Chapter C86
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Tablet of God -- the revealed word of God by the Independent Prophet and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
1)
The Tablet of God, revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
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. Thus counselleth thee the Pen of the Most High. He,
verily, is the Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do thou remember the
one whose power transcended thy power (Napoleon III), and whose station
excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he
possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep. He it
was who cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We made known unto him
what the hosts of tyranny had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace
assailed him from all sides, and he went down to dust in great loss.
Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning them who, like
unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled over men. The All-Merciful
brought them down from their palaces to their graves. Be warned, be of
them who reflect... O banks of the Rhine! We have seen you covered with
gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and
you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of Berlin,
though she be today in conspicuous glory.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 39
2)
The Tablet of God, revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
O concourse of patriarchs! He Whom ye were promised in the Tablets is
come. Fear God, and follow not the vain imaginings of the
superstitious. Lay aside the things ye possess, and take fast hold of
the Tablet of God by His sovereign power. Better is this for you than
all your possessions. Unto this testifieth every understanding heart,
and every man of insight. Pride ye yourselves on My Name and yet shut
yourselves out as by a veil from Me? This indeed is a strange thing!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 92
3)
In passage below from Gleanings CXXIX:
"There lay concealed within the Holy Veil" -- refers to the realm of pre-existence of the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah, the same as the pre-existence of the Holy Imams.
"a company of His chosen ones" -- the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah. In the Kitab-i-Iqan, the Holy Imams are also named God's chosen Ones.
"Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that
have believed in Me" -- the Dependent Prophet appearing on earth to join believers.
"Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him" -- warn
those who reject the Dependent Prophet as the Face of God, similar to those who rejected the Holy Imams..
"I am come from the Throne of glory" -- reference to her/his station as a Prophet, 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 testimony with same standards you use for Prophets and Messengers of God, as they are.
"beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain, and be numbered with the infidels" --
reference to believers who after serving the faith, reject a Dependent
Prophet, and thereby render their works vain; the same as those who rejected the Holy Imams as the Face of God in the era of Muhammad, despite the many references to them in the Quran.
"Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven" --
the pre-existent Dependent Prophet is summoned to appear on earth. The
Dependent Prophets have the same title, "Maid of Heaven", as
Baha'u'llah (the Independent Prophet), consistent with all of them being the Face of God.
"I am the Maid of Heaven, the Offspring begotten by the Spirit of Bahá. My habitation is the Mansion of His Name, the All-Glorious." --
I am a Prophet, the Dependent Prophet of Bahá'u'lláh, whose habitation
is the Mansion of His Name. Similar in inner meaning to how Bahá'u'lláh referred to the
Jafar as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam,
as 'son' of Muhammad in the Kitab-i-Iqan, i.e. his Dependent Prophet: 'Thus hath Sádiq, son
of Muhammad, spoken: "God verily will test them and sift them"'.
More references to Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah in the writings of Baha'u'llah can be found in Chapter C3.
More references to Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah in the writings of Abdu'l-Baha can be found in Chapter C4.
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....
Say: Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven, inmate of the
Exalted Paradise! Drape thyself in whatever manner pleaseth Thee in the
silken Vesture of Immortality, and put on, in the name of the
All-Glorious, the broidered Robe of Light. Hear, then, the sweet, the
wondrous accent of the Voice that cometh from the Throne of Thy Lord,
the Inaccessible, the Most High. Unveil Thy face, and manifest the
beauty of the black-eyed Damsel, and suffer not the servants of God to
be deprived of the light of Thy shining countenance. Grieve not if Thou
hearest the sighs of the dwellers of the earth, or the voice of the
lamentation of the denizens of heaven. Leave them to perish on the dust
of extinction. Let them be reduced to nothingness, inasmuch as the
flame of hatred hath been kindled within their breasts. Intone, then,
before the face of the peoples of earth and heaven, and in a most
melodious voice, the anthem of praise, for a remembrance of Him Who is
the King of the names and attributes of God. Thus have We decreed Thy destiny. Well able are We to achieve Our purpose.
