Baha'u'llah & the New Era 2006 - J. Esslemont
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Page 162 of  180

As 'Abdu'l-Baha says: - It is not necessary to lower Abraham to raise Jesus. It is not necessary to lower Jesus to proclaim Baha'u'llah. We must welcome the Truth of God wherever we behold it. The essence of the question is that all these great Messengers came to raise the Divine Standard of Perfections. All of them shine as orbs in the same heaven of the Divine Will. All of them give Light to the world (162:1)

The task is God's, and God calls not only the Prophets but all mankind to be His co- workers in this creative process. If we refuse His invitation, we shall not hinder the work from going on, for what God wills shall surely come to pass. If we fail to play our part He can raise up other instruments to perform His purpose; but we shall miss the real aim and object of our own lives. At- one- ment with God - becoming His lovers, His servants, the willing channels and mediums of His Creative Power, so that we are conscious of no life within us but His Divine and abundant life - that, according to the Baha'i teaching, is the ineffable and glorious consummation of human existence (162:2)

Humanity, however, is sound at heart, for it is made "in the image and likeness of God," and when at last it sees the truth, it will not persist in the paths of folly. Baha'u'llah assures us that erelong the call of God will be generally accepted, and mankind as a whole will turn to righteousness and obedience. "All sorrow will then be turned into joy, and all disease into health," and the kingdoms of this world shall become "the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. xi, 15). Not only those on earth, but all in the heavens and on the earth, shall become one in God and rejoice eternally in Him (162:3)

Renewal of Religion
The state of the world today surely affords ample evidence that, with rare exceptions, people of all religions need to be reawakened to the real meaning of their religion; and that reawakening is an important part of the work of Baha'u'llah. He comes to make Christians better Christians, to make Muslims real Muslims, to make all men true to the spirit that inspired their Prophets. He also fulfills the promise made by all these Prophets, of a more glorious Manifestation which was to appear in the "Fullness of Time" to crown and consummate Their labors. He gives a fuller unfolding of spiritual truths than His predecessors, and reveals the Will of God with regard to all the problems of individual and social life that confront us in the world today. He gives a universal teaching which affords a firm foundation on which a new and better civilization can be built up, a teaching adapted to the needs of the world in the new era which is now commencing (162:4)

Need for New Revelation
The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world's different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace, of International Arbitration of an International House of Justice, of an International Language, the Emancipation of Women, Universal Education, the abolition not only of Chattel Slavery, but of Industrial Slavery, the Organization of Humanity as a single whole, with due regard to the rights and liberties of each individual - these are problems of gigantic magnitude and stupendous difficulty in relation to which Christians, Muhammadans and adherents of other religions have held and still hold the most diverse and often violently opposed views, but Baha'u'llah has revealed clearly defined principles, the general adoption of which would obviously make the world a paradise (162:5)

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