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Chapter 21
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Descent (from heaven) of pre-existent Prophets (both Independent and Dependent) to earth.
1)
Descent of Baha'u'llah (symbolized by the "City of God"), the Independent Prophet, to earth:
"Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that
was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is
manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou
hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that
hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have
circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the
company of the most exalted angels. Oh, how I long to announce unto
every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its
cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation--a Revelation to which the
heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush
is calling: `Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth
and heaven.' Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice
at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things
which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart,
hath destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee,
and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the
Book of Names."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 16
2)
Descent of Baha'u'llah ("the Lord of Hosts"), the Independent Prophet, to earth:
17. O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abhá Kingdom! Praise ye the
Lord of Hosts for He, riding upon the clouds, hath come down to this
world out of the heaven of the invisible realm, so that East and West
were lit by the glory of the Sun of Truth, and the call of the Kingdom
was raised, and the heralds of the realm above, with melodies of the
Concourse on high, sang out the glad tidings of the Coming. Then the
whole world of being did quiver for joy, and still the people, even as
the Messiah saith, slept on: for the day of the Manifestation, when the
Lord of Hosts descended, found them wrapped in the slumber of
unknowing. As He saith in the Gospel, My coming is even as when the
thief is in the house, and the goodman of the house watcheth not.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 17
3)
Descent of Christ, the Independent Prophet, to earth:
Likewise the address of the angels to the people of Galilee, "That this
Christ will return in the same way and that He will descend from
heaven," is a spiritual address. For when Christ appeared, He came from
heaven, although He was outwardly born from the womb of Mary. For He
said: "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven."
He said: "I came down from heaven and likewise will go to heaven." By
"heaven" is not meant this infinite phenomenal space, but "heaven"
signifies the world of the divine kingdom which is the supreme station
and seat of the Sun of Truth.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 192
4)
Descent of Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, "from the heaven of Pre-existence with the Greatest Name" to earth:
127. Joy unto him who, in this Day, casts away that which is possessed
by the people, and holds fast to that which is commanded on the part of
God, the King of names and the Creator of things -- The One who hath
come from the heaven of Pre-existence with the Greatest Name, and with
a power that the hosts of the earth fail to withstand: whereunto
testifies the Mother-Book in the highest station.
128. The first splendor which hath shone forth from the Sun of Truth is
the knowledge of God -- exalted is His glory! -- and the knowledge of
the King of Pre-existence cannot be attained except by knowing the
Greatest Name. He is the Speaker of the Mount who is established and
seated upon the throne of Manifestation, and He is the hidden,
invisible One, the concealed Mystery.
-- Excerpt from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh
5)
"The Word which the Son concealed" (i.e. prophecy about the coming
Baha'u'llah) "hath been sent down in the form of the human temple" --
has descended to earth.
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It hath been sent
down in the form of the human temple in this day. Blessed be the Lord
Who is the Father! He, verily, is come unto the nations in His most
great majesty. Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the
righteous... This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and
shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing,
the Most High, saying: `Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were
promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!...' My body longeth for the
cross, and Mine head waiteth the thrust of the spear, in the path of
the All-Merciful, that the world may be purged from its
transgressions....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 84
6)
Muhammad, the Independent Prophet, "that divine Beauty coming from
heaven, riding upon the clouds with power, grandeur, and magnificence,
sending His angels (the Holy Imams) with a great sound of a trumpet" --
i.e. descending from heaven to earth..
These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in accents of
majestic power in the Ridvan of the Gospel, revealing those signs that
must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the
first Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked
Jesus concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them:
"Immediately after the oppression[1] of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the earth shall be shaken: and then
[1] The Greek word used (Thlipsis) has two meanings: pressure [1] and
oppression. shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet."[1] Rendered
into the Persian tongue,[2] the purport of these words is as follows:
When the oppression and afflictions that are to befall mankind will
have come to pass, then shall the sun be withheld from shining, the
moon from giving light, the stars of heaven shall fall upon the earth,
and the pillars of the earth shall quake. At that time, the signs of
the Son of man shall appear in heaven, that is, the promised Beauty and
Substance of life shall, when these signs have appeared, step forth out
of the realm of the invisible into the visible world. And He saith: at
that time, all the peoples and kindreds that dwell on earth shall
bewail and lament, and they shall see that divine Beauty coming from
heaven, riding upon the clouds with power, grandeur, and magnificence,
sending His angels with a great sound of a trumpet. Similarly, in the
three other Gospels, according to Luke, Mark, and John, the same
statements are recorded. As We have referred at length to these in Our
Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have made no mention of them
in these pages, and have confined Ourselves to but one reference.
[1 Matthew 24:29-31.]
[2 The passage is quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Arabic and interpreted in Persian.]
Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the meaning
of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose, and
have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they
therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muhammadan
Revelation and its showering bounties.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 24
7)
One handmaiden (Dependent Prophet of Bahá'u'lláh) descends from the mansions of eternity to earth:
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon she [the Maid of Heaven, Baha'u'llah] summoned unto herself
one maiden [one Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah] from her handmaidens,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
And commanded her: "Descend into space from the mansions of eternity,....
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
Thereupon the countenance of the favored damsel beamed above the
celestial chambers even as the light that shineth from the face of the
Youth above His mortal temple;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!
She then descended with such an adorning as to illumine the heavens and all that is therein.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Compilation, Bahá'í Prayers, Tablet of the Holy Mariner.
8)
"the angels of God are seen descending" -- the pre-existent Dependent
Prophets of Baha'u'llah are descending from the Mansions of Eternity to
earth..
This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the clouds
of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty. He well knoweth the
actions of men. He it is Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but
comprehend it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the
earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the angels of God are seen descending.
Say: This is the Day of mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The
mountains have passed away, and the heavens have been folded together,
and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but understand
it. Who is it that can protect you? None, by Him Who is the
All-Merciful! None, except God, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the
Beneficent. Every woman that hath had a burden in her womb hath cast
her burden. We see men drunken in this Day, the Day in which men and
angels have been gathered together.
Say: Is there any doubt concerning God? Behold how He hath come down
from the heaven of His grace, girded with power and invested with
sovereignty. Is there any doubt concerning His signs? Open ye your
eyes, and consider His clear evidence. Paradise is on your right hand,
and hath been brought nigh unto you, while Hell hath been made to
blaze. Witness its devouring flame. Haste ye to enter into Paradise, as
a token of Our mercy unto you, and drink ye from the hands of the
All-Merciful the Wine that is life indeed.
Drink with healthy relish, O people of Bahá. Ye are indeed they with
whom it shall be well. This is what they who have near access to God
have attained. This is the flowing water ye were promised in the Qur'án, and later in the Bayán, as a recompense from your Lord, the God of Mercy. Blessed are they that quaff it.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 45-46
9)
Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, "Him Who hath descended from the heaven of Divine will and power".
Be watchful lest the concerns and preoccupations of this world prevent
you from observing that which hath been enjoined upon you by Him Who is
the Mighty, the Faithful. Be ye the embodiments of such steadfastness
amidst mankind that ye will not be kept back from God by the doubts of
those who disbelieved in Him when He manifested Himself, invested with
a mighty sovereignty. Take heed lest ye be prevented by aught that hath
been recorded in the Book from hearkening unto this, the Living Book,
Who proclaimeth the truth: "Verily, there is no God but Me, the Most
Excellent, the All-Praised." Look ye with the eye of equity upon Him
Who hath descended from the heaven of Divine will and power, and be not
of those who act unjustly.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 66
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