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Chapter 25
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Eternity, as relates to the Prophets (both Independent and Dependent/Lesser Prophets).
1)
Apostles, the Lamps of eternity within the Niche of His [God's] oneness:
Know then that it behoveth thine eminence to ponder from the outset
these questions in thy heart: What hath prompted the divers peoples and
kindreds of the earth to reject the Apostles whom God hath sent unto
them in His might and power, whom He hath raised up to exalt His Cause
and ordained to be the Lamps of eternity within the Niche of His
oneness? For what reason have the people turned aside from them,
disputed about them, risen against and contended with them? On what
grounds have they refused to acknowledge their apostleship and
authority, nay, denied their truth and reviled their persons, even
slaying or banishing them?
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 4
2)
The King of Eternity, Bahá'u'lláh, an Independent Prophet.
And again in another connection: "Revile ye not one another. We,
verily, have come to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth.
Unto this beareth witness what the ocean of Mine utterance hath
revealed amongst men, and yet most of the people have gone astray. If
anyone revile you, or trouble touch you, in the path of God, be
patient, and put your trust in Him Who heareth, Who seeth. He, in
truth, witnesseth, and perceiveth, and doeth what He pleaseth, through
the power of His sovereignty. He, verily, is the Lord of strength, and
of might. In the Book of God, the Mighty, the Great, ye have been
forbidden to engage in contention and conflict. Lay fast hold on
whatever will profit you, and profit the peoples of the world. Thus
commandeth you the King of Eternity, Who is manifest in His Most Great
Name. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise."
-- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 23
3)
The Dove Eternity, Bahá'u'lláh, an Independent Prophet.
"O King! Wert thou to incline thine ears unto the shrill voice of the
Pen of Glory and the cooing of the Dove of Eternity, which on the
branches of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, uttereth
praises to God, the Maker of all Names and the Creator of earth and
heaven, thou wouldst attain unto a station from which thou wouldst
behold in the world of being naught save the effulgence of the Adored
One, and wouldst regard thy sovereignty as the most contemptible of thy
possessions, abandoning it to whosoever might desire it, and setting
thy face toward the Horizon aglow with the light of His countenance.
Neither wouldst thou ever be willing to bear the burden of dominion
save for the purpose of helping thy Lord, the Exalted, the Most High.
Then would the Concourse on high bless thee. O how excellent is this
most sublime station, couldst thou ascend thereunto through the power
of a sovereignty recognized as derived from the Name of God!"
-- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 40
4)
"Kingdom of eternity": the Kingdom of immortality attained through recognition of the Manifestation of God, Baha'u'llah.
It is recorded in all the Books of the Gospel that He Who is the Spirit
[Jesus] spoke in words of pure light unto His disciples, saying: "Know
that heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass
away." As is clear and evident to thine eminence, these words outwardly
mean that the Books of the Gospel will remain in the hands of people
till the end of the world, that their laws shall not be abrogated, that
their testimony shall not be abolished, and that all that hath been
enjoined, prescribed, or ordained therein shall endure forever.
23
O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy
sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of
Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the
Kingdom of eternity, and perchance apprehend the inner meaning of these
utterances and their hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to
interpret these words according to their outward meaning, thou couldst
never prove the truth of the Cause of Him Who came after Jesus, nor
silence the opponents, nor prevail over the contending disbelievers.
For the Christian divines use this verse to prove that the Gospel shall
never be abrogated and that, even if all the signs recorded in their
Books were fulfilled and the Promised One appeared, He would have no
recourse but to rule the people according to the ordinances of the
Gospel. They contend that if He were to manifest all the signs
indicated in the Books, but decree aught besides that which Jesus had
decreed, they would neither acknowledge nor follow Him, so clear and
self-evident is this matter in their sight.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 17
5)
Muhammad, an Independent Prophet
(and Baha'u'llah), appeared from "the treasure-houses of eternity".
So did, Imam Ali, the first Dependent Prophet in the era of Muhammad.
