The Holy Bible actually obligates the believers to "test the spirits" 1 John 4:1, in order to distin

1
The Proofs of Bahaullah are the same as those
for Jesus, as the Christ

• The Holy Bible actually obligates the believers
  to "test the spirits" (1 John 41), in order to
  distinguish the True One.  Otherwise, no tests
  would be given the Bible would simply state that
  anyone claiming to bear a message directly from
  God is false, and you could discount him
• without any investigation. 
• However, the test itself is a proof of the
  existence of the True One and obligates us to
  investigate.  Every claimant must be
  investigated.  The Bible gives many tests.  Among
  them are these Deuteronomy 1818-22 and Matthew
  715-18.  "The good tree gives forth good fruit,"
  is the more familiar of the two, but the one in
  Deuteronomy is worth deep study.
• (Also see Luke 1117 i.e., He could achieve it
  only by the permission of God.)

2
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words
in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him.  And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my
words which he shall speak in my name, I will
require it of him.  But the prophet, which
shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I
have not commanded him to speak, or that shall
speak in the name of other gods, even that
prophet shall die.   And if thou say in thine
heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord
hath not spoken?  When a prophet speaketh in the
name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor
come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord
hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously  thou shalt not be afraid of
him. (Deuteronomy 1818-22)
The Proofs of Bahaullah do meet he criteria of
Moses which was used bothto prove and
disprove Jesus was the Christ
3
More than an extraordinary manPeter could never
have become the Christ

• Miriam asks, ". . . hath he not spoken also by
  us?. . . ."
• And God answers, "If there be a prophet among
  you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him
  in a vision. . . With him will I speak mouth to
  mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches
  and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold
• wherefore then were ye not afraid
• to speak against my servant Moses?"
• And the anger of the Lord was kindled against
  them. . . and Miriam became leprous, white as
  snow. . . .
• Numbers 122-10, wherein Miriam, the sister of
  Moses,
• is punished for presuming that she could speak
  for God.

4
More than an extraordinary man, more than a
saint, a psychic or a seer
Once a man makes the supreme claim to be the
Christ He must also have the Divine authority
to carry out His intention. It is not enough
simply to have good teachings or prophesy once He
makes the supreme claim to be the Christ. God
will cut him off and his works will come to
naught. Consider these words of Moses But the
prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in
my name, which I have not commanded him to speak,
even that prophet shall die.  (Deuteronomy
1818-22) Obviously this does not refer to
physical death or Moses and Christ would
Themselves be discounted. It means a false
mission will die or fail. Christ Jesus was
killed after only a few short years of teaching
to only a few people in a remote corner of the
world, and yet today the Divine Spirit within Him
has conquered hearts the world over.
5
The Proofs of Bahaullah are the same as those
for Christ Jesus

• Baha'u'llah is either who He claims to be or He
  is not. If He is not, then the fair investigator
  must be able to state why He is not before he can
  reject it. Logically it seems that there are
  only two conditions or possibilities if He is
  not (1) self-deception, or (2) intent to
  deceive. In the first condition He would have to
  be either a fool or a madman. In the second
  condition He would have to be malevolent, or
  evil. Even a superficial examination of
  Baha'u'llah's Writings, and the life He lived in
  accordance with them (documented in 19th century
  history), will reveal that He is neither mad nor
  evil. Therefore, as Sherlock Holmes would say
  "When you have eliminated the impossible, no
  matter how improbable, you are left only with the
  truth."
• If you cannot classify Baha'u'llah as an imposter
  using the two categories above,
• then He must be who He says that He is.

6
The Proofs of Bahaullah are the same as those
for Christ Jesus

• Among the foremost opposers of Christ in His day
  were the clergy. Intending to accuse Him of
  being a clever and intelligent deceiver, they
  called Him "Beelzebub," the chief of devils. His
  answer was simple "Every kingdom divided against
  itself is brought to desolation and a house
  divided against itself is a house that falleth.
  If Satan also be divided against himself, how
  shall his kingdom stand? ... If by Evil I cast
  out devils... then by whom do your sons cast them
  out? ... But if I with the finger of God cast
  out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come
  upon you."
• (Luke 1117)

7
Jesus said The good tree bears good fruits.

• A Cause which all the governments and peoples of
  the world, with all their powers and armies,
  cannot promulgate and spread, one Holy Soul can
  promote without help or support! Can this be done
  by human power? No, in the name of God! For
  example, Christ, alone and solitary, upraised the
  standard of peace and righteousness, a work which
  all the victorious governments with all their
  hosts are unable to accomplish. Consider what was
  the fate of so many and diverse empires and
  peoples the Roman Empire, France, Germany,
  Russia, England, etc. all were gathered together
  under the same tent -- that is to say, the
  appearance of Christ brought about a union among
  these diverse nations, some of whom, under the
  influence of Christianity, became so united that
  they sacrificed their lives and property for one
  another.

