XIII. 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....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 17
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 righteous... This is the day
whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out
and shouteth, and celebrateth the praise
of its Lord, the All-Possessing,
the Most High, saying: `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....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation
of Baha'u'llah, p. 84
God testifieth that there is none
other God but Him and that He Who hath
appeared is the
Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, the Most Great Book
for all peoples, and the Heaven of
bounty for the whole world. He is the Most
Mighty Sign amongst men and the Dayspring
of the most august attributes in
the realm of creation. Through Him
hath appeared that which had been hidden
from time immemorial
and been veiled from the eyes of men. He is
the One
Whose Manifestation was announced
by the heavenly Scriptures, in former
times and more recently. Whoso acknowledgeth
belief in Him and in His signs
and testimonies hath in truth acknowledged
that which the Tongue of Grandeur
uttered ere the creation of earth
and heaven and the revelation of the Kingdom
of Names. Through Him the ocean of
knowledge hath surged amidst mankind
and the river of divine wisdom hath
gushed out at the behest of God, the Lord
of Days.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Baha'u'llah, p. 47
Arise, and proclaim unto the entire
creation the tidings that He Who is
the All-Merciful hath directed His
steps towards the Ridván and entered
it. Guide, then, the people unto
the garden of delight which God hath
made the Throne of His Paradise.
We have chosen thee to be our most
mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to
signalize the resurrection of all
mankind.
Say: This is the Paradise on whose
foliage the wine of utterance hath
imprinted the testimony: "He
that was hidden from the eyes of men is
revealed,
girded with sovereignty and power!" This is the Paradise, the
rustling of whose leaves proclaims:
"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." From the whispering
breeze that wafteth amidst its branches
there cometh the cry: "He Who is
the sovereign Lord of all is made
manifest. The Kingdom is God's,"
while from its streaming waters can be
heard the murmur: "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."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 31-32
O My servants! Through the might of
God and His power, and out of the
treasury of His knowledge and wisdom,
I have brought forth and revealed
unto you the pearls that lay concealed
in the depths of His everlasting
ocean. I have
summoned the Maids of Heaven to emerge from behind the veil
of concealment,
and have clothed them with these words of Mine--words of
consummate power and wisdom. I have,
moreover, with the hand of divine
power, unsealed the choice wine of
My Revelation, and have wafted its holy,
its hidden, and musk-laden fragrance
upon all created things. Who else but
yourselves is to be blamed if ye
choose to remain unendowed with so great
an outpouring of God's transcendent
and all-encompassing grace, with so
bright a revelation of His resplendent
mercy?...
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 327
Likewise, in the Hidden Words, He
states:
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.
`Abdu'l-Bahá, in His commentary
on the above-cited tradition, wrote:
O wayfarer in the path of the
Beloved! Know thou that the main purpose of
this
holy tradition is to make mention of the stages of God's concealment
and manifestation
within the Embodiments of Truth, They who are the
Dawning-places
of His All-Glorious Being. For example, before
the flame of
the undying
Fire is lit and manifest, it existeth by itself within itself
in the
hidden identity of the universal Manifestations, and this is the
stage
of the "Hidden Treasure". And when the blessed Tree is kindled by
itself within itself, and that
Divine Fire burneth by its essence within
its essence, this is the stage
of "I wished to be made known". And when it
shineth forth from the Horizon
of the universe with infinite Divine Names
and Attributes upon the contingent
and placeless worlds, this constituteth
the emergence of a new and
wondrous creation which correspondeth to the
stage of "Thus I called creation
into being". And when the sanctified souls
rend asunder the veils of all
earthly attachments and worldly conditions,
and hasten to the stage of
gazing on the beauty of the Divine Presence and
are honoured by recognizing
the Manifestation and are able to witness the
splendour of God's Most Great
Sign in their hearts, then will the purpose of
creation, which is the knowledge
of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, become
manifest.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 174
Say: God hath made My hidden love
the key to the Treasure; would that ye
might perceive it! But for the key,
the Treasure would to all eternity have
remained concealed;
would that ye might believe it! Say: This is the Source
of Revelation, the Dawning-place
of Splendour, Whose brightness hath
illumined the horizons of the world.
Would that ye might understand! This
is, verily, that fixed Decree through
which every irrevocable decree hath
been established.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The
Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 24
Call out to
Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was
hidden from
mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest;
His all-encompassing splendour is
revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or
halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate
the City of God that hath descended
from heaven, the celestial Kaaba
round which have circled in adoration the
favoured of God, the pure in heart,
and the company of the most exalted
angels. Oh, how I long to announce
unto every spot on the surface of the
earth, and to carry to each one of
its cities, the glad-tidings of this
Revelation--a Revelation to which
the heart of Sinai hath been attracted,
and in whose name the Burning Bush
is calling: "Unto God, the Lord of
Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth
and heaven." Verily this is the Day in
which both land and sea rejoice at
this announcement, the Day for which
have been laid up those things which
God, through a bounty beyond the ken
of mortal mind or heart, hath destined
for revelation. Ere long will God
sail His Ark upon thee, and will
manifest the people of Bahá who have been
mentioned in the Book of Names.'
Sanctified be the Lord of all mankind,
at the mention of Whose name all the
atoms of the earth have been made
to vibrate, and the Tongue of Grandeur
hath been moved to disclose that
which had been wrapt in His knowledge and
lay concealed
within the treasury of His might. He, verily, through the potency
of His name, the Mighty, the All-Powerful,
the Most High, is the ruler of all that
is in the heavens and all that is
on earth.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets
of Baha'u'llah, p. 4