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Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
Friendly sites
Hagia Sophia
Solitaire
Tetris
Space Invaders
Q-bert
Moon Patrol
Bubble Bobble
Lady Bug
Bomb Jack
Ghosts n Goblins
Burger time
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Holy Kitab I
Iqan:
Section 5 |
For this reason did Muhammad cry
out: "No Prophet of God hath suffered such harm as I have
suffered." And in the Qur'an are recorded all the calumnies and
reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the afflictions
which He suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be
informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous
was His plight, that for a time all ceased to hold intercourse
with Him and His companions. Whoever associated with Him fell a
victim to the relentless cruelty of His enemies.
We shall cite in this connection only one verse of that Book.
Shouldst thou observe it with a discerning eye, thou wilt, all
the remaining days of thy life, lament and bewail the injury of
Muhammad, that wronged and oppressed Messenger of God.
That verse was revealed at a time when Muhammad languished weary
and sorrowful beneath the weight of the opposition of the
people, and of their unceasing torture. In the midst of His
agony, the Voice of Gabriel, calling from the Sadratu'l-Muntaha,
was heard saying: "But if their opposition be grievous to
Thee-if Thou canst, seek out an opening into the earth or a
ladder into heaven." [Qur'an 6:35.] The implication of this
utterance is that His case had no remedy, that they would not
withhold their hands from Him unless He should hide Himself
beneath the depths of the earth, or take His flight unto heaven.
Consider, how great is the change today! Behold, how many are
the Sovereigns who bow the knee before His name! How numerous
the nations and kingdoms who have sought the shelter of His
shadow, who bear allegiance to His Faith, and pride themselves
therein! From the pulpit-top there ascendeth today the words of
praise which, in utter lowliness, glorify His blessed name; and
from the heights of minarets there resoundeth the call that
summoneth the concourse of His people to adore Him. Even those
Kings of the earth who have refused to embrace His Faith and to
put off the garment of unbelief, none the less confess and
acknowledge the greatness and overpowering majesty of that
Day-star of loving kindness. Such is His earthly sovereignty,
the evidences of which thou dost on every side behold. This
sovereignty must needs be revealed and established either in the
lifetime of every Manifestation of God or after His ascension
unto His true habitation in the realms above. What thou dost
witness today is but a confirmation of this truth. That
spiritual ascendency, however, which is primarily intended,
resideth within, and revolveth around Them from eternity even
unto eternity. It can never for a moment be divorced from Them.
Its dominion hath encompassed all that is in heaven and on
earth.
The following is an evidence of the sovereignty exercised by
Muhammad, the Day-star of Truth. Hast thou not heard how with
one single verse He hath sundered light from darkness, the
righteous from the ungodly, and the believing from the infidel?
All the signs and allusions concerning the Day of Judgment,
which thou hast heard, such as the raising of the dead, the Day
of Reckoning, the Last Judgment, and others have been made
manifest through the revelation of that verse. These revealed
words were a blessing to the righteous who on hearing them
exclaimed: "O God our Lord, we have heard, and obeyed." They
were a curse to the people of iniquity who, on hearing them
affirmed:
"We have heard and rebelled." Those words, sharp as the sword of
God, have separated the faithful from the infidel, and severed
father from son. Thou hast surely witnessed how they that have
confessed their faith in Him and they that rejected Him have
warred against each other, and sought one another's property.
How many fathers have turned away from their sons; how many
lovers have shunned their beloved! So mercilessly trenchant was
this wondrous sword of God that it cleft asunder every
relationship! On the other hand, consider the welding power of
His Word. Observe, how those in whose midst the Satan of self
had for years sown the seeds of malice and hate became so fused
and blended through their allegiance to this wondrous and
transcendent Revelation that it seemed as if they had sprung
from the same loins. Such is the binding force of the Word of
God, which uniteth the hearts of them that have renounced all
else but Him, who have believed in His signs, and quaffed from
the Hand of glory the Kawthar of God's holy grace. Furthermore,
how numerous are those peoples of divers beliefs, of conflicting
creeds, and opposing temperaments, who, through the reviving
fragrance of the Divine springtime, breathing from the Ridvan of
God, have been arrayed with the new robe of divine Unity, and
have drunk from the cup of His singleness!