8
Teaching People of the Book the Proofs of the
Manifestation from the Book of Certitude(One can
see the parallels between Christ and Bahaullah)

• The Christ Manifestation is always opposed by the
  people.
• He always foretells the coming of another after
  Him.
• Oppression envelopes the whole world.
• He is not educated in the schools of His time.
• Star will appear in both the visible and
  invisible heavens.
• He will produce a book of Divine Scripture unlike
  all else.
• His own Self and the fruits of the His Spirit
  (see next pg).
• Fearless in the face of persecution, opposition,
  rejection.
• Suffers at hand of religious and secular
  orthodoxy.
• Each is subject to hunger, poverty and yet
  possesses all the attributes of God
  and sovereignty over all things.
• (page 74 of Reaching Christians More Effectively
  manual)

9
The Proofs of Bahaullahs Mission

• His Person
• Character, personality, knowledge, endured
  suffering.
• His Word (nature of Revelation, scope, impact)
• His own explanations and prophecies come true.
• Enables spiritual rebirth (Also see Bible
  Romans 1017)
• His Teachings (meets needs of the age)
• Basis for individual and collective
  transformation
• Impact on civilization (also see single and
  multiple slide PowerPoint)
• Interpretation of the Holy Books
• Is able to interpret and fulfill promises in Holy
  Books. (John 1612)
• (Source The Proofs of Bahaullahs Mission
  The Universal House of Justice)

10
Bahaullah testifies to the Divine reality of
Jesus and the subjective influence of His
Spirit on the hearts minds (consciousness) of
the entire world.

• Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded
  up His breath to God, the whole creation wept
  with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself,
  however, a fresh capacity was infused into all
  created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in
  all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest
  before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages
  have uttered, the profoundest learning which any
  mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest
  hands have produced, the influence exerted by the
  most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of
  the quickening power released by His
  transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent
  Spirit.
• We testify that when He came into the world,
  He shed the splendor of His glory upon all
  created things. . . He it is Who purified the
  world. Blessed is the man who, with a face
  beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.
  (Baha'u'llah -- Gleanings..., p. 85 )

11
Today the world responds unconsciously

• Unbeknownst to the great majority, His influence
  permeates all living beings. Indeed, no domain of
  life remains unaffected. In the burgeoning
  energy, the magnified perspectives, the
  heightened global consciousness in the social
  and political turbulence, the fall of kingdoms,
  the emancipation of nations, the intermixture of
  cultures, the clamour for development in the
  agitation over the extremes of wealth and
  poverty, the acute concern over the abuse of the
  environment, the leap of consciousness regarding
  the rights of women and racial equality in the
  growing tendency towards ecumenism, the
  increasing call for a new world order in the
  astounding advances in the realms of science,
  technology, literature and the arts -- in all
  this tumult, with its paradoxical manifestations
  of chaos and order, integration and
  disintegration, are the signs of His
  Bahaullahs power as World Reformer, the
  proof of His claim as Divine Physician, the truth
  of His Word as the All-Knowing Counselor. (UHJ)

12
Bahaullahs prophesies include

• Downfall of certain kings in letters addressed
  specifically to them.
• His own release from prison and pitching His
  tent on Mt. Carmel.
• 1st and 2nd World Wars, Germanys second
  downfall, etc.
• Humanitys fiery ordeal including racial
  struggles in America.
• Social reforms and progress regarding women,
  racism, slavery, etc.
• Recognition of the Oneness of Humanity, rise of
  democracy.
• Wars -- The Lesser Peace near end of Century--
  Most Great Peace
• The explosive acceleration of scientific and
  technological progress.
• The discovery of electricity, nuclear power and
  atomic bomb.
• Transmutation of chemical elements -- one
  element to another.
• The poisoning of the atmosphere and waters of
  the earth.
• Space travel, events in astronomy, new theories
  in physics.
• Failure of external and internal opposition to
  the Bahai Faith.

13
Bahaullahs prophesies include

• His tablets to the Kings and Rulers of the world,
  calling them to God, indicting them
• and predicting their downfall. some
• Alexander II, Czar of Russia
• Nasiri'd-Din Shah of Persia (end of Quajar
  dynasty)
• Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz of the Ottoman Turkish
  Empire
• Napoleon III most powerful monarch in Europe.
• Kaiser William I Germany
• Francis Joseph (Franz Josef, 1830-1916), Emperor
  of Austria and King of Hungary

14
Bahaullahs letter to Napoleon III

• In this He announces the coming of "Him Who is
  the Unconstrained," whose purpose is to "quicken
  the world" and unite its peoples unequivocally
  asserts that Jesus Christ was the Herald of His
  Mission proclaims the fall of "the stars of the
  firmament of knowledge," who have turned aside
  from Him exposes that monarch's insincerity and
  clearly prophesies that his kingdom shall be
  "thrown into confusion," that his "empire shall
  pass" from his hands, and that "commotions shall
  seize all the people in that land," unless he
  arises to help the Cause of God and follow Him
  Who is His Spirit.
• (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 207)

15
Divine power is cause of His success

• "One Holy Soul gives life to the world of
  humanity, changes the aspect of the terrestrial
  globe, causes intelligence to progress, vivifies
  souls, lays the basis of a new life, establishes
  new foundations, organizes the world, brings
  nations and religions under the shadow of one
  standard, delivers man from the world of
  imperfections and vices, and inspires him with
  the desire and need of natural and acquired
  perfections. Certainly nothing short of a divine
  power could accomplish so great a work. We ought
  to consider this with justice, for this is the
  office of justice. . . .
• How can one solitary person without help and
  without support lay the foundations of such a
  noble construction? He must depend on the help of
  the spiritual and divine power to be able to
  undertake this mission.

