It is now time to try Peace

It is now time to try Peace

XXV. It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation "Seal of the Prophets" fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.

                (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 60)

 

In the past, prophets  have foretold the coming of a great and glorious age; a day when God would rule the earth. This is the day when God's will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven as promised in the Lord's Prayer. This is the day of the fulfillment of prophesy, and therefore prophesy is no longer necessary.

Thus Mohammad, the Seal of the Prophets, was the last Manifestation of God to prophesy the coming of the Eternal Truth because Baha'u'llah, The Spirit of Truth who will lead us to all truth, has come.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

                (John16:13)

There is only one God, so therefore there is only one religion of God. That religion has been called by different names during different eras, much like we designate special names for various days, although the same sun rises each day.

Just as the physical Sun sheds light on the world, the Manifestations of God are the rays of the Spiritual Sun who flood the world with Spiritual Light. We cannot approach the sun. We only know it by its rays, and the Spiritual Sun, God, is only known through the Manifestations He sends. He has made knowledge of the messenger equal to knowledge of Himself. Thus Christ stated, "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." ^{(John 14:9)}

When we are in a forest, all we see is trees. We need to view the forest from a distance to see a forest. We are now living in this glorious age, but is will take historians looking back on it to get a glimmer of its significance. The revelation of God is transforming the World and the evidence of that will be realized in the future.

When a mother gives birth, there is pain and turmoil, but when the baby is placed in her arms it is all forgotten.

LXI. The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed   hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 118, 119)

 

Soon a new world will be born, but the new and old cannot coexist, so the old world order will die. We see evidence now as we watch the decay of the political system. At one time a King ruled and none dared to question his authority. Now the political leaders are questioned and doubted at every turn. The element of trust was at one time taken for granted, now trust is at its lowest level. Bahá'u'lláh teaches us that we must be obedient to those in authority. Without respect and obedience the political system will degrade to a state of anarchy.

THE one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded, and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the kings and rulers of the earth. From the beginning that hath no beginning the ensign proclaiming the words 'He doeth whatsoever He willeth' hath been unfurled in all its splendour before His Manifestation. What mankind needeth in this day is obedience unto them that are in authority, and a faithful adherence to the cord of wisdom. The instruments which are essential to the immediate protection, the security and assurance of the human race have been entrusted to the hands, and lie in the grasp, of the governors of human society. This is the wish of God and His decree....

                (Bahá'u'lláh, The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 13, 14)

For 6,000 years man has tried to do things his own way, and there have been wars and rumors of war. Each person has an opinion and a belief and each is willing to kill to eliminate those who disagree. Peace by force has not worked. The war to end all wars only led to more war. It is time to try God's way.  It is time to try peace.

I would love to hear your opinion. Please leave a comment.

New Fireside Blog

Those who follow this blog may realize by now that most of my inspiration comes from the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Although the purpose of this blog is to promote world peace I don’t feel that this purpose can be achieved without reconciling the world’s religions. Some may justifiably argue that religion has been the cause of many wars and that it is detrimental to world peace. Many are familiar with John Lennon’s song, “Imagine,” were he states, “Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

Man has twisted religion and made it a case for war. The original principles given us by the founders of all the major religions have been towards peace and unity. Somehow man has twisted that to mean, “kill anyone that doesn’t agree with you.”

Christ said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” ^{(Matthew 5:44)}

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “Another fundamental announcement made by Bahá'u'lláh is that religion must be the source of unity and fellowship in the world. If it is productive of enmity, hatred and bigotry, the absence of religion would be preferable. This is a new principle of revelation found only in the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh.” ^{(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 434)}

My goal here is not to convert, but to reconcile and promote love and unity between all groups, be they religious, nationalistic, political, racial, economic or any other. I prefer to think of myself as belonging to the human race, the religion of God, and the nation of the World. Whatever groups you identify yourself with, it is important to realize that others also have a right to existence and a right to live in a peaceful, secure manner.

Since my desire is to promote world peace and also to promote the Ancient Faith of God, I have started a new blog. Thus I will have this one to promote peace and the other one to promote religion. It is simply called Fireside and is a place where anyone can go to share ideas about the Baha’i Faith. Fireside is a name that has been given to informal Baha’i meetings were people gather to learn about and explore the principles of the Baha’i Faith. My Fireside Blog is a cyber version of such a meeting. The atmosphere is informal and invites comments from all. You can visit the fireside blog at http://fireside9.blogspot.ca/.