Chapter 66
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Conflicting writings regarding recognition of the next Manifestation of God.

Passage 1 by House indicates the next Manifestation of God (one of "the chosen Ones of God") will appear after 1000 years, which conflicts with the writings of Baha'u'llah; and is presumably tied to the fact that the writings of Shoghi Effendi claim (errorneously/falsely) that only Independent Prophets are Manifestations of God. As shown in Chapter 1, both of the two classes of Prophets (Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets) are Manifestations of God, and are to be recognised and followed by true believers, as was the case in past dispensations, in keeping with recognition of Divine Unity. For example, in the era of Muhammad, true believers recognised and followed the Holy Imams, who are Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Muhammad, who are Manifestations of God, and are referred to in many places in the Quran. Similarly, true believers in the dispensation of Baha'u'llah are to recognise and follow the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah, the first of whom was Abdu'l-Baha, as indicated in Chapter 24. In passage 2.1 from the Aqdas, "the people of Baha who speak not except by His leave" is a reference to the Dependent/Lesser of Prophets Baha'u'llah, similar to the "chosen Ones of God" mentioned in passage 2.2, who are "they that speak not till He hath spoken". In passage 2.3, "a company of His chosen ones" is a another reference to the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah, whom true believers are to recognise and follow. In passage 3, "Those countenances which are hid within the chambers of chastity" and "the manifestations of Thy Divine holiness", are also references to Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Bahá'u'lláh, who are Manifestations of God. In passage 4, Bahá'u'lláh is named as one of the Manifestations (Independent Prophets) that "possess some perfections which make the other Manifestations dependent upon Them". That is, Bahá'u'lláh has Dependent/Lesser Prophets who are also Manifestations of God; the same way Muhammad had Dependent/Lesser Prophets, the Holy Imams, who are also Manifestations of God. Passage 5 is one of many individual references to Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah in the Surih of the Temple, an important tablet, who is the "manifestation of Our sovereignty" (i.e. the Manifestation of God). Passage 6 is another individual reference to a Dependent/Lesser Prophet of Baha'u'llah, in the Surih of the Temple, who is the "Manifestation of Our own Self" (i.e. the Manifestation of God). In passage 7, "the beauties of divine mystery" is another reference to the Dependent/Lesser of Baha'u'llah using symbolic language, and those who reject/disbelieve them "shall be accounted among the faithless in the Book of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed", similar to those who rejected the Holy Imams in the era of Muhammad.


1)
    With reference to infallibility, you quote from Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh that "trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones of God...", and express concern that this implies that the Universal House of Justice will not recognize the next Manifestation of God.

    There are several statements in the Sacred Scriptures of our Faith which are related to this general subject, and one in particular is found in "The Dispensation of Baha’u'llah", (The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 117) as follows: "My fears are for Him Who will be sent down unto you after Me -- Him Who will be invested with great sovereignty and mighty dominion". When a National Assembly wrote to the Guardian, asking about this reference, the following reply was sent on his behalf.

        ...this refers to the Manifestation Who is to come after a thousand or more years, Who like all previous Messengers of God will be subjected to persecutions, but will eventually triumph over them. For men of ill-will have been and will always continue to be in this world, unless mankind reaches a state of complete and absolute perfection -- a condition which is not only improbable but actually impossible to attain.

    As you see, the persecutions to which the next Manifestation will be subjected will be carried out, according to the above statement, by "men of ill-will" who, alas, "will continue to be in this world". There is nothing in the Writings to support the view that the opposition or persecution will be instigated or inflicted by the Universal House of Justice.

