Unenslaved Mind

✨Bahá'í✨
"Good News! Good News!
The Fire of the Love of God is Blazing!"

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #51

Part Five: The Final Evidence
The Third Fruit: Religion

{Sears seeks out the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh: “...Each religion is true, is beautiful, is valid ...there is only one God, there is also only one religion. All the great Prophets have taught this same one religion”}

Bahá’u’lláh has written:

“O ye people of the world! The Religion of God is for the sake of love and union; make it not the cause of enmity and conflict. … By this one Word shall the diverse sects of the world attain unto the light of real union; …” [cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Esslemont]

Bahá’u’lláh teaches that just as there is only one God, there is also only one religion. All the great Prophets have taught this same one religion. There is, Bahá’u’lláh tells us, no exclusive salvation for the Hindu, the Jew, the Zoroastrian, the Buddhist, the Christian, the Muslim, or the Bahá’í.

The Bahá’í Faith is not a sect, but an independent religion. The famous historian Arnold Toynbee was asked about Bahá’u’lláh’s Faith. He replied:

“My opinion is that
(1) Bahá’ísm is undoubtedly a religion,
(2) Bahá’ísm is an independent religion, on a par with Islám, Christianity, and the other recognized world religions. Bahá’ísm is not a sect of some other religion; it is a separate religion, and it has the same status of other recognized religions.

{The term Bahá'ísm is not used anymore, and is now called The Bahá'í Faith.}

“This opinion is based both on study and on personal acquaintance with Bahá’ís.”

All these pure and holy Faiths are part of the one eternal religion of God that goes on forever. No single religion is the one exclusive Faith, or the final outpouring of truth from Almighty God.

Each religion is true, is beautiful, is valid. It is the one Message from God for that age in which it appears. It is the only truth for that particular age, yet it is not final. It is but one part of a single, great, progressive, never-ending Religion of God that has no beginning and will have no end.

Though the Word (Holy Spirit) of God is one, the Speakers (Messengers) of this Word are many. It is the one light in many lamps.

The golden rule can be found in all the great religions of the world:

Hinduism: The true rule is to do by the things of others as you do by your own.

Judaism: Whatever you do not wish your neighbour to do to you do not to him.

Zoroastrianism: As you do you will be done by.

Buddhism: One should seek for others the happiness one desires for one’s self.

Christianity: Therefore, all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do even so to them.

Islám: Let none of you treat a brother in a way he himself would dislike to be treated.

Bahá’í Faith: If thou regardest Mercy, look not to that which benefits thyself; but to that which will benefit thy fellowmen. If thou regardest Justice, choose thou for others that which thou choosest for thyself. [Epistle to the Son of the Wolf]

The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh liken religion to the growth of a plant. Dr Esslemont, who spent many years studying the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, states it in this way:

“The religion of God is the One Religion, and all the Prophets have taught it, but it is a living and growing thing, not lifeless and unchanging. In the teaching of Moses we see the Bud; in that of Christ the Flower; in that of Bahá’u’lláh the Fruit. The flower does not destroy the bud, nor does the fruit destroy the flower. It destroys not, but fulfils. The bud scales must fall in order that the flower may bloom, and the petals must fall that the fruit may grow and ripen. Were the bud scales or the petals wrong or useless, then, that they had to be discarded? Nay, both in their time were right and necessary; (paraphrase) without them there could have been no fruit.

So it is with the various prophetic teachings; their externals change from age to age, but each revelation is the fulfilment of its predecessors; they are not separate or incongruous, but different stages in the life history of the One Religion, which has in turn been revealed as seed, as bud, as flower, and now enters on the stage of fruition.” [Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era]

Thus, one step is not greater than another. No step is exclusive. No stage is final. Not even the stage of the ‘fruit’. The ‘fruit’ is the fulfilment of the ‘seed’. It is the end of a cycle, but from that ‘fruit’ will come the ‘seed’ of another great cycle. The religion of God is continuous and never-ending and like the rain, never ceases to shed its water of life upon mankind.

The oneness and progressive unfoldment of spiritual truth can be shown from the Bible. Moses, knowing that His followers could not understand all of His teachings, said:

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” [Deuteronomy 18:15]

This foretold the coming of Christ. When He came, Christ reminded the people of His day about these words of Moses. Christ said:

“For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me.” [John 5:46]

Then Christ rebuked them for being blind. He said:

“But if ye believed not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” [John 5:47]

At a later time, Christ spoke almost the same words to His followers that Moses had spoken to those who had followed Him. Christ knew that His followers could not understand all that He had taught them. He was disappointed many times by their failure to perceive His meaning. He promised them that another would come and explain these hidden truths to mankind. He said:

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth …” [John 16:12, 13]

This foretold the coming of the Messiah. When Bahá’u’lláh came, He reminded the people of His day about these words of Christ. He said:

“Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of God … He saith: ‘When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.’”[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

Then Bahá’u’lláh rebuked them for being blind. He said:

“Wherefore, then, did ye fail … to draw nigh unto Him? … And yet … ye refused to turn your faces towards Him …” [Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

Bahá’u’lláh addressed special letters to the heads of Christianity. {look to “The Summons of the Lord of Hosts”} These letters can be studied. He urged them to lead their flocks into the sacred fold. Among His words are these:

“Draw near, and tarry not, though it be for one short moment.”[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

Bahá’u’lláh proclaims:

“Verily I say, whatsoever hath lowered the lofty station of religion hath increased the waywardness of the wicked, and the result cannot be but anarchy.” [cited in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh]

Bahá’u’lláh also counsels the people of all religions to follow the precepts given by Moses:

“… consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship, to proclaim that which the Speaker on Sinai [Moses] hath set forth and to observe fairness in all matters.” [Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh]

Bahá’u’lláh upholds the oneness of religion and the Prophets throughout His Writings. In one instance He says:

“Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith:

‘There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message.

