CHAPTER II
THE TESTS OF FAITH WE FACE TODAY. AND WHENEVER A NEW MANIFESTATION APPEARS
"Behold how contrary are the ways of the Manifestations of God, as ordained by the King of Creation, to the ways and desires of men!" Baha’u’llah Kitab-i-Iqan,p.57
It seems appropriate, at this point, to discuss the question of tests in the Faith before continuing with the presentation of signs and prophecies about the coming of the next Manifestation in the Revelation of the Greatest Name.
For almost everyone the turmoil of this age in itself presents countless tests, for it is a time of the moral disintegration of society, the end of one civilization and the beginning of the birth of a new civilization. And yet the coming of a new Manifestation is a far greater test of faith for almost everyone in these times. In all past ages, whenever a Manifestation of God has appeared, the majority of the followers of the previous Dispensations, often led by their priests or other religious leaders, have denounced and persecuted God’s Chosen Ones. Because of the multitude of differing interpretations of the Writings of the Manifestations, -- the manner in which the Manifestations of God appear and declare Their Missions, never seems to please the people of the previous Dispensations, nor to fulfill their expectations. God has always tested His servants in the past, and we cannot expect to escape His divinely ordained tests today
"...Inasmuch as the divine Purpose hath decreed that the true should be known from the false, and the sun from the shadow, He hath, therefore, in every season sent down upon mankind the showers of tests from His realm of glory." Baha’u’llah, in Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 53
"And now ponder in thy heart the commotion which God stirreth up. Reflect upon the strange and manifold trials with which He doth test His servants." Ibid., p. 55
Some tests are quite obvious, such as physical calamities, personal misfortune, etc., while others are very subtle, so subtle that we may deny that we are being tested, and these subtle tests are often the kind we encounter in our religious beliefs. Such tests involve our long-held beliefs, convictions in our faith that are supported by the majority of our peers and by our religious leaders, beliefs that may be totally in error, and which we may accept without investigation or careful thought. Being able to search out and to move on to higher truth is in itself one of the most severe tests in life for most people, and yet this attribute is one of the most essential prerequisites to spiritual progress. Baha’is are no more exempt from testing than are the followers of any previous religion, and testing is an essential part of every new Revelation.
"What ‘oppression’ is more grievous than that a soul peeking the truth? and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed, and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This ‘oppression’ is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error..." Ibid., p. 31
As you know from history, and from the Kitab-i-lqan, most people of the previous Revelations have failed to understand their Teachings or the tests and have blindly followed the admonitions of their leaders or their peers. They have, in every age, persecuted the Beloved Ones of God, even taking Their lives or putting Them in prison, as they did His Holiness Baha’u’llah.
"Ponder for a moment, and reflect upon that which hath been the cause of such denial on the part of those who have searched with such earnestness and longing. Their attack hath been more fierce than tongue or pen can describe. Not one single Manifestation of Holiness hath appeared but He was afflicted by the denials. the repudiation. and the vehement opposition of the People around Him. Thus it hath been revealed: ‘O the misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them but they laugh Him to scorn.’ Again He saith: ‘Each nation hath plotted darkly against their Messenger to lay violent hold on Him, and disputed with vain words to invalidate the truth.’ Ibid., pp. 4-5
Although we, as Baha’is, may say, "Yes, but we have learned from the mistakes of the past, and therefore we will not commit those errors, but will avoid such tests." yet the Bab prophesied that Baha’is would make the same mistakes when the third Letter of the Greatest Name appears. One of the problems we face is that at the appearance of any Manifestation, the tests are not identical to the tests that accompanied Previous Manifestations! and today the tests faced by Baha’is may be more difficult than the tests in past ages.
"Regard any people. In truth They all believe they are searching for God...Nevertheless, they all act and have acted against what is true. Look at the letters of the Psalms (i.e.. who rejected Zoroaster), then the letters of the Bible(i.e. who rejected Christ), then the letters of the Gospel (i.e. who rejected Muhammad). then the letters of the Quran (i.e. who rejected the Bab), then the letters of the Bayan (i.e. who rejected Baha’u’llah), then the letters of the Book of Him Whom God shall make manifest (i.e. Baha’is who will reject the next Manifestation). From the highest to the most humble, they all imagine that they are searching for God’s pleasure and that they have certitude and insight in His Religion; yet all, in the presence of Him Who will be manifested (the third Letter, or Alif, of the Revelation of the Greatest Name) after Him Whom God shall manifest(Baha’u’llah) are like the letters of the previous Books in the presence of the witnesses of the Bayan." The Bab, in one of His Tablets cited in the introduction and preface of the Arabic Bayan translation of A.L.M. Nicolas
In this Holy Revelation of the Greatest Name, revealed first through the Blessed Beauty, the Bab, and then through His Holiness Baha’u’llah, the tests are certain to exceed those of any past Revelation because of the greatness of this Day of God, the high requirements for true believers, and the power and extent of this Revelation. It is for this reason that Baha’u’llah sternly warned His followers that they must think for themselves, search earnestly for truth, and not simply accept the ideas of their leaders , teachers or peers.
