Purpose of the Prophets of God
From the Writings of Baha'u'llah:
God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is
to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and
guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to
ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means
by which they can be established.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, pp. 79-80)
The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole
purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The
purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that
they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and
sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, pp. 156-157)
The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been, and will
continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No man's
understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a
token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He
hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the
Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these
sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own
Self. Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso
hearkeneth to their call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso
testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the
truth of God Himself. Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned
away from God, and whoso disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God.
Every one of them is the Way of God that connecteth this world with the
realms above, and the Standard of His Truth unto every one in the
kingdoms of earth and heaven. They are the Manifestations of God
amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, pp. 49-50)
These Tabernacles of holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect the
light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the
Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of these gems of
divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as knowledge
and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory, bounty
and grace, are made manifest.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 103)
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.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, p. 59)
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.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, pp. 67-68)
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.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, p. 67)
These Suns of Truth are the universal Manifestations of God in the
worlds of His attributes and names, even as the visible sun that
assisteth, as decreed by God, the true One, the Adored, in the
development of all earthly things, such as the trees, the fruits, and
colours thereof, the minerals of the earth, and all that may be
witnessed in the world of creation, so do the divine Luminaries, by
their loving care and educative influence, cause the trees of divine
unity, the fruits of His oneness, the leaves of detachment, the
blossoms of knowledge and certitude, and the myrtles of wisdom and
utterance, to exist and be made manifest. Thus it is that through the
rise of these Luminaries of God the world is made new, the waters of
everlasting life stream forth, the billows of loving-kindness surge,
the clouds of grace are gathered, and the breeze of bounty bloweth upon
all created things. It is the warmth that these Luminaries of God
generate, and the undying fires they kindle, which cause the light of
the love of God to burn fiercely in the heart of humanity. It is
through the abundant grace of these Symbols of Detachment that the
Spirit of life everlasting is breathed into the bodies of the dead.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 33-34)
The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to
foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the
spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, p. 80)
From the Utterances of `Abdu'l-Baha:
What is the purpose of Prophethood? Why has God sent the
Prophets? It is self-evident that the Prophets are the Educators
of men and the Teachers of the human race. They come to bestow
universal education upon humanity, to give humanity training, to uplift
the human race from the abyss of despair and desolation and to enable
man to attain the apogee of advancement and glory. The people are
in darkness; the Prophets bring them into the realm of light.
They are in a state of utter imperfection; the Prophets imbue them with
perfections. The purpose of the prophetic mission is none other
than the education and guidance of the people.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 405)
When the holy, divine Manifestations or Prophets appear in the world, a
cycle of radiance, an age of mercy dawns. Everything is renewed.
Minds, hearts and all human forces are reformed, perfections are
quickened, sciences, discoveries and investigations are stimulated
afresh, and everything appertaining to the virtues of the human world
is revitalized.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 278)
The holy Manifestations are the ideal Gardeners of human souls, the
divine Cultivators of human hearts. The world of existence is but a
jungle of disorder and confusion, a state of nature producing nothing
but fruitless, useless trees. The ideal Gardeners train these
wild, uncultivated human trees, cause them to become fruitful, water
and cultivate them day by day so that they adorn the world of existence
and continue to flourish in the utmost beauty.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 466)
The purpose of this is to show that the holy Manifestations of God, the
divine Prophets, are the first Teachers of the human race. They are
universal Educators, and the fundamental principles they have laid down
are the causes and factors of the advancement of nations.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 86)
From Letters Written on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi:
...The inestimable value of religion is that when a man is vitally
connected with it, through a real and living belief in it and in the
Prophet who brought it, he receives a strength greater than his own
which helps him to develop his good characteristics and overcome his
bad ones. The whole purpose of religion is to change not only our
thoughts but our acts; when we believe in God and His Prophet and His
teachings, we find we are growing even though we perhaps thought
ourselves incapable of growth and change.
(Shoghi Effendi: Lights of Guidance, p. 508)
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