They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret.

To prefer one in honour to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him.

If any man, therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should consequently indulge in vain and unseemly language, no one whose sight is keen and whose understanding is enlightened would ever allow such idle talk to cause him to waver in his belief.’”
[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

Bahá’u’lláh addresses the people of the religions of the world, saying:

“Blessed are such as hold fast to the cord of kindliness and tender mercy and are free from animosity and hatred.” [Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh]

The great tragedy of religion, Bahá’u’lláh tells us, is that mankind remembers the Messenger and forgets the Message. Sainte Beuve told the people of France that they would be members of sects long after they had ceased to be Christians. They were more interested in the lamp than in the light.

The Prophets are all mirrors on which the sun of God’s truth shines. The mirror is not the truth. The light that shines in it is the truth. Christ emphasizes this truth, saying it was God in whom the people must believe, not in Him, Jesus. He said:

“He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.” [John 12:44]

Bahá’u’lláh speaks of the Founders of all the world’s religions with great love, tenderness and beauty. He counsels His followers to look upon the people of all beliefs with radiance and friendliness. He reminds them:

“Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean.” [Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh]

In ‘The Coming World Teacher’, Pavri writes: “… among the Bahá’ís is that remarkable movement emphasizing the brotherhood of religions, a brotherhood which the Teacher, alike of gods and men, alone can make possible.”

Bahá’u’lláh calls upon His followers to dedicate their lives to the well- being and happiness of the people of all religions and nations. To those who would follow Him, He says:

“Address yourselves to the promotion of the well-being and tranquillity of the children of men.

Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name [of God], be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upraisers of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice.

Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.” [Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

This is another fruit by which you may test the tree of Bahá’u’lláh and judge His life.

----------

NEXT - Post #52: The Fourth Fruit: Individual Life

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN< follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #50

Part Five: The Final Evidence
The Second Fruit: Country

{Sears seeks out the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh: “Bahá’ís are willing to give their energies, even their lives, to the just government that does not require them to be disloyal to their love for God...”}

The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, I found, say specifically:

“According to the direct sacred command of God, we are forbidden to utter slander, are commanded to show forth peace and amity, are exhorted to rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and harmony with all the kindreds and peoples of the world.” [Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá]

It is, these Teachings state further, the duty of every one of His followers to demonstrate “their unqualified loyalty and obedience” to “their respective governments”. [The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh]

The followers of Bahá’u’lláh are instructed to consider disloyalty unto a just government as disloyalty to God Himself. It is the sacred obligation of each individual Bahá’í, Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings state:

“… to promote, in the most effective manner, the best interests of their government and people.” [The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh]

According to the written word of the Bahá’í Teachings it is the sincere desire of every true and loyal follower:

“… to serve, in an unselfish, unostentatious and patriotic fashion, the highest interests of the country to which he belongs.” [The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh]

These Bahá’ís are willing to give their energies, even their lives, to the just government that does not require them to be disloyal to their love for God, and to the spiritual teachings given by Christ and Bahá’u’lláh.

Although the essence of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teaching is the establishment of the unity of all nations, His words neither condemn nor disparage or censure an intelligent patriotism; nor do they in any way try to alter the natural, warm love one feels for one’s native land.

The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh’s Faith say specifically that His Message concerning world government and world unity does not,

““… seek to undermine the allegiance and loyalty of any individual to his country, nor does it conflict with the legitimate aspirations, rights, and duties of any individual state or nation.

All it does imply and proclaim is the insufficiency of patriotism, in view of the fundamental changes effected in the economic life of society and the interdependence of the nations, and as the consequence of the contraction of the world, through the revolution in the means of transportation and communication— conditions that did not and could not exist either in days of Jesus Christ …

It calls for a wider loyalty, which should not, and indeed does not, conflict with lesser loyalties.

It instils a love which, in view of its scope, must include and not exclude the love of one’s own country.

It lays, through this loyalty which it inspires, and this love which it infuses, the only foundation on which the concept of world citizenship can thrive, and the structure of world unification can rest.

It does insist, however, on the subordination of national considerations and particularistic interests to the imperative and paramount claims of humanity as a whole, inasmuch as in the world of interdependent nations and peoples the advantage of the part is best to reached by the advantage of the whole.”
[The Promised Day is Come]

Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings not only demand that His followers be loyal to their government but they are also specifically and firmly forbidden to take part in any subversive political or social movement.

Viscount Samuel, High Commissioner for Palestine under the British Mandate, wrote of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in August 1959, that the Bahá’ís were generally regarded as a valuable element in the population, intelligent, orderly, well-educated, and above all, trustworthy. In Government service and in commercial employment they were much esteemed as being free from corruptibility … well-behaved, courteous to others …” The Bahá’í Faith, Samuel said, “commands the respect and goodwill of its neighbours.” [Bahá’í Journal, British Isles 1959]

That the Bahá’í makes a useful, and desirable citizen in every land, becomes apparent from these words of counsel which Bahá’u’lláh gives His followers:

1. “It is incumbent upon every man, in this Day, to hold fast unto whatsoever will promote the interests, and exalt the station of all nations and just governments.”

2. “Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.”

3. “That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”

4. “Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not treacherously with anyone. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures …”
[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]

This is another fruit by which you may test the tree of Bahá’u’lláh.

----------

NEXT - Post #51: The Third Fruit: Religion

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

The Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá
*November 27th, 2025
Work is not suspended on this day

The Guardian would advise that, if feasible, the friends should commemorate The Ascension of ‘Abdu’1-Bahá at 1:00 a.m.

~ Shoghi Effendi, "Uncompiled Published Letters
https://t.co/kjiUQfJiLk
-----

Dreams of `Abdu'l-Bahá:

“Through the dreams He dreamed, through the conversations He held, through the Tablets He revealed, it became increasingly evident that His end was fast approaching. Two months before His passing He told His family of a dream He had had.