16
Through the power of a divine Revelation

• Another proof and evidence of the truth of this
  Revelation, which amongst all other proofs
  shineth as the sun, is the constancy of the
  eternal Beauty in proclaiming the Faith of God.
  Though young and tender of age, and though the
  Cause He revealed was contrary to the desire of
  all the peoples of earth, both high and low, rich
  and poor, exalted and abased, king and subject,
  yet He arose and steadfastly proclaimed it. All
  have known and heard this. He was afraid of no
  one He was regardless of consequences. Could
  such a thing be made manifest except through the
  power of a divine Revelation, and the potency of
  God's invincible Will? By the righteousness of
  God! Were any one to entertain so great a
  Revelation in his heart, the thought of such a
  declaration would alone confound him!
• (Baha'u'llah, The Book of Certitude, p. 230 )

17
He could achieve it only by the permission of God

• Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into
  his heart, he would still hesitate to venture
  upon so awful an enterprise. He could achieve it
  only by the permission of God, only if the
  channel of his heart were to be linked with the
  Source of divine grace, and his soul be assured
  of the unfailing sustenance of the Almighty. To
  what, We wonder, do they ascribe so great a
  daring? Do they accuse Him of folly as they
  accused the Prophets of old? Or do they maintain
  that His motive was none other than leadership
  and the acquisition of earthly riches?
• (Baha'u'llah, The Book of Certitude, p. 230 )

18
Baha'u'llah "casts out evil" by enjoining upon
humanity the most noble virtues -- that is, to
love God, love humanity and try to serve it. to
work against "evil" and ignorance in the world,
and to acquire divine qualities and a saintly
character
19
Fruits of the Spirit

• Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in
  adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy
  neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and
  friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an
  admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of
  the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy
  pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in
  thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all
  meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that
  walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea
  for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an
  upholder and defender of the victim of
  oppression. Let integrity and uprightness
  distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the
  stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of
  strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind,
  and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
  Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a
  crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the
  temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the
  body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of
  justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue,
  a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on
  the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of
  bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining
  light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit
  upon the tree of humility. (Gleanings from the
  Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 285)

20
More Fruits

• Beseech ye the one true God to grant that ye may
  taste the savor of such deeds as are performed in
  His path, and partake of the sweetness of such
  humility and submissiveness as are shown for His
  sake. Forget your own selves, and turn your eyes
  towards your neighbor. Bend your energies to
  whatever may foster the education of men. Nothing
  is, or can ever be, hidden from God. If ye follow
  in His way, His incalculable and imperishable
  blessings will be showered upon you. This is the
  luminous Tablet, whose verses have streamed from
  the moving Pen of Him Who is the Lord of all
  worlds. Ponder it in your hearts, and be ye of
  them that observe its precepts.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  9)
• The essence of faith is fewness of words and
  abundance of deeds he whose words exceed his
  deeds, know verily his death is better than his
  life. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 155)

21
More Fruits

• Say Let truthfulness and courtesy be your
  adorning. Suffer not yourselves to be deprived of
  the robe of forbearance and justice, that the
  sweet savors of holiness may be wafted from your
  hearts upon all created things. Say Beware, O
  people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them
  whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that
  ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of
  the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth
  His commandments. Let your acts be a guide unto
  all mankind, for the professions of most men, be
  they high or low, differ from their conduct. It
  is through your deeds that ye can distinguish
  yourselves from others. Through them the
  brightness of your light can be shed upon the
  whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My
  counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by
  Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  304)

22
More Fruits

• Beautify your tongues, O people, with
  truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the
  ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye
  deal not treacherously with any one. Be ye the
  trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the
  emblems of His generosity amidst His people. They
  that follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations,
  have erred and dissipated their efforts. They,
  indeed, are of the lost. Strive, O people, that
  your eyes may be directed towards the mercy of
  God, that your hearts may be attuned to His
  wondrous remembrance, that your souls may rest
  confidently upon His grace and bounty, that your
  feet may tread the path of His good-pleasure.
  Such are the counsels which I bequeath unto you.
  Would that ye might follow My counsels!
  (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  297)

23
More Fruits

• Let your principal concern be to rescue the
  fallen from the slough of impending extinction,
  and to help him embrace the ancient Faith of God.
  Your behavior towards your neighbor should be
  such as to manifest clearly the signs of the one
  true God, for ye are the first among men to be
  re-created by His Spirit, the first to adore and
  bow the knee before Him, the first to circle
  round His throne of glory. . . . God grant that
  your desires and unmortified passions may not
  hinder you from that which hath been ordained for
  you.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  316)

