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Chapter 72
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The throne of Prophethood (both Independent and Dependent/Lesser Prophethood), the throne of the sovereignty of God.
1)
All Prophets (both Independent Prophets and Dependent Prophets) are seated on the same throne.
It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples
of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If
thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all
abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon
the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same
Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of being, those Luminaries
of infinite and immeasurable splendour. Wherefore, should one of these
Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I am the return of all the
Prophets," He verily speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every
subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact,
the truth of which is firmly established. Inasmuch as the return of the
Prophets of God, as attested by verses and traditions, hath been
conclusively demonstrated, the return of their chosen ones also is
therefore definitely proven. This return is too manifest in itself to
require any evidence or proof.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 153
2)
Bahá'u'lláh (an Independent Prophet) rules on the same throne as David (a Dependent Prophet in the era of Moses):
The Most Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty ruleth upon the throne of David. Thus hath My Pen spoken that which the histories of
bygone ages have related.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 89
3)
Jesus (an Independent Prophet) ruled on the throne of David (a Dependent Prophet in the era of Moses).
The obstacle which prevents the so-called religious man from accepting the teachings of God is literal interpretation.
Moses announced the coming of Christ. The Israelites were awaiting him
with the greatest impatience and anxiety, but when he came they called
him Beelzebub. "The conditions laid down in the Bible for the coming of
the expected one were not fulfilled," they said. They did not
understand that the conditions were symbolical.
For instance, it is written -- "He will come from an unknown
place."
Jesus came from Nazareth. "How can this be the Messiah?" they reasoned.
"It is written -- he will carry an iron scepter, that is to say, his
shepherd's staff will be a sword. This man has no sword. It was
prophesised -- he will be seated on the throne of David; behold this
man has not so much as a mat whereon to sit. He was to spread the law
of Moses; this man, on the contrary, seeks to destroy it. How can
he be the promulgator of God's law?" they scornfully laughed.
It was prophesised that the east and west would be united under the
Jewish law; the animals would be at peace one with another; that the
wolf would no longer devour the sheep. They did not see these
conditions fulfilled. Roman tyranny enveloped the world and they
crucified the Christ.
The Jews were blind to reality. The real Christ came from the city of
light in the eternal realms Christ is a king. His shepherd's staff,
that is, his tongue, was a sword dividing the true from the false. The
throne of David is not a material throne but an eternal kingdom. Christ
re-established this kingdom; it has been forgotten. Christ conquered
the east and the west. This means a spiritual victory, not a material
one.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 35
4)
Bahá'u'lláh (an Independent Prophet) "hath mounted the throne of Revelation".
Say, this is the Day when the Speaker on Sinai hath mounted the throne
of Revelation and the people have stood before the Lord of the worlds.
This is the Day wherein the earth hath told out her tidings and hath
laid bare her treasures; when the oceans have brought forth their
pearls and the divine Lote-Tree its fruit; when the Sun hath shed its
radiance and the Moons have diffused their lights, and the Heavens have
revealed their stars, and the Hour its signs, and the Resurrection its
dreadful majesty;
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 107
5)
Jesus (an Independent Prophet), is seated on an eternal and heavenly throne.
Hearken, and I will show you the meaning thereof. Although He came from
Nazareth, which was a known place, He also came from Heaven. His body
was born of Mary, but His Spirit came from Heaven. The sword He carried
was the sword of His tongue, with which He divided the good from the
evil, the true from the false, the faithful from the unfaithful, and
the light from the darkness. His Word was indeed a sharp sword! The
Throne upon which He sat is the Eternal Throne from which Christ reigns
for ever, a heavenly throne, not an earthly one, for the things of
earth pass away but heavenly things pass not away. He re-interpreted
and completed the Law of Moses and fulfilled the Law of the Prophets.
His word conquered the East and the West. His Kingdom is everlasting.
He exalted those Jews who recognized Him. They were men and women of
humble birth, but contact with Him made them great and gave them
everlasting dignity. The animals who were to live with one another
signified the different sects and races, who, once having been at war,
were now to dwell in love and charity, drinking together the water of
life from Christ the Eternal Spring.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 56
6)
The Holy Imams (Dependent Prophets of Muhammad) whose "royal
throne is the seat of hearts". "They are sovereigns of the realm of the placeless", a "glorious station" and a "pre-existent grandeur".
As for the station of the Imams
and of the near ones at the threshold of grandeur, it is that of
spiritual honor and glory. Their right is to the authority of the
All-Merciful, and their crown of glory is the dust of the divine path.
Their gleaming scepter is the lights of the bounty of God. Their royal
throne is the seat of hearts, and their exalted and great crown is in
the kingdom of God. They are the monarchs of the world of spirit and
heart, not that of water and clay. They are sovereigns of the realm of
the placeless, not of the graveyards of the contingent world. No one
can usurp or plunder this glorious station or this pre-existent
grandeur.