“I seemed,” He said, “to be standing within a great mosque, in the inmost shrine, facing the Qiblih, in the place of the Imám himself. I became aware that a large number of people were flocking into the mosque. More and yet more crowded in, taking their places in rows behind Me, until there was a vast multitude. As I stood I raised loudly the call to prayer. Suddenly the thought came to Me to go forth from the mosque. When I found Myself outside I said within Myself: ‘For what reason came I forth, not having led the prayer? But it matters not; now that I have uttered the Call to prayer, the vast multitude will of themselves chant the prayer.’”

A few weeks later, whilst occupying a solitary room in the garden of His house, He recounted another dream to those around Him.

“I dreamed a dream,” He said, “and behold, the Blessed Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh) came and said to Me: ‘Destroy this room.’”

None of those present comprehended the significance of this dream until He Himself had soon after passed away, when it became clear to them all that by the “room” was meant the temple of His body.”

~ Shoghi Effendi
God Passes By
https://t.co/Nfn0BsI2U3
-----

“‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s great work was now ended. The historic Mission with which His Father had, twenty-nine years previously, invested Him had been gloriously consummated. A memorable chapter in the history of the first Bahá’í century had been written. The Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation, in which He had participated since its inception, and played so unique a role, had drawn to a close. He had suffered as no disciple of the Faith, who had drained the cup of martyrdom, had suffered, He had labored as none of its greatest heroes had labored. He had witnessed triumphs such as neither the Herald of the Faith nor its Author had ever witnessed.”

~ Shoghi Effendi
God Passes By
https://t.co/B60StSNT2d

* Based on the Badí’ (aka Bahá'í) calendar:

- When Naw-Rúz falls on March 20th (as in 2025):
The Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá is November 27th

When Naw-Rúz falls on March 21st:
The Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá is November 28th

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

Day of the Covenant
November 25th, 2025
Work is not suspended on this day
---
A Day to commemorate the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and celebrate the Center of the Covenant: 'Abdu'l-Bahá
---
The day of The Declaration of the Báb, when the Báb proclaimed His Mission from God as the Precursor or Gate of Bahá'u'lláh, occurred on May 23, 1844.

On this same day `Abdu’l-Bahá was born.

*May 23rd, is now celebrated annually as the Declaration of the Báb

“'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Bahá'ís that this day was not, under any circumstances, to be celebrated as His day of birth. It was the day of the Declaration of the Báb, exclusively associated with Him.

But as the Bahá'ís begged for a day to be celebrated as His, He gave them *November 26th, to be observed as the day of the appointment of the Centre of the Covenant...'"

Divine Philosophy
https://t.co/FQ2TiFMaon…
Lights of Guidance
https://t.co/WhQ14tI9Nk…

* Based on the Badí’ (aka Bahá'í) calendar:

- When Naw-Rúz falls on March 20th (as in 2025):
The Declaration of the Báb is May 23rd
The Day of the Covenant is November 25th

- When Naw-Rúz falls on March 21st:
The Declaration of the Báb is May 24th
The Day of the Covenant is November 26th

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

What is the Bahá'í Faith?
https://t.co/gQeMfErGQe

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #49

Part Five: The Final Evidence
The First Fruit: Home and Family

{Sears seeks out the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh: about Home and Family, in particular, marriage and children}

Bahá’u’lláh claims that the home and family are sacred. These precious possessions are of the utmost importance for a useful and worthwhile life. He calls upon all mankind to honour the sanctity of marriage.

He forbids His followers to live lives of monastic seclusion.

According to Bahá ‘u’ lláh, it is not sufficient in this day to be good in isolation. We must be good in a group. A wholesome family life, he tells us, is the basis of society.

Bahá’u’lláh says:

“Enter ye into wedlock, that after you another may arise in your stead. We, verily, have forbidden you lechery, and not that which is conducive to fidelity.”
[Epistle to the Son of the Wolf]

Dr J. E. Esslemont in his analysis of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh writes:

“Whatever justification there may have been for the monastic life in ancient times and bygone circumstances, Bahá’u’lláh declares that such justification no longer exists; and, indeed, it seems obvious that the withdrawal of a large number of the most pious and God-fearing of the population from association with their fellows, and from the duties and responsibilities of parenthood, must result in the spiritual impoverishment of the race.” [Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era]

The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh say:

“She must not rest until she makes him her spiritual as well as physical partner in life. But the Bahá’í engagement [betrothal] is the perfect communication and the entire consent of both parties. However, they must show forth the utmost attention and become informed of one another’s character and the firm covenant made between each other must become an eternal binding, and their intentions must be everlasting affinity, friendship, unity and life.”
[Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá]

“The marriage of Bahá’ís means that the man and woman must become spiritually and physically united, so that they may have eternal unity throughout all the divine worlds, and improve the spiritual life of each other. This is Bahá’í matrimony.”
[Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá]

Bahá’u’lláh advises all men and women to marry so that children may be raised up who can honour the name of God and who can render service to mankind.

Bahá’u’lláh’s followers have been given the following counsel about their homes and families:

“Make your home a haven of rest and peace. Be hospitable, and let the doors of your home be open to the faces of friends and strangers. Welcome every guest with radiant grace and let each feel that it is his home.

“Nourish continually the tree of your union with love and affection so that it may remain ever green throughout all seasons, and when God gives you sweet and lovely children consecrate yourselves to their instruction and guidance so that they may become the servants of the world of humanity.” [Bahá’í Prayers]

The son of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, spoke in Paris on 6 November 1911. He said: “This is in truth a Bahá’í house.” He told the people who were gathered in that house that every time such a house is established in a community it must become known for the “intense spirituality and for the love it spreads among the peoples.” [Paris Talks]

He said:

“Oh, friends of God! If ye will trust in the Word of God and be strong; if ye will follow the precepts of Bahá’u’lláh to tend the sick, raise the fallen, care for the poor and needy, give shelter to the destitute, protect the oppressed, comfort the sorrowful and love the world of humanity with all your hearts, then I say unto you that ere long this meeting-place will see a wonderful harvest. … but ye must have a firm foundation and your aims and ambitions must be clearly understood by each member.