    You are aware, of course, that one of the reasons for the appearance of a new Manifestation of God is to bring forth a spiritual renewal, as the former Dispensation would have passed through its stages of growth and reached its zenith. You can be sure that the Supreme Institution of the Faith, "under the care and protection of the Abha Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One", will exert every effort to recognize, when the time is ripe, the reality of the new Manifestation, and lead men to Him. How the majority of the people at that time will respond is a truth locked up in the treasury of God's knowledge.
-- Universal House of Justice, Letter to an individual believer, 6th June, 1997.
Full text at the following link: https://bahai-library.com/uhj_recognition_next_manifestation


2.1)
Endowments dedicated to charity revert to God, the Revealer of Signs. None hath the right to dispose of them without leave from Him Who is the Dawning-place of Revelation. After Him, this authority shall pass to the Aghsan, and after them to the House of Justice -- should it be established in the world by then -- that they may use these endowments for the benefit of the Places which have been exalted in this Cause, and for whatsoever hath been enjoined upon them by Him Who is the God of might and power. Otherwise, the endowments shall revert to the people of Baha who speak not except by His leave and judge not save in accordance with what God hath decreed in this Tablet -- lo, they are the champions of victory betwixt heaven and earth -- that they may use them in the manner that hath been laid down in the Book by God, the Mighty, the Bountiful.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 34

2.2)
Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His servants as are detached from all else but Him, they whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the Almighty, they that speak not till He hath spoken, and act according to His commandment.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 128

2.3)
There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service of God, a company of His chosen ones [Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah] 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....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 280-284


3)
Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who art the Goal of my desire! I swear by Thy glory! How great is my wish to attain unto a detachment so complete that were there to appear before me those countenances which are hid within the chambers of chastity, and the beauty of which Thou didst veil from the eyes of the entire creation, and whose faces Thou didst sanctify from the sight of all beings,and were they to unveil themselves in all the glory of the splendors of Thine incomparable beauty, I would refuse to look upon them, and would behold them solely for the purpose of discerning the mysteries of Thy handiwork, which have perplexed the minds of such as have drawn nigh unto Thee, and awed the souls of all them that have recognized Thee. I would, by Thy power and Thy might, soar to such heights that nothing whatsoever would have the power to keep me back from the manifold evidences of Thy transcendent dominion, nor would any earthly scheme shut me out from the manifestations of Thy Divine holiness.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 337


4)
Know that the attributes of perfection, the splendor of the divine bounties, and the lights of inspiration are visible and evident in all the Holy Manifestations; but the glorious Word of God, Christ, and the Greatest Name, Bahá'u'lláh, are manifestations and evidences which are beyond imagination, for They possess all the perfections of the former Manifestations; and more than that, They possess some perfections which make the other Manifestations dependent upon Them. So all the Prophets of Israel were centers of inspiration; Christ also was a receiver of inspiration, but what a difference between the inspiration of the Word of God and the revelations of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah!
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 149-150


5)
1.38
O Second Letter [Dependent/Lesser Prophet] of this Temple [the Word, Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet], betokening My name, the Almighty! We have made thee the manifestation of Our sovereignty and the dayspring of Our Names. Potent am I to fulfil that which My tongue speaketh.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 21


6)
1.81
O Living [the pre-existent Dependent/Lesser Prophet when on the earthly plane] Temple! We, verily, have made Thee a mirror unto the kingdom of names, that Thou mayest be, amidst all mankind, a sign of My sovereignty, a herald unto My presence, a summoner unto My beauty, and a guide unto My straight and perspicuous Path. We have exalted Thy Name among Our servants as a bounty from Our presence. I, verily, am the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. We have, moreover, adorned Thee with the ornament of Our own Self, and have imparted unto Thee Our Word, that Thou mayest ordain in this contingent world whatsoever Thou willest and accomplish whatsoever Thou pleasest. We have destined for Thee all the good of the heavens and of the earth, and decreed that none may attain unto a portion thereof unless he entereth beneath Thy shadow, as bidden by Thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We have conferred upon Thee the Staff of authority and the Writ of judgement, that Thou mayest test the wisdom of every command. We have caused the oceans of inner meaning and explanation to surge from Thy heart in remembrance of Thy Lord, the God of mercy, that Thou mayest render thanks and praise unto Him and be of those who are truly thankful. We have singled Thee out from amongst all Our creatures, and have appointed Thee as the Manifestation of Our own Self unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 43

For the prophets and messengers do serve as intermediaries for the divine emanation, and whatever reacheth the creatures from the Eternal Truth is by means of these temples of sanctity and essences of abstraction, these mines of knowledge and manifestations of the divine command.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet on Hinduism and Zoroastrianism - Provisional translation by Juan Cole.