--`Abdu'l-Bahá's "Treatise on Leadership" (a provisional translation)
7)
Imam Husayn, the third Dependent Prophet in the era of Muhammad is, "the Sovereign of the Visible and Invisible".
O denizens of the city of names and O countenances residing in the
chambers of the all-highest paradise! O companions of faithfulness in
the kingdom of eternity! Change ye your glad white and red garments
unto black clothes of mourning, for the supreme calamity and the
greatest loss hath come to pass, because of which, the Messenger of God
hath wailed and lamented and the heart of Fátimih hath melted.
Thereupon, the dwellers of the Abhá Tabernacle and those sailing upon
the Crimson Ark, seated upon seats of love and loyalty, wept with a
great weeping.
Ah! Ah! How I lament My sorrows caused by an injustice that hath set
afire the realities of all beings; how I grieve over that which hath
befallen the Sovereign of the Visible and Invisible at the hands of
those who have violated God's Covenant and Testament and have denied
His proof, repudiated His grace and disputed with His signs!
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of Visitation for Imám Husayn (a provisional translation by K. Fananapazir).
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_fananapazir_visitation_husayn
8)
In each major dispensation there
have been twelve Messengers/Prophets (Dependent) promoting the
teachings of the Independent Prophet. In the era of Baha'u'llah there
will be twenty four, twice the number of the previous major
dispensations, an aspect of the greatness of the Day of God. These holy
souls are "seated on their own thrones", seated on the
throne of prophethood, as indicated, in the next passage (#9) from
Gleanings CXXIX, one of many references to Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
In each cycle the guardians and holy souls have been twelve. So Jacob
had twelve sons; in the time of Moses there were twelve heads or chiefs
of the tribes; in the time of Christ there were twelve Apostles; and in the time of Muhammad there were twelve Imams.
But in this glorious manifestation there are twenty-four, double the
number of all the others, for the greatness of this manifestation
requires it. These holy souls are in the presence of God seated on their own thrones, meaning that they reign eternally.
[1 Rev. 11:16-17.]
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 57
9)
In passage below from Gleanings CXXIX:
"concealed within the Holy Veil" -- refers to the realm of pre-existence of the Dependent Prophets, similar to the pre-existence of the Holy Imams.
"His chosen ones" -- the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
"Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him" -- warn
those who reject the Dependent Prophet as the Face of God (similar, for
example, to those who rejected Imam Ali as the Face of God in the era
of Muhammad).
"I am come from the Throne of glory" -- reference to her/his station as a Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah.
"And bear you an announcement from God" -- the declaration of the Dependent Prophet.
"Weigh it with the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of God" -- judge their revelation with same standards you use for Prophets and Messengers of God, as they are.
There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service
of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men,
who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the
entire human race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who,
before the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven,
shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and
summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. Be of
them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in
the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose purpose the blame of
the blamer will never defeat.
Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that
have believed in Me, and announce unto them tidings of Our most holy
Paradise. Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him. Say: I
am come to you, O people, from the Throne of glory, and bear you an
announcement from God, the Most Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great. In mine hand I carry the testimony of God, your Lord and the
Lord of your sires of old. Weigh it with the just Balance that ye
possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of
God. If ye find it to be established in truth, if ye believe it to be
of God, beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain,
and be numbered with the infidels. It is indeed the sign of God that
hath been sent down through the power of truth, through which the
validity of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto His creatures, and
the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, CXXIX, p. 280
10)
Tablet about the
Manifestations of God and the Throne they belong to (a provisional translation).
Every one who is endowed with a clear insight will behold that They
(the Manifestations) were created before the creation of heaven and
earth, and that this has ever been the Throne of the Merciful, and will
forever be as it was; that there is no relation, connection, similarity
or reference between that Throne and all else save it, and that all
things testify with their inmost tongue; "Verily, these (bodies) are
the Thrones of the Merciful One." They have no like in creation, nor
any equal in the world of emanation. From their elements all have
appeared in such wise that thou wilt find that, verily, from their Fire
fire hath appeared in the universe and hath spoken in the Blessed
Branch of Unity, in the lofty Sinai of Moses the Interlocutor, and that
from their Waters thou findest every soul living and immortal. So,
likewise, after this manner, consider its other elements; but with
manifest certainty. This was the mention of the place whereon He was
established. How much above this, then, will be the station of His
Chair, and that upon which He stands? (The Prophets.) All that which We
have revealed and mentioned unto thee in this Tablet is according to
the language of the people of creation; otherwise, by the One in the
grasp of Whose Power are all things, verily, We have utterances
concerning this station such as are not befitting to mention in these
days, during which the people have differed, and have cast the Lord of
Lords behind them, and have made an idol by the hands of lust, and have
circled around it and become of those who are attached to it.
-- Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Zuhúr, Tablet of the Manifestation - Provisional translation by Unknown author.
11)
Bahá'u'lláh (an Independent Prophet), "the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth below."
