References to apostles from the writings of Abdu'l-Baha
Consider! The station and the confirmation
of the apostles in the time of
Christ was not known, and no one
looked on them with the feeling of
importance -- nay, rather, they persecuted
and ridiculed them. Later on it
became evident what crowns studded
with the brilliant jewels of guidance
were placed on the heads of the apostles,
Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of John.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of
the Divine Plan, p. 39
Emmanuel was indeed the Herald of
the Second Coming of Christ, and a
Summoner to the pathway of the Kingdom.
It is evident that the Letter is
a member of the Word, and this membership
in the Word signifieth that the
Letter is dependent for its value
on the Word, that is, it deriveth its
grace from the Word; it has a spiritual
kinship with the Word, and is
accounted an integral part of the
Word. The Apostles were even as Letters,
and Christ
was the essence of the Word Itself; and the meaning of the Word,
which is grace
everlasting, cast a splendour on those Letters. Again, since
the Letter
is a member of the Word, it therefore, in its inner meaning, is
consonant with
the Word.
-- Selections from the Writings of
Abdu'l-Baha, p. 60
Significance of Twelve
Thou didst ask as to the tenth to
the seventeenth verses of the twenty-first
chapter of Saint John the Divine's
Revelation. Know thou that according to
mathematical principles, the firmament
of this earth's brilliant day-star
hath been divided among twelve constellations,
which they call the twelve
zodiacal signs. In the same way,
the Sun of Truth shineth out from and
sheddeth its bounties through twelve
stations of holiness, and by these
heavenly signs are meant those stainless
and unsullied personages who are
the very well-springs of sanctity,
and the dawning-points proclaiming the
oneness of God.
Consider how in the days of the Interlocutor
(Moses), there were twelve holy
beings who were leaders of the twelve
tribes; and likewise in the
dispensation of the Spirit (Christ),
note that there were twelve Apostles
gathered within the sheltering shade
of that supernal Light, and from those
splendid dawning-points the Sun of
Truth shone forth even as the sun in the
sky. Again, in the days of Muhammad,
observe that there were twelve
dawning-points of holiness, the manifestors
of God's confirming help. Such
is the way of it.
Accordingly did Saint John the Divine
tell of twelve gates in his vision, and
twelve foundations. By `that great
city, the holy Jerusalem, descending
out of heaven from God' is meant
the holy Law of God, and this is set forth
in many Tablets and still to be read
in the Scriptures of the Prophets of
the past: for instance, that Jerusalem
was seen going out into the
wilderness.
The meaning of the passage is that
this heavenly Jerusalem hath twelve gates,
through which the blessed enter into
the City of God. These gates are souls
who are as guiding stars, as portals
of knowledge and grace; and within
these gates there stand twelve angels.
By `angel' is meant the power of the
confirmations of God--that the candle
of God's confirming power shineth out
from the lamp-niche of those souls--meaning
that every one of those beings
will be granted the most vehement
confirming support.
These twelve gates surround the entire
world, that is they are a shelter for
all creatures. And further, these
twelve gates are the foundation of the
City of God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and on each one of these foundations is
written the name of one of the Apostles
of Christ. That is to say, each one
maketh manifest the perfections,
the joyous message, and the excellency of
that holy Being.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections
from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 165
From the Bible
1:1 The former treatise have I made,
O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach,
1:2 Until the day in which he was
taken up, after that he through the Holy
Ghost
had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
1:3 To whom also he shewed himself
alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs, being seen
of them forty days, and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom
of God:
1:4 And, being assembled together
with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the
Father, which, saith he, ye
have heard of me.
-- Bible: Acts.
6:13 And when it was day, he called
unto him his disciples: and of them he
chose
twelve, whom also he named apostles;
6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,)
and Andrew his brother, James and
John, Philip and Bartholomew,
6:15 Matthew and Thomas, James the
son of Alphaeus, and Simon called
Zelotes,
6:16 And Judas the brother of James,
and Judas Iscariot, which also was
the traitor.
6:17 And he came down with them, and
stood in the plain, and the company
of his disciples, and a great
multitude of people out of all Judaea
and Jerusalem, and from the
sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came
to hear him, and to be healed
of their diseases;
-- Bible: Luke,
16:18 And I
say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it.
16:19 And I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
-- Bible: Matthew,
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ.
2:14 For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between
us;
2:15 Having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for
to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making peace;
2:16 And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:
2:17 And came and preached peace to
you which were afar off, and to them
that were nigh.
