exponents of idle fancies and
vain imaginings
4370 King of Kings
5Indeed the face of the sun of justice and fairness is hid-
den behind the clouds of idle fancy
Baháulláh repeatedly encourages seekers of truth to break
through the intervening clouds of fancy and to see the light
of truth unveiled in all its beauty and splendor:
O SON OF MAN!
Many a day hath passed over thee whilst thou hast busied
thyself with thy fancies and idle imaginings. How long
art thou to slumber on thy bed? Lift up thy head from
slumber, for the Sun hath risen to the zenith, haply it may
shine upon thee with the light of beauty.5
ALAS! ALAS! O LOVERS OF WORLDLY DESIRE!
Even as the swiftness of lightning ye have passed by the
Beloved One, and have set your hearts on satanic fancies.
Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it
truth. Ye turn your eyes towards the thorn, and name it a
flower.6
O friend, the heart is the dwelling of eternal mysteries,
make it not the home of fleeting fancies
…when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search
in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of
Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart,
which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries
of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge,
and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy.8
…they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse
themselves of all that is earthlytheir ears from idle talk,
their minds from vain imaginings
Cast away, O concourse of divines [religious leaders],
the things ye have composed with the pens of your idle
fancies and vain imaginings.10
Fear ye God and follow not your idle fancies
6Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
7Fear God, and be not of the heedless…This is the Cause
that hath caused all superstitions and idols to tremble.12
O concourse of divines…We found you behind the veils…
measure not the Book of God with your selfish desires.13
Arise, O people, and, by the power of Gods might, resolve
to gain the victory over your own selves, that haply the
whole earth may be freed and sanctified from its servitude
to the gods of its idle fanciesgods that have inflicted
such loss upon, and are responsible for the misery of their
wretched worshippers. These idols form the obstacle that
impedeth man in his efforts to advance in the path of
perfection.14
The Báb also asks us to purify our perceptions:
Reduce not the ordinances of God to fanciful imagina-
tions of your own; rather observe all the things which God
hath created at His behest with the eye of the spirit, even
as ye see things with the eyes of your bodies.15
Taking fancy for truth, or following fantasy instead of
reason is not new. Fantasy has always been hard at work
creating auras of darkness to make the idols of peoples
desires appear worthy of worship, to make empty phantoms
look real:
…do you see what the elders of Israel are doing in dark-
ness, each at the shrine of his own carved image?
Ezekiel 8:12 NEB
What faults did your forefathers find in me, that they
wandered far from me, pursuing empty phantoms and
themselves becoming empty. Jeremiah 2:5 NEB
…most of them follow nothing but fancy: truly fancy can
be of no avail against Truth. Qurán 10:36 Y
It seems human nature never changes. Krishna, who appeared
long before Moses, declares the same message:
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9The light [of God] is covered by darkness. This darkness
is delusion… Bhagavad-Gita 5:17
When you have reached enlightenment, ignorance will de-
lude you no longer. Bhagavad-Gita 4:29
Compare the preceding passage with the following from
Baháulláh:
when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from off
thy heart, the lights of oneness will be manifest.16
This prophecy from the Qurán points to the prevalence of
fantasy in our day:
Woe that Day to those who practice falsehood, who amuse
themselves with their own idle fancies. Qurán 52:11-12
1many people judge their whole purpose of living by what
their fancy or imagination creates.
Ye bow the knee before your vain imagining, and call it
truth.17 Baháulláh
Examples of common fantasies:
Survival fantasy: terminal disease cannot happen to me;
others die, but not me.
Safety-in-numbers fantasy: do what everybody else does
and be safe.
Wealth fantasy: the richest people are the luckiest.
Ethical fantasy: everybody cheats on his taxes. I must get
even. Besides, the government wastes so much money.
Moral fantasy: there is no right and wrong. Do everything
2 Anti-religion fantasy: nothing good ever came from reli-
gion. The world would have been a better place without
God and faith.
Racial fantasy: I am glad I am white. I am special.
Military fantasy: security comes from advanced weapons.
Weapons are the best remedy against war.
Political fantasy: what happens to other countries is not my
business. I must be concerned only with my nation.
Economic fantasy: progress can be measured mainly by
industrial growth; the faster the better.
Education fantasy: education means collecting, memorizing,
and transferring information. A good teacher fills students
minds with vast stores of facts and figures.
Purpose-of-life fantasy: life is too short. What matters most
is to cram into every day as much fun as possible.
After-life fantasy: when I get to the hereafter, then I will
worry about the hereafter.
Marital fantasy: I am a good teacher. I will straighten out
my spouse later.
Parenting fantasy: I dont have enough time to spend with
my children. Instead, I buy them everything they want,
and more. What more can they expect?
School fantasy: going to school is a waste of time. The
only way to get ahead is to know the right person.
Ignorance fantasy: what I do not know cannot hurt me.
Media fantasy: if I need to know something, the news
media will tell me.
Christ fantasy: when Jesus comes I will know for sure. In
3is perhaps the shakiest and yet the most consequential of
all fantasies.)
Religion-of-ancestors fantasy: follow the religion of your
ancestors. There is no need to investigate other belief sys-
tems. Other religions are false or at best half-truths.
Relegating-responsibility fantasy: I am not smart enough
to judge the truth. I will let an expert or authority figure
a rabbi, a priest, a pastor, or a mulláto lead me and to
choose my destiny for me.
Forgiveness fantasy: when it comes to being saved or
not saved, what you do does not matter that much, for
it is by grace that you are saved, not by your works. As
a sinner you have a lot of companyeveryone is with
you. The solution to sin is twofold: confession of sin, and
a request for forgiveness. These two will wash away your
transgressions.
Faith fantasy: if there is a God, He would not let me
suffer.
Ego fantasy: I am almost perfect.
Some peoples whole lives hang on a thread of fantasy. By
weaving that thread, they build fantastic mansions that trap
all their potential, that becloud all their vision.
4How Does Fantasy Work in Reality?
Fantasy initiates and maintains a balance between what an
individual desires and what he considers proper; between
what his ego demands of him and what his conscience
considers fair. The following diagram displays the three
5Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
1One’s desire, I am O.K., I do
the voice of ego the right things
2Suppose an individual has a prestigious and lucrative profes-
sion and position, and is deeply preoccupied with his work.
He knows he must spend more time with his children. His
dilemma of trying to maintain a balance makes him anxious.
How does he relieve anxiety? By buying more presents for
his children and giving them more freedom to please them-
selves. Then he says to himself: I am a pretty good father.
I must work hard to provide all those extras for my family.
His fantasy has helped him to create and maintain a balance
between what he desires, and what he considers proper.
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2Consider another example, that of a believer who likes to say
to himself: other faiths are false; they do not deserve any
examination. What can prompt him to think this way? Perhaps
fear of losing his own faith. Why take chances? His view of
other religions may also be inspired by a desire to protect his
position among those who admire him. He knows that an
easy way of losing his cherished position is to do or say
something unpopular. One obstacle holds him back from ful-
filling his desire: he cannot simply ignore other religions or
call them false without a good reason. He needs a reason
to justify and maintain his position. Here as elsewhere, his
fantasy goes to work and performs wonders for him.
All he needs is a phrase in his own Scriptures, a simple verse
that would confirm his suspicion. With the help of his fantasy,
his desire is fulfilled. He reminds himself constantly of that
phrase or verse and he associates mostly with people who will
reaffirm his fulfilled desire. His fantasy has served a vital
purpose: it has protected him from the anxiety of not inves-
tigating other faiths. If he is very adventurous, he may risk
reading a book about other belief systems, but most likely it
will be one written by a recommended author from his own
religion. Why? This thought goes through his mind: When
a person of other belief systems writes a book about his own
religion, as a rule he is biased. People of my faith are more
fair.
1I am fair,
1preserving one’s or deny anything
faith or status without good reasons
2This theory shows the relationship between the heart and the
mind; it portrays how humans come to decisions. Think of the
heart as a spray bottle and of the mind as eyes. What do the
eyes see? They see whatever the heart allows them. If they see
something threatening, the heart instantly produces a measured
dosage of mist and directs it at the unwelcomed reality, at
the new intruder. The mists are the forces of fantasy.
All human beings always carry a spray bottle that can produce
vast amounts of mist. What differentiates them is in the size
of the spray bottle and the directions the mists may take. For
instance, some people are very objective and open-minded
about their profession, but the moment they enter the realm
of religion, they become a new creation. They see differently,
hear differently, and judge differently.
The heart has a vast reservoir of misty notions to direct at
that vision of reality that it finds most threatening. Both the
reservoir and the mists pressure are greater for emotionally
charged issues, such as family relations, religious, racial, and
certain moral questions. Both the force and the reservoir of
the mist astonish the mind. Sometimes one spray can conceal
mountains of evidence. It can conceal even the Face of God
Himself, a Face brighter than the sun.
Prophecies indicate that in this age the mists will become so
thick that they will create vast clouds of gloom and darkness:
That day will be a day of…distress…a day of darkness and
gloom, a day of clouds… Zephaniah 1:15 NIV
3How awful that day will be! None will be like it.
Jeremiah 30:7 NIV
Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!…That day
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5Symbolismthe Medium of
1realm of religion. Why? Perhaps the main reason is this:
sacred Scriptures contain vast and rich deposits of metaphors,
similes, allegories, parables, and codes, from which mansions
of fantasy can readily rise:
These were the words of the Lord to me: Man, speak to
the Israelites in allegory and parable. Ezekiel 17:1-2 NEB
In all his teaching to the crowds Jesus spoke in parables;
in fact he never spoke to them without a parable.
Matthew 13:34 NEB
Verily We have propounded for men, in this Qurán, every
kind of parable. Qurán 30:58 Y
This question comes to mind: God is All-Knowing. He knows
people will distort His symbols and parables. Why then does
He use them? The abundant use of symbols and parables in
sacred Scriptures serves several purposes. Perhaps the most
critical among them is Gods will to preserve one of His
choicest gifts to His children: their freedom of choice.
Symbolism grants people almost unlimited freedom to fashion
and choose whatever they wish. The Creator in His Wisdom
has provided His children with vast resources of both earthly
and spiritual riches. Each individual can select as much or as
little of those riches as he may desire. Both Gods gift of
fantasy and His vast treasuries of symbols and parables work
together to create a world of wonders, an ideal level of free-
dom for all human beings; a freedom by which they are tested;
a gift that allows all potential powers to bloom into being.
This question may awaken an awareness of Gods Wisdom
and ways of accomplishing His goals: Jesus had transcendent
knowledge and power. He knew how to convince His adver-
2Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
1He [Baháulláh] was robed in a cloud…his face was like
the sun… Revelation 10:1 NIV
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy
day…This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory
of the Lord [Baháulláh]. Ezekiel 1:28-29 NIV
He [the glory of God] who is the Lord of Lords is come
overshadowed with clouds…18 Baháulláh
Symbolic devicessimiles, metaphors, analogies, parables
offer the imagination free play. They activate that aspect of
the mind that thrives on fantasy and the fantastic. The extreme
popularity of science fiction and magic is an evidence of the
special need humans have for the free play of their imagina-
tions. Why do people love fantasy? The Psalmist asked this
question long ago:
Why do the people imagine a vain thing? Psalms 2:1
Why do they? For many reasons:
Fantasy, which is a vain thing, entertains the mind. People
leave the world of reality temporarily to observe dramatic
and fantastic events. This is one reason believers have
always loved to see and talk about miracles.
Fantasy provides an escape from daily pressures. The
stressed can temporarily leave their troubles behind.
Fantasy allows the mind to create heroes with whom to
identify. People can then fashion and worship models ac-
cording to their choosing.
Fantasy offers instant happiness. Believers can see them-
selves being uplifted to heaven without any effort.
Fantasy relieves the individual from responsibility. People
do not have to spend time investigating a claim. They
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3assume that if anything happens, they will be the first to
know. How could they be alive, but not see and hear?
Fantasy allows the individual to justify his desires. It creates
mists of darkness to obscure reality.
There are countless theories and interpretations of prophecies
about the way Christ will come. Which one is correct?
Baháulláh calls these thoughts and theories idle tales and
idle sayings. To recognize the truth, the seeker must set
aside every one of them.
he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart
from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge
Baháulláh
The prevailing personal views and theories, like vast and
raging dust storms, are preventing the eyes from beholding
the Blessed Beauty of God.
Gods supreme Messengers and Redeemers always come with
the clouds, on the clouds, and in the clouds. With the clouds
may symbolize the degree to which they conceal their great
glory due to peoples lack of capacity:
Know of a certainty that in every Dispensation the light
of Divine Revelation hath been vouchsafed unto men in
direct proportion to their spiritual capacity. Consider the
sun. How feeble its rays the moment it appeareth above the
horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency increase
as it approacheth its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created
things to adapt themselves to the growing intensity of its
light. How steadily it declineth until it reacheth its setting
point. Were it, all of a sudden, to manifest the energies
latent within it, it would, no doubt, cause injury to all
created things…In like manner, if the Sun of Truth were
suddenly to reveal, at the earliest stages of its manifesta-
tion, the full measure of the potencies which the providence
of the Almighty hath bestowed upon it, the earth of human
understanding would waste away and be consumed; for
mens hearts would neither sustain the intensity of its
4Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
5revelation, nor be able to mirror forth the radiance of its
light. Dismayed and overpowered, they would cease to
exist.20 Baháulláh
We can see the sun of the solar system, but the spiritual Sun
is so awesome, so intense, no human being has the capacity
to behold its infinite beauty and splendor without the clouds
of concealment.
O Lord, who has set the sun in heaven, but has chosen
to dwell in thick darkness… I Kings 8:13 NEB
On the clouds may symbolize the illusions, imitations, super-
stitions, and selfish and sinful barriers and desires that prevent
people from seeing the Sun, the things that are contrary to
their ways and wishes:
Consider how men for generations have been blindly imi-
tating their fathers, and have been trained according to such
ways and manners as have been laid down by the dictates
of their Faith. Were these men, therefore, to discover
suddenly that a Man, Who hath been living in their midst,
Who, with respect to every human limitation, hath been
their equal, had risen to abolish every established principle
imposed by their Faithprinciples by which for centuries
they have been disciplined, and every opposer and denier of
which they have come to regard as infidel and wicked
they would of a certainty be veiled and hindered from
acknowledging His truth. Such things are as clouds
Baháulláh
Notice how clearly this warning from Jesus, as translated in
The New Testament in Modern English, clarifies the meaning
of clouds, how clearly it shows that the clouds drift in
the hearts and minds, not in the skies:
Be on your guardsee to it that your minds are never
clouded by dissipation [love for pleasure] or drunkenness
[unawareness and negligence] or the worries of this life
Luke 21:36
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7Baháulláh also uses the metaphor of drunkenness. He states
that His divine station shines as brightly as the sun and the
exaltation of His Revelation is such as none can deny save
those whose eyes are drunken
As the Báb declares, the heavenly Redeemers are the throne
of the revelation and concealment of God. 23 Not only do
they reveal the Creator, but conceal Him as wellfrom the
strangers. When the Báb went on pilgrimage to Mecca,
thousands saw Him. Did any one of them recognize Him?
None! This statement from Him about that visit offers perhaps
the clearest meaning of the expression like a thief:
There was a vast concourse of pilgrims from every sect.
Yet not one recognized Him, though He recognized every
one of them
The Báb knew every one of those pilgrims better than they
knew themselves. He could give every conceivable detail
about their lives, yet none of them had the slightest idea who
the Báb was. He was the heavenly light concealed in the
clouds of glory.
Anyone who cannot see the awesome splendor of God in
Baháulláh is wearing a dark veil of clouds. As it is im-
possible to see the sun from behind the clouds, so is seeing
and recognizing the light of truth from behind the clouds of
illusions and unseemly desires.
In the clouds may symbolize the Saviors physical form:
He makes the clouds his chariots and rides the wings of
the wind. Psalms 104:3 NIV
In another sense, they [clouds] mean the appearance of
that immortal Beauty in the image of mortal man, with
such human limitations as eating and drinking, poverty
and riches, glory and abasement, sleeping and waking, and
such other things as cast doubt in the minds of men, and
cause them to turn away. All such veils are symbolically
referred to as clouds. 25 Baháulláh
8Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
9Thus we have at least three layers of obstacles. The great
Messengers and Redeemers come with the clouds, on the
clouds, and in the clouds.
Even as the clouds prevent the eyes of men from behold-
ing the sun, so do these things hinder the souls of men
from recognizing the light of the divine Luminary.26
Baháulláh
The heart must needs therefore be cleansed from the idle
sayings of men…so that it may discover the hidden mean-
ing of divine inspiration, and become the treasury of the
mysteries of divine knowledge…27 Baháulláh
To those below the clouds, the Thief who comes from above
remains fully concealed; to those above the clouds He shines
with immortal glory, as the lightning that flashes from the
East to the West. Should we rest below the clouds, or rise
above the clouds?
It behooveth us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavor,
that, by Gods invisible assistance, these dark veils, these
clouds of Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from
beholding the beauty of His shining Countenance, and that
we may recognize Him only by His own Self. And should
we ask for a testimony of His truth, we should content
ourselves with one, and only one; that thereby we may
attain unto Him Who is the Fountain-head of infinite grace,
and in Whose presence all the worlds abundance fadeth
into nothingness, that we may cease to cleave unto our
own idle fancy.28 Baháulláh
Does every human being have the capacity to leave his or her
comfort zone of clouds of confusion?
all men are endowed with the capacity to see and hear,
yet we find them deprived of the privilege of using these
faculties.29 Baháulláh
Suffer [allow] not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense
veils of your selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected
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11in every one of you My creation, so that the excellence
of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto men. It
follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will
continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty
of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with
such a capacity, how could he be called to account for
his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the
earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst
standing in the presence of God, be asked: Wherefore
hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty and turned away from
My Self, and if such a man should reply and say: Inas-
much as all men have erred, and none hath been found
willing to turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their
example, have grievously failed to recognize the Beauty
of the Eternal, such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected.
For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one
except himself.30 Baháulláh
Jesus said that He would come like a thief, when people are
asleep. What do people experience in sleep? They dream. The
problem is this: while dreaming, they think they are awake
and experiencing reality. The only way they can tell that they
are dreaming is to wake up. But how can one awaken a sleeper
who thinks he is awake?
How do people conclude that their interpretations are correct?
They simply assume that what they think or believe cannot
be wrong. Each member of the crowd depends on the others
for security. As long as dependency on numbers continues,
the individual remains in bondage. As St. Augustine said,
Before God can deliver us, we must undeceive ourselves.
It takes courage and spiritual strength to question or rethink
the prevailing assumptions.
Some people are architects. They can instantly turn the web of
their illusions into magnificent mansions of reality and live in
them as permanent residents. Most people protect and cherish
their fantasies as if they were priceless antiques. They fear
that change may make them less authentic. The elaborate
12Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
13structures of their fantasies at 80 years of age are as authentic
as they were at 20, except that they have been embellished
and hardened.
1your hearts be overburdened and depressedweighed
downwith the giddiness and headache and nausea of
self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and
cares pertaining to (the business of) this life, and that day
come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose; for it will
come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth.
Keep awake then and watch at all times (that is, be dis-
creet, attentive and ready); praying that you may have the
full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape
all these things [taken together] that will take place, and to
stand in the presence of the Son of man. Luke 21:34-36 AB
In the preceding prophecy Jesus speaks of a trap that en-
tangles or encompasses all the peoples of the world. What
does He mean? Several questions come to mind:
What is the purpose of a trap? To deceive.
How does a trap work? By remaining hidden from view.
Who are the victims who fall into a trap? The ones who
do not see it or recognize it. The ones who do not remain
awake and aware or who fail to watch their steps.
When does a trap work best? At night or on a dark or
foggy day.
Every false assumption, interpretation, or expectation that we
allow to enter and stay in our minds becomes a trap. Every
weakness in our soul, such as fear, apathy, and attachment,
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3is a trap. These traps limit our freedom and prevent us from
seeking and seeing the truth; they conceal the truth from our
view and prevent our rational powers from doing their work.
What does Jesus mean by drunkenness? He means unaware-
ness. A drunkard is far more likely to stumble and fall into
a trap.
Isaiah speaks of a similar trap that falls upon the inhabitants
of the earth. He singles out fear as a snare:
Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant
of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the
noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes
up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare
Isaiah 24:17-18 NKJ
Baháulláh often speaks of people who flee from the news
of His advent, but there is nowhere to flee to:
The thing that must come hath come suddenly; behold
how they flee from it! 31 Baháulláh
There is no place to flee to, no refuge that any one can
seek, except Him.32 Baháulláh
The preceding warning from Jesus, if heeded, by itself has
the power to rescue every sincere Christian from the endless
tangles and traps of illusions and assumptions that have been
woven by the fallible imaginations of thousands of theolo-
gians over the course of centuries. The trap, Jesus declares,
will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire
earth (Luke 21:35). Can Baptists with a good conscience
say, We are out of that trap? Can Catholics make that
claim? Can Mormons or Muslims or Seventh-day Adventists
or Lutherans or Jews advance that claim? Can any church or
any group claim an exception to that warning? No! Jesus
declares that the trap will fall on all citizens of this planet.