24
More Fruits

• In this Revelation the hosts which can render it
  victorious are the hosts of praiseworthy deeds
  and upright character. The leader and commander
  of these hosts hath ever been the fear of God, a
  fear that encompasseth all things, and reigneth
  over all things.
• (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p.
  26)
• All praise be to the one true God -- exalted be
  His glory -- inasmuch as He hath, through the Pen
  of the Most High, unlocked the doors of men's
  hearts. Every verse which this Pen hath revealed
  is a bright and shining portal that discloseth
  the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure
  and stainless deeds.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  96)

25
More Fruits

• The fear of God hath ever been a sure defense
  and a safe stronghold for all the peoples of the
  world. It is the chief cause of the protection of
  mankind, and the supreme instrument for its
  preservation. Indeed, there existeth in man a
  faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth
  him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly,
  and which is known as his sense of shame. This,
  however, is confined to but a few all have not
  possessed, and do not possess, it. It is
  incumbent upon the kings and the spiritual
  leaders of the world to lay fast hold on
  religion, inasmuch as through it the fear of God
  is instilled in all else but Him.
• (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p.
  27)

26
More Fruits

• "Say, O friends! Strive that haply the
  tribulations suffered by this Wronged One and by
  you, in the path of God, may not prove to have
  been in vain. Cling ye to the hem of virtue, and
  hold fast to the cord of trustworthiness and
  piety. Concern yourselves with the things that
  benefit mankind, and not with your corrupt and
  selfish desires. O ye followers of this Wronged
  One! Ye are the shepherds of mankind liberate ye
  your flocks from the wolves of evil passions and
  desires, and adorn them with the ornament of the
  fear of God. This is the firm commandment which
  hath, at this moment, flowed out from the Pen of
  Him Who is the Ancient of Days. By the
  righteousness of God! The sword of a virtuous
  character and upright conduct is sharper than
  blades of steel.
• (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p.
  29)
• Be pure, O people of God, be pure be righteous,
  be righteous....
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  287)

27
More Fruits

• Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of
  Baha, that haply the tumult of religious
  dissension and strife that agitateth the peoples
  of the earth may be stilled, that every trace of
  it may be completely obliterated. For the love of
  God, and them that serve Him, arise to aid this
  most sublime and momentous Revelation. Religious
  fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire,
  whose violence none can quench. The Hand of
  Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from
  this desolating affliction....
• The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is
  these words Ye are the fruits of one tree, and
  the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with
  another with the utmost love and harmony, with
  friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Day
  Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is
  the light of unity that it can illuminate the
  whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all
  things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these
  words.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  287)

28
Fruits of the Spirit (Biblical criteria)

• Live by the Spirit the fruit of the Spirit is
  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
  faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  And
  those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
  the flesh with its passions and desires. If we
  live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the
  Spirit. (Galations 522-23)
• Live as children of light-- for the fruit of the
  light is found in all that is good and right and
  true. (Ephesians 59)

29
New Teachings -- New Fruits

• Unseal the Hidden meanings of the Sacred
  Texts of the past
• Protective Center of the Covenant, as Interpreter
  of the Gods Word
• Creation of the Universal House of Justice and
  National Assemblies
• Means for reconciliation and unity between races,
  religions nations
• Provide solid recommendations on how the nations
  can form some type of federated system of
  international laws and government as the path to
  a binding and permanent World Peace
• Prohibition against carrying of firearms except
  as necessity
• Exalt the status of women and require priority
  for their education
• Reconciliation between scientific truth and
  religious truth
• Prohibitions against slavery, backbiting, gossip,
  cursing, begging.
• Work performed in the spirit of service is
  elevated to level of worship
• Provide solid spiritual solutions to various
  economic problems
• Explain the necessity for a universal auxiliary
  language
• (Taken from The Brilliant Proof and BWF
  192,199,280-284, and FWU 83-44)

30
More fruits (Bahai laws injunctions)

• Prohibitions against asceticism, monasticism,
  cursing, backbiting, begging, slavery, gambling,
  all manner of promiscuity, companionate marriage,
  and the use drugs or alcohol (unless prescribed
  by a physician).
• Prohibition against carrying firearms, arson and
  killing.
• Injunctions against prejudice of all forms.
• Truthfulness enjoined as foundation of all
  virtues.
• Over 2000 virtues mentioned and enjoined upon the
  followers, including charity, love,
  trustworthiness.
• Obedience to laws are an article of faith, in
  keeping with the Christian tradition If ye love
  me, keep my commandments. (Holy Bible, John
  1415)

31
More fruits

• Such a chaste and holy life, with its
  implications of modesty, purity, temperance,
  decency, and clean-mindedness, involves no less
  than the exercise of moderation in all that
  pertains to dress, language, amusements, and all
  artistic and literary avocations. It demands
  daily vigilance in the control of one's carnal
  desires and corrupt inclinations. It calls for
  the abandonment of a frivolous conduct, with its
  excessive attachment to trivial and often
  misdirected pleasures. It requires total
  abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium,
  and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns
  the prostitution of art and of literature, the
  practices of nudism and of companionate marriage,
  infidelity in marital relationships, and all
  manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity, and
  of sexual vices. It can tolerate no compromise
  with the theories, the standards, the habits, and
  the excesses of a decadent age. Nay rather it
  seeks to demonstrate, through the dynamic force
  of its example, the pernicious character of such
  theories, the falsity of such standards, the
  hollowness of such claims, the perversity of such
  habits, and the sacrilegious character of such
  excesses.
• (Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p.
  30)

