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[Emphasis added in the quotations below.]
From the King James Bible, Isaiah:
55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the LORD.
55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
55:10 For as the rain
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth
out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.*****
In speaking of the “Manifestations Who are themselves the
Primary Mirrors of the Divine Being” Baha’u’llah says:
“No one hath ever
escaped them, neither are they to be hindered from achieving their purpose.” (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 74)
For We are potent indeed to
achieve Our purpose, and render no account for that which We bring to pass;
and none can dispute this save those who join partners with God and doubt His
Truth. Say: Nothing can withstand the power of Our might or interrupt the
course of Our command. We exalt whomsoever We please unto the Realm of
supernal might and glory, and, should We so desire, cause the same to sink into
the lowest abyss of degradation.
(Baha'u'llah,
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 36)
Say: If it be Our pleasure We shall render the
Cause victorious through the power of a single word from Our presence. He is in
truth the Omnipotent, the All-Compelling. Should it be God's intention, there
would appear out of the forests of celestial might the lion of indomitable
strength whose roaring is like unto the peals of thunder reverberating in the
mountains. However, since Our loving providence surpasseth all things, We have
ordained that complete victory should be achieved through speech and utterance,
that Our servants throughout the earth may thereby become the recipients of
divine good. This is but a token of God's bounty vouchsafed unto them. Verily
thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the Most Exalted.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pp. 196-97)
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pp. 196-97)
XXXIII. It hath been decreed by Us
that the Word of God and all the potentialities thereof shall be manifested
unto men in strict conformity with such conditions as have been foreordained by
Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We have, moreover, ordained that its
veil of concealment be none other except its own Self. Such indeed is Our
Power to achieve Our Purpose. Should the Word be allowed to release
suddenly all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of
so mighty a Revelation. Nay, all that is in heaven and on earth would flee in
consternation before it.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 76)
LXXI. Be not dismayed, O peoples of
the world, when the day star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle
is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word
amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the
power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me, will arise
and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall
be unable to defeat his purpose.
(Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 137)
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.
(Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 142)
Were men to discover the motivating purpose of God's Revelation, they would assuredly cast away their fears, and, with hearts filled with gratitude, rejoice with exceeding gladness.
Were men to discover the motivating purpose of God's Revelation, they would assuredly cast away their fears, and, with hearts filled with gratitude, rejoice with exceeding gladness.
(Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 175)
Dost thou believe thou hast the
power to frustrate His Will, to hinder Him from executing His judgment, or to
deter Him from exercising His sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the
heavens or in the earth can resist His Faith? No, by Him Who is the Eternal
Truth! Nothing whatsoever in the whole of creation can thwart His Purpose.
(Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 220)
Though afflicted with countless
tribulations, which We have suffered at the hands of Our enemies, We have
proclaimed unto all the rulers of the earth what God hath willed to proclaim,
that all nations may know that no manner of affliction can deter the Pen of
the Ancient of Days from achieving its purpose. His Pen moveth by the leave
of God, Who fashioneth the crumbling and rotten bones.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 242)
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.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 280)
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.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 282)
O concourse of bishops! Ye are the
stars of the heaven of My knowledge. My mercy desireth not that ye should fall
upon the earth. My justice, however, declareth: 'This is that which the Son
hath decreed.' And whatsoever hath proceeded out of His blameless, His
truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered. The bells, verily, peal
out My Name, and lament over Me, but My spirit rejoiceth with evident gladness.
The body of the Loved One yearneth for the cross, and His head is eager for the
spear, in the path of the All-Merciful. The ascendancy of the oppressor can
in no wise deter Him from His purpose.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 14)
The people of the Qur'án have risen
up against Us without any clear proof or evidence, tormenting Us at every
moment with a fresh torment. They idly imagine that tribulations can
frustrate Our Purpose. Vain indeed is that which they have imagined. Verily,
thy Lord is the One Who ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 15)
PRAISE and glory beseem the Lord of
Names and the Creator of the heavens, He, the waves of Whose ocean
of Revelation surge before the eyes
of the peoples of the world. The Day-Star of His Cause shineth through every
veil and His Word of affirmation standeth beyond the reach of negation. Neither
the ascendancy of the oppressor nor the tyranny of the wicked hath been able to
thwart His Purpose. How glorified is His sovereignty, how exalted His
dominion!
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