Baha'u'llah
Imagine Baha'u'llah, the Blessed Perfection, the Ancient Beauty, the Beloved of the Worlds, the Promised One of all Ages, in 1852, imprisoned for most of His life for His loving summons, in the darkest dungeon in Iran. He will soon let mankind know that men and women are equal (at a time when female babies are buried at birth in many places, and women were considered property by Arabs); the extremes of wealth and poverty will end (notifying the rich and powerful of this change); all races are equal (at a time when "lesser" races were considered sub human); children must be universally educated (at a time when kids were considered the spawn of Satan!); and many more controversial Revelations!
As if that were not enough, Baha'u'llah's unprecedented new Message also Reveals that religion is to become Democratic, with the elimination of appointed clergy (At a time when no nation on earth had universal political suffrage LET ALONE religious Democracy!).
Now, you've seen how important clergy are to many people! Perhaps these revolutionary ideas are why 20,000 Baha'is and their predecessor heroes have been put to death in Iran, and continue to be killed, tortured, denied basic human rights, and violently persecuted, including children. Baha'u'llah writes that if anyone were informed of what befell Him for His love of humanity, they would cry Tears of Blood.
Baha'u'llah further states:
"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 to 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... have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!"
Poisoned, imprisoned, tortured, beaten, a lifelong exile and prisoner: how much did Baha'u'llah suffer for His Message of change, hope and peace? He tells us that EACH DAY He suffered a new torment equal to his entire captivity and banishment to the Akka prison, in the promised land of Israel!
Is Baha'u'llah God? Click HERE for the Is Baha'u'llah God?.com site for a Spirited Discussion based on the Bible, Quran and Baha'i Writings.
Below is Wikipedia's "objective" section on Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, the Ancient Beauty, The Blessed Perfection, The Promised One of All Ages, the Wronged One of the Worlds:
========= WIKIPEDIA ON BAHA'U'LLAH =========
"Bahá'u'lláh declared that he was the Promised One of all religions, fulfilling the Messianic prophecies found in the world's religions. He stated that His claims to being several messiahs converging in one person were the symbolic, rather than literal, fulfillment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions. Bahá'u'lláh's eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications: from Judaism, the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father" from the Yuletide prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, the "Lord of Hosts"; from Christianity, the "Spirit of Truth" or Comforter predicted by Jesus in his farewell discourse of John 14-17 and the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father"; from Zoroastrianism, the return of Shah Bahram, a Zoroastrian messiah predicted in various late Pahlavi texts; from Shia Islam, the return of the Third Imam, Imam Husayn; from Sunni Islam, the return of Jesus, ISA; and from The Bab, "Him Whom God shall make Manifest".
While Bahá'u'lláh did not claim himself to be either the Hindu or Buddhist messiah, he did so in principle through his writings. Later, `Abdu'l-Bahá stated that Bahá'u'lláh was the Kalki Avatar, who in the classical Hindu Vaishnavas tradition is the tenth and final Avatar (great incarnation) of Vishnu, who will come to end the Age of Darkness and Destruction. Bahá'ís also believe that Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfilment of the prophecy of appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, who is a future Buddha who will eventually appear on earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. Bahá'ís believe that the prophecy that Maitreya will usher in a new society of tolerance and love has been fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh's teachings on world peace. Bahá'u'lláh is believed to be a descendant of a long line of kings in Persia. He also asserted to be a descendant of Abraham through Abraham's third wife Keturah."
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