Why does no church or group admit being caught in the
prophesied trap? Because if a trap was visible, it would not
4Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
5be a trap! The very fact that people do not admit to being
in a trap is evidence of being in a trap!
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end
it leads to [spiritual] death. Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 NIV
They hasten to Hell Fire [spiritual death], and mistake it
for light.33 Baháulláh
The way that leads to death and hell fire is that of false
assumptions and fantasies. The only safe path out of this
deadly trap is paved with humility, open-mindedness, courage,
and passionate love for truth.
The Jews, during the time of Jesus, were also in a trap almost
identical to the one that now surrounds all the peoples of the
earth. Did they see their traps? Did they see the state of their
souls? No! If they had seen the state of their souls, they
would have seen the trap.
When people refuse to investigate Baháulláhs claims, they
are hiding or resting in an invisible trap that appears as
natural as the air. Ponder all these examples, and see how
innocent and inviting they look:
The trap of fear: I am afraid I will be deceived.
The trap of complacency: I like my denomination. I am
having a great time.
The trap of daily demands: I am too busy.
The trap of worldliness: What matters is what you see
and what you sensemoney and pleasure.
The trap of conformity: All my relatives and close friends
are Jewish.
The trap of avoiding responsibility: My pastor or rabbi
will teach me the truth. It is up to him to lead me.
The trap of apathy: I dont want to know.
The trap of ignorance: I dont know.
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7 The trap of attachment: I cant love any other name.
What solutions did Jesus offer to avoid or escape from the
trap? Two solutions:
Keep awake and watch, pay attention at all times.
Pray constantly to become worthy of His grace.
Both of the solutions He offered require action. They indi-
cate that the trap catches believers who make no move, who
stay in their previous position, who neither investigate nor
pray. The soul will only be guided if God is brought into
the picture. That is the purpose of praying. Faith always
comes from the grace of God.
The honor of knowing the Redeemer of the Age is so glorious,
so exalted, so supreme that we must plead with God every
moment of our lives to grant us the favor of the grace.
Notice the words tearful, fervently, and repeatedly in
this passage from Baháulláh:
We should with tearful eyes, fervently and repeatedly,
implore Him to grant us the favor of that grace.34
Baháulláh
Our spiritual birth is in Gods hand:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me
draws him Christ (John 6:44 NIV)
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry
for help, and he will say: Here am I The Lord will
guide you always Isaiah 58:9-11
What percentage of people follow both instructions? How
many both investigate and pray? How many obey this com-
mandment: Watch therefore, and pray always (Luke 21:36
NKJ)? Perhaps not even one in a thousand. Virtually all people
remain entangled in several traps at the same timethose of
fear, conformity, complacency, ignorance, tradition, apathy,
daily living, and failing to pray to God for an open heart and
mind.
8Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
9Consider the trap of ignorance, the most innocent of all traps.
Some of the enlightened truth seekers know something is
wrong. To satisfy their hunger, they go from city to city, from
church to church, from cult to cult, but remain dissatisfied:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, That
I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north
to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the
Lord, but shall not find it. Amos 8:11-12 NKJ
Many people seeking the Word of God lack spiritual capacity.
What they fail to do is to go beyond the confines of their
churches. They need to love a new rose from whatever
garden it may grow. They need to taste a new fruit from
whatever orchard it may come. The attachment to a label or
form stifles their souls freedom. Who is more likely to remain
entrapped? The one who investigates with an open mind and
a free spirit, and prays for guidance? or the one who neglects
to do so? Who has a better chance of discovering the Master?
The one who does nothing, or the one who takes action? The
one who disobeys the Masters instructions, or the one who
obeys? Searching is always essential:
you will find Him, if you [truly] seek Him with all
your heart (and mind) and soul and life.
Deuteronomy 4:29 AB
Jesus predicted that at His coming, a great tribulation or
oppression will encompass the peoples of the earth (Matthew
24:21). Baháulláh interprets the meaning of the great op-
pression prophesied by Jesus:
What oppression is more grievous than that a soul seek-
ing 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.35
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11The oppression or tribulation predicted by Jesus is a
tragedy of unimagined proportions. What a tragedy to starve
while the most wholesome food lies within arms reach. What
a tragedy to live in the dark while a touch of desire can flood
the heart with the glory of God. What a tragedy to search in
vain for love, joy, hope, and peace, while they are as close
as our thoughts. What a tragedy to be able to create a world
of peace, justice, prosperity, and onenessand yet live in a
world of war, cruelty, poverty, and separation.
We all have a responsibility to proclaim the advent of Baháulláh
to every citizen of our planet. Most people will accept the
truth if they are well informed. The reason many are not
Baháís is that they just dont know about this outpouring of
grace from God or dont know enough about it. If people
truly get to know the Glory of God, they will embrace His
Revelation with all their hearts and souls.
The remedy for lack of knowledge is an independent and
passionate search for truth. Ponder the powerful feeling or
action words in this passage from Baháulláh concerning
the traits of a true seeker:
Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of
longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of
rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seekers heart,
and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his
soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of
doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of
knowledge and certitude envelop his being.36
How many people do you know whose relationship with truth
is characterized by:
• earnest striving • longing desire
• passionate devotion • fervent love
• rapture • ecstasy
The power of the celestial virtues generated by the true seeker
moves the heart of God. It sets in motion the breeze of His
12Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
13loving-kindness. It brings God into the picture. Only then is
the seeker able to set himself free from spiritual entrapment.
Only then can the darkness of error be dispelled. Only then
can the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated. Only
then can the light of knowledge and certitude surround the
soul. Baháulláh continues:
At that hour will the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful
tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God
resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of
knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit
from the slumber of negligence. Then will the manifold
favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting
Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will
find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new
heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest
signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mys-
teries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will
perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the
stations of absolute certitude.37
Thus Jesus stern warning to the entrapped peoples of the
world makes the examination of Baháulláhs mission an ab-
solute requirement for every faithful Christian. It unveils the
significance and purpose of the thief in the night. It makes,
seek and ye shall find a command more urgent than ever
before. It makes the instruction, Watch! more relevant than
ever before. It shows why Jesus emphasized the need for
staying awake and alert.
Blessed the man who stays awake Christ (Rev. 15:15 NEB)
Blessed the slumberer who is awakened 38 Baháulláh
O SON OF MAN !
Many a day hath passed over thee whilst thou hast busied
thyself with thy fancies and idle imaginings. How long art
thou to slumber on thy bed? Lift up thy head from slum-
ber, for the Sun hath risen to the zenith, haply it may
shine upon thee with the light of beauty.39 Baháulláh
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15How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory
to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek
falsehood? Psalms 4:2 NKJ
O SON OF DESIRE !
How long wilt thou soar in the realms of desire? Wings
have I bestowed upon thee, that thou mayest fly to the
realms of mystic holiness and not the regions of satanic
fancy.40 Baháulláh
You may ask, What about the Baháís? Could they also be
in that universal trap predicted by Jesus? That is exactly
why this book is written. This work is precisely an answer
to that concern. If God has allowed all those prophecies to
come true in the lives of the Central Figures of the Baháí
Faith, then we must erroneously assume that God Himself has
entrapped the human race. He has deceived the very people
He has committed Himself to guide! If God has allowed the
Báb and Baháulláh to speak in His name and to produce the
most marvelous heavenly fruits, then we must assume that
God Himself has set a trap for our souls. No, God is not a
trapper but One who sifts, separates, and grades the souls! He
puts each soul in a sieve for the sole purpose of separating
and choosing those who obey Him and follow His standards
of knowing a Redeemer rather than their own selfish desires.
Further, when we read or listen to the stories of those who
have become Baháís, we discover that as a whole they are
among a few who have followed Jesus instructions. We find
that they are the kind of people who struggled, each in his
or her own way to escape all those things, to disentangle
themselves from the multiple traps that surround every citizen
of our planet in this dark night of clouds and confusion. We
see that many of them have been helped or guided by dreams,
an indication of divine intervention. For examples of such
storieshow some people have been guided in their search
for truthread Once to Every Man and Nation,41 and My
Love is My Stronghold.42
16Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
1that for each person, his own particular world is the only
world of reality. Then he adds, Although this fact seems
obvious, the failure of people everywhere to comprehend it is
responsible for much of human misunderstanding, maladjust-
ment, conflict and loneliness. Our perceptions of ourselves
and the world are so real to us that we seldom pause to doubt
them. 43 As the Christian scholar and leader, Bishop John
Spong, notes:
Most of us are too close to our own faith to see clearly,
and too invested in the meaning of that faith to have any
objectivity about the beliefs that finally undergird our life
Only when literal truth is challenged are we able to
float in the profound and limitless sea of ultimate truth.44
Consider this warning:
Be on guard! Be alert! If he comes suddenly, do not let
him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to every-
one: Watch! Christ (Mark 13:33, 37 NIV)
Why do we need to be on guard and alert? Because it is
easy to be caught by the trap of denial. What do we need to
watch for? The good news of the coming of the Master.
Why do we need to watch for the news? Because it is easy
to miss it.
The only way to avoid bondage to our fantasies and to rescue
our souls from the traps of complacency, tradition, and con-
formity is to expand our perception of reality. The only way
we can escape the dark and deadly snare of denial is to open
all our spiritual channels. How can we do this? By exposing
our minds to other perceptions, especially those different
2People love to associate with and support those who believe
and think as they do. Everyone looks to everyone else to get
approval for what he thinks or does. To go against the grain
takes phenomenal courage. In addition, there is the distrust
that people have for new claims. Most believers feel the
tried and true is the only prudent way, because deceivers are
everywhere.
We also need to be aware of human weaknesses and the awe-
some powers of fantasy to exploit those weaknesses. Human
fantasy craves for power, pomp, glamour, and grandeur. People
cannot tolerate their Redeemers humility and apparent help-
lessness. They would prefer Him to pride Himself on His lust
for power than to glory in His poverty, meekness, and love
for truth. They find no advantage in Him over themselves:
…they all turn their gaze toward their own selves…as they
fancifully regard Him as one like unto themselves.45
The Báb
People prefer to see their Redeemer in the hazy auras of their
dreams rather than in the harsh realities of this world:
…if they dreamt of Him they gloried in their dreams;
yet now that He hath revealed Himself…they are resting
comfortably in their homes…while He at this moment is
confined [imprisoned] in the mountain of Mákú, lonely
and forsaken.46 The Báb
People love to reach for the stars, to soar through the vastness
of space, and to look down on the unfortunate who are left
behind. They like glittering pictures such as those portrayed
by their leaders:
Think about that day when the Lord Jesus Christ breaks
through the eastern sky. Think about it over and over. Let
it give you something to live for. Could anything be more
exciting to contemplate?
Seeing first a small black cloud. Watching it move nearer
3none youve ever seen beforea cloud of angels, un-
counted angels. Hearing a sound like none youve ever
heard beforethe sound of a trumpet echoing round the
world. Then a voice like none youve heard before. Its
the voice of our Lord calling the dead to life.
The earth quivers. Tombs burst open. Angels everywhere
carry little children to their parents eager arms. Loved
ones long separated by death reunite with shouts of joy,
never to part again! And then, together with those resur-
rected ones, we who have waited through earths long
night are caught up into that angel starship for the trip to
our heavenly home.
I want to be there, and I know you do too! God help us
be ready for that great day.47
As we can see, when a Redeemer comes, everything is set
to work against Him. His soul is infinitely sublime. But a
sublime soul is neither visible nor dramatic. The Redeemer
does not fit and is not welcomed into peoples worlds of
fantasy. He bears no resemblance to the heroic image that
they have carved with their imaginations and immortalized
since ancient times. This image has found its way into theol-
ogy, history, art, music, literature, childrens stories, tradition,
folklore, even movies. How could anyone alter that deeply
engraved image? Even some of those who have recognized
Baháulláh find it difficult to modify that image, to replace
the conquering king with a suffering King.
There is plenty of pain and misery in everyones life. Why
would anyone want a suffering hero? Why would anyone
wish to abandon the joy and glamour of dreaming about the
most fantastic drama the human mind could ever conceive?
True, time can make anyone a legend, but for now only a few
have discovered this, the greatest of all secrets:
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
it is only with the heart that one can see rightly,
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
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2For now only a few would worship a Hero who says:
Every morning I arose from My bed, I discovered the
hosts of countless afflictions massed behind My door; and
every night when I lay down, lo! My heart was torn with
agony at what it had suffered from the fiendish cruelty of
its foes.48 Baháulláh
I have been, most of the days of My life, even as a slave,
sitting under a sword, hanging on a thread…49 Baháulláh
All this generation could offer Us were wounds from its
darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the
cup of its venom. On Our neck We still bear the scar of
chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the evidences of
an unyielding cruelty.50 Baháulláh
For now only a few look within to behold the wonders of
the heart:
…the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for men looketh on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
I Samuel 16:7
For now the masses of people have their eyes on the visible.
They judge by what they can see:
You judge according to the fleshby what you see…
Christ (John 18:15 AB)
For now only a few are willing to harmonize their sense of
values with that of the Creator:
What is highly valued among men is detestable in Gods
sight. Christ (Luke 16:15)
For now only a few wish to give up human standards for the
divine, to replace the visible image with the invisible, the
tradition with truth:
You have a fine way of setting aside the command of God
in order to observe your own traditions!
Christ (Mark 7:9 NIV)
3Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
4You judge by human standards… Christ (John 8:15 NIV)
For now only a few are willing to search for an almost in-
visible thief :
…I shall come upon you like a thief… Christ (Rev. 3:3 NEB)
For now the great masses are waiting for a thunder that every
ear shall hear, for a lightning that every eye shall see. They
are waiting even as the people of Israel have been waiting for
more than two thousand years for a conquering king. This is
how people behaved when Noah came. This is how they
behaved when Jesus came. And this is how they are predicted
to behave again in our time:
As things were in Noahs days, so will they be in the days
of the Son of Man. Christ (Luke 17:26 NEB)
The coming of the Son of Man will repeat what happened
in Noahs time. Christ (Matt. 24:37 NAB)
Noah was present among the people, yet they were unaware
of His presence. To them He was invisible. They kept doing
what they would usually do: they ate and drank and married
(Luke 17:27), they knew nothing until the flood came (Matt.
24:37-39).
That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Christ (Matt. 24:39 NEB)
And that is how it has been since the dawning of the new
Day:
The world is illumined with the effulgent glory of His
countenance. And yet, behold how far its peoples have
strayed from His path! None have believed in Him except
them who, through the power of the Lord of Names, have
shattered the idols of their vain imaginings and corrupt
desires and entered the city of certitude.51 Baháulláh
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it. John 1:5 NIV
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6The Dawn hath broken, yet the people understand not. The
signs have been ushered in, while He Who hath revealed
them is overwhelmed with manifest sorrow. Indeed I have
endured that which hath caused the world of existence to
lament.52 Baháulláh
7And when, as bidden by Thee [God], I arose and called
out, by Thy leave, all Thy creatures, the wayward among
Thy servants opposed me. Some turned away from me,
others disowned my claim, a few hesitated, while others
were sore perplexed, notwithstanding that Thy testimony
was set forth before the followers of all religions, and Thy
proof demonstrated unto all the peoples of the earth, and
the signs of Thy might so powerfully manifested as to
encompass the entire creation.53 Baháulláh
8The accumulations of vain fancy have obstructed mens
ears and stopped them from hearing the Voice of God, and
the veils of human learning and false imaginings have
prevented their eyes from beholding the splendor of the
light of His countenance.54 Baháulláh
9For the people are wandering in the paths of delusion,
bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or
hear His Melody with their own ears
Thus have their superstitions become veils between them
and their own hearts and kept them from the path of God,
the Exalted, the Great.55 Baháulláh
10Witness how they have entangled themselves with their idle
fancies and vain imaginations. By My life! They are them-
selves the victims of what their own hearts have devised,
and yet they perceive it not. Vain and profitless is the talk
of their lips, and yet they understand not.56 Baháulláh
O friends! It behoveth you to refresh and revive your souls
through the gracious favors which in this Divine, this soul-
stirring Springtime are being showered upon you. The Day
11Chapter 13: Robed in a Cloud
12Star of His great glory hath shed its radiance upon you,
and the clouds of His limitless grace have overshadowed
you. How high the reward of him that hath not deprived
himself of so great a bounty, nor failed to recognize the
beauty of his Best-Beloved in this, His new attire.57
Baháulláh
Beware that ye do not deprive yourselves of the grace of
God, that ye do not bring to naught your works, and do
not repudiate the truth of this most manifest, this lofty,
this shining, and glorious Revelation. Judge ye fairly the
Cause of God, your Creator, and behold that which hath
been sent down from the Throne on high, and meditate
thereon with innocent and sanctified hearts. Then will the
truth of this Cause appear unto you as manifest as the sun
in its noon-tide glory. Then will ye be of them that have
believed in Him.58 Baháulláh
Cast the idle tales behind your backs…59 Baháulláh
Blessed is that strong one who will shatter the gods of
vain imaginings through the potency of the Name of his
Lord…60 Baháulláh
Where is your sword…? Draw it and slash Delusion to
pieces. Krishna (Bhagavad-Gita 4:36)
The first teaching of Baháulláh is the duty to investi-
gate reality. What does it mean to investigate reality? It
means that man must forget all hearsay and examine truth
himself, for he does not know whether statements he hears
are in accordance with reality or not. Wherever he finds
truth or reality, he must hold to it, forsaking, discarding
all else; for outside of reality there is naught but super-
stition and imagination.61 Abdul-Bahá
A Prayer from Abdul-Bahá for Truth seekers:
O seeker of Truth! If thou desirest that God may open
thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and
commune with Him at midnight, saying:
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14O Lord, I have turned my face unto Thy kingdom of one-
ness and am immersed in the sea of Thy mercy. O Lord,
enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark
night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this
wonderful age. O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open
before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see
the light of Thy glory and become attracted to Thy beauty.
Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Merciful, the
Forgiving.62
Every action has consequences. The next chapter examines
the consequences of denying the Redeemer of the age.
15He That Denieth Me…
Shall Be Denied
Christ (Luke 12:9)
16O ye that judge with fairness! If this Cause is to be denied
then what other cause in this world can be vindicated or
deemed worthy of acceptance?
Verily He hath appeared with so great an authority that
no man of vision, of hearing, of insight, of justice or of
equity can ever deny Him. Unto this beareth witness in
this resplendent Hour the Pen of Him Who is the Ancient
of Days.1 Baháulláh
In Volume I we discussed three elements of the covenant that
binds us to our Creator:
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18 Freedom
Knowledge
Responsibility
1 Reward and punishment.
This chapter is written especially for those who read the proofs
and prophecies but decline to pursue what God has planned
for them, who refrain from making any commitment. They
simply respond by saying: this is all very interesting, but it
is not for me. They are certainly entitled to that decision.
God has granted everyone spiritual freedom. They have every
right to stay out of touch with what the Creator has planned
for them, but in all fairness they should be well aware of the
consequences of their decision. It is to their advantage to know.
It is our Creators wish that we should pursue a noble life
without hope of reward or fear of punishment, that we should
be detached from the consequences of our good deeds, so that
even if all the rewards were removed, we would continue our
acts of kindness and self-sacrifice without hesitation.
For every act performed there shall be a recompense ac-
cording to the estimate of God…However, unto them that
are rid of all attachments a deed is, verily, its own re-
ward.2 Baháulláh
But only a few can attain such a sublime vision. For spiritual
survival, the masses of humanity are as much dependent on
reward and punishment as they are on the air for physical
survival. The promise of reward is found in abundance in
sacred Scriptures. Consider these examples:
To him who is victorious [over the selfish desires] I will
grant a place on my throne… Christ (Rev. 3:21 NEB)
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive
the crown of glory that will never fade away.
I Peter 5:4 NIV
2Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
3…at the end of time…the righteous will shine as brightly
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have
ears, then hear. Christ (Matt. 13:41-43 NEB)
The wise leaders shall shine like the bright vault of
heaven, and those who have guided the people in the true
path shall be like the stars for ever and ever.
Daniel 12:3 NEB
As to paradise: It is a reality and there can be no doubt
about it, and now in this world it is realized through love
of Me and My good-pleasure. Whosoever attaineth unto it
God will aid him in this world below, and after death He
will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise whose
vastness is as that of heaven and earth. Therein…the
day-star of the unfading beauty of his Lord will at all
times shed its radiance upon him and he will shine so
brightly that no one shall bear to gaze at him. Such is
the dispensation of Providence, yet the people are shut out
by a grievous veil.3 Baháulláh
He that overcometh [the veils of the world] shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he will be my son.
Christ (Rev. 21:7)
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward
in heaven Christ (Matt. 5:12 NKJ)
…rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Christ (Luke 10:20)
Loving and Fearing God. An individual can be motivated by
various rewards from the most sublime to the most lowly.