"Notwithstanding the divinely-inspired admonitions of all the Prophets, the saints and the Chosen Ones of God, enjoining the people to see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears, they have disdainfully rejected the-ir ~ounsels and have blindly followed and will continue to follow the leaders of their Faith." Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 164
"...The people have always busied themselves with such specious discourse, vainly protesting: ‘Wherefore hath not this or that sign appeared?’ Such ills befell them only because they have clung to the ways of the divines in the age in which they lived, and blindly imitating them in accepting or denying these Essences of Detachment these holy and divine Bins. These leaders...have regarded k d the divine Luminaries as being opposed to the standards of their knowledge and understanding, and the opponents of their ways and judgements...And yet they bear witness to this well-known tradition: "Verily Our Word is abstruse. bewilderingly abstruse." In another instance it is said: "Our Cause is sorely trying. highly perplexing; none can bear it except a favorite of heaven. or an inspired Prophet or he whose faith God hath tested." These leaders of religion admit that none of these three specified conditions is applicable to them. The first two conditions are manifestly beyond their reach; as to the third, it is evident that at no time have they been proof against those tests that have been sent by God, and that when the divine Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves to be naught but dross." Ibid., pp. 81-82
"Gracious God ! It was intended that at the time of the manifestation of the One true God the faculty of recognizing Him would have been developed and matured and would have reached its culmination. However, it is now clearly demonstrated that in the disbelievers this faculty hath remained undeveloped and hath, indeed, degenerated. ‘ Baha’u’llah in Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 53 (Publ. 1982 by UHJ)
We should not reject new ideas without thought, but look into any information about a Manifestation with deliberate care.
‘...We must always anticipate. always be hopeful and Pray to God that He will send unto us His holy Manifestations in Their most perfect might, with the divine penetrative power of His Word, so that these heavenly Ones may be distinguished above all other beings in every respect, in every attribute, just as the glorious sun is distinguished above all stars. Abdu’l-Baha in Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 467
WHEN OUR BELIEFS ARE CONTRARY TO THE WILL OF GOD.
Sometimes the Will of God brings about changes in His Cause which are contrary to our understanding of His intentions. Believers often have difficulty surrendering old paradigms, conditioned thinking, about the meanings of the Teachings. When such unexpected changes occur, for many believers it is like having a rug pulled out from under them, and as a result many have problems accepting the will of God. And yet, submission to the Will of God, and that God does whatsoever He wills, are two of the principal teachings of Baha’u’llah.
"...If we ever dare to limit and circumscribe God’s purpose within any bounds, then of necessity we have dared to set iimitation8 to the omnipotence of God. The created has dared to define his Creator!" Abdu’l-Baha cited in Baha’i Scriptures, p. 402
Humans have the tendency to define what God may or may not do, based on their understanding of the Teachings, and this is one of the reasons they are veiled from Truth when the Manifestations appear with the Word of God.
"The Second Tajalli is steadfastness in the Cause of God and in His love---exalted is His glory! This cannot be attained except through knowledge of Him, and a perfect knowledge of Him cannot be obtained except by confessing the blessed Word: ‘GOD DOETH THAT WHICH HE WILLETH.’ He who adheres to this exalted Word, and drinks from the kawther of divine utterance which is deposited therein, will find himself so steadfast that all the books of the world shall not withhold him from the ‘Mother Book.’ Oh! Great is this lofty station, exalted position, and furthermost end!" Baha’u’llah cited in Baha’i World Faith, p. 189, 1956 ed.
This difficulty humans often have of submitting to the will of God, when it runs counter to their understanding of the prophecies and other Teachings, must be the reason Baha’u’11ah is apprehensive for the safety of the next Manifestation when He declares His Mission.
"I am not apprehensive for My own Self, My fears are for Him Who will be sent down unto you after Me—Him Who will be invested with great sovereignty and mighty dominion." Baha’u’llah cited in The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 117
"By those words which I have revealed, Myself is not intended, but rather He Who will come after Me. To it is witness God, the All-Knowing...Deal not with Him as ye have dealt with Me." Ibid., p. 117
Recall what occurred in the Dispensation of the Bab, testing the submission of the Babis to the Will of God. In both the Arabic and Persian Bayans the Bab revealed laws and teachings covering individual life and government seemingly suitable for a Dispensation of1000 years or so. Babis living in those days assumed that the level of civilization of that time would remain practically unchanged. The Bab gave instructions for taxation, for building shrines, for maintenance of cities, for personal conduct (many of the same laws appearing in the Kitab-i-Aqdas), etc.., indicating to the Babis of the time that His Dispensation would last a very long time. Besides, in the Persian Bayan He wrote that the next Manifestation would appear in about 1500 or 2000 years, according to the understanding of most Babis.