“They shall be as follows:

1. To show compassion and goodwill to all mankind.
2. To render service to humanity.
3. To endeavour to guide and enlighten those in darkness.
4. To be kind to everyone, and show forth affection to every living soul.
5. To be humble in your attitude towards God, to be constant in prayer to Him, so as to grow daily nearer to God.
6. To be so faithful and sincere in all your actions that every member may be known for embodying the qualities of honesty, love, faith, kindness, generosity, and courage. To be detached from all that is not of God …” [Paris Talks]

The home and family that fulfilled these conditions, he said, would be true to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

This is one of the fruits taken from the tree of Bahá’u’lláh by which you may judge Him.

----------

NEXT - Post #50: The Second Fruit: Country

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #48

Part Five: The Final Evidence
The Tree of Life

{Sears comes to a decision: “systematically to examine the fruits from the tree of Bahá’u’lláh, so that I might determine whether He was a true or a false prophet”}

Christ foretold that the One Who came in His name at the time of the end would be the ‘Spirit of Truth’:

“… he will guide you into all truth …” [John 16:13]

In another place, He said:

“… he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” [John 14:26]

And yet again:

“… he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” [John 16:14]

I was determined to seek for the inward truth behind the outward symbol in Christ’s words, for I found written in yet another place:

“… the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him (the believer) in the last day.” [John 12:48]

Bahá’u’lláh, I found, had written over a hundred volumes. Here it is possible for me to mention but a few of His teachings, and in only the briefest manner. It is like trying to catch the ocean in a cup.

The scholar Charles Baudouin, in his book Contemporary Studies, writes of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings, saying that this “ethical code is dominated by the law of love taught by Jesus and by all the prophets. In the thousand and one details of practical life, this law is subject to manifold interpretations. That of Bahá’u’lláh is unquestionably one of the most comprehensive of these, one of the most exalted, one of the most satisfactory to the modern mind …”

The former President of Czechoslovakia, Eduard Benés wrote of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings, “The Bahá’í Cause is one of the great moral and social forces in all the world today.”

Mr Benés wrote on another occasion, “The Bahá’í Teaching is one of the spiritual forces now absolutely necessary to put the spirit first in this battle against material forces … The Bahá’í Teaching is one of the great instruments for the final victory of the spirit and of humanity.”

The scientist, Dr Glenn A. Shook, inventor of the colour-organ {inventor of a color organ, a device designed to translate sound, particularly music, into visual representations through colored lights}, and former head of the Physics Department at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, wrote of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings:

“Here is a mighty river of knowledge. It appeals to the scientist as well as to the layman. Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings meet the challenge of our age head-on, and offer sound, reasonable solutions. They have been an invaluable discovery to me as a scientist, and a treasure and comfort to me as an individual human being.”

Queen Marie of Rumania wrote in the Daily Star of Toronto, Canada, on 4 May 1926:
“If ever the name of Bahá’u’lláh (or His son {`Abdu'l-Bahá}) comes to your attention, do not put their writings from you. Search out their Books, and let their glorious, peace-bringing, love-creating words and lessons sink into your hearts as they have into mine.”

Eight years later, she wrote:
“These books have strengthened me beyond belief and I am now ready to die any day full of hope … The Bahá’í Teaching brings peace and under-standing … It accepts all great prophets gone before, it destroys no other creeds and leaves all doors open … To those in search of assurance, the words of the Father are as a fountain in the desert after long wandering.”

The following words of Bahá’u’lláh, I felt, reflected the spirit of His entire Teaching:

“O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men.”
[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh ] https://t.co/6SfMG0zCww

At this point, I began systematically to examine the fruits from the tree of Bahá’u’lláh, so that I might determine whether He was a true or a false prophet.

I searched out Bahá’u’lláh’s words upon those subjects that I felt were nearest to my heart and to the heart of every human being. These subjects I thought were most vital to every man’s welfare:

1. His home and family.
2. His country.
3. His religion.
4. His individual self.

The first fruit I planned to test was that relating to man’s home and family.

----------

NEXT - Post #49: The First Fruit: Home and Family

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

"‘Abdu’l-Bahá had such an easy way of leading into a meaningful conversation.

He would begin ‘with some simple reference to a natural thing, the weather, food, a stone, tree, water, the prison, a garden or a bird, our coming, or some little act of service, and this base would be woven into a parable and teaching of wisdom and simplicity, showing the oneness of all Spiritual Truth, and adapting it always to the life, both of the individual and of mankind.

All of His words are directed toward helping men to live.

Unless questions of metaphysics, dogmas and doctrines be introduced, He seldom mentions them.

He speaks easily, clearly, in brief phrases, each of which is a gem.’"

~ from 'Vignettes from the Life of `Abdu'l-Bahá', #1.37

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #47

Part Five: The Final Evidence
Enemy of the People

{Sears decides how to test if Bahá'u'lláh is the Messiah. “I would measure Bahá’u’lláh according to the standard that Christ had given”}

Christ knew that this same disbelief would be repeated in the day of His return {disbelief in the new Messiah, just as people had disbelieved in Christ Himself}.

He {Christ} warned His followers not to be misled by outward, physical wonders that might be worked in His name, but to look for the Figure Who would have that humble, loving, in-swelling Spirit.

Whenever a Messenger of God such as Jesus, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, the Báb, or Bahá’u’lláh appears, He is considered to be a ‘false prophet’ by those who are not spiritually awake.