32
More fruits

• All men have been created to carry forward an
  ever-advancing civilization. The Almighty beareth
  Me witness To act like the beasts of the field
  is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his
  dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and
  loving-kindness towards all the peoples and
  kindreds of the earth. Say O friends! Drink your
  fill from this crystal stream that floweth
  through the heavenly grace of Him Who is the Lord
  of Names. Let others partake of its waters in My
  name, that the leaders of men in every land may
  fully recognize the purpose for which the Eternal
  Truth hath been revealed, and the reason for
  which they themselves have been created.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  214)
• O SON OF SPIRIT!
• Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased
  thyself.
• Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.
• (from The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah)

33
Typical presentation of the central teachings or
fruits of His Revelation

• Oneness of God
• Oneness of Religion
• Oneness of Humanity
• Equality of men and women
• Universal auxiliary Language
• Elimination of all forms of prejudice
• Independent investigation of the truth
• Reconciliation of science and religion
• Spiritual solution to economic problems
• Universal Peace upheld by world government
• Elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty
• Universal compulsory Education -- especially for
  women

34
Love and Unity the greatest fruit

• Through each and every one of the verses which
  the Pen of the Most High hath revealed, the doors
  of love and unity have been unlocked and flung
  open to the face of men. We have erewhile
  declared -- and Our Word is the truth --
  "Consort with the followers of all religions in a
  spirit of friendliness and fellowship."
  Whatsoever hath led the children of men to shun
  one another, and hath caused dissensions and
  divisions amongst them, hath, through the
  revelation of these words, been nullified and
  abolished. From the heaven of God's Will, and for
  the purpose of ennobling the world of being and
  of elevating the minds and souls of men, hath
  been sent down that which is the most effective
  instrument for the education of the whole human
  race. The highest essence and most perfect
  expression of whatsoever the peoples of old have
  either said or written hath, through this most
  potent Revelation, been sent down from the heaven
  of the Will of the All-Possessing, the
  Ever-Abiding God.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  95)

35
Ultimate ProofBy sacrificing Himself . . . a
fresh capacity was infused into all created
things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the
peoples of the earth, are now manifest before
thee.(Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 85)
36
He sacrificed His life for us once again

•  "The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound
  with chains that mankind may be released from its
  bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner
  within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole
  world may attain unto true liberty.  He hath
  drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all
  the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding
  joy, and be filled with gladness.  This is of the
  mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most
  Merciful.
• We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the
  Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have
  suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might
  prosper and flourish.  He Who hath come to build
  anew the whole world, behold, how they that have
  joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell
  within the most desolate of cities!" 
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
  Pages 99-100)

37
He sacrificed His life for us once again

• The Prison, in Akka (Akko or Acre), Israel.
  (lighter text is hypertext URLs)
• Just as the other Messengers from God were
  persecuted, Bahá'u'lláh was willingly imprisoned
  for twenty-four years in Akka, Palestine, then a
  Turkish penal colony.   This period of His 
  incarceration began in 1868.  In 1868 Sultán
  Abdu'-lAzíz had Bahá'u'lláh sent to the
  fortress of St. Jean d'Acre (Akká) in Ottoman
  Syria to live out the rest of his life there as a
  prisoner.  By then, He had already been a
  prisoner for fifteen years an imprisonment
  which began in the "Black Pit" dungeon, outside
  Tihran, Persia (Tehran, Iran, today).  His
  confinement continued throughout His thirty-nine
  year exile from Persia.  He endured successive
  imprisonments in Baghdad, Constantinople,
  Adrianople and finally in Akka.  The far window
  in the upper right of the prison pictured above,
  is that of the cell occupied by Bahá'u'lláh, in
  which He was kept for two years, two months and
  five days.

38
He sacrificed His life for us once again

• Poisoned three times.
• Tortured with the bastinado, stoned, made to walk
  in winter.
• 100 pound chains around His neck cut into collar
  bone which left scars for the rest of His life.
  These chains kept Him on hands and knees with
  human excrement on the floor above His wrists
  for four months.
• Watched His son and 40 of His companions die in
  prison.
• 20,000 of the early believers were killed.

39
His own description of the Siyah-Chal dungeon of
Tihran

• We were consigned for four months to a place
  foul beyond comparison.  As to the dungeon in
  which this Wronged One and others similarly
  wronged were confined, a dark and narrow pit were
  preferable. Upon Our arrival We were first
  conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from
  whence We descended three steep flights of stairs
  to the place of confinement assigned to Us.  The
  dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our
  fellow-prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and
  fifty souls  thieves, assassins and highwaymen.
  Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the
  passage by which We entered.  No pen can depict
  that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome
  smell.  Most of these men had neither clothes nor
  bedding to lie on.  God alone knoweth what befell
  Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!