These are a few motives with varying levels of nobility:
Loving God
Finding joy in good deeds
The hope of attaining the presence of God
The joy and comfort of being in heaven
Fearing Gods justice
Conforming to others
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5 Obeying blindly
Seeking short-term and selfish interests
Nearness to God, or attaining His presence, is perhaps among
the purest and most powerful motives. Even the most spiri-
tually advanced person is stirred and inspired by knowing
that his or her efforts will be consummated by attaining the
divine presence. How could the knowledge of attaining the
Beloved not move a true lover to aspire to the noblest deeds?
The Qurán extols this motive:
…[he shall be well content in the end] who offers not
favors to anyone for the sake of receiving rewards, but
only as seeking the face of his Lord. Qurán 92:18-21
Spiritual advancement requires and always accompanies the
refinement of motives. As the individual grows, he finds him-
self being motivated increasingly by long lasting spiritual
goals or incentives. Further, as light dispels darkness, the love
of his Lord banishes all fear from his heart:
A lover feareth nothing…4 Baháulláh
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment. The man who
fears is not made perfect in love. I John 4:18 NIV
Whether we like it or not, we must acknowledge that:
…self-love is kneaded into the very clay of man, and it is
not possible that, without any hope of a substantial reward,
he should neglect his own present material good.5
Abdul-Bahá
It is because of this nature that Baháulláh declares:
The structure of world stability and order hath been reared
upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pil-
lars of reward and punishment.6
That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld
by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars
are the sources of life to the world.7
6Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
7Reward is a pleasant word; we like the sound of it. Punish-
ment is negative; from childhood we learn to avoid it. We
dislike even thinking about it. Our Creator also does not wish
to use the threat of punishment, yet we find the topic in
abundance in the words of His great Messengers. Indeed it
is one of the most frequently recurring themes of the sacred
Scriptures. Why? Since our Creator knows the enduring
consequences that the negligent individual must face, it is
contrary to His supreme love and wisdom not to use all the
means of persuasion at His command. How would a loving
and reasonable person respond to a small child who plays
with matches, especially if the child is deaf to the voice of
reason? Is the spiritual life less significant than the physical?
Is the fire of separation from God less painful than the flame
of a match? God Himself asks what language He should speak
to reach those who are so short-sighted and hard of hearing
that they ignore Him:
What language should He Who is the Mouthpiece of God
choose to speak, so that they who are shut out as by a veil
from Him can recognize His glory? 8 Baháulláh
Fear is not necessarily a negative force. It can be both positive
and negative, both normal and abnormal. In the Writings of
Baháulláh, fear of God emerges as a positive force. He asks
specifically that we live the Law out of our love for the Lord:
O SON OF BEING!
Walk in My statutes for love of Me and deny thyself that
which thou desirest if thou seekest My pleasure.9
Baháulláh
Perfect love banishes all fear; that is our ultimate goal. For
those who cannot attain that goal, fear serves as an inner
invisible guard. They need the guard until they grow strong;
exactly like a child who cannot avoid the matches simply out
of love for his safety, or a student who does not study unless
he contemplates the consequences of failing.
Fear is banished not only by love but also by knowledge. The
knowledge of God is a haven of safety for every wavering
8406 King of Kings
9heart. One way that students can diminish their fear of tests
is to get to know the teacher and learn the kind of questions
he or she asks. Baháulláh declares that we were made to
know and love God. Both true knowledge and love attract us
to God. Attraction diminishes our fear and further enhances
our love.
Fear of God has acquired a bad image. Fearing God means
respecting His awesome power; it does not mean being scared
of Him like a lamb in the claws of a lion. We are asked to
fear God, but not to be terrified of God. Fear is having no
desire to touch a tiger; terror is suddenly finding oneself
pursued by one. We fear losing an expensive gem, and regard
our response as justified caution. As a rule, our fear does not
overwhelm us. We fear failure, and consider it healthy. We
fear losing our job and displeasing our boss. Why should we
not fear displeasing our Lord?
Fear of God gives us another layer of stability and trust. It
is said that we should fear only those who do not fear God.
Any given emotion can vary qualitatively over a wide spec-
trum. Humility can come from self-degradation or self-respect.
One person can find nothing but weakness in humility; another
nothing but strength. My power is made perfect in weakness
(II Cor. 12:9 NIV), Paul said. The same is true with love.
Love to some people means giving, to others possessing and
controlling. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, believes
that human potential functions on two levels: survival (con-
cern with deficiencies), and self-actualization (concern with
growth). He states, Satisfying deficiencies avoids illness;
growth satisfactions produce positive health.
Fear, too, varies qualitatively and covers a wide spectrum.
One kind arises out of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and
strength; the other out of ignorance, weakness, and timidity.
A house is on fire. One person instantly rushes inside to save
a helpless child; another watches and waits. Both of them
fear the fire: one out of strength and courage, the other out
of weakness. One person overcomes his fear by love, while
10Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
11another submits to his fear. Fear as a positive force makes
ones love and courage glow brighter. Isaiah predicted that
our Redeemer will delight in the fear of the Lord:
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on himthe Spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of
power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lordand he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:2-3 NIV
Fear of God, if healthy and positive, sets us free from all
undesirable fears; it instills courage and self-confidence in our
hearts.
There is a virtuous fear which is the effect of faith, and
a vicious fear which is the product of doubt and distrust…
1To reach the peak of their potentials, all humans need a well-
balanced dose of love and fear. Fear prevents them from evil;
love attracts them to virtues.
By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.
Proverbs 16:6
Evidently the Creator who is the Essence of Love would
wish to be loved, not feared. Baháulláh glorifies love in
many ways and words:
I belong to him that loveth Me
The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me
is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not
is indeed of the poor and needy.11
Make my love thy treasure and cherish it even as thy very
sight and life.12
O SON OF MAN!
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do
thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul
with the spirit of life.13
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3O SON OF BEING!
Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with
Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath
been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our
exalted Dominion.14
O SON OF UTTERANCE !
…My love is in thee, know it, that thou mayest find Me
near unto thee.15
Fear, as applied to God, is a positive force. It is a mark of
profound respect for His greatness and glory. Fearing God out
of respect is a sign of wisdom, of being in touch with reality.
The essence of wisdom is the fear of God…16 Baháulláh
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalms 111:10
Appreciation of fear as a positive force requires greater
spiritual maturity than the appreciation of fear as a negative
force. Each person perceives and interprets fear of God
according to his or her spiritual maturity.
To be true to Gods wisdom and to our own spiritual safety,
we need to hear His voice in its fullness. We need to hear it
without fear, by allowing our love for Him to stand supreme.
Justice and Mercy. Sacred Scriptures characterize God as both
loving and fair, both merciful and just. They also teach that
His love and mercy transcend His justice. We have come into
being out of divine love. Gods grace and forgiveness embrace
all humanity like a beautiful rainbow:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
abounding in love…As a father has compassion on his
children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear
him. Psalms 103:8, 13 NIV
The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His
wrath, and His grace encompass all who have been called
into being…17 Baháulláh
4Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
5…verily thy Lord is full of grace to mankind; yet most of
them are ungrateful. Qurán 27:73 Y
To those who have done evil in ignorance, then afterwards
have repented and amended, verily thy Lord is in the end
…gracious, merciful. Qurán 16:120
Verily, the breezes of the forgiveness have been wafted
from…your Lord, the God of Mercy; whoso turneth there-
unto, shall be cleansed of his sins, and of all pain and
sickness.18 Baháulláh
O Lord…with you there is forgiveness… Psalms 130:4
I am Jesus…the Lord replied…I am sending you to open
their eyes…that they may receive forgiveness of sins and
a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Acts 26:15-18 NIV
His rainbow of grace encompasses all, but behind the rainbow
stand the clouds, the divine justice:
He who is the Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with
clouds…On His [Baháulláhs] right hand flow the living
waters of grace, and on His left the choice Wine of
justice…19 E Baháulláh
O Lord the great and awesome [dreadful KJV] God, who
keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and
obey his commands. Daniel 9:4 NIV
Announce to my servants that I am the Gracious, the Mer-
ciful, and that my chastisement is grievous.
Qurán 15:50-51
6E
As noted in I Shall Come Again, Jesus predicts (Matt. 25:31-46) that
when He returns He will separate the people. He will send one group
to His right, and another group to His left. It was stated that such a
simple classification does not seem reasonable unless it is based on
this standard: peoples response to the new Redeemer, which is either
acceptance, or rejection and indifference.
7410 King of Kings
8Vengeance is Mine, and recompense.
Deuteronomy 32:35 NKJ
And woe betide him who hath rejected the grace of God
and His bounty, and hath denied His tender mercy and
authority; such a man is indeed reckoned with those who
have throughout eternity repudiated the testimony of God
and His proof.20 Baháulláh
Woe to every lying sinner, who heareth the verses of God
recited to him, and then, as though he heard them not,
persisteth in proud disdain! Apprise him of a painful
punishment. Qurán 45:6
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs; O God, to whom
vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the
earth; render punishment to the proud. Lord, how long
will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
Psalms 94:1-3 NKJ
Whoso hath failed to recognize Him will have condemned
himself to the misery of remoteness, a remoteness which
is naught but utter nothingness and the essence of the
nethermost fire. Such will be his fate, though to outward
seeming he may occupy the earths loftiest seats and be
established upon its most exalted throne.21 Baháulláh
Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing! 22 Baháulláh
The following passage from the Báb shows that the punish-
ment of the next world may be more difficult to bear than
the pains of this world:
O my God! O my Master! I beseech Thee by Thy mani-
fold bounties and by the pillars which sustain Thy throne
of glory, to have pity on these lowly people who are
powerless to bear the unpleasant things of this fleeting
life, how much less then can they bear Thy chastisement
in the life to comea chastisement which is ordained by
Thy justice, called forth by Thy wrath and will continue
to exist for ever.23
9Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
10All the words and expressions that describe Gods wrath,
chastisement, and vengeance simply refer to His justice.
Even Gods grace and mercy are sustained by justice.
…His favors will He bestow on every one who deserves his
favors. Qurán 11:3
Most of us prefer to look at the rainbow but ignore the
clouds and the thunder. For this and other reasons, the divine
Teachers try to help us see not only the warm embrace of the
rainbow but the thundering clouds as well.
The principle of reciprocity is the backbone of divine justice.
It is expressed repeatedly in sacred Scriptures:
…with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Christ (Matt. 7:2 NIV)
But he who denies Me before men will be denied before
the angels of God. Christ (Luke 12:9 NKJ)
O SON OF BEING!
Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My
love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.24
Baháulláh
Sow ye, and reap. Isaiah 37:30
And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for
eternal life. Christ (John 4:36 NKJ)
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
II Corinthians 9:6 NIV
Whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap.
Galatians 6:7
He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity.
Revelation 13:10 NKJ
…surely the earners of sin shall be recompensed for what
they have earned. Qurán 6:120 A
Do ye expect [to receive] a reward other than that which
ye have earned by your deeds? Qurán 27:90
11412 King of Kings
12…whoever is ashamed of me and mine, the Son of Man
will be ashamed of him, when he comes in his glory and
the glory of the Father and the holy angels.
Christ (Luke 9:26 NEB)
God will verily do unto them that which they themselves
are doing, and will forget them even as they ignored His
Presence in His day. Such is His decree unto those that
have denied Him, and such will it be unto them that have
rejected His signs.25 Baháulláh
My people are destroyed [spiritually] for lack of knowledge
[of God]. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also
will reject you from being priest for Me. Hosea 4:6 NKJ
He who does right, it is for himself, and he who does
evilit is for himself. And thy Lord will not deal unfairly
with His servants. Qurán 41:46
Heaven and Hell. The spiritual state of those who are not
faithful to Gods covenant is expressed in various Scriptures
as: the fire, the unquenchable fire, or the everlasting
fire. Understanding the meaning of the fire is of para-
mount significance. Misjudgment of this word can undermine
not only religion but the very foundation of our faith in God
Himself.
Our paradise, our supreme glory and most blessed joy is to
draw near to our Creator. That is our ultimate end:
O SON OF MAN !
Sorrow not save that thou art far from Us. Rejoice not
save that thou art drawing near and returning unto Us.26
Baháulláh
…no Paradise is more sublime for My creatures than to
stand before My face and to believe in My holy Words
The Báb
The deepest and most enduring depression, deprivation, and
emptiness come from denying or opposing Gods great
Messengers and Redeemers:
13Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
14…no fire hath been or will be fiercer for them than to be
veiled from the Manifestation of My exalted Self and to
disbelieve in My Words.28 The Báb
The most burning fire is to question the signs of God, to
dispute idly that which He hath revealed, to deny Him and
carry ones self proudly before Him.29 Baháulláh
To attain the presence of the Beloved is the most essential and
enduring need in every soul; it is the most burning desire of
every heart. Gods warning of an eternal fire is His strongest
appeal to save us from the fire of remoteness. The fire
is not a scorching flame; it is only a metaphor that implies
a separation, a gulf or chasm between him who desires and
the Desired One. Both the Gospel and the Qurán allude to this:
…there is a great chasm fixed between us.E
Luke 16:26 NEB
And a gulf shall be between them and that which they
shall desire. Qurán 34:53
A barrier that cannot be passed! Qurán 25:25
The following is the most clear and complete description of
the gulf that separates the selfish and retarded souls from
the advanced souls. It presents a warning to those who use
popularity as evidence of truth and majority opinion as a
safety net:
Someone asked him, Lord, are only a few people going
to be saved? He said to them, Make every effort to
enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you,
will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of
the house [the Redeemer] gets up and closes the [heavenly]
door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir,
15E
Between Jesus and the rich man who squandered his wealth on
himself, without regard for the poor.
16414 King of Kings
17open the door for us. But he will answer, I dont know
you or where you come from. Then you will say, We ate
and drank with you, and you taught in our streets, But
I dont know you or where you come from. Away from
me, all you evildoers! There will be weeping there, and
gnashing of teeth [anger], when you see Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God,
but you yourselves thrown out. Christ (Luke 13:23-28 NIV)
In the following prophecy, our Maker first invites us and
encourages us to stand humble before our Redeemer. He then
pleads with us, and finally threatens us, just as did Jesus,
that if we fail we will not enter the garden of heavenly rest:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we
are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your
hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the
wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me,
though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved
with that generation, and said, It is a people who go
astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.
So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest.
Psalms 95:6-11 NKJ
The following verses concern those who deny the Redeemers
of our time, who disregard the divine standards, who exchange
the distinctive signs or evidence of Gods Message for their
selfish desires:
Then he [the Promised One] will say to those on his left
hand…go from my sight to the eternal fire…
Matthew 25:41 NEB
…they who disbelieved our signs, shall be the people of
the left. Around them the fire shall close… Qurán 90:20
Woe that Day [our Day] to those who practice falsehood,
who amuse themselves with their idle fancies. The day
18Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
19will come when they will be thrust down to the hell-fire.
This, they will be told, is the fire whose existence ye
denied. Qurán 52:11-14
20The Báb confirms the message of the Bible and the Qurán:
…since thou canst not attain the state of undoubting faith,
due to the intervening veils of thy selfish desires, there-
fore thou wilt tarry in the fire, though realizing it not.30
The Báb
This prophecy from the Qurán pertains to our time:
And by troops shall the unbelievers be driven towards Hell
[remoteness from God], until when they reach it, its gates
shall be opened, and its keepers shall say to them, Came
not Messengers from among yourselves to you reciting to
you the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the meet-
ing with Him [God] on this your day? They shall say,
Yes. But just is the sentence of punishment on the un-
believers. It shall be said to them, Enter ye the gates of
Hell, therein to dwell for ever…But those who feared their
Lord shall be driven on by troops to Paradise, until when
they reach it, its gates shall be opened, and its keepers
shall say to them, All hail! virtuous have ye been, enter
then in, to abide herein for ever. Qurán 39:71-73
21The first weakness that leads the individual to the fire of
remoteness from God is the fear of truth. This is a prophecy
about our time:
But the fearful…shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire… Revelation 21:8
22As the following verses declare, it is in our best interest to
remove any obstacle that prevents us from attaining the good-
pleasure of God, for the consequences of earthly losses are
temporary, but those of spiritual losses everlasting. Could a
warning be more emphatic than this?
23416 King of Kings
24It is better for you…to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell [remote-
ness from God] where…the fire [the burning desire to attain
the presence of our Creator] is not put out.
Christ (Mark 9:47-48 NIV)
Gods Immortal Blessings. Those who remain faithful to
Gods covenant are promised immortal and immeasurable
blessings. This is the great day of the Lord, and the bless-
ings are equally great. Baháulláh recounts repeatedly the
everlasting gifts and bounties that God has ordained for true
seekers and believers:
Great is the blessedness of him who hath in this Day cast
away the things current amongst men and hath clung unto
that which is ordained by God He Who is come from
the heaven of eternity through the power of the Most Great
Name, invested with so invincible an authority that all the
powers of the earth are unable to withstand Him.31
Well is it with him whom the changes and chances of this
world have failed to deter from recognizing the Day Spring
of the Unity of God Such a man shall be numbered with
the inmates of Paradise, in the Book of God, the Lord of
all worlds.32
Great, therefore, is the blessedness of him who hath believed
in Thee, and in Thy signs, and hath humbled himself before
Thy sovereignty, and hath been honored with meeting Thee,
and hath attained the good pleasure of Thy will, and circled
around Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe betide him
that hath transgressed against Thee, and hath denied Thee,
and repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy sovereignty,
and risen up against Thee, and waxed proud before Thy
face, and hath disputed Thy testimonies
He that partaketh of the waters of My Revelation will
taste all the incorruptible delights ordained by God from
the beginning that hath no beginning to the end that hath
no end.34
25Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
26Blessed are they that remember the one true God, that
magnify His Name, and seek diligently to serve His Cause
…The glory of their station, however, is as yet undisclosed.35
How regrettable indeed that man should debar himself
from the fruits of the tree of wisdom while his days and
hours pass swiftly away. Please God, the hand of divine
power may safeguard all mankind and direct their steps
towards the horizon of true understanding.
Verily our Lord of Mercy is the Helper, the Knowing, the
Wise.36
Know thou, that I have wafted unto thee all the fragrances
of holiness, have fully revealed to thee My word, have
perfected through thee My bounty and have desired for
thee that which I have desired for My Self. Be then con-
tent with My pleasure and thankful unto Me.37
He, verily, hath willed for you that which is yet beyond
your knowledge, but which shall be known to you when,
after this fleeting life, your souls soar heavenwards and
the trappings of your earthly joys are folded up.38
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou hast, in Thine
all highest Paradise, assigned unto Thy servants such sta-
tions that if any one of them were to be unveiled to mens
eyes all who are in heaven and all who are on earth would
be dumbfounded. By Thy might! Were kings to witness so
great a glory they would, assuredly, rid themselves of their
dominions and cleave to such of their subjects as have
entered beneath the shadow of Thine immeasurable mercy
and sought the shelter of Thine all-glorious name.39
Jesus knew the immense obstacles His followers would face in
recognizing Him in His second advent. He knew the awesome
powers of the invisible trap of tradition, and the passionate
desire to be loyal to ones religious heritage. He knew His
beloved followers would encounter mountains of illusions and
be entangled in unbreakable bonds of attachments. To liberate
27418 King of Kings
28them and lift them to detachment, humility, and love for truth,
He has offered the most magnificent gifts and the most glorious
blessings to them and to all those who arise, break the bonds,
and climb the mountains with all their might and fervor:
I am coming soon…Him who overcomes (Rev. 3:11-12 NIV):
Will inherit all things (Rev. 21:7).
I will be his God and he will be my son (Rev. 21:7).
I will give the right to sit with me on my throne (Rev.
3:21 NIV).
I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is
in the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7 NIV).
I will make a pillar in the temple of my God (Rev. 3:12 NIV).
I will…give him the morning star (Rev. 2:28 NIV).
I…will acknowledge his name before my Father… (Rev.
3:5 NIV).
I will never erase his name from the book of life… (Rev.
3:5 NIV).
I will write on him the name of my God… (Rev. 3:12 NIV).
I will write on him…the name of the city of my God
(Rev. 3:12 NIV).
I will also give him a white stone with a new name…
(Rev. 2:17 NIV).
I will also write on him my new name. He who has an
[spiritual] ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches (Rev. 3:12-13 NIV).
The Báb promises heavenly glories and honors to the true
believers in Baháulláh:
Indeed any man whose eye gazeth upon His Words with
true faith well deserveth Paradise; and one whose con-
science beareth witness unto His Words with true faith
29Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
30shall abide in Paradise and attain the presence of God; and
one whose tongue giveth utterance to His Words with true
faith shall have his abode in Paradise, wherein he will be
seized with ecstasy in praise and glorification of God, the
Ever-Abiding
Both the blessings offered to the faithful and the warnings to
the unfaithful are extreme; for this reason: at the dawning of
a new Revelation, recognizing a new Redeemer is the most
marvelous achievement. It is very difficult to recognize a new
Redeemer, but very easy to deny Him. The excuses people
can find to deny are endless. To move the obstinate and neg-
ligent hearts into humility and love for truth, the threats and
warnings must be equal in intensity to the prevailing levels
of apathy, worldliness, and self-interest.