This is not a new problem. It did not begin with Christ or with Bahá’u’lláh. It is as old as the human race.

In that same chapter of Matthew in which Christ so clearly foretold the time of His return, He also gives His strongest warnings about the false prophets in the last days. He says:

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” [Matthew 24:26]

It is said that in the fifty years following the crucifixion, many people arose and claimed to be the Messiah, and throughout the centuries, many have made this false claim.

In spite of these false prophets and fake Messiahs, Durant, in his The Age of Faith, says that the Jewish thinker Maimonides “accepted the Messianic hope as an indispensable support to the Jewish spirit in the Dispersion, and made it one of the thirteen principal tenets of the Jewish Faith.”

Although both Christianity and Judaism eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah, the great mass of believers lost interest and became indifferent, even though in both Faiths the coming Kingdom was spoken of in prayer each day.

And so I {William Sears} asked myself if there were not some positive way in which I could test Bahá’u’lláh to make certain that He was a true prophet, and not a false prophet.

Fortunately, there was a way. It was given us by Christ Himself. He gave all Christians an infallible method by which they could test each prophet that came.

“‘Beware of false prophets,’ Christ warned, ‘which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.’” [Matthew 7:15]

Christ promised that if we looked for the ‘inward’ truth and not the ‘outward’ appearance, we would know the true from the false, for:

“He that entereth in by the door [Gate] is the shepherd of the sheep … he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” [John 10:2, 4]

Christ was clearly speaking of the day of His return in this warning, for He said:

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [Christianity]: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again.” [John 10:16–17]

In the very prophecy in which Christ warns His followers to ‘beware of false prophets’, He gives them the method by which they can judge the true from the false. He has provided humanity with an unerring standard by which every person can determine for himself whether a prophet is true or false.

I found this standard in the seventh chapter of Matthew. In this one chapter Christ gives the warning concerning false prophets, and gives the measuring rod by which to judge them.
I felt there was no excuse for me, or any other follower of Christ not to know the truth, for it is taken from His famous Sermon on the Mount.

“Beware of false prophets,” He warns, “which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit …

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Therefore, I intended to use this sound basis for judgement. I would do as Christ Himself advised. I would judge Bahá’u’lláh by His fruits. I would measure Bahá’u’lláh according to the standard that Christ had given, knowing that it would prove once and for all whether Bahá’u’lláh had the right to be called the Messiah.

If the fruit is good, the tree is good; and the prophet is true. That would be my test.

I decided to make this one of my most fundamental proofs, for I felt that the solution to The case of the missing millennium depended upon this one proof perhaps more than on any other.

----------

NEXT - Post #48: The Tree of Life

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

- Words of Wisdom from Bahá'u'lláh -

"The source of error is to disbelieve in the One true God, rely upon aught else but Him, and flee from His Decree."

~ Bahá’u’lláh
Fountain of Wisdom
https://t.co/QyK8zFIlVt

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN< follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #46

Part Five: The Final Evidence
Beware of False Prophets

{“The Messiah, it appears, can only be recognized by those who have ‘eyes to see’.”}

Christ warned his followers to beware of false prophets and not to be misled by them before the day of His return. He said:

“Take heed that no man deceive you.

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.” [Matthew 24:4–5]

Again He said:

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ or there; believe it not.” [Matthew 24:23]

Jesus warned His followers that there would not be one, but many false Christs and false prophets who “… shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” [Matthew 24:24]

It was to protect His followers from error that Christ gave them His three great promises concerning the proof of His return:

(1) The Gospel would be preached everywhere;
(2) the times of the Gentiles would be fulfilled; and
(3) the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel would come to pass.

He warned them to ‘watch!’ with spiritual eyes and ears for these proofs, so that they would not be misled. Christ knew that only the pure in heart would recognize Him in the day of His return. He knew that every Prophet had been called false by His own generation. It had been true of Himself as well.

Christ was considered, by the great mass of the people of His day, to be a ‘false prophet’. It is written:

“And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, he is a good man; others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.” [John 7:1]

When the simple, humble people went to their religious leaders and asked about the truth of Christ’s Mission, they were told that He was a false prophet. They were warned against Him. Even though Christ showed signs and wonders that attracted people, the leaders still denied Him. This is shown clearly in the words:

“The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. “Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?” [John 7:46–47]

The great separation between the few whom considered Him true and the vast majority who considered Him false is clear from the words of John:

“So there was a division among the people because of him.” [John 7:43]

The public was told that only the lowest class believed in Christ, and that the important and influential people who had knowledge, education and wisdom knew Christ to be false. It was pointed out to those foolish ones who wanted to believe:

“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” [John 7:48]

It was repeatedly said that only those ignorant ones who didn’t know the book of Moses believed in Christ. These people were misled, and as false as Christ, the leaders warned, saying:

“… this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.” [John 7:49]

The great public of Palestine did not believe in Jesus of Nazareth because He had not fulfilled their understanding of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah.

To the followers of Christ who tried to win over their allegiance, the people replied scornfully that He, Christ, was a false prophet. They proved it from the prophecies in their Scriptures.

“The Messiah will sit upon the throne of David,” they pointed out. “Where is the throne of the Nazarene?”

“Mount Zion will dance in the day of the Messiah. Who has yet seen this wonder?”

“The Messiah will rule with a sword. This Jesus does not even have a staff, let alone a sword.”

“He will be a son of David, yet you say he is born of a virgin. He cannot fulfil this prophecy.”

“Daniel has promised that He will be a prince. This Jesus is but a carpenter, and not a prince of noble birth.”

“It is written that a holy one will not hang upon a tree, yet this Nazarene was nailed to a tree and hung.”

“In Deuteronomy it states plainly:

“‘… he that is hanged is accursed of God.’” [Deuteronomy 21:23]

The Jews pointed out all these things to the Christians, asking, “How can we believe in one who is accursed according to the book?”

