From: Baha’i Scriptures concerning Jesus
and Christianity
In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendorous
light shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things,
so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His
glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the
showers of His favors. How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless
grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their
virtue that not a single atom in the entire universe can be found which doth
not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name,
or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity. So perfect and
comprehensive is His creation that no mind nor heart, however keen or pure, can
ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of His creatures; much less
fathom the mystery of Him Who is the Day Star of Truth, Who is the invisible
and unknowable Essence. The conceptions of the devoutest of mystics, the
attainments of the most accomplished amongst men, the highest praise which
human tongue or pen can render are all the product of man's finite mind and are
conditioned by its limitations. Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are
thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search at His forbidding voice, "Thou
shalt never behold Me!"; whilst a myriad Messengers, each as great as
Jesus, stand dismayed upon their heavenly thrones by the interdiction,
"Mine Essence thou shalt never apprehend!" From time immemorial He
hath been veiled in the ineffable sanctity of His exalted Self, and will
everlastingly continue to be wrapt in the impenetrable mystery of His
unknowable Essence. Every attempt to attain to an understanding of His
inaccessible Reality hath ended in complete bewilderment, and every effort to
approach His exalted Self and envisage His Essence hath resulted in
hopelessness and failure. (Baha’u’llah, 'Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah')
In the time of the First Manifestation the Primal Will appeared in Adam; in the
day of Noah It became known in Noah; in the day of Abraham in Him; and so in
the day of Moses; the day of Jesus ….. (The Bab, Selections from the Writings
of the Bab)
Thus it is that Jesus, Himself, declared: “I go away and come again unto you.”
Consider the sun. Were it to say now, “I am the sun of yesterday,” it would
speak the truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to
be other than that sun, it still would speak the truth. In like manner, if it
be said that all the days are but one and the same, it is correct and true. And
if it be said, with respect to their particular names and designations, that
they differ, that again is true. For though they are the same, yet one doth
recognize in each a separate designation, a specific attribute, a particular
character. Conceive accordingly the distinction, variation, and unity
characteristic of the various Manifestations of holiness, that thou mayest
comprehend the allusions made by the creator of all names and attributes to the
mysteries of distinction and unity …. ( Baha’u’llah, 'The Book of Certitude')
God witnesseth that there is no God but Him, the Gracious, the Best-Beloved.
All grace and bounty are His. To whomsoever He will He giveth whatsoever is His
wish. … We recognize in the manifestation of each one of them [God’s
Manifestations, Prophets, Messengers], whether outwardly or inwardly, the
manifestation of none but God Himself, if ye be of those that comprehend. Every
one of them is a mirror of God, reflecting naught else but His Self, His Beauty,
His Might and Glory, if ye will understand. All else besides them are to be
regarded as mirrors capable of reflecting the glory of these Manifestations Who
are themselves the Primary Mirrors of the Divine Being, if ye be not devoid of
understanding. No one hath ever escaped them, neither are they to be hindered
from achieving their purpose. These Mirrors will everlastingly succeed each
other, and will continue to reflect the light of the Ancient of Days. They that
reflect their glory will, in like manner, continue to exist for evermore, for
the Grace of God can never cease from flowing. This is a truth that none can
disprove. (Baha’u’llah, 'Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah')
