The reed and the breath: revelation and the divine will

In Revelation 11:1-2 it is said: "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."

By this reed is meant the Perfect Man, and the reason for His being likened to a reed is that when the latter is entirely freed and emptied of its pith, it becomes capable of producing wondrous melodies. Moreover, these songs and airs proceed not from the reed itself but from the player who blows into it. In the same way, the sanctified heart of that blessed Being is free and empty of all save God, is averse to and exempt from attachment to every selfish inclination, and is intimately acquainted with the breath of the Divine Spirit. That which He utters proceeds not from Himself but from the ideal Player and from divine revelation. Hence He is likened to a reed, and that reed is like a rod; that is, it is the succour of the weak and is a support to the body of the world. It is the rod of the True Shepherd by which He guards His flock and leads it about in the pastures of the Kingdom.

Then it is said that the angel addressed him, saying, "Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein"; that is, weigh and gauge. To gauge is to determine the quantity of a thing. Thus the angel said: Weigh the Holy of Holies, and the altar, and them that are worshipping therein--that is, investigate their true condition; discover their rank and station, their attainments, their perfections, their conduct, and their attributes; and acquaint thyself with the mysteries of those holy souls who abide in the Holy of Holies, the station of purity and sanctity.

"But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles." When, in the beginning of the seventh century of the Christian era, Jerusalem was conquered, the Holy of Holies--that is, the edifice that Solomon had erected--was outwardly preserved, but its outer court was seized and given over to the Gentiles.

"And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months"; that is, the Gentiles will seize and subdue Jerusalem for forty-two months, or 1,260 days, or--each day being equivalent to a year--1,260 years, which is the duration of the Qur'anic Dispensation. For according to the text of the Bible each day is a year, as it is said in Ezekiel 4:6: "thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year".

This is a prophecy concerning the duration of the Dispensation of Islam, when Jerusalem was trodden underfoot, meaning that it was dishonoured, while the Holy of Holies remained preserved, guarded, and honoured. This state of affairs continued until the year 1260. This 1,260 years is a prophecy concerning the advent of the Bab, the "Gate" leading to Baha'u'llah, which took place in the year A.H. 1260. As the period of 1,260 years has been completed, the Holy City of Jerusalem is now beginning to prosper and flourish again. Anyone who saw Jerusalem sixty years ago, and who sees it again today, will recognize how it has come to prosper and flourish and how it has regained its honour.

This is the outward sense of these verses of the Revelation of John, but they also have an inward interpretation and a symbolic meaning, which is as follows. The religion of God consists of two parts: One is the very foundation and belongs to the spiritual realm; that is, it pertains to spiritual virtues and divine qualities. This part suffers neither change nor alteration: It is the Holy of Holies, which constitutes the essence of the religion of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah, and which will endure throughout all the prophetic Dispensations. It will never be abrogated, for it consists in spiritual rather than material truth. It is faith, knowledge, certitude, justice, piety, high-mindedness, trustworthiness, love of God, and charity. It is mercy to the poor, assistance to the oppressed, generosity to the needy, and upliftment of the fallen. It is purity, detachment, humility, forbearance, patience, and constancy. These are divine qualities. These commandments will never be abrogated, but will remain in force and effect for all eternity. These human virtues are renewed in every Dispensation; for at the close of each Dispensation the spiritual law of God, which consists in the human virtues, vanishes in substance and persists only in form.

Thus, at the end of the Mosaic Dispensation, which coincided with the advent of Christ, the true religion of God vanished from among the Jews, leaving behind a form without a spirit. The Holy of Holies was no more, but the outer court of the Temple--which signifies the outward form of the religion--fell into the hands of the Gentiles. In the same way, the very heart of the religion of Christ, which consists in the greatest human virtues, is no more, but its outward form has remained in the hands of the priests and monks. Likewise, the foundation of the religion of Muhammad is no more, but its outward form remains in the hands of the Muslim divines.

Those foundations of the religion of God, however, which are spiritual and consist in human virtues, are never subject to abrogation but are eternal and everlasting, and are renewed in every prophetic Dispensation.