2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
2:19 Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but
fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household of God;
2:20 And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ
himself being the chief corner stone;
-- Bible: Ephesians
1:1 Paul called to be an apostle
of Jesus Christ through the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
1:2 Unto the church of God which is
at Corinth, to them that are sanctified
in Christ Jesus, called to
be saints, with all that in every place call
upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord, both their's and our's:
1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ.
1:4 I thank my God always on your
behalf, for the grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ;
1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched
by him, in all utterance, and in
all knowledge;
1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ
was confirmed in you:
-- Bible: 1 Corinthians.
The Day of God
-- the era of the Glory of God (Baha'u'llah) is
foretold the
Bible by Peter
3:1 This second epistle, beloved,
I now write unto you; in both which I
stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance:
3:2 That ye may be mindful of the
words which were spoken before by the
holy prophets, and of the commandment
of us the apostles of the Lord
and Saviour:
3:3 Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts,
3:4 And saying, Where is the promise
of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning of the
creation.
3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the heavens
were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the water:
3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
3:7 But the heavens and the earth,
which are now, by the same word are kept
in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men.
3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, that one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and
a thousand years as one day.
3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness;
but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance.
3:10 But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night; in the which the
heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the
earth also and the works that are therein shall
be burned up.
3:11 Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy
conversation and godliness,
3:12 Looking for and hasting unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the
heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat?
3:13 Nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.
-- Bible: Peter
References to apostles from the Quran
4:136 O ye who believe! Believe in
God and His Apostle, and the scripture
which He hath sent to His Apostle
and the scripture which He sent to
those before (him). Any who
denieth God, His angels, His Books, His
Apostles,
and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.
-- Qur'an: 4 - AN-NISA.
5:13 God did aforetime take a covenant
from the Children of Israel, and
we appointed
twelve captains among them. And God said: "I am with
you: if ye (but) establish
regular prayers, practise regular charity,
believe in my apostles,
honour and assist them, and loan to God a
beautiful loan, verily I will
wipe
out from you your evils, and admit
you to gardens with rivers
flowing beneath; but if any of you, after
this, resisteth faith, he hath
truly wandered from the path or
rectitude."
-- Qur'an: 5 - AL-MA'IDAH
2:87 We gave Moses the Book and followed
him up with a succession of
apostles;
We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and
strengthened him with the holy
spirit. Is it that whenever there comes
to you an apostle with what
ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up
with pride?- Some ye called
impostors, and others ye slay!
-- Qur'an: 2 - AL-BAQARAH,
14:8 And Moses said: "If ye show ingratitude,
ye and all on earth
together, yet is God free of
all wants, worthy of all praise.
14:9 Has not the story reached you,
(O people!), of those who (went)
before you? - of the people
of Noah, and 'Ad, and Thámúd? - And of
those who (came) after them?
None knows them but God. To them came
apostles
with Clear (Signs); but they put their hands up to their
mouths, and said: "We do deny
(the mission) on which ye have been
sent, and we are really in
suspicious (disquieting) doubt as to that
to which ye invite us."
14:10 Their apostles
said: "Is there a doubt about God, The Creator of the
heavens and the earth? It is
He Who invites you, in order that He may
forgive you your sins and give
you respite for a term appointed!"
They said: "Ah! ye are no more
than human, like ourselves! Ye wish to
turn us away from the (gods)
our fathers used to worship: then bring
us some clear authority."
14:11 Their apostles
said to them: "True, we are human like yourselves, but
God doth grant His grace to
such of his servants as He pleases. It is
not for us to bring you an
authority except as God permits. And on
God let all men of faith put
their trust.
14:12 "No reason have we why we should
not put our trust on God. Indeed He
Has guided us to the Ways we
(follow). We shall certainly bear with
patience all the hurt you may
cause us. For those who put their trust
should put their trust on God."
14:13 And the Unbelievers said to
their apostles: "Be sure we shall drive
you out of our land, or ye
shall return to our religion." But their
Lord inspired (this Message)
to them: "Verily We shall cause the
wrong-doers to perish!
-- Qur'an: 14 - IBRAHIM.
26:16 "So go forth, both of you, to
Pharaoh, and say: 'We have been sent by
the Lord and Cherisher of the
worlds;
26:17 "'Send thou with us the Children of Israel.'"
26:18 (Pharaoh) said: "Did we not
cherish thee as a child among us, and
didst thou not stay in our
midst many years of thy life?
26:19 "And thou didst a deed of thine
which (thou knowest) thou didst, and
thou art an ungrateful (wretch)!"
26:20 Moses said: "I did it then, when I was in error.
26:21 "So I fled from you (all) when
I feared you; but my Lord has (since)
invested me with judgment (and
wisdom) and appointed me as one of the
apostles.
-- Qur'an: 26 - ASH-SHU`ARAA',