This is the significance of the well-known words: "The wolf and
the lamb shall feed together." [Isaiah 65:25.] Behold the
ignorance and folly of those who, like the nations of old, are
still expecting to witness the time when these beasts will feed
together in one pasture! Such is their low estate. Methinks,
never have their lips touched the cup of understanding, neither
have their feet trodden the path of justice. Besides, of what
profit would it be to the world were such a thing to take place?
How well hath He spoken concerning them: "Hearts have they, with
which they understand not, and eyes have they with which they
see not!" [Qur'an 7:178.]
Consider how with this one verse which hath descended from the
heaven of the Will of God, the world and all that is therein
have been brought to a reckoning with Him. Whosoever
acknowledged His truth and turned unto Him, his good works
outweighed his misdeeds, and all his sins were remitted and
forgiven. Thereby is the truth of these words concerning Him
made manifest: "Swift is He in reckoning." Thus God turneth
iniquity into righteousness, were ye to explore the realms of
divine knowledge, and fathom the mysteries of His wisdom. In
like manner, whosoever partook of the cup of love, obtained his
portion of the ocean of eternal grace and of the showers of
everlasting mercy, and entered into the life of faith-the
heavenly and everlasting life. But he that turned away from that
cup was condemned to eternal death. By the terms "life" and
"death," spoken of in the scriptures, is intended the life of
faith and the death of unbelief. The generality of the people,
owing to their failure to grasp the meaning of these words,
rejected and despised the person of the Manifestation, deprived
themselves of the light of His divine guidance, and refused to
follow the example of that immortal Beauty.
When the light of Qur'anic Revelation was kindled within the
chamber of Muhammad's holy heart, He passed upon the people the
verdict of the Last Day, the verdict of resurrection, of
judgment, of life, and of death. Thereupon the standards of
revolt were hoisted, and the doors of derision opened. Thus hath
He, the Spirit of God, recorded, as spoken by the infidels: "And
if thou shouldst say, 'After death ye shall surely be raised
again,' the infidels will certainly exclaim, 'This is nothing
but manifest sorcery.'" [Qur'an 11:7.] Again He speaketh: "If
ever thou dost marvel, marvellous surely is their saying, 'What!
When we have become dust, shall we be restored in a new
creation?'" [Qur'an 13:5.] Thus, in another passage, He
wrathfully exclaimeth: "Are We wearied out with the first
creation? Yet are they in doubt with regard to a new creation!"
[Qur'an 50:15.]
As the commentators of the Qur'an and they that follow the
letter thereof misapprehended the inner meaning of the words of
God and failed to grasp their essential purpose, they sought to
demonstrate that, according to the rules of grammar, whenever
the term "idha" (meaning "if" or "when") precedeth the past
tense, it invariably hath reference to the future. Later, they
were sore perplexed in attempting to explain those verses of the
Book wherein that term did not actually occur. Even as He hath
revealed: "And there was a blast on the trumpet,--lo! it is the
threatened Day!
And every soul is summoned to a reckoning,--with him an impeller
and a witness." [Qur'an 50:20.] In explaining this and similar
verses, they have in some cases argued that the term "idha" is
implied. In other instances, they have idly contended that
whereas the Day of Judgment is inevitable, it hath therefore
been referred to as an event not of the future but of the past.
How vain their sophistry! How grievous their blindness! They
refuse to recognize the trumpet-blast which so explicitly in
this text was sounded through the revelation of Muhammad. They
deprive themselves of the regenerating Spirit of God that
breathed into it, and foolishly expect to hear the trumpet-sound
of the Seraph of God who is but one of His servants! Hath not
the Seraph himself, the angel of the Judgment Day, and his like
been ordained by Muhammad's own utterance? Say:
What! Will ye give that which is for your good in exchange for
that which is evil? Wretched is that which ye have falsely
exchanged! Surely ye are a people, evil, in grievous loss.
Nay, by "trumpet" is meant the trumpet-call of Muhammad's
Revelation, which was sounded in the heart of the universe, and
by "resurrection" is meant His own rise to proclaim the Cause of
God.