Beware that Thou divest not Thyself, Thou Who art the Essence of
Purity, of Thy robe of effulgent glory. Nay, enrich Thyself
increasingly, in the kingdom of creation, with the incorruptible
vestures of Thy God, that the beauteous image of the Almighty may be
reflected through Thee in all created things and the grace of Thy Lord
be infused in the plenitude of its power into the entire creation.
If Thou smellest from any one the smell of the love of Thy Lord, offer
up Thyself for him, for We have created Thee to this end, and have
covenanted with Thee, from time immemorial, and in the presence of the
congregation of Our well-favored ones, for this very purpose. Be not
impatient if the blind in heart hurl down the shafts of their idle
fancies upon Thee. Leave them to themselves, for they follow the
promptings of the evil ones.
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 Bahá. 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.
Say: He ordaineth as He pleaseth, by virtue of His sovereignty, and
doeth whatsoever He willeth at His own behest. He shall not be asked of
the things it pleaseth Him to ordain. He, in truth, is the
Unrestrained, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.
They that have disbelieved in God and rebelled against His sovereignty
are the helpless victims of their corrupt inclinations and desires.
These shall return to their abode in the fire of hell: wretched is the
abode of the deniers!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 280-284
4)
1.33
Say: O people! This is the Hand of God, which hath ever been above your
own hands, could ye but understand. Within its grasp We have ordained
all the good of the heavens and the earth, such that no good shall be
made manifest but that it proceedeth therefrom. Thus have We made it
the source and treasury of all good both aforetime and hereafter. Say:
The rivers of divine wisdom and utterance which flowed through the
Tablets of God are joined to this Most Great Ocean, could ye but
perceive it, and whatever hath been set forth in His Books hath
attained its final consummation in this most exalted Word -- a Word
shining above the horizon of the Will of the All-Glorious in this
Revelation which hath filled with delight all things seen and unseen.
1.34
Erelong shall God draw forth, out of the bosom of power, the hands of
ascendancy and might, and shall raise up a people who will arise to win
victory for this Youth and who will purge mankind from the defilement
of the outcast and the ungodly. These hands will gird up their loins to
champion the Faith of God, and will, in My name the Self-Subsistent,
the Mighty, subdue the peoples and kindreds of the earth. They will
enter the cities and will inspire with fear the hearts of all their
inhabitants. Such are the evidences of the might of God; how fearful,
how vehement is His might, and how justly doth He wield it! He, verily,
ruleth and transcendeth all who are in the heavens and on the earth,
and revealeth what He desireth according to a prescribed measure.
1.35
Should any one of them be called upon to confront all the hosts of
creation, he would assuredly prevail through the ascendancy of My Will.
This, verily, is a proof of My power, though My creatures comprehend it
not. This, verily, is a sign of My sovereignty, though My subjects
understand it not. This, verily, is a token of My command, though My
servants perceive it not. This, verily, is an evidence of Mine
ascendancy, though none amongst the people is truly thankful for it,
save those whose eyes God hath illumined with the light of His
knowledge, whose hearts He hath made the repository of His Revelation,
and upon whose shoulders He hath placed the weight of His Cause. These
shall inhale the fragrances of the All-Merciful from the garment of His
Name, and shall rejoice at all times in the signs and verses of their
Lord. As for those who disbelieve in God, and join partners with Him,
they shall indeed incur His wrath, shall be cast into the Fire, and
shall be made to dwell, fearful and dismayed, in its depths. Thus do We
expound Our verses, and make plain the truth with clear proofs, that
perchance the people may reflect upon the signs of their Lord.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 19
5)
LXXIV. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed
with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye
be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold
in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme
and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the
mere revelation of the word "Fashioner," issuing forth from His lips
and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can
generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the
hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner
is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring
within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments
whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous
achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the
Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold
things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed
in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose
sight is sharp. In like manner, the moment the word expressing My
attribute "The Omniscient" issueth forth from My mouth, every created
thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with
the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and
will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding
of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty
that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar
manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of
the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by
Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and
His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this
truth.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 141
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