One of the most difficult questions for the Christians to explain to the Jews was the prophecy that the Messiah would bring together the dispersed sheep of Israel. The Jews said: “It is written of the Messiah that He will gather us out of the nations where we are scattered, but we are not scattered, we are here. How can he be a true prophet? How can he gather us if we are not separated?”

Later, after the year 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews scattered, this question was even harder to answer. For the Jews would then reply:

“The Messiah is to gather us together when He comes. Christ has come and we are driven out of our homeland. This is the opposite of what the Messiah is to do. Therefore, we think Him to be false. How can you expect us to believe?”

Philip met his friend Nathaniel and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses spoke in the Law. He is Jesus of Nazareth.”

Nathaniel, quoting Scripture, replied, “Can there any good come out of Nazareth?”
Nicodemus said to the Pharisees concerning Jesus: “Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?”

The Pharisees answered him from Scripture, saying, “Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.”

The people of Palestine said honestly to themselves: “How then can this Jesus of Nazareth be the Messiah?”

The people of that day were sceptical of Messiahs, especially those from Galilee. Within the time of many of them, Judas the Gaulonite had claimed to be the Messiah, and had arisen to free the Jews from the yoke of Rome. Many thousands perished in Galilee in the ensuing war, until Josephus, a contemporary historian, concluded “that God had given up the Galileans to the Romans …” This Jesus of Galilee might well be another such false Christ, they reasoned. It would be wiser to ignore him.

The followers of Jesus explained to the people that these prophecies concerning Christ had been fulfilled ‘inwardly’ not ‘outwardly’; that these prophecies were to be understood symbolically and not literally. The people, however, refused to accept such an explanation.

Some of Christ’s own followers eventually thought Him false too, because they could not understand the symbolic meaning of His parables.

It was the inward truth not the outward form which they must understand, He told them:
“… the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” [John 6:63]

They heard from His lips words which they felt were contrary to all the things they had been taught for generations; and we are told:

“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” [John 6:66]

His Holiness Christ was considered to be a false prophet for hundreds of years by many. To the present day, the followers of Moses do not accept Christ as the Messiah, nor does the majority of mankind.

The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that the Christians were condemned by Nero ‘for their enmity to mankind’. They were ‘criminal, and deserving of exemplary punishment …’ Again he wrote that the Christian religion was a ‘pernicious superstition’.

Suetonius, another Roman philosopher and historian, labelled the Holy Faith of Christ ‘a new and magical superstition’. Its followers, he said, ‘were continually making disturbances …’

Celsus, in the second century, compiled a large book filled with terrible libels and dreadful stories of the sacred person of Jesus. Celsus wrote that His Holiness Christ was born out of wedlock, that he was little, ill-favoured, and ignoble, that because of poverty he went to Egypt and worked as a hired labourer, learning magic while there, that he went about begging and gathered round him ten or eleven infamous men.

Porphyry, one of the Neo-Platonic philosophers, wrote similar books that were burned and destroyed by order of two Christian emperors.

The Emperor Julian, whom the Christians called the Apostate, attacked Christianity and Christ in his writings.

Fronto, the tutor of one of the emperors, published an oration against Christianity.
According to Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, just a list of the writings of those who denied Christ and His Faith through the centuries would make a volume in itself.

The Messiah, it appears, can only be recognized by those who have ‘eyes to see’. These spiritual souls must find the truth in His Teachings and His life through personal investigation. No man of perception will accept the words of an enemy of the Messiah as his own appraisal.

Yet, how could a sincere seeker be sure? Surely, God must have given some guide upon which His children could depend.

----------

NEXT - Post #47: Enemy of the People

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

"The husband of Amelia Collins, a devoted American Bahá’í, was a very sociable man. He could take part in any discussion with perfect freedom and ease.

But once, before entering the Master’s home, he was so excited that he arranged his tie just right, smoothed his clothes and repeatedly asked his wife what he should do when they arrived there.

She told him, ‘Nothing! In the family of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá simplicity reigns, and nothing but love is ever accepted.’"

~ from 'Vignettes from the Life of `Abdu'l-Bahá', #1.36

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #45

Part Four: Signs in the Heavens
The Night Visitor

{Sears shows that the prophecy “The coming of the Messiah shall be told in the heavens as well as on the earth” has been fulfilled}

The most important date to confirm by signs in the heavens was the date of the birth of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. It was also the easiest. The sign was a great comet.

The famous astronomer, Sir James Jeans, writes in his well-known book Through Space and Time: “… oddly enough many of the most conspicuous appearances of comets seem to have coincided with, or perhaps just anticipated, important events in history.”

The following headlines tell their own story:

‘Sudden appearance of a great and fiery comet in the skies at noonday’

This comet appeared in 1843, the year before the birth of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘anticipating’ this event. It was a giant comet with a tail 105 million miles long. It appeared at the time when a great parhelic circle {halo} around the sun was causing much wonder and speculation.

This appearance is reported in Our First Century as follows:

“The Comet of 1843 is regarded as perhaps the most marvellous of the present age, having been observed in the daytime even before it was visible at night—passing very near the sun, exhibiting an enormous length of tail; and arousing interest in the public mind as universal and deep as it is was unprecedented.”

The New York Tribune and the American Journal of Science devoted special sections to this great comet of 1843, the Journal of Science identifying in those very words:

‘The Great Comet of 1843’.

I found an even more dramatic story told in the heavens during this same period. It was the story of still another comet. It was seen in the skies in 1845. It appeared to be quite an ordinary comet in a year in which some 300 comets had appeared. It had been studied many times in the past. In 1846, the comet was still visible.

However, at this period in its history, it became one of the rare comets of history. It was now entering what were to be the last dramatic moments of its life. It was called Biela’s comet, after the original discoverer.

