Consider the past. How many, both
high and low, have, at all times,
yearningly awaited the advent of
the Manifestations of God in the
sanctified persons of His chosen
Ones. How often have they expected His
coming, how frequently have they
prayed that the breeze of divine mercy
might blow, and the promised Beauty
step forth from behind the veil of
concealment,
and be made manifest to all the world. And whensoever the
portals of grace did open, and the
clouds of divine bounty did rain upon
mankind, and the light of the Unseen
did shine above the horizon of
celestial might, they all denied
Him, and turned away from His face -- the
face of God Himself. Refer ye, to
verify this truth, to that which hath
been recorded in every sacred Book.
--Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan,
p. 4
And he shall send his angels with
a great sound of a trumpet."[1] Rendered
into the Persian tongue,[2] the purport
of these words is as follows: When
the oppression and afflictions that
are to befall mankind will have come to
pass, then shall the sun be withheld
from shining, the moon from giving
light, the stars of heaven shall
fall upon the earth, and the pillars of
the earth shall quake. At that time,
the signs of the Son of man shall
appear in heaven, that is, the
promised Beauty and Substance of life shall,
when these
signs have appeared, step forth out of the realm of the
invisible into
the visible world. And He saith: at that time, all the
peoples and kindreds that dwell on
earth shall bewail and lament, and they
shall see that divine Beauty coming
from heaven, riding upon the clouds
with power, grandeur, and magnificence,
sending His angels with a great
sound of a trumpet. Similarly, in
the three other Gospels, according to
Luke, Mark, and John, the same statements
are recorded. As We have referred
at length to these in Our Tablets
revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have
made no mention of them in these
pages, and have confined Ourselves to but
one reference.
--Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan,
p. 25
O thou honoured enquirer! [1] We bear
witness that thou didst firmly adhere
unto seemly patience during the days
when the Pen was held back from
movement and the Tongue hesitated
to set forth an explanation regarding the
wondrous sign, the Most Great Infallibility.
Thou hast asked this Wronged
One to remove for thee its veils
and coverings, to elucidate its mystery
and character, its state and position,
its excellence, sublimity and
exaltation. By the life of God! Were
We to unveil the pearls of testimony
which lie hid within the shells of
the ocean of knowledge and assurance or
to let the beauties of divine mystery
which are hidden within the chambers
of utterance in the Paradise of true
understanding, step out of their
habitation,
then from every direction violent commotion would arise among
the leaders of religion and thou
wouldst witness the people of God held
fast in the teeth of such wolves
as have denied God both in the beginning
and in the end. Therefore We restrained
the Pen for a considerable lapse of
time in accordance with divine wisdom
and for the sake of protecting the
faithful from those who have bartered
away heavenly blessings for disbelief
and have chosen for their people
the abode of perdition.
--Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 106
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 Immortality, 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. Unveil Thy face, and manifest
the beauty of the black-eyed Damsel,
and suffer not the servants of God
to be deprived of the light of Thy
shining countenance. Grieve not if
Thou hearest the sighs of the dwellers
of the earth, or the voice of the
lamentation of the denizens of heaven.
Leave them to perish on the dust
of extinction. Let them be reduced to
nothingness, inasmuch as the flame
of hatred hath been kindled within their
breasts. Intone, then, before the
face of the peoples of earth and heaven,
and in a most melodious voice, the
anthem of praise, for a remembrance of
Him Who is the King of the names
and attributes of God. Thus have We
decreed Thy destiny. Well able are
We to achieve Our purpose.
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 282