Know then that, inasmuch as all the Prophets are but one and the same
soul, spirit, name, and attribute, thou must likewise see them all as
bearing the name Muhammad and as being the son of Hasan, as having
appeared from the Jabulqa of God's power and from the Jabulsa of His
mercy. For by Jabulqa is meant none other than the treasure-houses of
eternity in the all-highest heaven and the cities of the unseen in the
supernal realm. We bear witness that Muhammad the son of Hasan was
indeed in Jabulqa and appeared therefrom. Likewise, He Whom God shall
make manifest abideth in that city until such time as God will have
established Him upon the seat of His sovereignty. We, verily,
acknowledge this truth and bear allegiance unto each and every one of
them. We have chosen here to be brief in our elucidation of the
meanings of Jabulqa, but if thou be of them that truly believe, thou
shalt indeed comprehend all the true meanings of the mysteries
enshrined within these Tablets.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 36
I am the First and the Last! I am the External and Manifest and I am
the Internal and Hidden! I am with the Cycle (kawr) before the Cycle
began! I am the Companion of the Dispensation (dawr) before the
Dispensation started! I was with the Pen before the Pen and I am with
the Tablet prior to the Tablet being revealed! I am the Lord of the
First Pre-existence! I am the Lord of Jabulqa and of Jabulsa! I am the
Master of Highest Stage (rafraf) and of Bahram! I am the One Who
organised existence when there was no heaven as you have them now nor
earth as you know it now!
-- Imam Ali, The Sermon of the Twin Gulfs. A provisional translation by K. Fananapazir.
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/imamali_khutbih_tutunjiyyih
6)
Bahá'u'lláh, the Tongue of
Eternity, foretells the appearance of His Dependent Prophet: "I am the
Maid of Heaven, the Offspring begotten by the Spirit of Baha. My
habitation is the Mansion of His Name, the All-Glorious."
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 Baha. My
habitation is the Mansion of His Name, the All-Glorious. Before the
Concourse on high I was adorned with the ornament of His names. I was
wrapt within the veil of an inviolable security, and lay hidden from
the eyes of men. Methinks that I heard a Voice of divine and
incomparable sweetness, proceeding from the right hand of the God of
Mercy, and lo, the whole Paradise stirred and trembled before Me, in
its longing to hear its accents, and gaze on the beauty of Him that
uttered them. Thus have We revealed in this luminous Tablet, and in the
sweetest of languages, the verses which the Tongue of Eternity was
moved to utter in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 284
7)
Baha'u'llah, the Independent
Prophet, summons his/her Dependent Prophet (referred to using the
symbolic term, "handmaiden") to appear on earth, as indicated in
passage #6 above. More references on the feminine symbolic terms used
to refer to the Prophets (both Independent and Dependent/Lesser
Prophets) in the Day of God available at the following link.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon she [the Maid of Heaven, Baha'u'llah] summoned unto herself one maiden from her handmaidens,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And commanded her: "Descend into space from the mansions of eternity,
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Compilation, Bahá'í Prayers, Tablet of the Holy Mariner.
8)
Some additional references on eternity:
Arise thou to serve the Cause and say: I swear by the righteousness of
God! Verily this is the Primal Point, arrayed in His new attire and
manifested in His glorious Name. He at present beholdeth everything
from this Horizon. Indeed He is supreme over all things. Amongst the
Concourse on High He is known as the Most Great Announcement and in the
Realms of Eternity as the Ancient Beauty, and before the Throne by this
Name which hath caused the footsteps of them that are endued with
understanding to slip.
Say, I swear by God! In this Revelation even before a single verse was
sent down from the realm of holiness and sublimity, the supreme
testimony of God had been fulfilled for all the inmates of heaven and
the dwellers on earth; moreover, We have revealed the equivalent of
whatsoever was sent down in the Dispensation of the Bayán. Fear ye God
and suffer not your deeds to be rendered vain and be not of them that
are sunk in heedlessness. Open your eyes that ye may behold the Ancient
Beauty from this shining and luminous station.
Say, God is my witness! The Promised One Himself hath come down from
heaven, seated upon the crimson cloud with the hosts of revelation on
His right, and the angels of inspiration on His left, and the Decree
hath been fulfilled at the behest of God, the Omnipotent, the Almighty.
Thereupon the footsteps of everyone have slipped except such as God
hath protected through His tender mercy and numbered with those who
have recognized Him through His Own Self and detached themselves from
all that pertaineth to the world.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 182-183
This is a Tablet sent down by the Lord of mercy that the people of the
world may be enabled to draw nigh unto this Ocean which hath surged
through the potency of His august Name. Amongst men there are those who
have turned away from Him and gainsaid His testimony, while others have
quaffed the wine of assurance in the glory of His Name which pervadeth
all created things. A grievous loss hath indeed been suffered by those
that have inclined their ears to the croaking of the raven, and refused
to hearken unto the sweet warblings of the Bird of Heaven singing upon
the twigs of the Tree of eternity: Verily there is none other God but
Me, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. This is the Day that hath been
illumined by the splendours of the light of Our countenance--the Day
around which all days and nights circle in adoration. Blessed is the
man of 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.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 261
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