The second part of the religion of God, which pertains to the material world and which concerns such things as fasting; prayer; worship; marriage; divorce; manumission; legal rulings; transactions; and penalties and punishments for murder, assault, theft, and injury, is changed and altered in every prophetic Dispensation and may be abrogated--for policies, transactions, punishments, and other laws are bound to change according to the exigencies of the time.

From my pen floweth only the summons which Thine own exalted pen hath voiced, and my tongue uttereth naught save what the Most Great Spirit hath itself proclaimed in the kingdom of Thine eternity. I am stirred by nothing else except the winds of Thy will, and breathe no word except the words which, by Thy leave and Thine inspiration, I am led to pronounce.

O Rida! The Wronged One makes mention of thee - He Who hath chosen for Himself no will or purpose, but hath chosen the will of the Intended One and the purpose of God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting.

Be ye assured, moreover, that the works and acts of each and every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever pertaineth unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.

Say: By God! He was silent - God made Him speak. He was seated - the hands of power and might made Him arise. He was asleep - the breezes of the morn of Revelation that blew by God's will, the Lord of the Day of Return, awakened Him. Say: O people of the Bayan! He speaketh not of His own desire - to this testifieth that which hath been revealed from His Most Exalted Pen.

Say: O people! I was asleep when the Call awakened Me, and I was silent when the Truth, the Knower of the unseen, caused Me to speak and commanded Me to raise My voice in this atmosphere. This is not My crime, if ye be fair. Fear God, O people, and follow not the desires of every ignorant one, nor follow those who have denied the Witness and the Witnessed.

Every Manifestation is likened unto a bit of straw before a great wind. It is blown as the wind desireth, and has no power over itself. Thus each Manifestation is looking only to God, and takes no thought of Himself at all.

Thou art One, no partner hast Thou, and verily, O my God, Thou bearest witness that I have not penned a single letter, nor uttered any wisdom, nor engaged in any matter except by Thy leave and the decree of Thy Book.

I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which the tribes have lamented, save those whom Thy pervading Will and Thy all-compelling Purpose have chosen, to grant me the Kawthar of Thy good-pleasure and to ordain for me what Thou hast ordained for Thy Messengers who spoke not except by Thy leave and command, and moved not except by Thy will.

By God! He, the Glory of God (Baha), hath spoken not from mere impulse. He that hath given Him a voice is He that hath given a voice unto all things, that they may praise and glorify Him.

… In the Tablet, addressed to His Majesty the Shah -- may God, blessed and glorified be He, assist him -- these words have streamed from the tongue of this Wronged One:

"O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow.

… Can anyone speak forth of his own accord that for which all men, both high and low, will protest against him?

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Thus admonisheth you He Who is the Gracious, the All-Knowing. Think ye, O people, that I hold within My grasp the control of God’s ultimate Will and Purpose? Far be it from Me to advance such claim. To this I testify before God, the Almighty, the Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Had the ultimate destiny of God’s Faith been in Mine hands, I would have never consented, even though for one moment, to manifest Myself unto you, nor would I have allowed one word to fall from My lips. Of this God Himself is, verily, a witness.

Answer: Every divine utterance that takes the form of a rebuke, though it be outwardly addressed to the Prophets of God, is in reality directed to Their followers. The wisdom of this is naught but unalloyed mercy, that the people might not be dismayed, disheartened, or burdened by such reproaches and rebukes. These words are therefore outwardly addressed to the Prophets, but, even so, they are inwardly intended for the followers and not for the Messenger.

… These holy Souls are like the leaves of a tree which are stirred into motion by the breeze and not of Their own accord, for They are attracted by the breaths of the love of God and have forsaken Their own will.

O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart except the unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God hath revealed.

It behoveth thee to consecrate thyself to the Will of God. Whatsoever hath been revealed in His Tablets is but a reflection of His Will. So complete must be thy consecration, that every trace of worldly desire will be washed from thine heart. This is the meaning of true unity.