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Baha'u'llah appeared in a world where technical progress, though uneven, had always been relatively slow. Generations before Him had lived and died knowing that their great- grandchildren would be born into a world little more advanced than their own. The prophecies of Baha'u'llah made it clear that that world had ended; that in the new heavens and new earth of His revelation, scientific knowledge and invention would dart forward with jackrabbit speed. Beginning at once, He said, humanity would 'behold things of which ye have never heard before' including 'the knowledge of the most marvellous sciences'- hitherto unimaginable discoveries that would shrink the globe to a veritable village. These advances (though exposing humankind to catastrophic danger) would provide a material framework for the infinitely more glorious spiritual revolution to follow, a revolution destined to usher in the millennial paradise in scriptures of old. (204:4) 'A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth,' He wrote, 'and yet none hath discovered its cause, or perceived its motive' (WOB 202). He identified its source as the 'fertilizing winds'(PDC ) of the Holy Spirit, released anew into the world through His revelation: Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame... Through the mere revelation of the word 'Fashioner', issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce... All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before... every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvellous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All- Knowing (Gl 141-2). (205:2) Baha'u'llah understood that these material advances would come before mankind had acquired the spiritual maturity to use them wisely. He wrote: The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men... If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation... The day is approaching when its flame will devour the cities... (Gl 342-3)
(207:2)
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