6 November 1990
To: The Universal House of Justice | Date: 24 October 1990 |
Praise be to God! the mediaeval ages of darkness have passed away and this century of radiance has dawned, -- this century wherein the reality of things is becoming evident, -- wherein science is penetrating the mysteries of the universe, the oneness of the world of humanity is being established and service to mankind is the paramount motive of all existence. . . .The second text is from a Tablet in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá refers to the foundation of the unity of all mankind.
. . .
The age has dawned when human fellowship will become a reality.
The century has come when all religions shall be unified. . . .("Bahá'í World Faith: Selected Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976), pp. 279-80)
The fourth candle is unity in religion which is the corner-stone of the foundation itself, and which, by the power of God, will be revealed in all its splendor. . . .In light of these quotations and particularly the prophecy regarding all religions being unified in this century, Mr. _ asks: "Assuming this prophecy will come true because it's from the 'unerring pen' of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, why isn't knowledge of this prophecy promoted by the Universal House of Justice?" and "Am I to understand that the Lesser Peace also includes the unity of all religions?"("The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982), p. 39)
What does this mean? It means that fierce and contending religions, hostile creeds and divergent beliefs will reconcile and associate, notwithstanding their former hatreds and antagonism. Through the liberalism of human attitude demanded in this radiant century they will blend together in perfect fellowship and love. This is the spirit and meaning of Isaiah's words....2. Mr. _ cites the following passage:
("Bahá'í World Faith: Selected Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá", p. 280; "The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912", pp. 369-70)
When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed every day, with tears, saying: "O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah," yet when the Sun of Truth dawned, they denied Him and rose against Him with the greatest enmity, and eventually crucified that divine Spirit, the Word of God, and named Him Beelzebub, the evil one, as is recorded in the Gospel....He asks: "How do I respond when a Jew says we are anti-Semitic because we believe the Jews crucified Christ?" He notes that Jews defend Judaism by saying that the Romans, not the Jews, crucified Christ.(J. E. Esslemont, "Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era", 5th rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1987), p. 6)
O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you. Deal with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down My life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the powers of earth and heaven be leagued against Me. Followers of the Gospel! If ye cherish the desire to slay Muhammad, the Apostle of God, seize Me and put an end to My life, for I am He, and My Self is His Self. Do unto Me as ye like, for the deepest longing of Mine heart is to attain the presence of My Best-Beloved in His Kingdom of Glory. Such is the Divine decree, if ye know it. Followers of Muhammad! If it be your wish to riddle with your shafts the breast of Him Who hath caused His Book the Bayán to be sent down unto you, lay hands on Me and persecute Me, for I am His Well-Beloved, the revelation of His own Self, though My name be not His name. I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and am invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. I, verily, anticipate from you the treatment ye have accorded unto Him that came before Me. To this all things, verily, witness, if ye be of those who hearken. O people of the Bayán! If ye have resolved to shed the blood of Him Whose coming the Báb hath proclaimed, Whose advent Muhammad hath prophesied, and Whose Revelation Jesus Christ Himself hath announced, behold Me standing, ready and defenseless, before you. Deal with Me after your own desires.It may also be pointed our that the Bahá'í writings, far from condemning the Jewish people, extol their destiny:("Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1983), sec. 47, pp. 101-2)
The children of Him Who is the Friend of God [Abraham] and heirs of the One Who discoursed with God [Moses], who were accounted the most abject of men, have split the veils asunder, and rent the coverings, and seized the Sealed Wine from the hands of the bounty of Him Who is the Self-Subsisting, and drunk their fill, whilst the detestable Shí'ih divines have remained, until the present time, hesitant and perverse.(Cited in "The Promised Day Is Come" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1980), p. 87)
Praise be to God that whatsoever hath been announced in the Blessed Tablets unto the Israelites, and the things explicitly written in the letters of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, are all being fulfilled. Some have come to pass; others will be revealed in the future. The Ancient Beauty hath in His Sacred Tablets explicitly written that the day of their abasement is over. His bounty will overshadow them, and this race will day by day progress, and be delivered from its age-long obscuirty and degradation.Mr. _ may also find helpful a careful study of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's talks to the Jewish people during His travels in America, in which He presents numerous and convincing arguments for the Jewish acceptance of Jesus as a Manifestation of God. These talks may be found in "The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912", pages 361-70, 402-415. Further talks on the Jewish people are found on pages 150-53, 197-203 of the same text.You have asked Me a question with regard to the gathering of the children of Israel in Jerusalem, in accordance with prophecy.(Cited in "The Advent of Divine Justice" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1984), pp. 55-56)
Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies, is a revered Temple, a sublime name, for it is the City of God... The gathering of Israel at Jerusalem means, therefore, and prophesies, that Israel as a whole is gathering beneath the banner of God and will enter the Kingdom of the Ancient of Days. For the celestial Jerusalem, which has as its center the Holy of Holies, is a City of the Kingdom, a Divine City. The East and West are but a small corner of that City.
Moreover, materially as well (as spiritually), the Israelites will all gather in the Holy Land. This is irrefutable prophecy, for the ignominy which Israel has suffered for well-nigh twenty-five hundred years will now be changed into eternal glory, and in the eyes of all, the Jewish people will become glorified to such an extent as to draw the jealousy of its enemies and the envy of its friends.(Published in United States "Bahá'í News", vol. 250 (December 1951), p. 5)1
That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend of the All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it. The Voice of God commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth. This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer upon Him. For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God.He asks concerning the sacrifice of Ishmael: "Bahá'u'lláh said it was Ishmael... But again, how do I explain this to the Jews who say it was Isaac?"("Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh", sec. 32, pp. 75-76)
As to the question raised by the Racine Assembly in connection with Bahá'u'lláh's statement in the "Gleanings" concerning the sacrifice of Ishmael: although this statement does not agree with that made in the Bible, Genesis 22:9, the friends should unhesitatingly, and for reasons that are only too obvious, give precedence to the saying of Bahá'u'lláh, which, it should be pointed out, is fully corroborated by the Qur'án, which book is far more authentic than the Bible, including both the New and the Old Testaments. The Bible is not wholly authentic, and in this respect is not to be compared with the Qur'án and should be wholly subordinated to the authentic writings of Bahá'u'lláh....the reference to Ishmael is correct, although it disagrees with the text of the Bible. The Qur'án too corroborates this statement of Bahá'u'lláh, and as this book is more authentic than the Bible, it is obvious that it should be given precedence over the Jewish and Christian Holy Scriptures, which cannot be considered as being wholly authentic.(From a letter dated 28 July 1936 written on bealf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í News", no. 103 (October 1936), p. 1)(From a letter dated 7 March 1938 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)
The Guardian confirms that the record in the Qur'án and in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac as stated in the Old Testament, whom Abraham was to sacrifice, is to be upheld. In one of His Tablets 'Abdu'l-Bahá refers to this discrepancy, and explains that, from a spiritual point of view, it is irrelevant which son was involved. The essential part of the story is that Abraham was willing to obey God's command to sacrifice His son. Thus, although the account in the Torah is inaccurate in detail, it is true in substance.(From a letter dated 19 July 1981 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)