He bade the erring and wayward arise and speed out of the
sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed them with the beauteous robe
of faith, and quickened them with the breath of a new and
wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muhammad, that divine
Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in the
symbolic terms "resurrection," "judgment," "paradise," and
"hell," Gabriel, the Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying:
"Erelong will they wag their heads at Thee, and say, 'When shall
this be?' Say: 'Perchance it is nigh.'" [Qur'an 17:51.] The
implications of this verse alone suffice the peoples of the
world, were they to ponder it in their hearts.
Gracious God! How far have that people strayed from the way of
God! Although the Day of Resurrection was ushered in through the
Revelation of Muhammad, although His light and tokens had
encompassed the earth and all that is therein, yet that people
derided Him, gave themselves up to those idols which the divines
of that age, in their vain and idle fancy, had conceived, and
deprived themselves of the light of heavenly grace and of the
showers of divine mercy. Yea, the abject beetle can never scent
the fragrance of holiness, and the bat of darkness can never
face the splendour of the sun.
Such things have come to pass in the days of every Manifestation
of God. Even as Jesus said:
"Ye must be born again." [John 3:7.] Again He saith: "Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." [John 3:5-6.] The
purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation
is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the
Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have
attained unto "life" and "resurrection" and have entered into
the "paradise" of the love of God. And whosoever is not of them,
is condemned to "death" and "deprivation," to the "fire" of
unbelief, and to the "wrath" of God. In all the scriptures, the
books and chronicles, the sentence of death, of fire, of
blindness, of want of understanding and hearing, hath been
pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal
cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of
the grace of the holy Spirit in their day.
Even as it hath been previously recorded: "Hearts have they with
which they understand not." [Qur'an 7:178.]
In another passage of the Gospel it is written: "And it came to
pass that on a certain day the father of one of the disciples of
Jesus had died. That disciple reporting the death of his father
unto Jesus, asked for leave to go and bury him. Whereupon,
Jesus, that Essence of Detachment, answered and said: "Let the
dead bury their dead." [Luke 9:60.]
In like manner, two of the people of Kufih went to Ali, the
Commander of the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell
it; the other was to be the purchaser. They had agreed that this
transaction should be effected and the contract be written with
the knowledge of Ali. He, the exponent of the law of God,
addressing the scribe, said:
"Write thou: 'A dead man hath bought from another dead man a
house. That house is bounded by four limits. One extendeth
toward the tomb, the other to the vault of the grave, the third
to the Sirat, the fourth to either Paradise or hell.'" Reflect,
had these two souls been quickened by the trumpet-call of Ali,
had they risen from the grave of error by the power of his love,
the judgment of death would certainly not have been pronounced
against them.
In every age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and
their chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual
significance of the terms "life," "resurrection," and
"judgment." If one will ponder but for a while this utterance of
Ali in his heart, one will surely discover all mysteries hidden
in the terms "grave," "tomb," "sirat," "paradise" and "hell."
But oh! how strange and pitiful! Behold, all the people are
imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried beneath the
nethermost depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to but
a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou
wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the
flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is
common to both men and animals, whereas the life of the spirit
is possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the
ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life
knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by immortality.
Even as it hath been said: "He who is a true believer liveth
both in this world and in the world to come."
If by "life" be meant this earthly life, it is evident that
death must needs overtake it.
Similarly, the records of all the scriptures bear witness to
this lofty truth and this most exalted word. Moreover, this
verse of the Qur'an, revealed concerning Hamzih, the "Prince of
Martyrs," [Title of the uncle of Muhammad.] and Abu-Jahl, is a
luminous evidence and sure testimony of the truth of Our saying:
"Shall the dead, whom We have quickened, and for whom We have
ordained a light whereby he may walk among men, be like him,
whose likeness is in the darkness, whence he will not come
forth?" [Qur'an 6:122.] This verse descended from the heaven of
the Primal Will at a time when Hamzih had already been invested
with the sacred mantle of faith, and Abu-Jahl had waxed
relentless in his opposition and unbelief. From the Wellspring
of omnipotence and the Source of eternal holiness, there came
the judgment that conferred everlasting life upon Hamzih, and
condemned Abu-Jahl to eternal damnation.
