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4: ABRAHAM 12 |
One of those Who possessed this power and was assisted
by it was Abraham. And the proof of it was that He was
born in Mesopotamia, and of a family who were ignorant
of the Oneness of God. He opposed His own nation and
people, and even His own family, by rejecting all their
gods. Alone and without help He resisted a powerful
tribe, a task which is neither simple nor easy. It is as if in
this day someone were to go to a Christian people who are
attached to the Bible, and deny Christ; or in the Papal
Court—God forbid!—if such a one were in the most
powerful manner to blaspheme against Christ and oppose
the people.
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These people believed not in one God but in many
gods, to whom they ascribed miracles; therefore, they all
arose against Him, and no one supported Him except Lot,
His brother’s son, and one or two other people of no importance.
At last, reduced to the utmost distress by the
opposition of His enemies, He was obliged to leave His
native land. In reality they banished Him in order that He
might be crushed and destroyed, and that no trace of Him
might be left.
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Abraham then came into the region of the Holy Land.
His enemies considered that His exile would lead to His
destruction and ruin, as it seemed impossible that a man
banished from His native land, deprived of His rights and
oppressed on all sides—even though He were a king—could escape extermination. But Abraham stood fast and
showed forth extraordinary firmness—and God made this
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exile to be to His eternal honor—until He established the
Unity of God in the midst of a polytheistic generation.
This exile became the cause of the progress of the descendants
of Abraham, and the Holy Land was given to them.
As a result the teachings of Abraham were spread abroad,
a Jacob appeared among His posterity, and a Joseph who
became ruler in Egypt. In consequence of His exile a
Moses and a being like Christ were manifested from His
posterity, and Hagar was found from whom Ishmael was
born, one of whose descendants was Muḥammad. In consequence
of His exile the Báb appeared from His
posterity,
1
and the Prophets of Israel were numbered
among the descendants of Abraham. And so it will continue
for ever and ever. Finally, in consequence of His
exile the whole of Europe and most of Asia came under the
protecting shadow of the God of Israel. See what a power
it is that enabled a Man Who was a fugitive from His
country to found such a family, to establish such a faith,
and to promulgate such teachings. Can anyone say that all
this occurred accidentally? We must be just: was this Man
an Educator or not?
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1. | The Báb’s descent was from Muḥammad. [ Back To Reference] |