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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH THE LORD OF HOSTS |
The blessed Person of the Promised One is interpreted in the
Holy Book as the Lord of Hosts, i.e., the heavenly armies. By
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heavenly armies those souls are intended who are entirely freed
from the human world, transformed into celestial spirits and have
become divine angels. Such souls are the rays of the Sun of Reality
who will illumine all the continents. Each one is holding in his
hand a trumpet, blowing the breath of life over all the regions.
They are delivered from human qualities and the defects of the
world of nature, are characterized with the characteristics of God,
and are attracted with the fragrances of the Merciful. Like unto
the apostles of Christ, who were filled with Him, these souls also
have become filled with His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, i.e., the love of
Bahá’u’lláh has so mastered every organ, part and limb of their
bodies, as to leave no effect by the promptings of the human world.
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These souls are the armies of God and the conquerors of the
East and the West. Should one of them turn his face toward some
direction and summon the people to the Kingdom of God, all the
ideal forces and lordly confirmations will rush to his support and
reinforcement. He will behold all the doors open and all the strong
fortifications and impregnable castles razed to the ground. Singly
and alone he will attack the armies of the world, defeat the right
and left wings of the hosts of all the countries, break through
the lines of the legions of all the nations and carry his attack to
the very center of the powers of the earth. This is the meaning
of the Hosts of God.
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Any soul from among the believers of Bahá’u’lláh who attains
to this station, will become known as the Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh.
Therefore strive ye with heart and soul—so that ye may reach
this lofty and exalted position, be established on the throne of
everlasting glory, and crown your heads with the shining diadem
of the Kingdom, whose brilliant jewels may irradiate upon centuries
and cycles.
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O ye kind friends! Uplift your magnanimity and soar high
toward the apex of heaven—so that your blessed hearts may become
illumined more and more, day by day, through the Rays of
the Sun of Reality, i.e., His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh; at every moment
the spirits may obtain a new life, and the darkness of the
world of nature may be entirely dispelled—thus ye may become
incarnate light and personified spirit, become entirely unaware
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of the sordid matters of this world and in touch with the affairs
of the divine world.
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Consider ye what doors His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has opened
before you, and what a high and exalted station He has destined
for you, and what bounties He has prepared for you! Should we
become intoxicated with this cup, the sovereignty of this globe
of earth will become lower in our estimation than the children’s
plays. Should they place in the arena the crown of the government
of the whole world, and invite each one of us to accept it,
undoubtedly we shall not condescend, and shall refuse to accept it.
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The first condition is firmness in the Covenant of God. For the
power of the Covenant will protect the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh from
the doubts of the people of error. It is the fortified fortress of the
Cause of God and the firm pillar of the religion of God. Today
no power can conserve the oneness of the Bahá’í world save the
Covenant of God; otherwise differences like unto a most great
tempest will encompass the Bahá’í world. It is evident that the
axis of the oneness of the world of humanity is the power of the
Covenant and nothing else. Had the Covenant not come to pass,
had it not been revealed from the Supreme Pen and had not the
Book of the Covenant, like unto the ray of the Sun of Reality,
illuminated the world, the forces of the Cause of God would have
been utterly scattered and certain souls who were the prisoners of
their own passions and lusts would have taken into their hands
an axe, cutting the root of this Blessed Tree. Every person would
have pushed forward his own desire and every individual aired his
own opinion! Notwithstanding this great Covenant, a few negligent
souls galloped with their chargers into the battlefield, thinking
perchance they might be able to weaken the foundation of the
Cause of God: but praise be to God, all of them were afflicted
with regret and loss, and ere long they shall see themselves in
poignant despair. Therefore, in the beginning one must make his
steps firm in the Covenant—so that the confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh
may encircle from all sides, the cohorts of the Supreme
Concourse may become the supporters and the helpers, and the
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exhortations and advices of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, like unto the pictures
engraved on stone, may remain permanent and ineffaceable in the
tablets of the hearts.
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The second condition: Fellowship and love amongst the believers.