1Those who lived at the time of Jesus asked, What shall we
do, that we might work the works of God? (John 6:28).
Jesus answered them:
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom
He sent. John 6:29 NKJ
The same holds true today. To do Gods work, to please Him
and receive His blessings, we must believe in the One He has
sent to us.
It is essential that we all recognize and remember what the
Scriptures say to those who fail to obey the divine Command-
ments, who refuse to do Gods work, who fail to prepare
themselves for the awesome task of seeking the Lord of the
last Days:
Then he [Jesus] will do justice upon those who refuse to
acknowledge God and upon those who will not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment
2420 King of Kings
3of eternal ruin, cut off from the presence of the Lord and
the splendor of his might, when on that great Day he
comes to be glorified among his own and adored among
all believers… II Thessalonians 1:8-10 NEB
See also Matt. 22:11-14; 25:1-30; Rev. 21:8
Both Christ and Baháulláh declare that to deny the Redeemer
of the Age is to deny Him who sent the Redeemer:
…whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.
Christ (John 13:20 NIV)
He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father
who sent him. Christ (John 5:23 NIV)
And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me.
Christ (Luke 10:16 NEB)
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man
also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His
Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38 NKJ
Be thou assured in thyself that verily, he who turns away
from this Beauty [Baháulláh] hath also turned away from
the Messengers of the past and showeth pride towards
God from all eternity to all eternity.41 Baháulláh
In His Olivet Discourse Jesus uttered the parable of the talents
(Matt. 25:14-30) to show what will happen to the person who
denies Him when He returns. He identified two kinds of
followers: the fearful and the enterprising. When the Master
returned, He took away the possessions of the fearful servant.
This confirms Baháulláhs pronouncement that whoever
denies Him, has also denied and deprived himself of Gods
past Messengers and Redeemers as well as God Himself. The
same parable teaches that the enterprising servants doubled
their possessions. They kept the Christ of the first Advent
and to that they added the Christ of the second Advent.
The message of the following prophecy is similar to the one
enclosed in the parable of the talents, where the adventurous
servants are doubly rewarded:
4Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
5Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to
day do I declare that I will render double [the reward]
unto thee. Zechariah 9:12
Seclude yourselves in the stronghold of My love.42
Baháulláh
My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe
and secure…43 Baháulláh
While in prison in Akká, Baháulláh wrote an Epistle to one
of His disciples. Although it is addressed to an individual, its
Message is universal; it concerns every human being on this
planet. He refers to Himself by such titles as that Most
Great Beauty, the Tree of Life, and the Nightingale.
These are a few selections:
Verily this is that Most Great Beauty, foretold in the Books
of the Messengers, through Whom truth shall be distin-
guished from error and the wisdom of every command
shall be tested. Verily He is the Tree of Life that bringeth
forth the fruits of God, the Exalted, the powerful, the Great.
Thus doth the Nightingale utter His call unto you from
this prison. He hath but to deliver this clear message.
Whosoever desireth, let him turn aside from this counsel
and whosoever desireth let him choose the path to his
Lord.
O people, if ye deny these verses, by what proof have ye
believed in God? Produced it, O assemblage of false ones.
Nay, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, they are not,
and never shall be able to do this, even should they com-
bine to assist one another.44
Gaining everlasting life today is as dependent on recognizing
Baháulláh as it was on recognizing Jesus in the past:
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he
who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on him. Christ (John 3:36 NKJ)
6422 King of Kings
7No man can obtain everlasting life, unless he embraceth
the truth of this inestimable, this wondrous, and sublime
Revelation.45 Baháulláh
In an Epistle addressed to a religious leader, Baháulláh again
confirms the principle that denying Him is the same as deny-
ing all the Messengers and Redeemers of the past:
Thou canst excuse thyself no longer. Either thou must
recognize it, orGod forbidarise and deny all the
Prophets!
What do most people find easier to follow? Truth or tradi-
tion? Do they choose their beliefs by an independent search
for truth or by conformity and convenience?
…the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft
of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His
Melody with their own ears.
Thus have their superstitions become veils between them
and their own hearts and kept them from the path of God,
the Exalted, the Great.47 Baháulláh
Why do people uphold their values? What motivates them?
This topic has been studied extensively by psychologists.
Research shows three levels or kinds of motives:
Desire for reward, and fear of punishment or loss of
privileges. (Immediate self-interest and pleasure are the
prime motives.)
Desire to please authority figures. (Those on this level are
fundamentally conformists and conservatives. They would
rather preserve the status quo than risk their security.)
Desire to uphold the principle of justice. (Those on this
level are as a rule detached from self-interest and the in-
fluence of authority figures.)
Research indicates that the great majority of people, probably
99 percent, in all cultures function on the first two levels.
8Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
9Very few reach the third level. Those who do are the heroes
and heroines of every nation.
There is no reason to doubt that the preceding classification
holds true also with the way people respond to the news of
the coming of great Redeemers. History offers the most con-
vincing evidence that this is true.
Our Creator in His Wisdom uses all three motivators. He
speaks of rewards and punishment, He expresses His supreme
authority in the most awesome words, and He appeals to our
sense of justice and love for truth in the most loving and
inviting way. Yet during the early years of the advent of all
great religions, the first two groups pay little if any attention
to the news of the advent of those religions. Fear of losing
their own self-interests and their submission to their own
authority figures prevent them from looking beyond their
security and comfort zone. Only when they see that large
numbers are changing course do they take any notice, or find
any reason to investigate. Only then do they feel a need to
step beyond their comfort and conforming zone. Until then,
those who wish to reap the ripened souls of the earth have
no choice except search for that one in a hundred who is
motivated mostly by justice, who chooses to rise above all
obstacles!
Baháulláh speaks of the ability of each individual to distin-
guish truth from falsehood, and hence his accountability
before his Creator:
I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so
that the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed
unto men. It follows, therefore, that every man hath been,
and will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the
Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed
with such a capacity, how could he be called to account
for his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the
earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst
standing in the presence of God, be asked: Wherefore
hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty and turned away from
10424 King of Kings
11My Self, and if such a man should reply and say: In-
asmuch as all men have erred, and none hath been found
willing to turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their
example, have grievously failed to recognize the Beauty
of the Eternal, such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected.
For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one
except himself.48 Baháulláh
That we are all accountable for the choices we make is a fact
confirmed in all sacred Scriptures:
…every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Romans 14:12
And every soul is summoned to a reckoning…
Qurán 50:20
Notice the authority with which the Báb speaks to those who
deny His divine Mission:
This mortal life is sure to perish; its pleasures are bound
to fade away and ere long ye shall return unto God,
distressed with pangs of remorse…and will be asked of
your doings.
Say, how dare ye flagrantly deny the verses sent down
from the heaven of justice, yet ye read the Books of God
revealed in the past?…Indeed, by adhering to forms and
by following the promptings of your selfish desires, ye
have deprived yourselves of the good-pleasure of your
Lord, except those whom their Lord hath endowed with
knowledge and who in this Day render thanks unto Him
for the bounty of being identified with the true Faith of
God. Therefore announce ye the Message unto those who
manifest virtue and teach them the ways of the One True
God, that haply they may comprehend.49
Our degree of accountability always depends on our knowledge.
This fact is confirmed in sacred Scriptures and acknowledged
by Christian authors and scholars:
12Chapter 14: He That Denieth Me…Shall Be Denied
13In one of His parables, Jesus laid down the principle that
those who know what God wants, and refuse to do it, will
be punished more severely than those who do not know
the will of God, and hence fail to do it (Luke 12:47 ff).
So God will be scrupulously fair in His dealings with
everyone. People often ask, for example, What about
the heathens who have never heard of Christ? The only
biblical answer we can safely give to this question is that
God knows all about everyone, and that no one will be
condemned unfairly. In fact, Paul suggests that those who
have never heard the gospel, but who live well in the light
of what they do know, may be better off than those who
have heard the truth but rejected it! (Romans 2:12-16).50
At the end of The Hidden Words Baháulláh declares that the
proof of His Mission is well established. He invites us to
undo all the attachments that prevent us from stepping into
the Kingdom:
I bear witness, O friends! that the favor is complete, the
argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence
established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the
path of detachment will reveal. In this wise hath the divine
favor been fully vouchsafed unto you and unto them that
are in heaven and on earth. All praise to God, the Lord
of all Worlds.51
In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus invites all hungry and
thirsty seekers to the great banquet of the Lord. May our
warmest gratitude be offered to our compassionate Creator
and His supreme Messengers and Redeemers who do not
force us or carry us into the Kingdom. They simply invite
us in the kindest and gentlest way:
Come, gather together for the great supper of God…
Revelation 19:17 NIV
The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who
hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and
14426 King of Kings
15whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of
life. Revelation 22:17 NIV
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose
under heaven Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJ
Is there time to wait and waste? Waiting can only retard our
spiritual development. It can only prevent us from the joy of
reunion with our supreme Beloved, the One for whom we
came into this world. It can only add to our accountability
before God. It can only prolong the prevailing pain and suf-
fering for all people.
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps [of
awareness and wisdom] burning, like men waiting for their
master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when
he comes and knocks they can IMMEDIATELY open the
door [of their hearts] for him. Christ (Luke 12:35-36 NIV)
Seize your chance inasmuch as a fleeting moment in this
Day excelleth centuries of a bygone age…Neither sun nor
moon hath witnessed a day such as this…52 Baháulláh
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near Isaiah 55:6
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at
the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the
dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will
return to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 NKJ
Time is pressing. The Divine Charger is impatient, and
can tarry no longer. Ours is the duty to rush forward and,
ere it is too late, win the victory.53 Abdul-Bahá
What more shall I say? What else can my pen recount?
The whole creation is bursting asunder through the shat-
tering influence of the Divine summons issued from the
throne of glory. More than this I cannot write.54
Abdul-Bahá
1Everything in the universe is but a token of divine wisdom
progressively manifesting its potential. Nothing attains maturity
without growth, and nothing manifests its innate perfections,
its capacities, without preparation. Everything exists in a state
of constant flow and change. As humans continue to grow
progressively toward more advanced states of being, so must
the institutions by which they govern themselves. Religion is
2The seed of the spiritual evolution of humanity attained a
critical stage at the dawning of the Adamic Cycle. It has been
nourished, cultivated, and refined by the periodic appearance
of many divine Messengers and Teachers. Now in our time
it has reached the beginning of its final stage of evolution,
the Golden Age of maturity and fulfillment. Ours is the most
critical era in human history. For we are witnessing, on the
one hand, the termination of the time of the end, the cul-
mination of the age of hope and anticipation, and, on the
other, the onset of the harvest time, the glorious millennium
of fulfillment.
The spiritual creation of humanity, in accord with divine
wisdom, continued for an appointed period of time, and now
in our age it is attaining the state of maturity. The kingdom
of humans has been tested; now the Kingdom of heaven must
rule. The days of turmoil, suffering, war, poverty, and injus-
tice are facing their last and final struggle. The citadels of the
forces of darkness are fast falling. The days of creation
have reached their very end. The Sabbath of rest, the golden
day of peace is now upon the horizon.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Exodus 20:11 NKJ
The divine Message that has guided humanity throughout all
of history attests to the gradual unfolding of such a magnifi-
cent panorama of evolution. It indicates that the ultimate
purpose of Gods supreme Messengers and Redeemers has
been twofold: first, to release and guide human potential, to
educate and elevate us socially and spiritually; and second, to
prepare us progressively for the advent of a new day unrivaled
in historythe great day of the Lord.
As a Christian author notes:
In Genesis the earth is created; in Revelation it passes
away. In Genesis the sun and moon appear; in Revelation
3a garden, the home of man; in Revelation there is a city,
the home of the nations. In Genesis we are introduced to
Satan; in Revelation we see his doom. In Genesis we hear
the first sob and see the first tear; in Revelation we read:
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. In
Genesis the curse is pronounced; in Revelation we read,
There shall be no more curse. In Genesis we see our
first parents driven from the tree of life; in Revelation
1It is a prophecy, a promise, and a covenantthe Greater
Covenant ^spoken by all the great Ones of the past, that in
due time a Universal Manifestation, a great Messenger and
Redeemer will arise to mark the end of the age of anticipa-
tion and to inaugurate the era of attainment, the millennium
of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. This
was Jesus mission:
I must give the good news of the kingdom of God…for
that is what I was sent to do. Luke 4:43 NEB
The same mission was given to Muhammad:
We [God] have sent thee not, except good tidings to bear
and warning. Qurán 25:58 R
Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad
tidings, and as a warner Qurán 35:24 Y
Of what ask they of one another? Of the great news. The
theme of their disputes. Nay! they shall certainly know its
truth! Again. Nay! they shall certainly know it.
Qurán 78:1-5 R
2^
See God Passes By, pp. 27-28. The Greater Covenant has also been
used in Baháí literature to point to the covenant a Messenger makes
with His followers, promising that another Messenger will come.
3430 King of Kings
4As Christian author Dr. John White notes:
Prophecy, that is, predictions of future events, occupies
approximately one-quarter of all Scripture. The teaching
of the second coming of our Lord is dealt with some 1,845
times in the Bible, 318 of these being in the New Testa-
ment. The return of the Lord is the dominant theme of
Old Testament books and one epistle in the New. In fact,
7 out of every 10 chapters in the New Testament make
reference to the second coming.2
Carlyle Haynes confirms:
This doctrine [of second advent] is one of the fundamen-
tal doctrines of Holy Scripture. It finds a larger place in
the pages of Holy Writ than any other doctrine of the
church, this glorious event being mentioned more than
three hundred times in the New Testament, and fifteen
hundred times in the entire Bible.3
The Qurán emphasizes the advent of this great Day no less
than the Bible. As with Christians, most Muslims (the Sunni
branch) expect the return of Christ at the end of the age.
Never before have so many prophecies pointed to a new
Revelation. Why should so much emphasis be given to this
one event? As Baháí author George Townshend notes in his
book Christ and Baháulláh:
The story of the coming of the Kingdom runs through the
whole Bible. It is the climax and consummation of Gods
grand redemptive scheme. The attainment of the Kingdom
at the end is promised in the beginning, and gives to the
Bible its note of confident expectation, of success and
triumph.4
No word is as great as Lord and no station as supreme as
that of the Creator. To show the glory and greatness of our
age, our Creator has, out of His infinite bounty, bestowed His
own name not only on the twin Redeemers of our time but
on the time itself, calling this Day the Day of the Lord. No
5Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
6honor can be greater than this. Yet as Baháulláh has repeat-
edly testified, most people are unaware of Gods immeasurable
blessings destined for our age.
The coming of God stands as a most emphatic theme in
both the Bible and the Qurán, yet it is seldom noted or
acknowledged.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we
have waited for him. Isaiah 25:9
What can they expect, but that God shall come down to
them overshadowed with clouds, and the angels?
Qurán 2:206
…thy Lord shall come and the angels rank on rank…
Qurán 89:23 R
Our age is the realization of the highest hope of the human
race, the consummation of the twofold Mission or Covenant
for which all the past Messengers and Redeemers have been
sent: the age of the maturity of human race and its prepara-
tion for a united world civilization, the Kingdom of God on
earth as it is in heaven. The following prophecy recorded in
both the Old and New Testaments clearly declares such a
Covenant and ordained Mission:
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 [to
proclaim the year of the Lords favor, NIV]. Luke 4:18-19
Isaiah 61:1-2
As the prophecy indicates, Jesus declared two prime Missions
for His advent: first, offering the good news of spiritual
transformation and fulfillment, so that those held captive by
the cares of the flesh may be freed, the poor in heart enriched,
and the blind in spirit enlightened; and second, declaring the
good news of the year of the advent of the Lord, when
Gods greatest blessings are bestowed upon the world.
7432 King of Kings
8That Jesus fulfilled the first Mission is quite evident; what is
not so evident is that He also fulfilled the second. A careful
study of the Gospel reveals that during His brief ministry,
He repeatedly informed and enlightened the seekers of His
Kingdom of His return as the Spirit of truth, the Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the
Son sent in the Glory of the Father. Not only did He give
the glad tidings of the advent, but the year of the advent as
well. The New Testament alone, as we noted previously, con-
tains as many as eleven references to the exact year of the
Lord: 1844.
All Messengers and Redeemers have established a covenant
concerning this most glorious Revelation:
We have established a separate covenant regarding Him
with every Prophet and His followers. Indeed, We have not
sent any Messenger without this binding covenant
The Báb
The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all
the sacred Scriptures.6 Baháulláh
All the…Books of God are adorned with His praise and
extol His glory.7 Baháulláh
This prophecy from the Qurán confirms a universal covenant:
We entered into a firm Covenant with Thee and with Noah,
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, Son of Mary, to test the true
believers and punish the deniers [of this Covenant].
Qurán 33:7
Ours is a unique age referred to in the Gospel as:
…the times of restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the
world began. Acts 3:21
Baháulláh indicates that the good news of the coming of His
Revelation has been the purpose of all previous Messengers:
9Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
10The 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…been revealed unto men.8
Jesus clearly confirms Baháulláhs message:
I must give the good news of the kingdom of God to the
other towns also, for that is what I was sent to do.
Luke 4:43 NEB
He has sent Me…to proclaim the accepted and acceptable
year of the Lordthe day when salvation and the free
favors of God profusely abound. Luke 4:18-19 AB
The preceding translation emphasizes not only the year of the
advent but also the outpouring of divine favors, a subject
repeatedly proclaimed by Baháulláh.
1Baháulláhs references to the abundance of blessings ordained
for this Day and its awesome supremacy would fill a volume:
This is the Day in which Gods most excellent favors have
been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most
mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.9
This is the Day whereon the Ocean of Gods mercy hath
been manifested unto men, the Day in which the Day Star
of His loving-kindness hath shed its radiance upon them,
the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have
overshadowed the whole of mankind.10
The whole duty of man in this Day is to attain that share
of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him.11
Haste ye to win your share of Gods good grace and mercy
in this Day that eclipseth all other created Days. How
great the felicity that awaiteth the man that forsaketh all
2434 King of Kings
3he hath in a desire to obtain the things of God! Such a
man, We testify, is among Gods blessed ones.12
Render thanks unto God, the Eternal Truth, exalted be His
glory, inasmuch as ye have attained so wondrous a favor,
and been adorned with the ornament of His praise. Appre-
ciate the value of these days, and cleave to whatsoever
beseemeth this Revelation. He, verily, is the Counselor,
the Compassionate, the All-Knowing.13
Should the greatness of this Day be revealed in its fullness,
every man would forsake a myriad lives in his longing to
partake, though it be for one moment, of its great glory
how much more this world and its corruptible treasures!14
Countless generations have been waiting and praying for the
dawning of the great Day of the Lord. Even God Himself has
been waiting to shower His bounties on believers:
…the Lord is waiting to show you his favor…Happy are
all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 NEB
Several verses in the Qurán indicate the impatience of people
to witness the promised Day. They were told:
And for thy Lord wait thou patiently. Qurán 74:7 R
Will they wait until God comes to them in shadows of
clouds with angels, and the inevitable [His Advent] comes
to pass? 15 Qurán 2:210
The Bible also confirms this impatience:
Wait for the Lord; be strong, take courage, and wait for
the Lord. Psalms 27:14 NEB
Wait quietly for the Lord, be patient till he comes…
Psalms 37:7 NEB
…wait until the Lord comes. I Corinthians 4:5 NEB
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the
Lord… James 5:7
4Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
5That blessed Day has now come. The waiting is over. Our
greatest glory and honor is to awaken the world.
Sing to the Lord…Declare his glory among the nations…
let the trees of the forest shout for joy before the Lord
when he comes to judge the earth.
I Chronicles 16:23, 24, 33 NEB
This is the greatest and most joyous news of this Day:
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God we
have waited for him. Isaiah 25:9
Sacred Scriptures have promised that a time will come when
God will unveil His face to humanity:
These, therefore, are the words of the Lord God…No longer
will I hide my face from them… Ezekiel 39:25, 29 NEB
The prophets desire for the outpouring of Gods grace, for
the shining of His face upon the world was so strong that
they, too, expressed impatience:
Restore us, O God, and make thy face shine upon us that
we may be saved. O Lord God of Hosts, how long will
thou resist thy peoples prayer? Psalms 80:3-4 NEB
Both the promise and the desire have now been fulfilled. The
Day of the Lord has dawned with the advent of two supreme
independent Saviors and Redeemers, both of whom reflect
Gods great glory to the fullest:
He Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from
the sight of creation is now come.16 Baháulláh
I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never
be obscured…17 The Báb
Baháulláh confirms the fulfillment of the promise, reminds
us of Gods everlasting gifts in store for us, and invites all
those who wish to enter the banquet of His Kingdom:
The heights which, through the most gracious favor of
God, mortal man can attain, in this Day, are as yet
6436 King of Kings
7unrevealed to his sight. The world of being hath never had,
nor doth it yet posses the capacity for such a revelation.
