Bahá'u'lláh and the New EraEsslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Religion
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Esslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Bahai Faith; Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892
At other times, as we have mentioned, Bahá’u’lláh speaks “from the station
of Deity.” In these utterances His human personality is so completely
subservient that it is left out of account altogether. Through Him God
addresses His creatures, proclaiming His love for them, teaching them His
attributes, making known His will, announcing His laws for their guidance
and pleading for their love, their allegiance and service.
In the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the utterance frequently changes from one
of these forms to another. Sometimes it is evidently the man who is
discoursing, then without a break the writing continues as if God were
speaking in the first person. Even when speaking as a man, however,
Bahá’u’lláh speaks as God’s messenger, as a living example of entire
devotion to God’s will. His whole life is actuated by the Holy Spirit.
Hence no hard and fast line can be drawn between the human and divine
elements in His life or teachings. God tells Him:—
Say: “Naught is seen in my temple but the Temple of God, and in my
beauty but His Beauty, and in my being but His Being, and in
myself but Himself, and in my movement but His Movement, and in my
acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in my pen but His Pen, the
Precious, the Extolled.”
Say: “There hath not been in my soul but the Truth, and in myself
naught could be seen but God.”—Súratu’l-Haykal.
His Mission
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity—Unity of all
mankind in and through God. He says:—“Of the Tree of Knowledge the
All-glorious fruit is this exalted word: Of one Tree are all ye the fruits
and of one Bough the leaves. Let not man glory in this that he loves his
country, but let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.”
Previous Prophets have heralded an age of peace on earth, goodwill among
men, and have given Their lives to hasten its advent, but each and all of
Them have plainly declared that this blessed consummation would be reached
only after the “Coming of the Lord” in the latter days, when the wicked
would be judged and righteous rewarded.
Zoroaster foretold three thousand years of conflict before the advent of
_Sh_áh Bahrám, the world-savior, Who would overcome Ahrmán the spirit of
evil, and establish a reign of righteousness and peace.
Moses foretold a long period of exile, persecution and oppression for the
children of Israel, before the Lord of Hosts would appear to gather them
from all the nations, to destroy the oppressors and establish His Kingdom
upon earth.
Christ said: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not
to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. x, 34), and He predicted a period of
wars and rumors of wars, of tribulations and afflictions that would
continue till the coming of the Son of Man “in the glory of the Father.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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