40
He sacrificed His life for us once again

• " ...Thou hast come to see a prisoner and an
  exile.... We desire but the good of the world
  and happiness of the nations yet they deem us a
  stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of
  bondage and banishment.... That all nations
  should become one in faith and all men as
  brothers that the bonds of affection and unity
  between the sons of men should be strengthened
  that diversity of religion should cease, and
  differences of race be annulled what harm is
  there in this?... Yet so it shall be these
  fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass
  away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come....
  Is not this that which Christ foretold?... Yet
  do we see your kings and rulers lavishing their
  treasures more freely on means for the
  destruction of the human race than on that which
  would conduce to the happiness of mankind....
  These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must
  cease, and all men be as one kindred and one
  family.... Let not a man glory in this, that he
  loves his country let him rather glory in this,
  that he loves his kind...."
• (Words spoken by Bahá'u'lláh, recorded by
  Professor Edward Granville Browne in 1891)

41
Sacrifice, ransom and atonement have been Gods
method from Everlasting

• Atonement reparation for an offense or injury
  making up for something in the past. The
  reconciliation of God and man through the
  sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, according to
  Christian theology.
• Redemption To buy back or redeem (trade,
  transfer, exchange) one thing for another, or
  retrieve something that was lost as in
  something already spent.
• Oblation Making an offering. Christ and
  Baha'u'llah "offered" Themselves as a Ransom
  (exchange) for our redemption or salvation.
• Salvation Deliverance from ignorance, sin,
  destruction (death). Being saved from this
  ignorance and destruction.

42
Sacrifice, ransom and atonement have been Gods
method from Everlasting

• Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from
  time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones
  of God and His beloved, and such of His servants
  as are detached from all else but Him Such is
  God's method carried into effect of old, and such
  will it remain in the future. (Gleanings from
  the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 129)
• O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again
  Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He
  hath once more, in My person, been made manifest
  unto you. (Gleanings from the Writings of
  Baha'u'llah, p. 101)
• Give heed to My warning, ye people of Persia! If
  I be slain at your hands, God will assuredly
  raise up one who will fill the seat made vacant
  through My death, for such is God's method
  carried into effect of old, and no change can ye
  find in God's method of dealing. (Gleanings
  from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 224)
• "He, in truth, liveth in the most desolate of
  abodes for your sakes..." (Tablets of
  Baha'u'llah, page 12, in the tablet referred to
  as the Tablet to the Christians.)

43
Ransom and Redemption

• By God! Though weariness lay Me low, and hunger
  consume Me, and the bare rock be My bed, and My
  fellows the beasts of the field, I will not
  complain, but will endure patiently as those
  endued with constancy and firmness have endured
  patiently, through the power of God, the Eternal
  King and Creator of the nations, and will render
  thanks unto God under all conditions. We pray
  that, out of His bounty -- exalted be He -- He
  may release, through this imprisonment, the necks
  of men from chains and fetters, and cause them to
  turn, with sincere faces, towards His face, Who
  is the Mighty, the Bounteous. Ready is He to
  answer whosoever calleth upon Him, and nigh is He
  unto such as commune with Him. We further beseech
  Him to make of this darksome tribulation a shield
  for the Temple of His Cause, and to protect it
  from the assault of sharpened swords and pointed
  daggers. Adversity hath ever given rise to the
  exaltation of His Cause and the glorification of
  His Name. Such hath been God's method carried
  into effect in centuries and ages past.
• (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts,
  p. 133)

44
Ransom and Redemption

• It is Our wish and desire that every one of you
  may become a source of all goodness unto men, and
  an example of uprightness to mankind. Beware lest
  ye prefer yourselves above your neighbors. Fix
  your gaze upon Him Who is the Temple of God
  amongst men He, in truth, hath offered up His
  life as a ransom for the redemption of the
  world.
• (Baha'i World Faith, p. 137)
• The Temple is a reference to Bahaullah.

45
Beware lest you become like those who resist the
Holy Spirit. God tests the hearts of the sincere.

• Words of Jesus Christ
• "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and
  stoning those who are sent to you! How often
  would I have gathered your children together as a
  hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you
  would not!"
• (Matthew 2337 and Luke 1334 Parable of the
  Vineyard in Luke 2020)
• Also, words of Stephen, the Apostle, in the
  seventh chapter of the book of Acts (verse
  51--59), as He was being stoned, he exclaimed the
  principle expressed in the verses above, in these
  words "You are just like your fathers You
  always resist the Holy Spirit!"