This was the signal that caused the fires of unbelief to glow
with the hottest flame in the heart of the infidels, and
provoked them openly to repudiate His truth. They loudly
clamoured: "When did Hamzih die? When was he risen? At what hour
was such a life conferred upon him?" As they understood not the
significance of these noble sayings, nor sought enlightenment
from the recognized expounders of the Faith, that these might
confer a sprinkling of the Kawthar of divine knowledge upon
them, therefore such fires of mischief were kindled amongst men.
Thou dost witness today how, notwithstanding the radiant
splendour of the Sun of divine knowledge, all the people,
whether high or low, have clung to the ways of those abject
manifestations of the Prince of Darkness. They continually
appeal to them for aid in unraveling the intricacies of their
Faith, and, owing to lack of knowledge, they make such replies
as can in no wise damage their fame and fortune. It is evident
that these souls, vile and miserable as the beetle itself, have
had no portion of the musk-laden breeze of eternity, and have
never entered the Ridvan of heavenly delight.
How, therefore, can they impart unto others the imperishable
fragrance of holiness? Such is their way, and such will it
remain for ever. Only those will attain to the knowledge of the
Word of God that have turned unto Him, and repudiated the
manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the
day of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power
upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial
glory. Wert thou to heed these words, wert thou to ponder their
outward and inner meaning in thy heart, thou wouldst seize the
significance of all the abstruse problems which, in this day,
have become insuperable barriers between men and the knowledge
of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no more questions to
perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing, thou wilt
not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the
ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the
imperishable Sanctuary of thy heart's desire. Let it now be seen
what thy search and endeavours will achieve.
To resume: Our purpose in setting forth these truths hath been
to demonstrate the sovereignty of Him Who is the King of kings.
Be fair: Is this sovereignty which, through the utterance of one
Word, hath manifested such pervading influence, ascendancy, and
awful majesty, is this sovereignty superior, or is the worldly
dominion of these kings of the earth who, despite their
solicitude for their subjects and their help of the poor, are
assured only of an outward and fleeting allegiance, while in the
hearts of men they inspire neither affection nor respect? Hath
not that sovereignty, through the potency of one word, subdued,
quickened, and revitalized the whole world? What! Can the lowly
dust compare with Him Who is the Lord of Lords? What tongue dare
utter the immensity of difference that lieth between them? Nay,
all comparison falleth short in attaining the hallowed sanctuary
of His sovereignty. Were man to reflect, he would surely
perceive that even the servant of His threshold ruleth over all
created things! This hath already been witnessed, and will in
future be made manifest.
This is but one of the meanings of the spiritual sovereignty
which We have set forth in accordance with the capacity and
receptiveness of the people. For He, the Mover of all beings,
that glorified Countenance, is the source of such potencies as
neither this wronged One can reveal, nor this unworthy people
comprehend. Immensely exalted is He above men's praise of His
sovereignty; glorified is He beyond that which they attribute
unto Him!
And now, ponder this in thine heart: Were sovereignty to mean
earthly sovereignty and worldly dominion, were it to imply the
subjection and external allegiance of all the peoples and
kindreds of the earth-whereby His loved ones should be exalted
and be made to live in peace, and His enemies be abased and
tormented-such form of sovereignty would not be true of God
Himself, the Source of all dominion, Whose majesty and power all
things testify. For, dost thou not witness how the generality of
mankind is under the sway of His enemies? Have they not all
turned away from the path of His good-pleasure? Have they not
done that which He hath forbidden, and left undone, nay
repudiated and opposed, those things which He hath commanded?
Have not His friends ever been the victims of the tyranny of His
foes? All these things are more obvious than even the splendour
of the noon-tide sun.
Know, therefore, O questioning seeker, that earthly sovereignty
is of no worth, nor will it ever be, in the eyes of God and His
chosen Ones. Moreover, if ascendency and dominion be interpreted
to mean earthly supremacy and temporal power, how impossible
will it be for thee to explain these verses: "And verily Our
host shall conquer." [Qur'an 37:173.] "Fain would they put out
God's light with their mouths: But God hath willed to perfect
His light, albeit the infidels abhor it." [Qur'an 9:33.] "He is
the Dominant, above all things." Similarly, most of the Qur'an
testifieth to this truth.
Were the idle contention of these foolish and despicable souls
to be true, they would have none other alternative than to
reject all these holy utterances and heavenly allusions. For no
warrior could be found on earth more excellent and nearer to God
than Husayn, son of Ali, so peerless and incomparable was he.