O King of Berlin! Give ear unto the Voice calling from this manifest
Temple: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Everlasting, the
Peerless, the Ancient of Days. Take heed lest pride debar thee from
recognizing the Dayspring of Divine Revelation, lest earthly desires
shut thee out, as by a veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of
the earth below.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 39
12)
Followers of Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, "the first to circle round His throne of glory".
CXLVII. The Most Great Name beareth Me witness! How sad if any man
were, in this Day, to rest his heart on the transitory things of this
world! Arise, and cling firmly to the Cause of God. Be most loving one
to another. Burn away, wholly for the sake of the Well-Beloved, the
veil of self with the flame of the undying Fire, and with faces joyous
and beaming with light, associate with your neighbor. Ye have well
observed, in all its aspects, the behavior of Him Who is the Word of
Truth amidst you. Ye know full well how hard it is for this Youth to
allow, though it be for one night, the heart of any one of the beloved
of God to be saddened by Him.
The Word of God hath set the heart of the world afire; how regrettable
if ye fail to be enkindled with its flame! Please God, ye will regard
this blessed night as the night of unity, will knit your souls
together, and resolve to adorn yourselves with the ornament of a goodly
and praiseworthy character. Let your principal concern be to rescue the
fallen from the slough of impending extinction, and to help him embrace
the ancient Faith of God. Your behavior towards your neighbor should be
such as to manifest clearly the signs of the one true God, for ye are
the first among men to be re-created by His Spirit, the first to adore
and bow the knee before Him, the first to circle round His throne of
glory. I swear by Him Who hath caused Me to reveal whatever hath
pleased Him! Ye are better known to the inmates of the Kingdom on high
than ye are known to your own selves. Think ye these words to be vain
and empty? Would that ye had the power to perceive the things your
Lord, the All-Merciful, doth see--things that attest the excellence of
your rank, that bear witness to the greatness of your worth, that
proclaim the sublimity of your station! God grant that your desires and
unmortified passions may not hinder you from that which hath been
ordained for you.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 316
13)
Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, "caused the rivers of Divine utterance to proceed out of Our throne":
XVIII. Say: We have caused the rivers of Divine utterance to proceed
out of Our throne, that the tender herbs of wisdom and understanding
may spring forth from the soil of your hearts. Will ye not be thankful?
They who disdain to worship their Lord shall be of those who are cast
off. And oft as Our verses are rehearsed unto them, they persist in
proud disdain, and in their gross violation of His law, and know it
not. As for them who have disbelieved in Him, they shall be in the
shadow of a black smoke. "The Hour" hath come upon them, while they are
disporting themselves. They have been seized by their forelock, and yet
know it not.
The thing that must come hath come suddenly; behold how they flee from
it! The inevitable hath come to pass; witness how they have cast it
behind their backs! This is the Day whereon every man will fly from
himself, how much more from his kindred, could ye but perceive it. Say:
By God! The blast hath been blown on the trumpet, and lo, mankind hath
swooned away before us! The Herald hath cried 44 out, and
the Summoner raised His voice saying: "The Kingdom is God's, the Most
Powerful, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."
This is the Day on which all eyes shall stare up with terror, the Day
in which the hearts of them that dwell on earth shall tremble, save
them whom thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, pleaseth to deliver.
All faces have turned black except those to whom the God of Mercy hath
vouchsafed a radiant heart. Drunken are the eyes of those men that have
openly refused to behold the face of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 43
14)
Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, represents "the throne of thy Lord, the God of Mercy".
Sanctify thine heart, that thou mayest remember Me; and purge thine
ear, that thou mayest hearken unto My words. Set then thy face towards
the Spot wherein the throne of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, hath been
established, and say: Praise be to Thee, O my Lord, for having enabled
me to recognize the Manifestation of Thine own Self, and aided me to
fix mine heart on the court of Thy presence, the object of my soul's
adoration. I beseech Thee, by Thy name that caused the heavens to be
rent and the earth to be cleft asunder, to ordain for me what Thou
didst ordain for them that have turned away from all else but Thee, and
rested their hearts firmly upon Thee. Grant that I may be seated in Thy
presence on the seat of truth, within the Tabernacle of Glory. Powerful
art Thou to do what Thou willest. There is none other God but Thee, the
All-Glorious, the All-Wise.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 313
Say: O people of the Bayán! Did We not admonish you, in all Our Tablets
and in all Our hidden Scriptures, not to follow your evil passions and
corrupt inclinations, but to keep your eyes directed towards the Scene
of transcendent glory, on the Day when the Most Mighty Balance shall be
set, the Day when the sweet melodies of the Spirit of God shall be
poured out from the right hand of the throne of your Lord, the
omnipotent Protector, the All-Powerful, the Holy of Holies? Did We not
forbid you to cleave to the things that would shut you out from the
Manifestation of our Beauty, in its subsequent Revelation, be they the
embodiments of the names of God and all their glory, or the revealers
of His attributes and their dominion? Behold, how, as soon as I
revealed Myself, ye have rejected My truth and turned away from Me, and
been of them that have regarded the signs of God as a play and pastime!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 292
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