The Encyclopaedia Americana (1944 ed.) gives the following account of this event:

“It was found again late in November 1845, and in the following month an observation was made of one of the most remarkable phenomena in astronomical records, the division of the comet. It put forth no tail while this alteration was going on. Professor Challis, using the Northumberland telescope at Cambridge, on 15 January 1846, was inclined to distrust his eyes or his glass when he beheld two comets where but one had been before. He would call it, he said, a binary (twin) comet if such a thing had ever been heard of before. His observations were soon verified, however.”

Sir James Jeans has written of this same comet, saying: “The most interesting story is that of Biela’s comet which broke in two while under observation in 1846.”

Professor Challis was wrong. It was not the only binary comet in history, just as Sirius was not the only double-star, nor the Star of Bethlehem the only bright star, or novae, or conjunction of planets in astronomical history. It was not the uniqueness of the event that made it important in prophecy, but its remarkable timing.

Biela’s comet disappeared in 1846. It returned in August 1852. This was the very month and year in which Bahá’u’lláh was cast into an underground prison in Tihrán. It was the beginning of the forty years of his Mission which ended in Israel in 1892 with his death; the forty years foretold by Micah during which God would show to the Messiah ‘wonderful things’.

The year 1852 was also the beginning of the year 1269 of the Persian calendar. It was the ninth year following the Báb’s prophecy concerning the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. The Báb had written,

“In the year nine ye will attain unto all good … in the year nine ye shall attain unto the presence of God.” [cited in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Bahá'u'lláh]

When the single comet that had now become a twin comet reappeared in August 1852, one half had receded far into the background. The other half now dominated the sky. So the Báb, the Herald of Bahá’u’lláh, had now passed into history through martyrdom, and the one whose coming he had foretold, Bahá’u’lláh, had now assumed his Mission.

An account of the reappearance of the comet states: “Late in August 1852, the larger came into view and three weeks later the smaller one, now much fainter than its former companion.”

Sir James Jeans confirms this, saying that in 1852, the two pieces were one and a half million miles apart.

Bahá’u’lláh has written of that hour when the twin-comets rode the skies.

He lay chained in an underground prison. Of that moment, he has said:

“… lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious [God] 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 …” [Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Bahá'u'lláh]

In that very hour, just as the dove had descended upon Jesus in the river Jordan, and the Burning Bush had appeared to Moses, so did the Most Great Spirit appear to Bahá’u’lláh. He wrote of that experience, saying:

“By my life! Not of Mine own volition have I revealed Myself, but God, of His own choosing, hath manifested Me … Whenever I chose to hold My peace and be still, lo, the Voice of the Holy Spirit, standing on My right hand, aroused Me … and the Spirit of Glory stirred within My bosom, bidding Me arise and break My silence.” [Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Bahá'u'lláh]

The comet which announced this twin-event of the appearance of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, disappeared, never to return again. Sir James Jeans says:

“… neither of them (the twin-comets) has been seen in cometary form, but the place where they ought to be is occupied by a swarm of million of meteors, known as the Andromedid meteors. Occasionally these meet the earth in its orbit, and make a grand meteoric display …”

Thus the two comets were no longer separate comets, but were mingled in one show of light, just as the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and that of the Báb were no longer separate, but one in the light they shed upon the world.

There is yet another unique way in which this same oneness of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb is expressed. Even in the calendar of their native land, they are inseparably intertwined.

In the calendar of Persia where both Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb were born, their birthdays fall upon successive days in the exact order in which their Missions were declared.

In the calendar of the West, the Báb was born on 20 October, and Bahá’u’lláh on 12 November. But in the calendar of Persia, the Báb was born on the first day of the month of Muharram, and Bahá’u’lláh on the second day.

In Persia, these two birthdays are celebrated as one great twin-festival. {Now, in the West they are celebrated this way as well}

I was more than gratified by the list of events that I had found written in the skies concerning the coming of Bahá’u’lláh and his Faith. It made an interesting array:

1. The star-fall of 1833 and the periodic appearance of this shower of meteors always in November, the month of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh.

2. The beginning of the study of ‘double-stars’.

3. The parhelic circles {haloes} surrounding the sun in 1843.

4. The great comet of 1843.

5. The parhelic circles of 1844.

6. The comet of 1845, which split in two in 1846, and the mingling of the twin-comets into one single shower of light.

7. The belief that the brightest star Sirius had had a twin companion; a belief announced in 1844. It was proved to be true in 1862, on the eve of Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration.

Although these dramatic events, earthquakes, dark days, falling stars, comets and signs in the heavens concerned the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God—indeed they seemed a further fulfilment of the words of the Psalm,

“The heavens declare the glory of God” [Psalms 19:1]

I must make it clear that they are not in any way teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. They were physical signs that added fuel to the Messianic zeal of the 1800s, which was itself a Christian enthusiasm for the return of Christ. The Bahá’í Faith, I learned, gave far more weight to the symbolic fulfilment of ‘falling stars’ and all the other signs.

I now heartily agreed with the newspaper men who said that this story of the return of Christ, if it could be printed as a true story, would be the most dramatic tale it would be possible to tell mankind.

I felt that it was now possible to tell this story.

Beneath the proof:

The coming of the Messiah shall be told in the heavens as well as on the earth, I wrote:

Fulfilled.

In fact, it was at this point that I closed my file on the Prophecies. That part of The case of the missing millennium was complete.

There was only one more obstacle to overcome. This hurdle faces every person who sincerely follows Christ’s command to:

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” [Matthew 24:42]

If I were successful in overcoming this next obstacle, I felt that I would have without doubt solved for all time this century-old mystery of the return of Christ.

The obstacle could be stated in four words: ‘Beware of false prophets!’

----------

NEXT – PART FIVE – Post #46: Beware of False Prophets

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

The Birth of Bahá'u'lláh
October 23rd, 2025

Celebrations may begin after sunset on the 22nd, check with your local community!