"There was none to equal or to match him in the world." Yet,
thou must have heard what befell him. "God's malison on the head
of the people of tyranny!" [Qur'an 11:18.]
Were the verse "And verily Our host shall conquer" to be
literally interpreted, it is evident that it would in no wise be
applicable to the chosen Ones of God and His hosts, inasmuch as
Husayn, whose heroism was manifest as the sun, crushed and
subjugated, quaffed at last the cup of martyrdom in Karbila, the
land of Taff. Similarly, the sacred verse "Fain would they put
out God's light with their mouths: But God hath willed to
perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it." Were it to be
literally interpreted it would never correspond with the truth.
For in every age the light of God hath, to outward seeming, been
quenched by the peoples of the earth, and the Lamps of God
extinguished by them. How then could the ascendancy of the
sovereignty of these Lamps be explained? What could the potency
of God's will to "perfect His light" signify? As hath already
been witnessed, so great was the enmity of the infidels, that
none of these divine Luminaries ever found a place for shelter,
or tasted of the cup of tranquillity. So heavily were they
oppressed, that the least of men inflicted upon these Essences
of being whatsoever he listed. These sufferings have been
observed and measured by the people. How, therefore, can such
people be capable of understanding and expounding these words of
God, these verses of everlasting glory?
But the purpose of these verses is not what they have imagined.
Nay, the terms "ascendancy," "power," and "authority" imply a
totally different station and meaning. For instance, consider
the pervading power of those drops of the blood of Husayn which
besprinkled the earth. What ascendancy and influence hath the
dust itself, through the sacredness and potency of that blood,
exercised over the bodies and souls of men! So much so, that he
who sought deliverance from his ills, was healed by touching the
dust of that holy ground, and whosoever, wishing to protect his
property, treasured with absolute faith and understanding, a
little of that holy earth within his house, safeguarded all his
possessions. These are the outward manifestations of its
potency. And were We to recount its hidden virtues they would
assuredly say: "He verily hath considered the dust to be the
Lord of Lords, and hath utterly forsaken the Faith of God."
Furthermore, call to mind the shameful circumstances that have
attended the martyrdom of Husayn.
Reflect upon his loneliness, how, to outer seeming, none could
be found to aid him, none to take up his body and bury it. And
yet, behold how numerous, in this day, are those who from the
uttermost corners of the earth don the garb of pilgrimage,
seeking the site of his martyrdom, that there they may lay their
heads upon the threshold of his shrine! Such is the ascendancy
and power of God! Such is the glory of His dominion and majesty!
Think not that because these things have come to pass after
Husayn's martyrdom, therefore all this glory hath been of no
profit unto him. For that holy soul is immortal, liveth the life
of God, and abideth within the retreats of celestial glory upon
the Sadrih of heavenly reunion. These Essences of being are the
shining Exemplars of sacrifice. They have offered, and will
continue to offer up their lives, their substance, their souls,
their spirit, their all, in the path of the Well-Beloved. By
them, no station, however exalted, could be more dearly
cherished. For lovers have no desire but the good-pleasure of
their Beloved, and have no aim except reunion with Him.
Should We wish to impart unto thee a glimmer of the mysteries of
Husayn's martyrdom, and reveal unto thee the fruits thereof,
these pages could never suffice, nor exhaust their meaning. Our
hope is that, God willing, the breeze of mercy may blow, and the
divine Springtime clothe the tree of being with the robe of a
new life; so that we may discover the mysteries of divine
Wisdom, and, through His providence, be made independent of the
knowledge of all things. We have, as yet, descried none but a
handful of souls, destitute of all renown, who have attained
unto this station. Let the future disclose what the Judgment of
God will ordain, and the Tabernacle of His decree reveal. In
such wise We recount unto thee the wonders of the Cause of God,
and pour out into thine ears the strains of heavenly melody,
that haply thou mayest attain unto the station of true
knowledge, and partake of the fruit thereof. Therefore, know
thou of a certainty that these Luminaries of heavenly majesty,
though their dwelling be in the dust, yet their true habitation
is the seat of glory in the realms above. Though bereft of all
earthly possessions, yet they soar in the realms of immeasurable
riches. And whilst sore tried in the grip of the enemy, they are
seated on the right hand of power and celestial dominion. Amidst
the darkness of their abasement there shineth upon them the
light of unfading glory, and upon their helplessness are
showered the tokens of an invincible sovereignty.
