Judas and the vulnerability of faithfulness

One does not know - how many people were very pure souls in the beginning but later turned away from it, like Judas Iscariot who was very good in the beginning but very bad in the end.

O thou yearning flame, thou who art afire with the love of God! I have read thy letter, and its contents, well-expressed and eloquent, delighted my heart, showing as they did thy deep sincerity in the Cause of God, thy persevering steps along the pathway of His Kingdom, and thy staunchness in His Faith -- for of all great things, this is the greatest in His sight.

How many a soul hath turned itself unto the Lord and entered into the protective shadow of His Word, and become famed throughout the world -- for example, Judas Iscariot. And then, when the tests grew harsh and the violence thereof intensified, their feet slipped on the pathway and they turned backward from the Faith after having acknowledged its truth, and they denied it, and fell away from harmony and love into mischief and hate. Thus became visible the power of tests, which maketh mighty pillars to tremble and shake.

Judas Iscariot was the greatest of the disciples, and he summoned the people to Christ. Then it seemed to him that Jesus was showing increasing regard to the Apostle Peter, and when Jesus said, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church,' these words addressed to Peter, and this singling out of Peter for special honour, had a marked effect on the Apostle, and kindled envy within the heart of Judas. For this reason he who had once drawn nigh did turn aside, and he who had believed in the Faith denied it, and his love changed to hate, until he became a cause of the crucifixion of that glorious Lord, that manifest Splendour. Such is the outcome of envy, the chief reason why men turn aside from the Straight Path. So hath it occurred, and will occur, in this great Cause. But it doth not matter, for it engendereth loyalty in the rest, and maketh souls to arise who waver not, who are fixed and unshakeable as the mountains in their love for the Manifest Light.

Convey thou unto the handmaids of the Merciful the message that when a test turneth violent they must stand unmoved, and faithful to their love for Baha. In winter come the storms, and the great winds blow, but then will follow spring in all its beauty, adorning hill and plain with perfumed plants and red anemones, fair to see. Then will the birds trill out upon the branches their songs of joy, and sermonize in lilting tones from the pulpits of the trees. Erelong shall ye bear witness that the lights are streaming forth, the banners of the realm above are waving, the sweet scents of the All-Merciful are wafted abroad, the hosts of the Kingdom are marching down, the angels of heaven are rushing forward, and the Holy Spirit is breathing upon all those regions. On that day thou shalt behold the waverers, men and women alike, frustrated of their hopes and in manifest loss. This is decreed by the Lord, the Revealer of Verses.

As to thee, blessed art thou, for thou art steadfast in the Cause of God, firm in His Covenant. I beg of Him to bestow upon thee a spiritual soul, and the life of the Kingdom, and to make thee a leaf verdant and flourishing on the Tree of Life, that thou mayest serve the handmaids of the Merciful with spirituality and good cheer.

Thy generous Lord will assist thee to labour in His vineyard and will cause thee to be the means of spreading the spirit of unity among His handmaids. He will make thine inner eye to see with the light of knowledge, He will forgive thy sins and transform them into goodly deeds. Verily He is the Forgiving, the Compassionate, the Lord of immeasurable grace.

Christ did not exercise compulsion regarding Judas Iscariot and His brothers, but they deprived themselves.

Judas Iscariot was for a long time favored in the holy court of His Holiness Christ, yet he was entirely far and remote; while Paul, the apostle, was in close embrace with His Holiness.

Judas Iscariot and Peter were both sons of the kingdom, but Peter was the real son. Judas was the material son, consequently he was deprived.

Had the doors of comfort and wealth been opened to the apostles of Christ, how could the sincerity of Peter the Apostle have been distinguished from the treachery of Judas Iscariot? The virtues of the former and vices of the latter were only revealed through tests and trials. This is among the wisdom behind the appearance of tests in the human world.

Jesus Christ, through his spiritual power, taught a few in his time, through in reality there were only twelve disciples, one of whom Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, thus leaving eleven who remained with the Master.

The case of all of them resembleth the violation of the Covenant by Judas Iscariot and his followers. Consider: hath any result or trace remained after them? Not even a name hath been left by his followers and although a number of Jews sided with him it was as if he had no followers at all. This Judas Iscariot who was the leader of the apostles betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Take heed, O ye people of perception!

As has occurred in every age and time - Judas Iscariot in the time of Christ (may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him) was the chief of the apostles, yet in the end sold that embodied Spirit for a few dirhams.

Remember thou that Judas Iscariot was the head of the disciples, and their example. How then his feet stumbled and he fell from the Path, so that he shed the blood of Christ!

Remember that Judas Iscariot was the chief of the Apostles and their exemplar, yet how his feet slipped and he fell from the straight path until he participated in the blood of Christ.

He who sits with leper catches leprosy. He who is with Christ shuns Pharisees and abhors Judas Iscariots. Certainly shun violators. Inform Goodall, True and Parsons telegraphically.

A question was asked regarding the elder brother and the Master replied: In any cycle or time someone has shown pride. In the time of Christ it was Judas. In the days of the Blessed Perfection, Subhi Ezel. Now it is the head of the Nakazeen.