In both Bayans He spoke repeatedly of He Whom God will make manifest, without saying that He would appear before 1000 years, except IN VERY VEILED REFERENCES AND PROPHECIES. Of course there were other prophecies of Muhammad and Siyyid Kazim, telling of the coming Promised One, also in veiled language, just as there are such prophecies concerning the coming of the next Manifestation. Just as today, no one paid attention nor made much effort to search out the hidden truth. Most Babis, not being able to see the signs and not studying the Teachings carefully, went by what appeared to them to be clear prophecies of1500 or 2000 years, and when Baha’u’llah appeared they told Him that He could not be the Promised One because He had appeared too soon. To such accusations Baha’u’llah responded:
"...0 ye who are inly blind! Whether too Soon or too late. the evidences of His effulgent glory are now manifest. It behoveth you to ascertain whether or not such a Light hath appeared. It is neither within your power nor mine to set the time at which it should be made manifest." Gleanings, p. 103
Baha’u’llah also stated that we must investigate and know for ourselves about anyone who claims to be a Manifestation, seeking for the fulfillment of the necessary requisites of that Exalted Station
"....these holy, divine Manifestations are and must always be distinguished above all other beings in every attribute of glory and perfection in order that it may be proven that the Manifestation is the true Teacher and real Trainer; that He is the Sun of Truth, endowed with a supreme splendor and reflecting the beauty of God...The real Manifestation of God must be endowed with divine knowledge and not dependent upon learning acquired in schools. He must be the Educator, not the educated; His standard, intuition instead of tuition. He must be perfect and not imperfect, great and glorious instead of being weak and impotent. He must be wealthy in the riches of the spiritual world and not indigent. In a word, the holy, divine Manifestation of God must be distinguished above all others of mankind in every aspect and qualification in order that He may be able to train effectively the human body politic, eliminate the darkness enshrouding the human world, uplift humanity from a lower to a higher kingdom, be able through the penetrative power of His Word to promote and spread broadcast the beneficent message of universal peace among men, bring about the unification of humanity in religious belief through a manifest divine power, harmonize all sects and denominations and convert all native lands and nationalities into one native land and fatherland." Abdu’l-Baha in Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 467
"Heard it ye ever reported by your fathers of old, or by the generations that preceded them, even unto the first Adam, that any one coming in the clouds of revelation being invested with manifest and transcendent sovereignty, having on his right hand the Kingdom of God and on his left all the power and glory of everlasting dominion, any one preceded by the hosts of God, the Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Most Powerful, and uttering continually verses whose import the minds of the mostl earned and wisest of men are powerless to fathom, should yet be the bearer of a message that is not of God? Be discerning, then, and speak ye the truth, the very truth, if ye claim to be honest and high minded." Gleanings. pp. 258-259
"The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words He hath revealed as the proof of His reality and truth..." Baha’u’llah in Gleanings, LII.
Today the test of submission to the Will of God has appeared with greater strength because we have been given the opportunity for greater spiritual knowledge and insight into the meaning of such tests through the Kitab-i-Iqan and other Books of Baha’u’llah, and repeatedly warned that we must wholly submit to the Will of God. The following statements indicate that God can, in fact, change those aspects of His Cause that we consider irrevocable.
"Concerning this, that God doth in Truth change His plans. God is not worshipped by anything as he is by (the Doctrine) Al-Bida (i.e. Bada) since this is a confession of His power to do what He pleaseth." Persian Bayan, Vahid IV:3
"What He pleaseth will God abrogate or confirm..." Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 147
"0 thou who hast fixed thy gaze upon the Dawning-Place of the Cause of God! Know thou for d certainty that the Will of God is not limited By the Standards of the people, and God doth not tread in their ways...~ Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 109(Publ. by UHJ committee)
"...for the People of the Garden of Perpetual Bliss, the bestowal is of the secrets of the divine decree and divine change of mind (al-bada). That is, they understand how the divine signature is suspended at the occurrence of divine change of mind (al-bada). They know that this garden is higher than all the other gardens. It is limitless and it is the center of all the gardens, and the other gardens revolve around it and the knowledge of its inhabitants." The Bab in the Tablet Tafsir suratal-baqara, cited in The Quran Commentary of Sayyid Ali Muhammed the Bab, by R.T.Lawson, Mc Gill University.
If we knew how and when God w w ld test us, and understood completely the outcome, it would no longer be a test. Tests from God are never quite what we anticipate, and they separate the believers, so that the sincere are known from those who are weak in their faith.
"Behold how contrary are the ways of the Manifestations of God, as ordained by the King of creation, to the ways and desires of men!" Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 57
‘Verily 0ur Word is abstruse, bewilderingly abstruse.’ In another instance, it is said: ‘Our Cause is sorely trying, highly perplexing, none can bear it except a favorite of heaven, or an inspired Prophet, or he whose faith God hath tested." Ibid., p. 82
"There are before you so many temptations, trials, afflictions, calamities and difficulties because you have to be purified through fire and sifted through the sieve in order to separate the wheat from the tares. Verily I say unto you, none will be saved but the believers, and even those are in great danger, especially in such a time." Abdu’l-Baha, cited in Baha’i.Scriptures, p. 443
REMEMBER, SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TESTS ARE THE MOST SUBTLE, INVOLVING OUR FAITH AND OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE REALLY SEARCH FOR TRUTH, WHEREVER IT MAY BE.