The day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of
so great a favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested
unto men.18
8Seize your chance…inasmuch as a fleeting moment in this
Day excelleth centuries of a bygone age…Neither sun nor
moon hath witnessed a day such as this…It is evident that
every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is
divinely ordained and may, in a sense, be characterized as
Gods appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique and
is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it.19
9The excellence of this Day is immensely exalted above the
comprehension of men, however extensive their knowledge,
however profound their understanding…Shouldst thou rend
asunder the grievous veil that blindeth thy vision, thou
wouldst behold such a bounty as naught, from the begin-
ning that hath no beginning till the end that hath no end,
can either resemble or equal.20
10We have been moved to reveal these words in consider-
ation of the weakness and frailty of men; otherwise, the
Cause We have proclaimed is such as no pen can ever
describe, nor any mind conceive its greatness.21
11This is the Day that hath been illumined by the splendors
of the light of Our countenancethe Day around which
all days and nights circle in adoration. Blessed is the man
12Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
13of insight who hath perceived, and the sore athirst who
hath quaffed from this luminous Fountain. Blessed the
man who acknowledgeth the truth, earnestly striving to
serve the Cause of his Lord, the Powerful, the Almighty.22
14Great, immeasurably great is this Cause! Mighty, incon-
ceivably mighty is this Day! Blessed indeed is the man
that hath forsaken all things, and fastened his eyes upon
Him Whose face hath shed illumination upon all who are
in the heavens and all who are on the earth.23
15This is the King of Days…the Day that hath seen the
coming of the Best-beloved, Him Who through all eternity
hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World. The world
of being shineth in this Day with the resplendency of this
Divine Revelation. All created things extol its saving grace
and sing its praises. The universe is wrapt in an ecstasy
of joy and gladness. The Scriptures of past Dispensations
celebrate the great jubilee that must needs greet this most
great Day of God. Well is it with him that hath lived to
see this Day and hath recognized its station.
16He that was hidden from the eyes of men is revealed,
girded with sovereignty and power!…O ye that inhabit
the heavens and the earth! There hath appeared what hath
never previously appeared. He Who, from everlasting,
had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now
come.…He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made
manifest. The Kingdom is Gods…All eyes are glad-
dened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose secret no
one hath discovered, hath lifted the veil of glory, and
uncovered the countenance of Beauty.
17438 King of Kings
18In the Book of Isaiah it is written: Enter into the rock,
and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the
glory of His majesty. No man that meditateth upon this
verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or
doubt the exalted character of this Daythe Day of God
Himself. This same verse is followed by these words: And
the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day. This is the
Day which the Pen of the Most High hath glorified in all
the holy Scriptures.26
19All glory be to this Day, the Day in which the fragrances
of mercy have been wafted over all created things, a Day
so blest that past ages and centuries can never hope to
rival it, a Day in which the countenance of the Ancient
of Days hath turned towards His holy seat.27
20The onrushing winds of the grace of God…have passed
over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with
all the potentialities it can carry. And yet the peoples of
the world have denied this grace! Every tree hath been
endowed with the choicest fruits, every ocean enriched
with the most luminous gems. Man, himself, hath been
invested with the gifts of understanding and knowledge.
The whole creation hath been made the recipient of the
revelation of the All-Merciful, and the earth the repository
of things inscrutable to all except God, the Truth, the
Knower of things unseen. The time is approaching when
every created thing will have cast its burden. Glorified be
God Who hath vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth
all things, whether seen or unseen!28
21Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
22This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the
splendors of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy
Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful. Verily, We have
caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our irresistible
and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into
being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men.
I am, verily, the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out:
Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been
made the foot-stool of thy God, and been chosen as the
seat of His mighty throne. The realm of glory exclaimeth:
Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He
Who is the Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established
His sovereignty upon thee, through the power of His Name
that hath been promised unto all things, whether of the
past or of the future.
23Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold
the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call
of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance
hath been lifted up upon men. It behoveth every man to
blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his
heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on
the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission,
and the tokens of His glory.
Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all
the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its great-
ness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine
Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day.30
24440 King of Kings
25Forsake your palaces, and haste ye to gain admittance into
His Kingdom. This, indeed, will profit you both in this
world and in the next. To this testifieth the Lord of the
realm on high, did ye but know it.31
26Take heed lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source
of Revelation, lest the things of this world shut you out
as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of heaven. Arise,
and serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath
created you through a word from Him, and ordained you
to be, for all time, the emblems of His sovereignty.32
27Not every sea hath pearls; not every branch will flower,
nor will the nightingale sing thereon. Then, ere the night-
ingale of the mystic paradise repair to the garden of God,
and the rays of the heavenly morning return to the Sun
of Truthmake thou an effort, that haply in this dustheap
of the mortal world thou mayest catch a fragrance from
the everlasting garden, and live forever in the shadow of
the peoples of this city. And when thou hast attained this
highest station and come to this mightiest plane, then shalt
thou gaze on the Beloved, and forget all else.33
28Make haste…that while there is yet time our lips may taste
of the immortal draught, for the breeze of life, now blow-
ing from the city of the Well-Beloved, cannot last, and the
streaming river of holy utterance must needs be stilled,
and the portals of the Ridván [paradise] cannot for ever
remain open. The day will surely come when the Night-
ingale of Paradise [Baháulláh] will have winged its flight
away from its earthly abode unto its heavenly nest. Then
will its melody be heard no more, and the beauty of the
29Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
30rose cease to shine. Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory
of the divine springtime hath spent itself, and the Bird of
Eternity ceased to warble its melody, that thy inner hear-
ing may not be deprived of hearkening unto its call. This
is My counsel unto thee and unto the beloved of God.
Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever
wisheth, let him turn away. God, verily, is independent of
him and of that which he may see and witness.34
31This is Christs last invitation to those who wish to come to
the banquet of the Kingdom, His last appeal to those who
seek His heavenly mansions:
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Revelation 22:17
1they should always pray and not give up. He said: In a
certain town there was a judge who neither feared God
nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town
who kept coming to him with the plea, Grant me justice
against my adversary. For some time he refused. But finally
he said to himself, Even though I dont fear God or care
about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I
will see that she gets justice, so that she wont eventually
wear me out with her coming! And the Lord said, Lis-
ten to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring
about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day
and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he
2442 King of Kings
3will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when
the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Luke 18:1-8 NIV
Some Christian scholars believe that the widow in this parable
symbolizes the church without Christ. The widow may also
symbolize an individual who has lost spiritual support. The
main message of the parable is this: People of the end-time
will live under much pain and suffering, due to a failure to
follow spiritual guidance. The way they can escape from the
sufferings is by praying; God always answers sincere prayers.
At the end of the parable Jesus asks, However, when the
Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth? When Christ
comes, will people have enough faith in God to pray for His
help and be comforted? Obviously not. Many other biblical
passages also indicate that the people of our time will live
in spiritual darkness due to a lack of faith.
For those who wish to follow Christs admonition to pray, a
few prayers from the Báb and Baháulláh are quoted here. If
your heart is not yet fully convinced by the voluminous evi-
dence presented in this work, you may wish to turn to God.
Jesus taught us to ask God for help. It is up to you to ask!
Gaining the gift of faith is not cheap. It is more precious
than all the other gifts in the universe combined. It requires
passionate desire and unwavering determination. Praying
should continue until the answer is revealed.
4G lory be to Thee, O King of eternity, and the Maker of
nations…I pray Thee, by Thy Name through which
Thou didst call all mankind unto the horizon of Thy
majesty and glory…to number me with such as have rid
themselves from everything except thyself, and have set
themselves towards Thee…
I have laid hold, O my Lord, on the handle of Thy bounty,
and clung steadfastly to the hem of the robe of Thy favor.
Send down, then, upon me, out of the clouds of Thy gen-
erosity, what will purge out from me the remembrance of
5Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
6any one except Thee, and make me able to turn unto Him
who is the Object of the adoration of all mankind…
O my Lord…deprive me not of the breathings of Thy
Revelation at the appearance of the splendors of the light
of Thy face. Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee.
Naught can resist Thy will, nor frustrate what Thou hast
purposed by Thy power.
No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Wise.35
Baháulláh
7I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy most effulgent
splendor, before whose brightness every soul humbly
boweth down and prostrateth itself in adoration for Thy
sakea splendor before whose radiance fire is turned into
light, the dead are brought to life and every difficulty is
changed into ease. I entreat Thee by this great, this
wondrous splendor and by the glory of Thine exalted
sovereignty, O Thou Who art the Lord of indomitable
power, to transform us through Thy bounty into that
which Thou Thyself dost possess and enable us to become
fountains of Thy light, and graciously vouchsafe unto us
that which beseemeth the majesty of Thy transcendent
dominion. For unto Thee have I raised my hands, O Lord,
and in Thee have I found sheltering support, O Lord, and
unto Thee have I resigned myself, O Lord, and upon Thee
have I placed my whole reliance, O Lord, and by Thee am
I strengthened, O Lord.
Verily there is no power nor strength except in Thee.36
The Báb
8P raise to be Thee, O Lord my God! I implore Thee, by
Thy Name which none hath befittingly recognized,
and whose import no soul hath fathomed; I beseech Thee,
by Him Who is the Fountain-Head of Thy Revelation and
9444 King of Kings
10the Day-Spring of Thy signs, to make my heart to be a
receptacle of Thy love and of remembrance of Thee.
Knit it, then, to Thy most great Ocean, that from it may
flow out the living waters of Thy wisdom and the crystal
streams of Thy glorification and praise.
The limbs of my body testify to Thy unity, and the hair
of my head declareth the power of Thy sovereignty and
might. I have stood at the door of Thy grace with utter
self-effacement and complete abnegation, and clung to the
hem of Thy bounty, and fixed mine eyes upon the horizon
of Thy gifts.
Thou, verily, art the Most Powerful, the Most High, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.37 Baháulláh
11R efresh my heart, O my God, with the living waters of
Thy love and give me a draught, O my Master, from
the chalice of Thy tender mercy…Do Thou graciously
forgive me for the things that I have wrought in Thy holy
presence, and look not upon me with the glance of justice,
but rather deliver me through Thy grace, treat me with
Thy mercy and deal with me according to Thy bountiful
favors, as is worthy of Thy glory.
Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Glorious, the Bestower
of favors and gifts, the Lord of grace abounding. Verily no
God is there but Thee. Thou art the All-Possessing, the
Most High.38 The Báb
12I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by this Fire which blazeth
and rageth in the world of creation, to rend asunder the
veils that have hindered me from appearing before the
throne of Thy majesty, and from standing at the door of
Thy gate. Do Thou ordain for me, O my Lord, every good
13Chapter 15: The Day of Divine Blessings
14thing Thou didst send down in Thy Book, and suffer me
not to be far removed from the shelter of Thy mercy.
Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art,
verily, the All-Powerful, the Most Generous.39 Baháulláh
15O My God, my Lord and my Master! I have detached
myself from my kindred and have sought through
Thee to become independent of all that dwell on earth and
ever ready to receive that which is praiseworthy in Thy
sight. Bestow on me such good as will make me indepen-
dent of aught else but Thee, and grant me an ampler
share of Thy boundless favors. Verily Thou art the Lord
of grace abounding.
I adjure Thee by Thy might, O my God! Let no harm be-
set me in times of tests, and in moments of heedlessness
guide my steps aright through Thine inspiration. Thou art
God, potent art Thou to do what Thou desirest. No one can
withstand Thy Will or thwart Thy Purpose.40 The Báb
16I beseech Thee…to nourish me with the wine of Thy
knowledge and the living waters of Thy love and
pleasure. Behold Thy handmaiden, O my Lord, who hath
forgotten all else except Thee, and who hath delighted
herself with Thy love…Do Thou ordain for her that which
Thou didst ordain for such of Thy handmaidens as circle
round the throne of Thy majesty, and gaze, at eventide
and at dawn, on Thy beauty.
Thou art, verily, the Lord of the Judgment Day.41
Baháulláh
17446 King of Kings
18I s there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say:
Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants and
all abide by His bidding! 42 The Báb
1The Origin of the Baháí Faith
This work is about proofs of the validity of the claims of the
Báb and Baháulláh, not the history and teachings of the
Baháí Faith. Those unacquainted with the basics of the new
Revelation will find it helpful to begin their search by study-
ing first its history and teachings, and then the evidences of
its validity. The proofs of a faith are more relevant when one
already knows its basic principles. The Message is the goal,
and proofs the means for reaching the goal.
For our purposes a brief reference or introduction to the
central figures and the supreme institution of the Baháí Faith
2 The Baháí Faith literally means the Glorious Faiththe
Faith that manifests the Glory of God.
The Báb. On May 23, 1844, a young man entitled the
Báb (the Gate) declared the dawning of a new Day in the
religious history of the world. The young man came from
southern Persia. He announced that God would soon send
a World Teacher and Savior to bring peace and order and
to unify all humanity. Within the brief span of His ministry
(1844-1850), the Báb attracted many followers, thousands
of whom were massacred, mostly by the order of fanatical
religious leaders of Islam. The Báb Himself was imprisoned
and finally executed in 1850.
Baháulláh. In 1863, a nobleman entitled Baháulláh (Glory
of God) announced that He was the World Teacher and
Redeemer promised by the Báb and expected by humanity
since the dawn of history. Like His Herald, the Báb,
Baháulláh encountered relentless opposition and oppres-
sion throughout His ministry. His imprisonment and exile
lasted for 39 years. He often refers to His sufferings with
both a sense of submission and pridesubmission because
He welcomed that which was ordained for Him, pride
because He suffered for the sake of others to bring hope
and love to the heart of humanity and peace and justice to
the world. Baháulláhs Writings equal a hundred volumes.
They offer teachings and unveil all the truth (John 16:13)
that humanity will need for at least a thousand years.
Abdul-Bahá. Before His passing in 1892, Baháulláh
appointed His eldest Son, Abdul-Bahá (Servant of Glory),
to serve as the Interpreter and Exemplar of His teachings
and the Center of His Covenant. Abdul-Bahá is also known
as the Mystery of God. His station is not that of the Báb
or Baháulláh, but of a Perfect Exemplar or Model for all
to emulate. Abdul-Bahá traveled to many countries to
3 Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi did not consider himself
one of the central figures of the Baháí Faith, yet he oc-
cupied a position of preeminence in the development of
the new faith. After the passing of Abdul-Bahá, he served
as the appointed Guardian of the Faith. His chief accom-
plishment was the building of the Administrative Order
of Baháulláh, which constitutes a pattern for the future
World Orderan Order called by Jesus the Kingdom of
God, and the Kingdom of heaven, meaning the coming of
the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
The Universal House of Justice. Shortly after Shoghi
Effendis passing, the responsibility for leadership in the
Baháí Faith was delegated to a supreme elected institu-
tion called by Baháulláh The Universal House of Justice.
Its members represent and receive the full support of the
entire Baháí community living in over two hundred coun-
tries and territories around the globe.
4The Goals of the Baháí Faith
When that time comes…I will gather all the nations to-
gether… Joel 3:1-2 NEB
And I…am about to come and gather all nations and
tongues, and they will come and see my glory…they will
bring all your brothers, from all the nations…
Isaiah 66:18, 20 NIV
See also Isaiah 10:13-14
Ye were created to show love one to another…Take pride
not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-
creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love
for all mankind.1 Baháulláh
…the old order of things has passed away…I am making
everything new! Christ (Rev. 21:4-5 NIV)
Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new
5The Baháí Faith seeks to attain these goals:
To transform our divided planet into a global community
crowned with harmony, peace, and justice
To inspire the heart of humanity with a divine purpose,
and an immortal hope
To raise the ethical standards to levels never achieved
before. (For a detailed study of these goals, see any intro-
ductory book on the Baháí teachings. See also Volume VI
of this workBy My Fruits Ye Shall Know Me.)
All these goals are pursued in fulfillment of this divine prayer
and purpose:
Our Father in heaven, thy name be hallowed; thy kingdom
come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Matthew 6:9-10 NEB
Many prominent figures of our time have testified to the
positive and dynamic influence of the Baháí Faith in leading
the world toward these goals:
I sympathize with the Baháí Faith with all my heart be-
cause it has the Spirit of Christ in it…You hold…the key
that will settle all of our difficulties
Dr. George Washington Carver
…the highest and purest form of religious teaching…I know
of no other [faith] so profound. Leo Tolstoy
The philosophy of Baháulláh deserves the best thought
we can give it… Helen Keller
In our times we can only survive, and our civilization can
only flower, if we reorient the conventional wisdom and
achieve the new insights…proclaimed by the Baháí Faith
and…now also supported by the latest discoveries of the
1of Peace, Renowned Authority on
1Appendix: The Origin and the Goals of the Baháí Faith
2Baháulláh was…without question one of the supreme spiri-
tual geniuses of history. Dr. John Holmes
1[The Baháí Faith] teaches the essential unity of mankind
under one God…That is a force which cuts across politics,
trade routes, racial groupings the world around.
It can be made a powerful force in the practical affairs of
the world. Hon. William O. Douglas
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
…the greatest movement working today for universal peace.
Dr. Auguste Forel
11. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 42.
2. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 319-320.
3. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 210.
4. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 5-6.
5. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 33.
6. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 60.
7. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 83-85.
8. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust. 1957, p. ix.
2Chapter
1. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 9.
2. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 9.
3. Grant, George and Mark Horne. Unnatural Affections, Franklin,
TN: Legacy Press, 1991, p. 44.
3454 King of Kings
44. Grant, George and Mark Horne. Unnatural Affections, Franklin,
TN: Legacy Press, 1991, p. 46.
5. Dowley, Tim. Eerdmans Handbook to the History of Christianity,
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977, p. 2.
6. Dowley, Tim. Eerdmans Handbook to the History of Christianity,
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977, p. 2.
7. France, R. T. The Evidence for Jesus, Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1986, p. 21.
8. France, R. T. The Evidence for Jesus, Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1986, pp. 21-22.
9. France, R. T. The Evidence for Jesus, Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1986, p. 33.
10. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 10.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 10.
12. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
13. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
14. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
15. Dyer, Wayne. Youll See It When You Believe It, New York: Avon
Books, 1989, pp. 166-167.
16. Dyer, Wayne. Youll See It When You Believe It, New York: Avon
Books, 1989, p. 168.
17. Levine, Samuel. You Take Jesus, Ill Take God, Los Angeles:
Homoroh Press.
18. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
19. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
20. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
21. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
22. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
23. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
24. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
25. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
26. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
27. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11-12.
28. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 12.
29. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 12.
30. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 12.
31. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 16-17.
5References
6Chapter
1. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 258.
2. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 332.
3. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 37.
4. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 40.
5. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 42.
6. Riggs, Robert F. The Apocalypse Unsealed, New York: philosophical
Library, 1981, p. 70.
7. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 24.
8. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 311.
9. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 120.
10. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 301.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 77.
12. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 240-241.
13. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, pp. 146-147.
14. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 293.
15. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 176.
16. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 121.
17. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 212.
18. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 282-284.
19. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992, p. 62.
20. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust, 1957, pp. 93-96.
21. Qurán 7:179.
22. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 120.
23. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 258.
24. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 283.
25. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 286.
26. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 14.
27. Stein, Jess and Laurence Urdang (eds.). The Random House Dic-
tionary of the English Language, New York: Random House,
1973, p. 602.
28. Quoted in Journal of Baháí Studies, June-Sept. 1992, p. 38.
29. Unger, Merrill, F. Ungers Bible Dictionary, Chicago: Moody
Press, 1985, p. 409.
7456 King of Kings
830. Gentz, William H. (editor). The Dictionary of Bible and Religion,
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1986, p. 394.
31. The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1, p. 461.
32. Hornby, Helen. Lights of Guidance, New Delhi: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust, 1988, p. 267.
33. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 156.
34. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 18.
35. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 19.
36. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 18.
37. Tablets of Abdul-Bahá, p. 1.
38. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 248.
39. Smith, Peter. In Iran, Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 1986, p. 163.
40. Athár-i-Qalam-i-Alá (a compilation of the Writings of Baháulláh
in Persian), vol. 6, p. 315.
41. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 31.
42. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 89.
43. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 63.
44. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 210-212.
45. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 230-231,
46. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 16.
47. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 12.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 27.
49. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 31.
50. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 75.
51. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 22.
52. For the explanation of the symbols, I wish to acknowledge my
debt to Mr. A. Faizi.
53. Baháí Scriptures, p. 478-479.
54. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 311.
55. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 48-49.
56. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 139.
57. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 35.
58. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 57.
59. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 57.
9References
1060. Cheney, Elizabeth. Prophecy Fulfilled, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, 1968, p. 4.
61. The Plain Truth, April 1968, p. 13.
11Chapter
1. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 242.
2. Lockyer, Herbert Sr. (ed.) Nelsons Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, p. 424.
3. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 54.
4. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 63.
5. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 41.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 325.