The divine friends must be attracted to and enamored of
each other and ever be ready and willing to sacrifice their own
lives for each other. Should one soul from amongst the believers
meet another, it must be as though a thirsty one with parched
lips has reached to the fountain of the water of life, or a lover
has met his true beloved. For one of the greatest divine wisdoms
regarding the appearance of the Holy Manifestations is this: The
souls may come to know each other and become intimate with
each other; the power of the love of God may make all of them
the waves of one sea, the flowers of one rose garden and the stars
of one heaven. This is the wisdom for the appearance of the
Holy Manifestations! When the most great bestowal reveals itself
in the hearts of the believers, the world of nature will be transformed,
the darkness of the contingent being will vanish, and
heavenly illumination will be obtained. Then the whole world
will become the Paradise of Abhá, every one of the believers of
God will become a blessed tree, producing wonderful fruits.
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O ye friends! Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love! Unity, unity!
—So that the power of the Bahá’í Cause may appear and become
manifest in the world of existence. Just at this moment I am
engaged in your commemoration and this heart is in the utmost
glow and excitement! Were ye to realize how this conscience is
attracted with the love of the friends, unquestionably ye would
obtain such a degree of joy and fragrance that ye would all become
enamored with each other!
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The third condition: Teachers must continually travel to all
parts of the continent, nay, rather, to all parts of the world, but
they must travel like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who journeyed throughout
the cities of America. He was sanctified and free from every
attachment and in the utmost severance. Just as His Holiness
Christ says: “Shake off the very dust from your feet.”
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Ye have observed that while in America many souls in the utmost
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of supplication and entreaty desired to offer some gifts, but
this servant, in accord with the exhortations and behests of the
Blessed Perfection, never accepted a thing, although on certain
occasions we were in most straitened circumstances. But on the
other hand, if a soul for the sake of God, voluntarily and out of
his pure desire, wishes to offer a contribution (toward the expenses
of a teacher) in order to make the contributor happy, the teacher
may accept a small sum, but must live with utmost contentment.
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The aim is this: The intention of the teacher must be pure,
his heart independent, his spirit attracted, his thought at peace,
his resolution firm, his magnanimity exalted and in the love of
God a shining torch. Should he become as such, his sanctified
breath will even affect the rock; otherwise there will be no result
whatsoever. As long as a soul is not perfected, how can he efface
the defects of others! Unless he is detached from aught else save
God, how can he teach the severance to others!
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Amongst other things is the holding of the meetings for teaching—so that blessed souls and the old ones from amongst the believers
may gather together the youths of the love of God in
schools of instruction and teach them all the divine proofs and
irrefragable arguments, explain and elucidate the history of the
Cause, and interpret also the prophecies and proofs which are recorded
and are extant in the divine Books and Epistles regarding
the Manifestation of the Promised One, so that the young ones
may go in perfect knowledge in all these degrees.
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Likewise, whenever it is possible a committee must be organized
for the translation of the Tablets. Wise souls who have mastered
and studied perfectly the Íránian, Arabic and foreign languages,
or know one of the foreign languages—must commence translating
Tablets and books containing the proofs of this Revelation,
and publishing those books, circulate them throughout the five
continents of the globe.
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Similarly, the Magazine, the Star of the West must be edited
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in the utmost regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator
of the Cause of God—so that both in the East and the West, they
may become informed of the most important events.
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In short, after this universal war, the people have obtained
extraordinary capacity to hearken to the divine teachings, for the
wisdom of this war is this: That it may become proven to all
that the fire of war is world-consuming, whereas the rays of peace
are world-enlightening. One is death, the other is life; this is
extinction, that is immortality; one is the most great calamity, the
other is the most great bounty; this is darkness, that is light; this
is eternal humiliation and that is everlasting glory; one is the
destroyer of the foundation of man, the other is the founder of
the prosperity of the human race.
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Consequently, a number of souls may arise and act in accordance
with the aforesaid conditions, and hasten to all parts of the
world, especially from America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia,
and travel through Japan and China. Likewise, from
Germany teachers and believers may travel to the continents of
America, Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may travel
through all the continents and islands of the globe. Thus in a
short space of time, most wonderful results will be produced, the
banner of Universal Peace will be waving on the apex of the
world and the lights of the oneness of the world of humanity may
illumine the universe.
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In brief, O ye believers of God! The text of the Divine Book
is this: If two souls quarrel and contend about a question of the
Divine questions, differing and disputing, both are wrong. The
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wisdom of this incontrovertible law of God is this: That between
two souls from amongst the believers of God, no contention and
dispute might arise; that they may speak with each other with
infinite amity and love. Should there appear the least trace of
controversy, they must remain silent, and both parties must continue
their discussions no longer, but ask the reality of the question
from the Interpreter. This is the irrefutable command!
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