.. for 1000 years there shall arise no Sun [Independent Prophet]. All the appearances will be beneath the shadow of the Most Great Appearance [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet]: they will be as stars of guidance [Dependent/Lesser Prophets]. All of them shall gather around this Fountain of Life; all of them will become illumined with the rays of this Sun; all of them will receive a share and a portion from this great Sea; all of them will become vivified with this soul-imparting breeze;..
-- Compilations, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 283.


7)
Praise be unto God Who hath made the Most Great Infallibility the shield for the temple of His Cause in the realm of creation, and hath assigned unto no one a share of this lofty and sublime station--a station which is a vesture which the fingers of transcendent power have woven for His august Self. It befitteth no one except Him Who is seated upon the mighty throne of `He doeth what He pleaseth'. Whoso accepteth and recognizeth that which is written down at this moment by the Pen of Glory is indeed reckoned in the Book of God, the Lord of the beginning and the end, among the exponents of divine unity, they that uphold the concept of the oneness of God.

When the stream of words reached this stage, the sweet savours of true knowledge were shed abroad and the day-star of divine unity shone forth above the horizon of His holy utterance. Blessed is he whom His Call hath attracted to the summit of glory, who hath drawn nigh to the ultimate Purpose, and who hath recognized through the shrill voice of My Pen of Glory that which the Lord of this world and of the next hath willed. Whoso faileth to quaff the choice wine which We have unsealed through the potency of Our Name, the All-Compelling, shall be unable to discern the splendours of the light of divine unity or to grasp the essential purpose underlying the Scriptures of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the sovereign Ruler of this world and of the world to come. Such a man shall be accounted among the faithless in the Book of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

O thou honoured enquirer! We bear witness that thou didst firmly adhere unto seemly patience during the days when the Pen was held back from movement and the Tongue hesitated to set forth an explanation regarding the wondrous sign, the Most Great Infallibility. Thou hast asked this Wronged One to remove for thee its veils and coverings, to elucidate its mystery and character, its state and position, its excellence, sublimity and exaltation. By the life of God! Were We to unveil the pearls of testimony which lie hid within the shells of the ocean of knowledge and assurance or to let the beauties of divine mystery which [who] are hidden within the chambers of utterance in the Paradise of true understanding, step out of their habitation, then from every direction violent commotion would arise among the leaders of religion and thou wouldst witness the people of God held fast in the teeth of such wolves as have denied God both in the beginning and in the end. Therefore We restrained the Pen for a considerable lapse of time in accordance with divine wisdom and for the sake of protecting the faithful from those who have bartered away heavenly blessings for disbelief and have chosen for their people the abode of perdition.

O thou seeker who art gifted with keen insight. I swear by Him Who attracted the Concourse on High through the potency of His most sublime Word! Verily, the birds abiding within the domains of My Kingdom and the doves dwelling in the rose-garden of My wisdom utter such melodies and warblings as are inscrutable to all but God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven; and were these melodies to be revealed even to an extent smaller than a needle's eye, the people of tyranny would utter such calumnies as none among former generations hath ever uttered, and would commit such deeds as no one in past ages and centuries hath ever committed. They have rejected the bounty of God and His proofs and have repudiated the testimony of God and His signs. They have gone astray and have caused the people to go astray, yet perceive it not. They worship vain imaginings but know it not. They have taken idle fancies for their lords and have neglected God, yet understand not. They have abandoned the most great Ocean and are hastening towards the pool, but comprehend not. They follow their own idle fancies while turning aside from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 106-107



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