7. Payám-i-Baháí (Persian magazine), January 1997, no. 212, p. 3.
8. Biederwolf, William E. The second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 368.
9. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 13.
10. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 12.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 244.
12. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 33.
13. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 250.
14. Esslemont, J. E. Baháulláh and the New Era, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust , 1966, p. 23.
15. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 145.
16. Van Kampen, Robert. The Sign, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books,
1992, p. 330.
17. Van Kampen, Robert. The Sign, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books,
1992, p. 331.
18. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 9.
19. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 9.
20. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 189-190.
21. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 203.
22. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 316.
23. Himes, Joshua V. Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chro-
nology Selected from Manuscripts of William Miller, Boston:
Published by Joshua Himes, 1842, p. 33.
24. Nuqabáí, H. Bishárát-i-Kutub-i-Asmání (Persian), Tihran, Baháí
Era 124, p. 186.
12458 King of Kings
1325. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 10.
26. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1974, vol. 1, p. 34.
27. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 25.
28. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 164.
29. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 8.
30. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 8.
31. Baháí News, October 1968, no. 451, p. 8.
32. Bhagavad-Gita, Translated by Swami Prabhavananda, and Chris-
topher Isherwood, New York: New American Library, 1972, p. 92.
33. Quoted in The Baháí Faith, a pamphlet published by The Spiri-
tual Assembly of the Baháís of Richardson, Texas, 1991.
34. The American Baháí, April 1973, p. 14.
35. From a video on Native American prophecies based on a talk by
Lee Brown.
36. Dustkhah, Jalil. The Avesta (Persian), Tihran, Iran: Morvareed
Co., second edition, dated 2535, pp. 290-291.
37. Dustkhah, Jalil. The Avesta (Persian), Tihran, Iran: Morvareed
Co., second edition, dated 2535, p. 308.
38. Dustkhah, Jalil. The Avesta (Persian), Tihran, Iran: Morvareed
Co., second edition, dated 2535, pp. 238-241.
39. Moín. A Persian Dictionary, p. 2493.
40. Khadem, Javidukht. Zikrullah Khadem, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, 1990, p. 304.
41. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 41.
42. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 44.
43. Smith, Peter. In Iran, Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 1986, p. 163.
44. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 34.
45. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 65.
46. The Plain Truth, April 1995, p. 7.
47. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992, pp. 80-82.
48. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 57-58.
49. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992, p. 244.
50. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 9.
51. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 258.
14References
15Chapter
1. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 156.
2. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 6.
3. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 493.
4. Feyerabend, Henry. Tearing the Shroud from the Antichrist,
London, Canada: Destiny, 1986, p. 75.
5. Sweeting, George. Great Quotes & Illustrations, Waco, TX: Word
Books, 1985, p. 17.
6. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, England:
Sovereign World, 1988, p. 148.
7. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 160.
8. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
Publishing Trust, p. 60.
9. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
Publishing Trust, p. 49.
10. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 60.
11. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 175.
12. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 175.
13. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 176.
14. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, pp. 163-164.
15. Kitáb-i-Badí, p. 292.
16. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
Publishing Trust, pp. 50-52.
17. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992, pp. 86-87.
18. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 75-76.
19. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 157.
20. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 102.
21. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 151-152.
22. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 328.
23. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 146.
24. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 24.
25. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 251.
26. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 119.
16460 King of Kings
1727. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 120.
28. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 250-251.
29. Hunt, Dave. How Close Are We? Eugene, OR: Harvest House
Publishing, 1993, p. 121.
30. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 146.
31. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 67.
32. Kitáb-i-Badí, pp. 335-336 (in Persian).
33. Achtemeier, Paul J. (general editor). Harpers Bible Dictionary,
San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1985, p. 582.
34. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 24.
35. Taherzadeh, A. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, vol. 2, 1977, p. 298.
36. Ásár-i-Qalam-i-Alá, vol. 5, p. 230 (Persian).
37. Stedman, Ray c. Waiting for the Second Coming, Grand Rapids:
Discovery House, 1990, p. 126.
38. A Travelers Narrative, p. 31.
39. A Travelers Narrative, p. 53.
40. Mahbúb-i-Alam, Canada: National Spiritual Assembly of Canada,
1992-93, p. 54 (Persian).
41. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, En-
gland: Sovereign World, 1988, p. 157.
42. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 107.
43. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 163.
44. Church, J.R. Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms, Oklahoma City:
Prophecy Publications, 1986, p.
45. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 214.
18Chapter
1. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust. 1957, p. 112.
2. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust. 1957, p. 112.
3. A Travelers Narrative, p. 55.
4. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 67.
19References
205. A Travelers Narrative, p. 56.
6. Laálíul-Hikmat (Persian), Brasil: Editoria Baháí, vol. 3, p. 318.
7. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 248.
8. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 70-71.
9. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, England:
Sovereign World, 1988, p. 152.
10. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 535.
11. Hunt, Dave. How Close Are We? Eugene, OR: Harvest House
Publishing, 1993, p. 112.
12. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 6.
13. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 151.
14. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 57-58.
15. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 7.
16. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 233.
17. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 95.
18. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 95.
19. Van Kampen, Robert. The Sign, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books,
1992, p. 55.
20. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 338.
21. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 63.
22. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 50.
23. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 286.
24. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 583.
25. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 36.
26. A Travelers Narrative, p. 31.
27. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 61.
28. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1992, p. 64.
29. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 51.
21462 King of Kings
2230. A Travelers Narrative, p. 53.
31. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 40.
32. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 273-274.
33. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 274.
34. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 50.
35. A Travelers Narrative, p. 38.
36. Annual Report of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháís
of the United States and Its Agencies, 1996, p. 22.
37. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 132.
38. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 170.
39. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 170.
40. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 208-209.
41. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 31.
42. Selections from the Writings of Abdul-Bahá, p. 73.
43. Laálíul-Hikmat (Persian), Brasil: Editoria Baháí, vol. 1, p. 142.
44. Van Impe, Jack. Everything you always wanted to know about
Prophecy but didnt know who to ask!, Troy, MI: Jack Van Impe
Ministries, 1980, pp. 59-61.
45. Van Kampen, Robert. The Sign, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books,
1992, p. 333.
46. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 87.
47. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 156.
48. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 48.
49. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 131-132.
50. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, pp. 46-47.
51. Yúsuf Alí, Abdullah. The Meaning of the Holy Qurán, Beltsville,
MD, 1989, p. 323.
52. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 249-250.
53. Van Impe, Jack. Everything you always wanted to know about
Prophecy but didnt know who to ask!, Troy, MI: Jack Van Impe
Minisstries, 1991, p. 4.
54. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 23.
55. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 13.
23References
24Chapter
1. Church, J. R. The Song of Moses, Oklahoma City, OK: Prophecy
Publications, 1991, p. 81.
2. Feyerabend, Henry. Tearing the Shroud from the Antichrist,
London, Canada: Destiny, 1986, p. 47.
3. Stedman, Roy C. Whats this World Coming to? Ventura, CA:
Regal Books, 1970, p. 97.
4. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 140.
5. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 10.
6. Van Impe, Jack. Everything you always wanted to know about
Prophecy but didnt know who to ask!, Windsor, Ontario: Jack
Van Impe Ministries, 1980, p. 10.
7. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 45.
8. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 159.
9. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 190.
10. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 232.
11. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 103.
12. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 58.
13. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 161.
14. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 41.
15. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 15-16.
16. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 29.
17. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 17.
18. Reagan, David. The Master Plan, Eugene, OR: Harvest House
Publishers, 1993, p. 217.
19. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 331.
20. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 21.
21. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 20.
22. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 22.
23. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 24.
24. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 25.
25. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 45.
26. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, pp. 51-52.
27. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 20-21.
28. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 22-23.
25464 King of Kings
2629. Khadem, Javidukht. Zikrullah Khadem, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, 1990, pp. 286-287.
30. Memorials of the Faithful, p. 27.
31. Faizi, M. A. His Holiness Baháulláh (Persian), Tehran, Iran, pp.
234-235.
32. Paris Talks, p. 76.
33. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 71.
34. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 20-21.
35. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 72.
36. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 21.
37. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 28.
38. Church, J. R. Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms, Oklahoma City:
Prophecy Publications, 1986, p. 47.
39. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 60.
40. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 60.
41. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 141.
42. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 142.
43. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 186.
44. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust, 1957, p. 187.
45. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust, 1957, p. 187.
46. Abdul-Bahá in London, London, England: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1982, pp. 115-116.
47. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 66.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 119-120.
49. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, pp. 119-120.
50. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publish-
ing Trust. 1957, p. 147.
27References
28Chapter
1. Froom, Leroy. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Washington,
D.C.: Review and Harold, 1950, vol. 4, p. 527.
2. Froom, Leroy. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Washington,
D.C.: Review and Harold, 1950, vol. 4, p. 859.
3. Froom, Leroy. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Washington,
D.C.: Review and Harold, 1950, vol. 3, p. 614.
4. Froom, Leroy. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Washington,
D.C.: Review and Harold, 1950, vol. 3, p. 614.
5. Froom, Leroy. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Washington,
D.C.: Review and Harold, 1950, vol. 3, p. 614.
6. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 331.
7. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 163.
8. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 323-327.
9. Unger, Merrill F. Ungers Bible Dictionary, Chicago: Moody
Press, 1966, p. 286.
10. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, p. 93.
11. Gottlieb, Randie & Steven. Once to Every Man & Nation, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1985, pp. 2-3.
12. Gottlieb, Randie & Steven. Once to Every Man & Nation, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1985, p. 5.
13. Ankerberg, John, John Weldon, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. The Case
for Jesus the Messiah, Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers,
1989, p. 99.
14. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh, (Arabic), no. 56.
15. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 236-237.
16. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 67.
17. Lindsey, Hal. The Promise, New York: Bantam Books, 1984, pp.
92-94.
18. Stedman, Ray C. Gods Final Word, Grand Rapids, MI: Discov-
ery House, 1991, pp. 74-75.
19. Some Answered Questions, p. 65.
20. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 204.
21. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 205.
29466 King of Kings
30Chapter
1. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 66.
2. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 132.
3. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 46.
4. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 141.
5. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 136.
6. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 46.
7. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 48.
8. Pratney, Winkie, and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, England:
Sovereign World, 1988, pp. 61-62.
9. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 77.
10. Power of Divine Assistance, p. 212.
11. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 41.
12. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 33.
13. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 37.
14. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 142.
15. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 23.
16. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 205.
17. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 215.
18. Prohibition of Intoxication, p. 245.
19. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 4.
20. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 299.
21. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 28.
22. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 17.
23. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 47.
24. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 104.
25. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 52.
26. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 115.
27. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 68.
28. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 85.
29. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 30.
30. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 117-118.
31. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 48.
32. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 23.
33. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 166.
31References
3234. Hunt, Dave. How Close Are We? Eugene, OR: Harvest House
Publishers, 1993, p. 26.
35. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 45-46.
36. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, pp. 94-95.
37. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 83.
38. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 40.
39. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 44.
40. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 237-238.
41. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 97.
42. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 43.
43. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 92.
44. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 106-107.
45. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 203.
46. Toffler, Alvin. The Third Wave, New York: Bantam Books, 1981,
p. 9.
47. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 132.
48. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 147.
49. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 36.
50. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 13.
51. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 12.
52. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 237.
53. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 29.
54. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 11.
55. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 9.
56. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 120.
57. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 99-100.
58. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 307.
59. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 92.
60. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 158.
61. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 239.
62. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 78-79.
63. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 101.
64. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 158-159.
65. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 95.
66. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 311-313.
33468 King of Kings
34Chapter
1. Robertson, Norman. Understanding End Time Prophecy, Chichester,
England: Sovereign World, 1983, p. 95.
2. McKeever, Jim. The Coming Climax of History, Medford, OR:
Omega Publications, 1982, p. 268.
3. Lindsey, Hal. Apocalypse Code, Palos Verdes, CA: Western Front
Ltd., 1997, pp. 152-153.
4. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, England:
Sovereign World, 1988, pp. 53-54.
5. Van Impe, Jack. Everything you always wanted to know about
Prophecy but didnt know who to ask!, Windsor, Ontario: Jack Van
Impe Ministries, 1980, pp. 47-48.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 296.
7. Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1965, p. 26.
8. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 259-260.
9. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 93.
10. Crisis and Victory, p. 153.
11. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edition,
p. 215.
12. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 163.
13. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 25.
14. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 55.
15. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 29.
16. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 55.
17. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 36.
18. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 90.
19. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 123.
20. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 74-75.
21. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, En-
gland: Sovereign World, 1988, pp. 233-234.
22. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, En-
gland: Sovereign World, 1988, p. 198.
23. Lockyer, Herbert Sr. (ed.) Nelsons Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, pp. 98-99.
24. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 32.
25. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 4.
35References
3626. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 72.
27. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 159.
28. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 15.
29. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 20.
30. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 21.
31. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 42.
32. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 265.
33. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 66.
34. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 118.
35. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 118.
36. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 91.
37. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 152.
38. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 204.
39. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 305.
40. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 23.
41. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 90.
42. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 119.
43. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 170.
44. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.
45. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 7.
46. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 33.
47. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 69.
48. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 157.
49. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 187.
50. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 10.
51. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 13.
52. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 36.
53. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 34.
54. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 88.
55. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 223.
56. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 96.
57. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 38.
58. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 14.
59. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 156.
60. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p.
61. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 21.
37470 King of Kings
3862. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh, (Arabic), no. 55.
63. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 76.
64. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 269.
65. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 119.
66. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 21.
67. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 248.
68. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 246-247.
69. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 256.
70. Lockyer, Herbert Sr. (ed.) Nelsons Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, p. 351.
71. Lockyer, Herbert Sr. (ed.) Nelsons Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, p. 351.
72. Biederwolf, William E. The Second Coming Bible Commentary,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985, p. 259.
73. The Amplified Bible, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Bible Pub-
lishers, 1965, p. 196.
74. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 112.
75. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 56-57.
76. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 57.
77. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 88.
78. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 222.
79. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 197-198.
80. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 259-260.
81. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 333.
82. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 5.
83. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 15.
84. Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shii Islam, Oxford, En-
gland: George Ronald, 1985, p. 168.
85. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 128.
86. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1988, vol. 4, p. 350.
87. Shoghi Effendi. The Promised Day Is Come, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
publishing Committee, 1941, pp. 103-104.
88. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 263-264.
89. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 74-75.
90. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 25-26.
91. Lindsey, Hal. Apocalypse Code, Palos Verdes, CA: Western Front
Ltd., 1997, p. 302.
39References
4092. Abdul-Bahá in London, pp. 46-47.
93. Templeton, John Marks. Riches for the Mind & Spirit, San Fran-
cisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1990, p. 172.
94. Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 35.
95. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 173.
96. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 92.
97. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 73.
41Chapter
1. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 76-77.
2. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 76.
3. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 94.
4. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 100.
5. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 190.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 37.
7. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 344.
8. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 233.
9. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 24.
10. Some Answered Questions, p. 270.
11. Church, J.R. Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms, Oklahoma City:
Prophecy Publications, 1986, p. 327.
12. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 41.
13. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 38.
14. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 320-321.
15. Phelps, Myron H. The Master In Akká, Los Angeles: Kalimát
Press, 1985, pp. 76-90.
16. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 103.
17. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 312.
18. Shoghi Effendi. The Promised Day Is Come, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
Publishing Committee, 1951, pp. 7-8.
19. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 59-60.
20. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 278.
21. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 119-120.
22. Paris Talks, p. 79.
23. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 60.
24. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 18.
25. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 274-275.
42472 King of Kings
43Chapter
1. Lindsey, Hal. The Promise, New York: Bantam Books, 1984, p. 86.
2. Rabbani, Rúhíyyih. Prescription for Living, Oxford: George Ronald,
1978, p. 149.
3. De Jong, Benjamin R. Uncle Bens Quotebook, Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book House, 1976, p. 55.
4. Some Answered Questions, p. 37.
5. Selections from the Writings of Abdul-Bahá, p. 16.
6. Some Answered Questions, p. 37.
7. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Covenant of Baháulláh, Oxford,
England: George Ronald, 1992, p. 92.
8. A Travelers Narrative, p. 53.
9. Frend, W. H. C. The Rise of Christianity, p. 109.
10. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 141.
11. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 142.
12. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 143.
13. Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing
Trust, 1957, p. 144.
14. Some Answered Questions, p. 30.
15. Some Answered Questions, p. 34.
44Chapter
1. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 45.
2. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 59.
3. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 232.
4. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 15.
5. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh, (Arabic), no. 56.
6. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 57.
7. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 507.
8. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, pp. 507-508.
9. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 509.
45References
4610. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 512.
11. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 512.
12. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 513.
13. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 514.
14. The Dawn-Breakers, New York: Baháí Publishing Committee,
1953, p. 515.
15. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 27.
16. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 28.
17. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 166.
18. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 156.
19. Ferraby, John. All Things Made New, London: Ruskin House,
1957, p. 199.
20. Some Answered Questions, p. 34.
21. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 34.
22. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 156.
23. Bhagavad-Gita, Translated by Swami Prabhavananda, and Chris-
topher Isherwood, New York: New American Library, 1972, p. 92.
24. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1977, vol. 2, p. 9.
25. The Beloved of the World (Persian). Toronto, Canada: Andalíb
Editorial Board, 1992-93, pp. 37-38.
26. Bhagavad-Gita, Translated by Swami Prabhavananda, and Chris-
topher Isherwood, New York: New American Library, 1972, p. 92.
27. Lockyer, Herbert Sr. (General Editor). Nelsons Illustrated Bible
Dictionary, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers,, 1986, p.
192.
28. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1977, vol. 2, pp. 197-198.
29. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1977, vol. 2, p. 199.
30. Taherzadeh, Adib. The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford: George
Ronald, 1977, vol. 4, pp. 53-54.
31. Faizi, A. Q. Stories from the Delight of Hearts, Los Angeles:
Kalimát Press, 1980, pp. 20-22.
47474 King of Kings
4832. Lady Blomfield. The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Pub-
lishing Trust, pp. 202-204.
33. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 169.
49Chapter
1. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 236.
2. Feyerabend, Henry. Tearing the Shroud from the Antichrist,
London, Canada: Destiny, 1986, p. 61.
3. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 15.
4. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 236.
5. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 62.
6. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 45.
7. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 35.
8. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 192.
9. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 3.
10. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 211.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 62.
12. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 80.
13. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 79.
14. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 86.
15. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 146.
16. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 24.
17. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 45.
18. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 83.
19. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 192.
20. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 87-88.
21. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 74.
22. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 70.
23. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 112.
24. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 90.
25. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 72.
26. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 72.
27. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 70.
28. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 75.
29. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 171.
30. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 143.
50References
5131. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 43.
32. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 203.
33. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 42.
34. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 199.
35. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 31.
36. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 196.
37. The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 196.
38. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 16.
39. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh, (Arabic), no. 62.
40. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 79.
41. Gottlieb, Randie & Steven. Once to Every Man & Nation, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1985.
42. Foroughi, Tahirih K. My Love is My Stronghold, New Delhi,
India: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1995.
43. Purkey, William and John Novak. Inviting School Success, Belmont:
California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1984, p. 21.
44. Spong, John Shelby. Resurrection Myth or Reality? San Francisco:
Harper San Francisco, 1994, pp. 39-40.
45. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 92.
46. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 84.
47. Vandeman, George E. Showdown at Armageddon, Boise: Pacific
Press Publishing Association, 1987, p. 93.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 119.
49. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 94.
50. Shoghi Effendi. The Promised Day Is Come, Wilmette, IL: Baháí
Publishing Committee, 1951, p. 11.
51. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 12.
52. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 75.
53. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 107.
54. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 240-241.
55. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 211-212.
56. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 204-205.
57. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 94.
58. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 105.
59. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 242.
60. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 231.
52476 King of Kings
5361. The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 62.
62. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 61-62.
54Chapter
1. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 131.
2. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 189.
3. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 189.
4. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 9.
5. The Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 96-97.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 219.
7. Tablets of Baháulláh, pp. 128-129.
8. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 108.
9. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 38.
10. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 25.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 156.
12. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Persian), no. 32.
13. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 4.
14. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 6.
15. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 10.
16. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 155.
17. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 130.
18. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 46-47.
19. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, p. 83.
20. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 48.
21. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 70-71.
22. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992, p. 32.
23. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 204.
24. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 5.
25. The Book of Certitude, pp. 256-257.
26. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 35.
27. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 87.
28. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 87.
29. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 156.
30. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 110.
31. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 48.
55References
5632. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 340-341.
33. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 311-312.
34. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 107.
35. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 110.
36. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 174.
37. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 70.
38. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 55.
39. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 209.
40. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 99.
41. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, p. 212.
42. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 49.
43. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh (Arabic), no. 9.
44. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 210-211.
45. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 183.
46. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 119.
47. Baháí Prayers, Wilmette, IL: Baháí Publishing Trust, 1991 edi-
tion, pp. 211-212.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 143.
49. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 162.
50. Pratney, Winkie and Barry Chant. The Return, Chichester, En-
gland: Sovereign World, 1988, pp. 63-64.
51. The Hidden Words of Baháulláh, pp. 51-52.
52. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 107.
53. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, pp. 111-112.
54. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 112.
57Chapter
1. De Jong, Benjamin. Uncle Bens Quotebook, Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House, 1976, p. 53.
2. White, John Wesley. Re-entry, Minneapolis: World Wide Publica-
tions, 1971, p. 14.
58478 King of Kings
593. Haynes, Carlyle B. Our Lords Return, Nashville: Southern Pub-
lishing Association, 1964, p. 13.
4. Townshend, George. Christ and Baháulláh, London: George
Ronald, 1957, p. 14.
5. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 46.
6. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 5.
7. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 50.
8. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 5.
9. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 6.
10. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 7.
11. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 8.
12. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 214.
13. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 110.
14. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 197.
15. Translated by the author.
16. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 31.
17. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 12.
18. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 214.
19. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 107.
20. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 108.
21. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 99.
22. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 261.
23. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 245.
24. Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baháulláh, Wilmette, IL:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1980, p. 106.
25. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 31.
26. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 13.
27. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 14.
28. Shoghi Effendi. Guidance for Today and Tomorrow, London:
Baháí Publishing Trust, 1953, p. 150.
29. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, pp. 29-30.
30. The Proclamation of Baháulláh, pp. 111-112.
31. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 50.
32. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 49.
33. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 38.
60References
6134. The Book of Certitude, pp. 23-24.
35. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 47-48.
36. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 180.
37. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 56-57.
38. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 208.
39. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, p. 76.
40. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, pp. 209-210.
41. Prayers and Meditations by Baháulláh, pp. 78-79.
42. Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 217.
11. Tablets of Baháulláh, p. 138.
2. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháulláh, p. 7.
3. You will find some of these quotations and many others in The
Baháí World, Volumes viii and ix.
1A Bahá’u’lláh………………….. 216-218
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wondrous in a vision. ……………. 351-356
gifts…………………………. 361-364 plots against………….. 197-200
Accountability before God, the word…………………… 50-51
our…………………………… 419-426 Bahá’u’lláh’s literal
‘Akká………………………………….. 86 sovereignty……………….. 189-190
Antichrist, the………… 99-129, 155 Bahá’u’lláh’s names and
candidates for. ………. 100-101 titles. …………………………… 52-55
Armageddon……………………… 274 Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet to the
Azal……………….102-129, 131-172 Christians…………………….. 30-40
Beauty……………………………. 57-62
B Black Pit, the. ……………… 191-197
The Báb Blessed Beauty, the………….. 57-62
His titles………………………..
martyrdom of………… 341-351 Blessed, the…………………….. 57-58
Bahá……………………………. 46, 197 Blessings, God’s. …………. 416-419
meanings of. …………….. 55-56 Blessings, the day of
the numerical value of……. 57 divine. ……………………… 427-441
the word…………………… 50-51 Bozrah………………………… 214-215
2482 King of Kings
3Building the City of God…….. 174 Dreams and visions 353, 356-359
Drunkenness, spiritual….. 178-179
C
Carcass………………… 143-148, 149 E
Catholics…………………………… 168 Edom………………………….. 214-215
Challenge, public…………. 120-121 a heavenly war
against. …………….. 282-286
Christians, the role of. ….. 290-292
Enemy, the…………………………
City of God, building the……..
Epistles to the kings……… 187-190
Clay…………………………………..
Evangelicals……………………….
Cloud. ………………………… 369-370
the meaning of………. 367-400 Evil one, the………………… 149-157
Complacent……………………….. 234 Evolution of humanity, the
spiritual……………………. 427-429
Confrontation, public……. 120-121
Exclusive salvation………….. 91-94
Countenance. ………………….. 61-62
Covenant breaker……………….. 155 F
Covenant, God’s. …………. 401-402 Face, God’s…………………….. 61-62
Covenant, the greater……. 429-431 False claims in the name of
Creation, the story of………….. 162 Christ. …………………………. 67-68
False morning, the……….. 112-116
D
False prophets……………… 164-172
Daniel’s prophecy of
suffering…………………… 220-221 Fancy. ………………………… 367-400
Darkness, a day of. ………. 102-103 Fantasy, examples of. …… 372-374
Day of darkness, a. ………. 102-103 Fantasy, the power of……. 368-372
Day of vengeance, the. …. 280-282 Fantasy, the uses of………. 379-380
Dayyán……………………………… 104 Father, the station of the 252-253
Denial, reasons for……….. 182-184 Fear……………….247-248, 252-253
Denial, the consequences Fear of being deceived…………
of…………………………….. 401-426 Fearful……………………………….
Devil, the death of the. …. 140-142 Fearing and loving God 403-408
Devil, the. …………………… 131-172 Fire…………….27-31, 160, 268-277
Distress………………………. 237-238 First shall be last, the……. 235-236
Divine blessings, prayers Fleeing……………………….. 248-254
for……………………………. 441-445
Divine blessings, the day G
of…………………………….. 433-443 Generation, the word. ………….
4Index
5Glory of God………69-98, 351-356 Justice and grace………….. 408-412
described………………….. 81-82 Justice and mercy. ……….. 408-412
fills the earth…………….. 76-77
personified……………….. 78-80 K
Glory, meanings of. …………. 55-56 Kingdoms, the three…………. 65-67
God, war against………….. 263-299 Kings, Epistles to…………. 201-204
Good News, the………………. 15-21 Knowledge of the
Grace and justice. ………… 408-412 unspoken………………….. 349-350
Greatest Name, the symbol
of the…………………………… 64-67 L
Leaders of the church,
H the false……………………. 164-171
Hakím Áqá Ján……………. 358-359 Leaders, religious. ……… 181-1828
Healing miracle, a………… 361-364 Lessons of history 23-29, 225-229
Heaven and hell…………… 412-416 Light, prophecies about the 70-72
Heavens, the. ………………. 354-355 Lightning, the. .. 166-167, 171-172
Hell and heaven…………… 412-416 Loving and fearing God
Here am I…………….. 212, 255-257 ……………………………….. 403-408
History, lessons of 23-29, 225-229 Lucifer. ………………………. 115-116
Humans, the meaning of 157-161
Humility……………………… 281-282 M
Man of sin, the…………….. 118-126
I Martyrdom of the Báb. …. 341-351
Iblis……………………………. 159-160 Martyrdom, reasons for. .. 341-343
Idle fancy……………………. 367-400
Marvel……………………………….
Idol, the………………………. 149-157
Mercy and justice. ……….. 408-412
Illusions, examples of…… 372-374
Messengers’ suffering, the
Investigation of truth. …… 161-162 purpose and the intensity
Invitation………………………… 15-21 of…………………………….. 301-302
Isaiah’s prophecies of Miracles………………. 166, 323-366
rejection. ………………….. 212-220 as secondary
evidence. ………….. 331-338
J examples in the Bahá’í
Jerusalem, war against….. 278-280 Faith. ……………….. 339-364
Jinns, the…………………….. 157-161 purpose of citing…………..
Joel’s prophecy of suffering the role of in religion 323-338
and triumph………………. 221-223 the true…………………. 364-366
6484 King of Kings
7Miracles are not proofs…. 337-350 Public confrontation. ……. 120-122
Mirrors……………………………… 103 Punishment and reward. .. 401-426
Mírzá Yahyá……102-129, 131-172 Punishment of negligent
Morning of Eternity……… 112-116 leaders……………………… 170-171
Morning, the false………… 112-116
R
Most Great Name, the………. 83-84
Reasons for suffering……. 176-177
Most Great Prison, the….. 200-204
Rebuke……………………….. 185-187
Most Great Separation, the…
Red garment………………… 214-218
Motlagh, the meaning of………..
Redeemer, sufferings of… 173-204
Mourning, the day of……. 231-262
Redeemer, two portraits
of…………………………….. 225-229
N
Religious leaders. ………… 181-182
Name, the new………………… 41-68
Religious leaders, the role
an obstacle……………………… 23-40 of…………………………….. 289-290
Names and titles, Return, the meaning of………….
Bahá’u’lláh’s. ……………….. 52-55
Reward and punishment 401-426
Names, the veil of……………. 94-98
River, the meaning of. ….. 241-242
New name……………..41-68, 69-98
an obstacle……………….. 23-40 S
in other Scriptures. ……. 82-91
News, the Good News.. 15-21 Salvation by all names of
God. ……………………………. 91-94
O Salvation, exclusive…………. 91-94
Obstacles, the new name. …. 23-40 Satan, the. …………………… 131-172
Search and love for truth 293-296
P Secrecy. ……………………… 166-167
Parables, the………………… 205-229 warning against. ……. 143-148
of the vineyard………. 210-211 Secrets, the two secrets kept 61-64
of the wedding………. 205-207
of the wise and foolish Separation, the Most Great…
maidens. …………… 205-209 Servant, my…………………….. 44-45
Peace, universal…………… 292-293 the meaning of………. 213-214
Plots against Bahá’u’lláh 197-200 Shaykh ‘Abdu’l-Husayn. .. 199-200
Proclamation…………………… 15-21 Síyáh-Chál………………….. 161-197
Prophecies about the light…. 70-71 Siyyid Muhammad. ……… 131-172
Prophets, false……………… 164-172 Snake, the. …………………………
Public challenge…………… 120-121 Son of Man………………………..
8Index
9Sovereignty…………………. 189-190 U
State of the world, the…… 177-187 Universal peace……………. 292-293
Station of the Father. ……. 252-253
Suffering V
before victory. ………. 190-197 Varqá…………………………………
of the Redeemer. …… 173-204 Veils of names…………………. 94-98
Daniel’s prophecy of.. 220-221 Vengeance, the day of…… 280-282
Joel’s prophecy of….. 221-224 Vengeance, the meaning
reasons for. …………… 176-177 of…………………………….. 280-281
the purpose and the Victory………………………………
intensity of the Vineyard, the parable of 210-211
Messengers’………. 301-322
Vision, Bahá’u’lláh’s appearance
Suffering servant, the……. 212-220 in a. …………………………. 216-220
Sun and the moon, the………….. 74 Vultures………………………. 144-145
Sun, His face was like
the. ………………………….. 350-356 W
Sword…………………………. 268-277 War against God. …………. 263-299
a means of separation…….. 47 War against Jerusalem….. 278-280
Symbol of the Greatest War and victory, quotations
Name…………………………… 64-67 on. …………………………… 296-299
Symbolism, the purpose of. …. 378 Wars, Christian views of 264-266
Wedding, the parable of… 205-207
T Whisperer, the……………… 160-161
Tablet to Christians………….. 30-40 White stone………………………….
Tablets to the kings………. 187-190 Wise and foolish maidens,
Terror, the……………………. 249-250 the parable of. …………… 207-209
Three kingdoms, the………… 65-67 Wonder………………………………
Titles of the Báb. …………………. 66 Word of God, a means of
Trap that will come on all separation………………………….
people, the………………… 385-393 Wronged One, the……………….
Traps, the kind of…………. 387-388
True miracles, the. ……….. 364-366
Truth, search and love
for……………………………. 293-296
Two portraits of the
Redeemer…………………. 225-228
1Acts 2:17, 21. …………………….. 356 I Chronicles 16:23, 24, 33…….
Acts 3:21…………………………… 432 II Chronicles 13:12……… 263,
Acts 5:38-39. …………………….. 263 II Chronicles 36:15-16…………..
Acts 7:51-52. …………………….. 347 I Corinthians 3:13……………….
Acts 7:52…………………………… 368 I Corinthians 4:5….. 125, 169, 227,
Acts 7:55…………………………….. 78 349,
Acts 13:23…………………………… 93 I Corinthians 10:31……………….
Acts 20:29…………………………. 309 I Corinthians 12:4…………………
Acts 26:15-18. …………………… 409 II Corinthians 1:20………………..
Amos 1:2. …………………………. 240 II Corinthians 3:6………………….
Amos 4:13. …………………………113 II Corinthians 9:6………………
Amos 5:16-17……………………. 245 Colossians 3:4………………………
Amos 5:18 . ………………………. 377 Daniel 7:9-10……………… 269,
Amos 8:10. ……………………….. 253 Daniel 9:4. …………………………
Amos 8:11-12…………………….. 389 Daniel 11:33……………….. 220,
2488 King of Kings
3Daniel 11:33-35. ………………… 220 Isaiah 2:4. ……………………185,
Daniel 12:3. ………………………. 403 Isaiah 2:5. ……………………………
Daniel 12:9-10. ………………….. 220 Isaiah 2:10-11……………………..
Daniel 12:10……………….. 171, 235 Isaiah 3:7, 12. ……………………..
Deuteronomy 4:29……………… 389 Isaiah 11:1, 4………………..122,
Deuteronomy 6:16……………… 329 Isaiah 11:2-3……………………….
Deuteronomy 32:35……………. 410 Isaiah 11:6………………………….
Deuteronomy 33:27, 29……….. 267 Isaiah 13:4-5………………………
Ecclesiastes 3:1………………….. 426 Isaiah 13:4, 6……………….. 240-241
Ecclesiastes 12:6-7. ……………. 426 Isaiah 13:4-6………………………
Exodus 20:11. ……………………. 428 Isaiah 13:6. ………………………..
Ezekiel 1:26:28……………………. 81 Isaiah 13:6-8………………………
Ezekiel 1:27-28……………. 353-354 Isaiah 13:7-8………………………
Ezekiel 1:28-29………………….. 379 Isaiah 14:12-15…………………
Ezekiel 8:12………………………. 371 Isaiah 24:4-13…………………….
Ezekiel 17:1-2……………………. 378 Isaiah 24:17-18…………………..
Ezekiel 18:25………………………. 92 Isaiah 24:23. ………………….. 56,
Ezekiel 39:21………………………. 76 Isaiah 25:9. ………………… 431,
Ezekiel 39:21, 29……………. 61, 72 Isaiah 27:1-2………………………
Ezekiel 39:25, 29……………….. 435 Isaiah 30:18. ………………………
Ezekiel 43:2………………………… 85 Isaiah 30:21. ………………………..
Ezekiel 43:4-5. ……………………. 79 Isaiah 30:27. ………………………
Ezekiel 44:4………………………… 79 Isaiah 33:1. ………………………..
Galatians 6:5……………………… 208 Isaiah 33:2-9………………………
Galatians 6:7……………………….411 Isaiah 33:3. ………………………..
Genesis 3:14-15…………………. 142 Isaiah 33:8. ………………………..
Habakkuk 2:14…………………….. 76 Isaiah 33:17. ………………………..
Habakkuk 3:12-13……………… 154 Isaiah 34:1-3, 5-8………………..
Haggai 2:6-8……………………….. 72 Isaiah 35:2. ……………………. 78,
Haggai 2:7. …………………………. 76 Isaiah 34:2, 5………………………
Hosea 4:6………………………….. 412 Isaiah 35:4. ………………………..
Hosea 8:1………………………….. 140 Isaiah 37:30. …………………….
Hosea 11:10……………………….. 247 Isaiah 40:5. ……………………. 76,
Isaiah 2:2-5…………………………. 71 Isaiah 42:8-10……………………….
4Index of Bible Verses Used in this Book
5Isaiah 42:12-13………………….. 298 Isaiah 65:112………………………
Isaiah 43:3. …………………………. 93 Isaiah 66:15-16……………. 268-269
Isaiah 43:3,11………………………. 34 Isaiah 66:15-17…………………..
Isaiah 43:11…………………………. 93 Isaiah 66:18. ………………………..
Isaiah 45:15. ……………………….. 93 Isaiah 66:18, 20. …………………
Isaiah 45:15, 21……………………. 34 James 1:12…………………………
Isaiah 52:6. …………………………. 48 James 4:7…………………………..
Isaiah 52:6-7……………………… 255 James 5:7…………………………..
Isaiah 52:7-10. …………………… 218 Jeremiah 2:5……………………….
Isaiah 52:13-14………………….. 218 Jeremiah 25:33, 36………………
Isaiah 55:6. ……………………….. 426 Jeremiah 25:34-35………………
Isaiah 58:8-9……………………… 255 Jeremiah 30:7……………………..
Isaiah 58:9-11…………………….. 388 Jeremiah 31:31-34…………………
Isaiah 60:1. …………………………. 70 Jeremiah 49:7-22. ……………….
Isaiah 60:1-3. ………………………. 70 Joel 1:19-20……………………….
Isaiah 61:1-2. ……………… 280, 431 Joel 2:21-27………………… 223-224
Isaiah 61:1-3……………………… 233 Joel 2:32………………………………
Isaiah 62:1-3. ………………………. 43 Joel 3:1‑2…………………………..
Isaiah 62:2. ……………………. 69, 95 Joel 3:9-14…………………………
Isaiah 63:1-6………… 214-215, 286 John 1:5. ……………………………
Isaiah 63:4. ……………………….. 280 John 1:10……………………………
Isaiah 63:5. ……………………….. 193 John 3:11-12…………………………
Isaiah 65:1-2………………… 43, 257 John 3:36. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:1-3……………………… 212 John 4:36. ………………………..
Isaiah 65:2. ……………………….. 216 John 4:48. ………………….. 323,
Isaiah 65:5. ……………………….. 212 John 5:23. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:10………………….. 44, 213 John 6:27. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:11-12…………………….128 John 6:29. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:12-15……………………. 44 John 6:38. ……………………………
Isaiah 65:13-15………………….. 213 John 6:42. ……………………………
Isaiah 65:14. ……………………… 244 John 6:44. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:16-18……………………. 45 John 7:48. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:17. ………………… 45, 214 John 8:15. ………………………….
Isaiah 65:23-25……………………. 45 John 9:35-37………………………..
6490 King of Kings
7John 10:11……………………341, 342 Luke 16:31…………………………
John 11:40………………….63, 78, 98 Luke 17:2…………………………..
John 12:24. ……………………….. 342 Luke 17:25…………………………
John 13:2. …………………………. 122 Luke 17:26…………………. 191,
John 13:15. ……………………….. 342 Luke 18:1-8…………………. 441-442
John 13:20. ……………………….. 420 Luke 18:8……………….. 63, 98,
John 14:1-3…………………………. 30 Luke 21:25…………………………
John 14:6. ……………………….35, 92 Luke 21:34-36. …………………..
John 14:16-17…… 64, 98, 203-204 Luke 21:36…………………………
John 15:26. …………………………. 38 Luke 23:8-10……………….. 333-334
John 16:12. …………………………. 36 Malachi 1:11…………………………
John 16:12-13……………………. 253 Malachi 4:2………………………..
John 18:15. ……………………….. 396 Mark 4:22. …………………………
John 19:10-11…………………….. 152 Mark 4:30-32……………………..
I John 2:18………………………… 135 Mark 7:9. …………………………..
I John 2:22…………………..135, 155 Mark 7:13. …………………………
I John 4:1-3……………………….. 135 Mark 8:12. …………………………
I John 4:18………………………… 404 Mark 8:38. …………………………
I Kings 8:13………………………. 381 Mark 9:47-48……………………..
Luke 4:18-19. ……………………. 433 Mark 9:49………………………….
Luke 4:43…………………… 429, 433 Mark 13:32. …………………………
Luke 5:37-38……………………….. 42 Mark 13:33, 37……………………
Luke 9:26…………………….. 74, 412 Mark 14:21. ……………………….
Luke 10:3………………………….. 309 Matthew 4:3-4. …………………..
Luke 10:16………………………… 420 Matthew 4:7……………………….
Luke 10:18………………………… 154 Matthew 5:4……………………….
Luke 10:20………………………… 403 Matthew 5:11-13…………………
Luke 12:9……………..280, 401, 411 Matthew 5:12……………………..
Luke 12:35-36. ………………….. 436 Matthew 5:37……………………….
Luke 12:36-37. ………………….. 166 Matthew 6:9. ……………………..
Luke 13:23-28. ………………….. 414 Matthew 6:9‑10. …………………
Luke 13:24-30. ………………….. 235 Matthew 6:10……………………….
Luke 16:15………………………… 396 Matthew 7:2…………………280,
Luke 16:26………………………… 413 Matthew 7:21-23. ……………….
8Index of Bible Verses Used in this Book
9Matthew 8:4………………………. 325 Matthew 24:30……………… 74,
Matthew 9:30…………………….. 325 Matthew 24:36……………………..
Matthew 9:31…………………….. 325 Matthew 24:37………..26, 211,
Matthew 12:36…………………….. 39 Matthew 24:39……………………
Matthew 12:39…………………… 329 Matthew 24:42-44. ……………..
Matthew 13:34…………………… 378 Matthew 24:45-47. ……………..
Matthew 13:38-39. …………….. 153 Matthew 24:48-51. ……………..
Matthew 13:41-42. …………….. 153 Matthew 25:25……………………
Matthew 13:41-43………………. 403 Matthew 25:26……………………
Matthew 13:43…………………… 154 Matthew 25:31……………………..
