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And yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God's universal Manifestations would be apparent. - Kitab-i-iqan (82:1) God is the One infallible Authority, and the Prophets are infallible because Their Message is the Message of God given to the world through Them. That Message remains valid until it is superseded by a later Message given by the same or another Prophet (82:2) God is the great Physician Who alone can rightly diagnose the world's sickness and prescribe the appropriate remedy. The remedy prescribed in one age is no longer suitable in a later age, when the condition of the patient is different. To cling to the old remedy when the physician has ordered new treatment is not to show faith in the physician, but infidelity. It may be a shock to the Jew to be told that some of the remedies for the world's sickness which Moses ordered over three thousand years ago are now out of date and unsuitable; the Christian may be equally shocked when told that Muhammad had anything necessary or valuable to add to what Jesus prescribed; and so also the Muslim, when asked to admit that the Bab or Baha'u'llah had authority to alter the commands of Muhammad; but according to the Baha'i view, true devotion to God implies reverence to all His Prophets, and implicit obedience to His latest Commands, as given by the Prophet for our own age. Only by such devotion can true Unity be attained (82:3) The Supreme Manifestation In the Lawh-i-Aqdas, a Tablet addressed especially to Christians, He says: - .. Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled! This is the Word which the Son concealed, when to those around Him He said: "Ye cannot bear it now." And when the appointed time was fulfilled and the Hour had struck, the Word shone forth above the horizon of the Will of God. Beware, O followers of the Son, that ye cast it not behind your backs. Take ye fast hold of it. Better is this for you than all that ye possess... (82:5) Verily, He Who is the Spirit of Truth is come to guide you unto all truth. He speaketh not as prompted by His own self, but as bidden by Him Who is the All- Knowing, the All- Wise... Cast away, O peoples of the earth, that which ye have and take fast hold of that which ye are bidden by the All- Powerful, He Who is the Bearer of the Trust of God (82:6) And in a letter to the Pope, written from Adrianople in 1867, He says: - Beware lest celebration hinder you from the Celebrated and worship hinder you from the Worshipped One! Behold the Lord, the Mighty, the All- Knowing! He hath come to minister to the life of the world, and for the uniting of whatever dwelleth therein. Come, O ye people, to the Dawning- place of Revelation! Tarry not, even for an hour! Are ye learned of the Gospel, and yet are unable to see the Lord of Glory?
(82:7)
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