46
Gods method is to test hearts for sincerity

• Consider those who rejected the Spirit when He
  came unto them with manifest dominion. How
  numerous the Pharisees who had secluded
  themselves in synagogues in His name, lamenting
  over their separation from Him, and yet when the
  portals of reunion were flung open and the divine
  Luminary shone resplendent from the Dayspring of
  Beauty, they disbelieved in God, the Exalted, the
  Mighty. They failed to attain His presence,
  notwithstanding that His advent had been promised
  them in the Book of Isaiah as well as in the
  Books of the Prophets and the Messengers. No one
  from among them turned his face towards the
  Dayspring of divine bounty except such as were
  destitute of any power amongst men. And yet,
  today, every man endowed with power and invested
  with sovereignty prideth himself on His Name.
• Moreover, call thou to mind the one who sentenced
  Jesus to death.
• He was the most learned of his age in his own
  country,
• whilst he who was only a fisherman believed in
  Him.
• Take good heed and be of them that observe the
  warning.
• -- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p.9-10

47
Greatest Proofs
48
Many more believed He was the Christ because of
His own Word
And many more believed because of His own Word
And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not
because of thy saying for we have heard him
ourselves, and know that this is indeed the
Christ. (Holy Bible, John 441)
49
The proof of Moses was His staff. The proof of
this Wronged One (Bahaullah) is His Pen.
One must examine what He has written from His
prison. The Holy Bible actually obligates the
believers to "test the spirits" (1 John 41)
50
The City of God come down from Heaven New
Jeruslam (Revelation 212)

• How unspeakably glorious are the signs, the
  tokens, the revelations, and splendors which He,
  Who is the King of Names and Attributes, hath
  destined for that City! The attainment unto this
  City quencheth thirst without water, and kindleth
  the love of God without fire. . . That City is
  none other than the Word of God revealed in every
  age and dispensation. In the days of Moses it was
  the Pentateuch in the days of Jesus, the Gospel
  in the days of Muhammad, the Messenger of God,
  the Qur'án in this day, the Bayan and in the
  Dispensation of Him Whom God will make manifest,
  His own Book -- the Book unto which all the Books
  of former Dispensations must needs be referred,
  the Book that standeth amongst them all
  transcendent and supreme.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  269)

51
The Proof of His own Person
God saith . . . I have manifested Myself unto
men, and have sent down Him Who is the Day Spring
of the signs of My Revelation. Through Him I have
caused all creation to testify that there is none
other God except Him, the Incomparable, the
All-Informed, the All-Wise." He Who is
everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can
never be known except through His Manifestation,
and His Manifestation can adduce no greater
proof of the truth of His Mission than the proof
of His own Person. (Gleanings from the Writings
of Baha'u'llah, p. 49)
52
Eternal in the past, Eternal in the Future...

• Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words,
  that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all
  the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths.
  Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your
  determination to embrace the truth of this Cause
  -- a Cause through which the potentialities of
  the might of God have been revealed, and His
  sovereignty established. With faces beaming with
  joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless
  Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the
  future. Let him that seeketh, attain it and as
  to him that hath refused to seek it -- verily,
  God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His
  creatures.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  136 )

53
The Religion of God

• These are not days of prosperity and triumph.
  The whole of mankind is in the grip of manifold
  ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life through
  the wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of
  the unerring Physician hath prepared. . . .
• And now concerning thy question regarding the
  nature of religion. Know thou that they who are
  truly wise have likened the world unto the human
  temple. As the body of man needeth a garment to
  clothe it, so the body of mankind must needs be
  adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom.
  Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by
  God. Whenever this robe hath fulfilled its
  purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it.
  For every age requireth a fresh measure of the
  light of God. Every Divine Revelation hath been
  sent down in a manner that befitted the
  circumstances of the age in which it hath
  appeared.
• (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
  80)