Matthew 15:13…………………… 165 Matthew 25:34-46. ……………..
Matthew 16:27……………36, 74, 85 Matthew 25:41……………………
Matthew 17:17…………………… 182 Matthew 25:41-46……………….
Matthew 18:7…………………….. 341 Matthew 26:63-64. ……………….
Matthew 19:28…………………….. 73 Micah 3:4-5……………………….
Matthew 20:16…………………… 225 Micah 4:1-3………………………..
Matthew 20:28…………………… 341 Micah 4:5…………………………….
Matthew 21:9………………………. 49 Micah 5:15…………………………
Matthew 21:40-41. …………….. 210 Micah 7:1-7. ……………………….
Matthew 21:42……………. 210, 224 Micah 7:15…………………..339,
Matthew 21:44…………………… 210 Nahum 1:2-3, 9-11,15. ……….
Matthew 22:2-6. ………….. 205-206 Nahum 1:15……………………….
Matthew 22:14…………………… 207 Numbers 14:21. ……………………
Matthew 23:29-30. ……….. 28, 368 Obadiah 1-18………………………
Matthew 23:33…………………… 310 Obadiah 21…………………………..
Matthew 24:4-5……………… 35, 67 I Peter 5:4. …………………… 95,
Matthew 24:10…………………….211 II Peter 1:20……………………….
Matthew 24:11. ………………….. 165 Philippians 2:11…………………….
Matthew 24:21-22. …………….. 237 Proverbs 11:9. …………………….
Matthew 24:23-25. …………….. 166 Proverbs 14:12; 16:25………….
Matthew 24:24…………………… 165 Proverbs 16:6……………………..
Matthew 24:26…………………… 145 Psalms 2:1………………….. 368,
Matthew 24:26-28. … 143, 166-167 Psalms 2:1-7……………………….
Matthew 24:27-28………… 171-172 Psalms 2:2………………………….
10492 King of Kings
11Psalms 4:2……………………177, 392 Psalms 89:14-15. ………………….
Psalms 7:11-16. ……………………118 Psalms 90:13,16,17………………
Psalms 8:1-2. ……………….139, 157 Psalms 90:16-17. ………………….
Psalms 13:1…………………………. 61 Psalms 91:1-3, 9………………….
Psalms 19:1…………………………. 75 Psalms 92:5-9. ……………………
Psalms 19:1-7, 14………………… 354 Psalms 94:1………………………….
Psalms 19:4-5……………………. 354 Psalms 94:1-3. ………. 15, 280,
Psalms 24:7-10. ……………………. 16 Psalms 96:1-3. ……………………..
Psalms 24:8-10…………………… 298 Psalms 96:1-3, 6……………………
Psalms 25:9……………………….. 281 Psalms 95:6-11……………………
Psalms 27:4. ……………………….. 59 Psalms 99:1-3………………………
Psalms 27:13-14…………………… 80 Psalms 99:1-5……………… 250-251
Psalms 27:14……………………… 434 Psalms 101:7. ……………………
Psalms 29:2…………………………. 59 Psalms 103:8,13………………….
Psalms 31:11-13………………….. 197 Psalms 103:20-21………………..
Psalms 31:13………………. 197, 186 Psalms 104:3………………………
Psalms 36:1-12. …………………. 200 Psalms 109:1-5. ……………126,
Psalms 37:7……………………….. 434 Psalms 109:10-13. …………….
Psalms 38:11-15…………… 196-197 Psalms 110:1-6…………….. 188-189
Psalms 38:12……………………… 197 Psalms 111:10……………………..
Psalms 40:1-3. …………………… 196 Psalms 113:1-3……………………..
Psalms 46:1-6. …………………… 241 Psalms 113:2-4. ……………………
Psalms 46:8-9. …………………… 269 Psalms 116:6………………………
Psalms 50:2-3. ……………… 59, 269 Psalms 116:13, 17………………….
Psalms 57:4-5……………………. 310 Psalms 118:10-12. ……………….
Psalms 57:5…………………………. 77 Psalms 130:4………………………
Psalms 57:11……………………….. 76 Psalms 135:1………………………..
Psalms 60:3. ……………………… 179 Psalms 138:5………………………..
Psalms 66:1-3. …………………….. 42 Revelation 1:3………………………
Psalms 68:1-3. …………………… 297 Revelation 1:7…………………….
Psalms 72:17……………………….. 58 Revelation 1:14,16. …………….
Psalms 72:19………………….. 42, 49 Revelation 1:16…………………..
Psalms 80:3-4……………………. 435 Revelation 2:6…………………….
Psalms 85:5, 9……………………… 73 Revelation 2:7…………….. 227,
12Index of Bible Verses Used in this Book
13Revelation 2:10……………………. 39 Revelation 16:15…………………..
Revelation 2:12………………….. 128 Revelation 17:13…………………
Revelation 2:16………………….. 128 Revelation 17:14…………………
Revelation 2:17…………….. 46, 418 Revelation 17:15…………………
Revelation 2:28………………….. 418 Revelation 18:1…………………….
Revelation 3:1-6. ……………….. 182 Revelation 19:11…………………
Revelation 3:3………………. 37, 399 Revelation 19:11-15…. 47, 270-271
Revelation 3:5……………………. 414 Revelation 19:12…………….. 48,
Revelation 3:11-12……………… 414 Revelation 19:13…………. 203,
Revelation 3:11-13……………….. 84 Revelation 19:14-15, 21……….
Revelation 3:12……46, 84, 95, 414 Revelation 19:17…………………
Revelation 3:12-13. ……………. 414 Revelation 19:19-21. …… 134,
Revelation 3:15-19. ……………. 187 Revelation 20:13…………………
Revelation 3:16-17. ……………. 234 Revelation 21:1…………….. 43,
Revelation 3:20………………….. 166 Revelation 21:4-5. ………… 43,
Revelation 3:21…………… 402, 414 Revelation 21:7…………… 405,
Revelation 5:6, 12………………. 190 Revelation 21:8…………………..
Revelation 5:9……………………… 43 Revelation 21:10-11. ……………..
Revelation 6:9-11……………….. 276 Revelation 21:22-24. …………….
Revelation 6:17………………….. 239 Revelation 22:17…… 425-426,
Revelation 7:13-14. ……………. 276 Romans 3:23………………………
Revelation 7:14………………….. 247 Romans 3:29………………………..
Revelation 9:12……………………. 50 Romans 5:2………………………….
Revelation 10:1……. 350, 367, 379 Romans 14:12…………………….
Revelation 12:7…………… 263, 267 I Samuel 16:7……………………..
Revelation 12:7-9. ……….. 140-141 II Samuel 23:2-4……………….
Revelation 12:10-11……………. 141 I Thessalonians 5:19-21……….
Revelation 12:10-12. ………….. 277 II Thessalonians 1:7-8….. 269,
Revelation 12:12………………… 141 II Thessalonians 1:8-10…. 419-420
Revelation 13:8………………….. 203 II Thessalonians 2:3-4. ………
Revelation 13:10…………..247, 411 II Thessalonians 2:6………124,
Revelation 13:14………………… 203 II Thessalonians 2:8…………….
Revelation 15:8……………………. 80 II Thessalonians 2:9…………..
Revelation 15:15………………… 391 II Thessalonians 2:10-12………
14494 King of Kings
15II Timothy 3:1-9………………….
II Timothy 4:3…………………….
II Timothy 4:3-4. ………… 178,
Titus 2:13…………………………….
Zechariah 1:14-15……………….
Zechariah 9:12……………………
Zechariah 9:14……………. 247,
Zechariah 9:16-17…………. 60,
Zechariah 10:2-3…………………
Zechariah 12:2-3…………………
Zechariah 12:9……………………
Zechariah 12:9-10……………….
Zechariah 12:17………………….
Zechariah 13:1……………………
Zechariah 13:7-9…………………
Zechariah 13:8……………………
Zechariah 13:9……………………
Zechariah 14:2-3…………………
Zechariah 14:3, 12……………….
Zechariah 14:14………………….
Zechariah 17:13………………….
Zephaniah 1:7…………….. 349,
Zephaniah 1:14…………………..
Zephaniah 1:14, 16………………
Zephaniah 1:15…………… 102,
Zephaniah 2:3…………………….
11. Visit these Baháí Websites:
www.globalperspective.org
www.bahai.org
www.bahai-library.org
2. To receive information on the Baháí Faith, call:
1-800-949-1863 or 1-800-228-6483
3. To communicate with this author, send an Email to:
hugh@globalperspective.org
2A Few Baháí Centers
Alaska Hawaii
13501 Brayton Drive 3264 Allan Place
Anchorage, Alaska 99516 Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
USA USA
3Australia India
Baháí Publications Baháí House
173 Mona Vale Road 5 Canning Road
Post Box
Ingleside, NSW 2101
New Delhi 110 001
Australia
17200 Leslie Street P.O. Box 21-551
Thornhill, Ontario Henderson 1231
L3T 6L8 Canada Auckland
127 Rutland Gate
London SW7 1PD 536 Sheridan Road
United Kingdom Wilmette, IL 60091
1the man who stays awake. Christ (Rev. 16:15)
Do not let Him find you sleeping. What I say to you,
I say to everyone: Watch! Christ (Mark 13:36)
Did you know that the Bible contains 16 time prophecies
concerning the year of the Second Advent? No wonder so
many scholars discovered the same date. Did you also know
that all those 16 prophecies point to the same year: 1844?
Baháís believe that the promise of the Second Advent has
already been fulfilled, precisely as predicted. Christ did re-
turn in 1844, like a thief, in a way that the News of His
coming did not draw much attention. And as the Book of
Revelation predicts, God gave Him a new name: Baháulláh,
meaning the Glory of God.
Obviously we expect you to be very skeptical, but we invite
you to stay spiritually awake, to watch, to pay close at-
tention, and to investigate this most glorious News. How can
you do this? Start your search by examining the evidence
presented in I Shall Come Again, the first of a six-volume
series on the fulfillment of biblical prophecies by Baháulláh,
2I Shall Come Again, written after three decades of research,
takes you step by step through 16 prophecies that point to
1844, and hundreds of other prophecies, concerning the re-
turn of Christ. It proves how these prophecies, without ex-
ception, were fulfilled by Baháulláh (the Glory of God) and
His martyred Herald, the Báb (the Gate), who appeared in
1844. I Shall Come Again is one of the most fascinating
books of our time. If you have faith in Gods promises and
a desire to know the truth, you will receive incomparable joy
and hope from reading it.
Imagine if the News of the Return of Jesus is true and you
choose not to investigate and not to know Him! Imagine
also if the News of His Return is true and your investiga-
tion leads you to recognize Him!
I shall come again and receive you to myself, so that
where I am you may be also. Christ (John 14:3)
He, verily, is come with His Kingdom, and all the atoms
cry aloud: Lo! The Lord is come in His great majesty!
Behold how He hath come down from the heaven of
His grace, girded with power and invested with sover-
eignty. Is there any doubt concerning His signs?
1634 Pages
1cerning the Central Figures of the Baháí Faiththe Báb,
Baháulláh, Abdul-Baháas well as Shoghi Effendi (the
2Guardian of the Baháí Faith), the Universal House of Justice
(the supreme administrative body in the Baháí Faith), the
Baháís (the followers of Baháulláh), the Baháí teachings,
and the Book of Baháí Laws (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas).
Lord of Lords presents six fulfillments for Daniels prophecy
of 1335, and shows their connection to the Baháí Faith. The
book also presents 86 similarities between Jesus and the
Báb, who is called One like a Son of Man.
Christian scholars often apply the statistical laws to the proph-
ecies of Hebrew Scriptures to prove the divine station of Jesus.
Lord of Lords applies the same laws to the prophecies of both
Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to prove the divine station
of the Báb and Baháulláh.
Lord of Lords shows that the probability of biblical prophe-
cies coming true in the Baháí Faith by chance alone is about
1 in 1080. The number 1080 is equal to the number of atoms
in the known universe! What does this evidence indicate? It
indicates that if anyone could pick a specific atom in the
universe by chance, he could then claim that the biblical
prophecies fulfilled in the Baháí Faith also happened by
chance! The proof presented in this volume is so compelling
it can convince even the most skeptic seeker!
…the desire of all nations shall come… Haggai 2:7
He who is the Desired One is come in His transcendent
majesty…Better is this for you than all ye possess.
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father.
Christ (Matt. 16:27)
I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and
am invested by God with invincible sovereignty.
3What do others say about:
I Shall Come Again, Lord of Lords,
King of Kings?
A scholarly work of meticulous research. Appealing to
reason and applying the scientific method to prophetic
scripture, it demonstrates that God has once again re-
vealed Himself to humankind and has provided hope for
1Division, International Monetary Fund,
I Am In Awe At The Extent Of Research You Have Under-
1Your work never fails to astound me. The effort and
breadth of your knowledge both of the Bible and other
2literature as well as the depth of your understanding of
Baháí Scripture is truly amazing. Also, a hallmark of
your work is your thoroughness. Anyone who believes in
biblical prophecy, and reads these volumes with an open
1Your work is the best Ive seen on biblical prophecies and
proofs of Baháulláhs Revelation. You offer so much
information in relatively few pages. Your many references
prove clearly the books central claim. Your language is
simple and exciting. You take the reader through a com-
plete spiritual and prophetic adventure. Your approach is
modest, yet dynamic. I pray it will excite all your readers
as it has excited me. Joe Killeen
Bible Scholar, with a Degree in
1Other Books by the Same Author
2Come Now, Let Us
1286 Pages
2This book is written in response to the objections raised by
a pastor against the Baháí Faith. It removes all the main
obstacles that prevent Christians from recognizing the return
of the Son in the glory of the Father, from acknowledging
the promised Redeemer of our timeBaháulláh, the Glory
of God. Once you start reading this book, you will find it
hard to put down.
1On Wings of Destiny is based on a dialogue between two
friends. Reading it is like joining a circle of friends and par-
ticipating in a fireside chat.
The prime purpose of the book is to inspire youand any-
one else who values his soul and spiritual lifeto recognize
that in this world you have an awesome responsibility: you
must choose your everlasting destiny. That choice has un-
imaginable consequences that will endure beyond death for
all eternity. Failing to make a choice is also a choice. This
book invites you to make every effort to discover Gods plan
for you and to follow that plan.
On Wings of Destiny shows that the only way you can attain
true joy and happiness in all the worlds of God is to cultivate
2If you value your soul and wish to choose your destiny in
the light of knowledge and freedom, take the time to listen
to this inspiring fireside chat to discover how the Baháí
teachings can help you attain contentment, fulfill your lifes
purpose, and discover your divine destiny: Heavens most
1112 Pages
2A Messenger of Joy is the most comforting and positive book
ever written on death and the afterlife. In consoling and up-
lifting the souls of the grieving, it sets a standard that is not
likely to be surpassed for a long time.
This book portrays death as a message of joy and hope, and
not as the news of sorrow and despair. It lifts the veil to show
that death is not the end of life, but the beginning of an
everlasting and most glorious journey toward God.
1Most people leave their destiny to chance. Whatever their
2our destiny is Gods most precious gift to us. Should we
throw this gift to the wind? Should we allow chance rather
than choice determine our destiny?
The Baháí Faith has come to give us spiritual insight and to
help us choose our destiny in the light of reason and true
knowledge, rather than in the darkness of tradition and con-
formity. The knowledge contained in Choosing Your Destiny
can liberate us from past prejudices and illusions and set our
souls free. It can help us become spiritual by developing the
divine image in our soul.
3One God, Many
1One God, Many Faiths; One Garden, Many Flowers shows
that in Gods garden there are many fragrant flowers, planted
and nourished by the same Gardener. The Baháí Faith has
come to help us recognize the beauty of the garden, the har-
mony of the flowers, and the oneness of the Gardener.
When we realize that we are all one people, on one planet,
under one God, with one common destiny, the walls of preju-
dice that divide Gods beautiful garden will crumble. Only true
knowledge and love can reveal this beauty and bring about
this wonder. The Baháí Faith is that knowledge and that love.
It penetrates the hearts and souls of humankind to dispel all
shadows of prejudice and separation. It connects our hearts and
reveals the beauty and splendor of our souls in the light of
oneness. One God, Many Faiths, One Garden, Many Flow-
2506 King of Kings
1It is absolutely essential to know why we believe in Jesus.
Where can we find the answer? Only in the Words of Jesus
Himself. The Glory of the Son offers a brief summary of all
the reasons Jesusnot His followersgave to substantiate His
claim. This is a book that every Christian should read. It will
also be of great value to those of the Jewish faith who have
a desire to know the evidence for their glorious King and
Redeemer: Jesus Christ.
1same standards to Baháulláh that The Glory of the Son
applies to Jesus Christ.
The book presents 35 standards by which the seeker of truth
can compare the Glory of Jesus with the Glory of Bahá. It
also contains a brief summary of some of the prophecies
about the advent of the Báb and Baháulláh as presented in
Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.
True seekers will find this book very convincing, because it
2One of God; Bábulláh, the Gate of God; and Baháulláh,
the Glory of God. It proves that they are identical Celestial
Roses, a Bouquet of beauty and fragrance sent as a gift from
1Be always on the watch! Luke 21:36
The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night. I Thess. 5:2
In the mid-19th century many Christian scholars had discovered
that, according to numerous biblical prophecies and promises,
Christ would return in 1844. Thousands of Christians around
the world expected His Return in that year. Why did so many
discover the same date? And what piece of the prophetic
puzzle did they miss? Let us explore this critical question.
Jesus declared that He would return like a thief. He also
repeatedly warned us to Watch! How does a thief come?
Secretly. A thief does not want to draw attention to himself.
This is his foremost concern. How can we catch a thief? By
being awake and watchful, by paying attention to his
coming. Jesus warning that He would return like a thief,
and His recommended strategy for recognizing Him by stay-
ing awake and by watching for Him, are complementary:
The warning: I shall come like a thief!
The way to recognize me: Watch, pay close attention!
Do not be complacent!
What, then, did Jesus mean by warning us repeatedly and
emphatically to Watch!? He meant: Pay close attention to
the news of My coming!
How did Jesus come the first time? Like a thief. He walked
among the Jews. He knew every one of them, but with a few
2supreme glory from the strangers, from all those who were
unworthy of seeing the Spirit of God in Him (John 12:40),
from all those who may look and look but see nothing
(Mark 10:12). Only the spiritually-sighted paid close attention
to Him, only they watched with their hearts and souls, and
only they saw the glory of God in Him. Jesus did not allow
the spiritually blind to witness His divine glory.
By the vivid expression like a thief Jesus instructs us to
expect a repetition of the way He came the first time. He
further confirms this fact by predicting that people will re-
spond to the News of His coming the same way that they
responded to the News of the coming of Noah. They will
be complacent, non-attentive, negligent, and spiritually asleep!
What piece of the prophetic puzzle did Christians (who
expected the Return of Christ in 1844) miss? The same piece
that the Jews had missed 18 centuries earlier and are still miss-
ing! That piece is the word SPIRIT:
The missing piece for Jews:
He will come as a king means: His Spirit
will come as a king.
1Be always on the watch! Luke 21:36
The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night. I Thess. 5:2
In the mid-19th century many Christian scholars had discovered
that, according to numerous biblical prophecies and promises,
Christ would return in 1844. Thousands of Christians around
the world expected His Return in that year. Why did so many
discover the same date? And what piece of the prophetic
puzzle did they miss? Let us explore this critical question.
Jesus declared that He would return like a thief. He also
repeatedly warned us to Watch! How does a thief come?
Secretly. A thief does not want to draw attention to himself.
This is his foremost concern. How can we catch a thief? By
being awake and watchful, by paying attention to his
coming. Jesus warning that He would return like a thief,
and His recommended strategy for recognizing Him by stay-
ing awake and by watching for Him, are complementary:
The warning: I shall come like a thief!
The way to recognize me: Watch, pay close attention!
Do not be complacent!
What, then, did Jesus mean by warning us repeatedly and
emphatically to Watch!? He meant: Pay close attention to
the news of My coming!
How did Jesus come the first time? Like a thief. He walked
among the Jews. He knew every one of them, but with a few
2supreme glory from the strangers, from all those who were
unworthy of seeing the Spirit of God in Him (John 12:40),
from all those who may look and look but see nothing
(Mark 10:12). Only the spiritually-sighted paid close attention
to Him, only they watched with their hearts and souls, and
only they saw the glory of God in Him. Jesus did not allow
the spiritually blind to witness His divine glory.
By the vivid expression like a thief Jesus instructs us to
expect a repetition of the way He came the first time. He
further confirms this fact by predicting that people will re-
spond to the News of His coming the same way that they
responded to the News of the coming of Noah. They will
be complacent, non-attentive, negligent, and spiritually asleep!
What piece of the prophetic puzzle did Christians (who
expected the Return of Christ in 1844) miss? The same piece
that the Jews had missed 18 centuries earlier and are still miss-
ing! That piece is the word SPIRIT:
The missing piece for Jews:
He will come as a king means: His Spirit
will come as a king.
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