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XIX: To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident ...
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To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the
Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every
human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent
and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His
glory that human tongue should adequately recount
His praise, or that human heart comprehend His
fathomless mystery. He is, and hath ever been, veiled
in the ancient eternity of His Essence, and will remain
in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the
sight of men. "No vision taketh in Him, but He
taketh in all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving."... |
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The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days
being thus closed in the face of all beings, the Source
of infinite grace, according to His saying, "His grace
hath transcended all things; My grace hath encompassed
them all," hath caused those luminous Gems
of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the spirit,
in the noble form of the human temple, and be made
manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto
the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being,
and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable Essence. |
3 |
These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of
ancient glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on
earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe,
its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed
their knowledge and power; from Him is derived
their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance
is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation
a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries
of Divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial
wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is
infinite, and by them is revealed the Light that can
never fade.... These Tabernacles of Holiness,
these Primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading
glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the
Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of these
Gems of Divine virtue all the names and attributes
of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty
and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty,
and grace, are made manifest. |
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These attributes of God are not, and have never
been, vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets, and
withheld from others. Nay, all the Prophets of God,
His well-favored, His holy and chosen Messengers
are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and
the embodiments of His attributes. They only differ
in the intensity of their revelation, and the comparative
potency of their light. Even as He hath revealed:
"Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the
others." |
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It hath, therefore, become manifest and evident
that within the tabernacles of these Prophets and
chosen Ones of God the light of His infinite names
and exalted attributes hath been reflected, even
though the light of some of these attributes may or
may not be outwardly revealed from these luminous
Temples to the eyes of men. That a certain attribute
of God hath not been outwardly manifested by these
Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that
they who are the Day Springs of God's attributes
and the Treasuries of His holy names did not actually
possess it. Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these
beauteous Countenances have, each and every one of
them, been endowed with all the attributes of God,
such as sovereignty, dominion, and the like, even
though to outward seeming they be shorn of all
earthly majesty.... |
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