Thus Jesus, Son of Mary, whilst seated one day and speaking in
the strain of the Holy Spirit, uttered words such as these: "O
people! My food is the grass of the field, wherewith I satisfy
my hunger. My bed is the dust, my lamp in the night the light of
the moon, and my steed my own feet. Behold, who on earth is
richer than I?" By the righteousness of God! Thousands of
treasures circle round this poverty, and a myriad kingdoms of
glory yearn for such abasement! Shouldst thou attain to a drop
of the ocean of the inner meaning of these words, thou wouldst
surely forsake the world and all that is therein, and, as the
Phoenix wouldst consume thyself in the flames of the undying
Fire.
In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the
companions of Sadiq complained of his poverty before him.
Whereupon, Sadiq, that immortal beauty, made reply: "Verily thou
art rich, and hast drunk the draught of wealth." That
poverty-stricken soul was perplexed at the words uttered by that
luminous countenance, and said:
"Where are my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?"
Sadiq thereupon observed: "Dost thou not possess our love?" He
replied: "Yea, I possess it, O thou scion of the Prophet of
God!" And Sadiq asked him saying: "Exchangest thou this love for
one thousand dinars?" He answered:
"Nay, never will I exchange it, though the world and all that is
therein be given me!" Then Sadiq remarked: "How can he who
possesses such a treasure be called poor?"
This poverty and these riches, this abasement and glory, this
dominion, power, and the like, upon which the eyes and hearts of
these vain and foolish souls are set,--all these things fade
into utter nothingness in that Court! Even as He hath said: "O
men! Ye are but paupers in need of God; but God is the Rich, the
Self-Sufficing." [Qur'an 35:15.] By 'riches' therefore is meant
independence of all else but God, and by 'poverty' the lack of
things that are of God.
Similarly, call thou to mind the day when the Jews, who had
surrounded Jesus, Son of Mary, were pressing Him to confess His
claim of being the Messiah and Prophet of God, so that they
might declare Him an infidel and sentence Him to death. Then,
they led Him away, He Who was the Day-star of the heaven of
divine Revelation, unto Pilate and Caiaphas, who was the leading
divine of that age. The chief priests were all assembled in the
palace, also a multitude of people who had gathered to witness
His sufferings, to deride and injure Him. Though they repeatedly
questioned Him, hoping that He would confess His claim, yet
Jesus held His peace and spake not. Finally, an accursed of God
arose and, approaching Jesus, adjured Him saying: "Didst thou
not claim to be the Divine Messiah? Didst thou not say, 'I am
the King of Kings, My word is the Word of God, and I am the
breaker of the Sabbath day?'" Thereupon Jesus lifted up His head
and said: "Beholdest thou not the Son of Man sitting on the
right hand of power and might?" These were His words, and yet
consider how to outward seeming He was devoid of all power
except that inner power which was of God and which had
encompassed all that is in heaven and on earth. How can I relate
all that befell Him after He spoke these words? How shall I
describe their heinous behaviour towards Him? They at last
heaped on His blessed Person such woes that He took His flight
unto the fourth Heaven.
It is also recorded in the Gospel according to St. Luke, that on
a certain day Jesus passed by a Jew who was sick of the palsy,
and lay upon a couch. When the Jew saw Him, he recognized Him,
and cried out for His help. Jesus said unto him: "Arise from thy
bed; thy sins are forgiven thee." Certain of the Jews, standing
by, protested saying: "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" And
immediately He perceived their thoughts, Jesus answering said
unto them: "Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the
palsy, arise, and take up thy bed, and walk; or to say, thy sins
are forgiven thee? that ye may know that the Son of Man hath
power on earth to forgive sins." [Cf. Luke 5:18-26.] This is the
real sovereignty, and such is the power of God's chosen Ones!
All these things which We have repeatedly mentioned, and the
details which We have cited from divers sources, have no other
purpose but to enable thee to grasp the meaning of the allusions
in the utterances of the chosen Ones of God, lest certain of
these utterances cause thy feet to falter and thy heart to be
dismayed. |
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