54
O friends! It behoveth you to refresh and revive
your souls through the gracious favors which in
this Divine, this soul-stirring Springtime are
being showered upon you. The Day Star of His
great glory hath shed its radiance upon you, and
the clouds of His limitless grace have
overshadowed you. How high the reward of him that
hath not deprived himself of so great a bounty,
nor failed to recognize the beauty of his
Best-Beloved in this, His new attire. Watch over
yourselves, for the Evil One is lying in wait,
ready to entrap you. Gird yourselves against his
wicked devices, and, led by the light of the name
of the All-Seeing God, make your escape from the
darkness that surroundeth you. Let your vision be
world-embracing, rather than confined to your own
self. The Evil One is he that hindereth the rise
and obstructeth the spiritual progress of the
children of men. (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 94)
55
Shake off, O heedless ones, the slumber of
negligence, that ye may behold the radiance which
His glory hath spread through the world. How
foolish are those who murmur against the
premature birth of His light. O ye who are
inwardly blind! Whether too soon or too late, the
evidences of His effulgent glory are now actually
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. God's
inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed its hour
beforehand. Be content, O people, with that which
God hath desired for you and predestined unto
you.... O my ill-wishers! (Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 102)
56
All praise to the unity of God, and all honor to
Him, the sovereign Lord, the incomparable and
all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who, out of
utter nothingness, hath created the reality of
all things, Who, from naught, hath brought into
being the most refined and subtle elements of His
creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from
the abasement of remoteness and the perils of
ultimate extinction, hath received them into His
kingdom of incorruptible glory. Nothing short of
His all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading
mercy, could have possibly achieved it. How could
it, otherwise, have been possible for sheer
nothingness to have acquired by itself the
worthiness and capacity to emerge from its state
of non-existence into the realm of being?
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.
67)
57
Having created the world and all that liveth and
moveth therein, He, through the direct operation
of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to
confer upon man the unique distinction and
capacity to know Him and to love Him -- a
capacity that must needs be regarded as the
generating impulse and the primary purpose
underlying the whole of creation.... Upon the
inmost reality of each and every created thing He
hath shed the light of one of His names, and made
it a recipient of the glory of one of His
attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He
hath focused the radiance of all of His names and
attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self.
Alone of all created things man hath been singled
out for so great a favor, so enduring a
bounty. (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
58
These energies with which the Day Star of Divine
bounty and Source of heavenly guidance hath
endowed the reality of man lie, however, latent
within him, even as the flame is hidden within
the candle and the rays of light are potentially
present in the lamp. The radiance of these
energies may be obscured by worldly desires even
as the light of the sun can be concealed beneath
the dust and dross which cover the mirror.
Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted
through their own unaided efforts, nor can it
ever be possible for the mirror to free itself
from its dross. It is clear and evident that
until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be
ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out from
the face of the mirror it can never represent the
image of the sun nor reflect its light and
glory... (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
59
And since there can be no tie of direct
intercourse to bind the one true God with His
creation, and no resemblance whatever can exist
between the transient and the Eternal, the
contingent and the Absolute, He hath ordained
that in every age and dispensation a pure and
stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms
of earth and heaven. Unto this subtle, this
mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a
twofold nature the physical, pertaining to the
world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born
of the substance of God Himself. He hath,
moreover, conferred upon Him a double station.
The first station, which is related to His
innermost reality, representeth Him as One Whose
voice is the voice of God Himself. To this
testifieth the tradition "Manifold and
mysterious is My relationship with God. I am He,
Himself, and He is I, Myself, except that I am
that I am, and He is that He is." . The second
station is the human station, exemplified by the
following verses "I am but a man like
you." (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
60
These Essences of Detachment, these resplendent
Realities are the channels of God's all-pervasive
grace. Led by the light of unfailing guidance,
and invested with supreme sovereignty, They are
commissioned to use the inspiration of Their
words, the effusions of Their infallible grace
and the sanctifying breeze of Their Revelation
for the cleansing of every longing heart and
receptive spirit from the dross and dust of
earthly cares and limitations. Then, and only
then, will the Trust of God, latent in the
reality of man, emerge, as resplendent as the
rising Orb of Divine Revelation, from behind the
veil of concealment, and implant the ensign of
its revealed glory upon the summits of men's
hearts. . . (Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
61
From the foregoing passages and allusions it
hath been made indubitably clear that in the
kingdoms of earth and heaven there must needs be
manifested a Being, an Essence Who shall act as a
Manifestation and Vehicle for the transmission of
the grace of the Divinity Itself, the Sovereign
Lord of all. Through the Teachings of this Day
Star of Truth every man will advance and develop
until he attaineth the station at which he can
manifest all the potential forces with which his
inmost true self hath been endowed. It is for
this very purpose that in every age and
dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen
Ones have appeared amongst men, and have evinced
such power as is born of God and such might as
only the Eternal can reveal. . . (Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
62
Can one of sane mind ever seriously imagine
that, in view of certain words the meaning of
which he cannot comprehend, the portal of God's
infinite guidance can ever be closed in the face
of men? Can he ever conceive for these Divine
Luminaries, these resplendent Lights either a
beginning or an end? What outpouring flood can
compare with the stream of His all-embracing
grace, and what blessing can excel the evidences
of so great and pervasive a mercy? There can be
no doubt whatever that if for one moment the tide
of His mercy and grace were to be withheld from
the world, it would completely perish. For this
reason, from the beginning that hath no beginning
the portals of Divine mercy have been flung open
to the face of all created things, and the clouds
of Truth will continue to the end that hath no
end to rain on the soil of human capacity,
reality and personality their favors and
bounties. Such hath been God's method continued
from everlasting to everlasting. (Gleanings
from Baha'u'llah, p. 67)
63
Why new name is necessary

• If Christ, at the time of His second coming --
  the coming of the Spirit of Truth -- promised
  to guide humanity to all truth -- in order to
  unite all the peoples of the world into One
  fold under One Shepherd, ... if Christ came
  with the name of Christ how could the
  Buddhists, the Zoroastrians, the Hindus and the
  Muslims who all expect a world redeemer (a
  world educator) to come unite the peoples of the
  world at the so-called end of time recognize
  Him as their Promised One also? Names must
  change to meet the needs of the people.
  (see new name Rev. 217, 312
  1913)
• The Bible says that the Spirit of Christ was in
  the other prophets telling of Jesus and the
  Glory of God after Him. (1 Peter 110-11)

64
The Promised One of all Religions

• To Israel He was neither more nor less than the
  incarnation of the "Everlasting Father," the
  "Lord of Hosts"
• come down "with ten thousands of saints"
• to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory of
  the Father,"
• to Shí'ah Islam the return of the Imam Husayn
• to Sunni Islam the descent of the "Spirit of God"
  (Christ)
• to the Zoroastrians the promised Shah-Bahram
• to the Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna
• to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.
• (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 93)

65
New Name prophesies (Rev 217, 312) Also, this
oneHe had a name written, that no man knew,
but he himself. . . . and his name is called. .
. The Word of God.(Bible, Revelation 1913)