From a Tablet by Bahá'u'lláh commemorating His birth:

“He is the Most Holy, the Most Great.

This is the month wherein was born He Who beareth the Most Great Name, Whose appearance hath caused the limbs of humankind to quake and the dust of Whose footsteps the Concourse on high and the dwellers of the cities of names have sought for a blessing.

Whereupon they rendered praise unto God and cried out in joy and exultation. By God! This is the month through which all other months have been illumined, the month wherein He Who is the Hidden Secret and the Well-guarded Treasure hath been made manifest and hath called aloud amidst all humankind.

All dominion belongeth to this newborn Child through Whom the face of creation hath been wreathed in smiles, and the trees have swayed, and the oceans have surged, and the mountains have taken flight, and Paradise hath lifted its voice, and the Rock hath cried out, and all things have exclaimed, “O concourse of creation! Hasten ye towards the dawning-place of the countenance of your Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate!””

~ Bahá’u’lláh
Days of Remembrance
https://t.co/Ebs8MU0UfP

Bahá'u'lláh was born November 12, 1817 AD, according to the Gregorian calendar and 2 Muharram, 1233 AH, according to the Islamic calendar.

Per the Badí’ calendar [a.k.a. Bahá'í calendar,] the birth of the Bahá'u'lláh, in 2025, is celebrated on 9 `Ilm, which falls on October 23rd.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

The Birth of the Báb
October 22nd, 2025

Celebrations may begin after sunset on the 21st, check with your local community!

From a Tablet by Bahá'u'lláh commemorating the birth of the Báb:

“In the name of the One born on this day, Him Whom God hath made to be the Herald of His name, the Almighty, the All-Loving!

This is a Tablet We have addressed unto that night wherein the heavens and the earth were illumined by a Light that cast its radiance over the entire creation.

Blessed art thou, O night! For through thee was born the Day of God, a Day which We have ordained to be the lamp of salvation unto the denizens of the cities of names, the chalice of victory unto the champions of the arenas of eternity, and the dawning-place of joy and exultation unto all creation.”

~ Bahá’u’lláh
Days of Remembrance
https://t.co/RqbOIwNoef

The Báb was born at dawn October 20, 1819 AD, according to the Gregorian calendar and 1 Muharram, 1235 AH, according to the Islamic calendar.

Per the Badí’ calendar [a.k.a. Bahá'í calendar,] the birth of the Báb, in 2024, is celebrated on 8 `Ilm, which falls on October 22nd.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #44

{Sears discusses the heavenly and human stars that appear to herald the coming of the new Manifestations of God}

Part Four: Signs in the Heavens
The Face of Heaven

-
1. The appearance of the great earthquake in 1755.

2. The sun darkened and the moon turned into blood on the Dark Day of 1780.

3. The stars falling from the heavens in 1833.

...It is interesting to note that the great star-fall came on the night of 12 November, which is the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh.

Could there possibly be any additional signs?
-

There were! Many more!

In addition to these general wonders in the sky preceding the coming of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in 1844, I found other more specific happenings recorded during that period.

Margaret Fuler (Ossoli), a friend of Emerson, made the following statement: “One very marked trait of the period was that the agitation reached all circles.”

Another account of those days says: “Now it was about this time that strange signs appeared in the heavens with such frequency as to cause great uneasiness.”

An article in the Connecticut Observer on 25 November 1833, declared: “We pronounce the raining of fire which we saw on Wednesday morning, last, an awful type, a sure fore-runner—a merciful sign of the great and dreadful day which the inhabitants of the earth will witness when the Sixth Seal (of Revelation) shall be opened. The time is just at hand described, not only in the New Testament, but in the Old.”

After the star-fall of 1833, the interest in the prophecies concerning the time of the end grew by leaps and bounds, reaching a zenith in the 1843–4 period. The concern and zeal were greatly accelerated by the sight of the above parhelic circles or haloes which were seen around the sun in 1843–4, and were reported in the press.

The signs and prophecies became so overpowering to the Reverend Charles Fitch, pastor of the Marlborough Street Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts, that he “took upon himself the duty of warning the public of the coming end. By so doing he lost all connection with his church.”

Fitch himself said: “I became in part an ecclesiastical outcast. But I gained deliverance.”

I {William Sears} was still not at the end of the signs in the heavens that heralded that hour. I had read Bahá’u’lláh’s own words, which said that whenever a Messiah appeared on earth, a star appeared in the heavens.

In his Book of Certitude, Bahá’u’lláh said that there were in reality two stars that attended the appearance of a Messenger of God on earth. There was, he said, the human herald who was the symbolic star and there was the actual physical star in the heavens.

Scripture confirms this truth, telling of the star that warned Nimrod of Abraham’s coming, the star that the soothsayers pointed out to Pharaoh concerning Moses, the star of Bethlehem that made Herod fear the Christ. These same stories of stars have been told of Zoroaster and the other great Messengers of God.

Each of these Prophets had a human herald who prepared the way for Him, as John the Baptist did for Christ. Therefore, if this were the time of the end, when two Messengers of God would come almost simultaneously, then there should be two heralds on earth, and two signs in the heavens. It was a fantastic thought, I felt, but if the formula of Scripture were to be followed, it should be so. Besides, by now I was prepared for anything.

In the history of Persia, I found exactly this event. There were twin heralds who foretold the coming of both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. These two holy souls were called Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim. This accounted for the two human (symbolic) stars on earth, but what about the two stars in the heavens?

Oddly enough, I found that the interest in the study of ‘double’- or ‘twin’- stars began at this very period. Two men, William Hershel and William Struve, were primarily responsible for ‘the foundation of systematic measurement and study of double-stars’. Struve completed his work at Dorpat in 1835.

At almost that exact hour, Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim were proclaiming to the world the coming of the Twin Messengers of God for the last day. Siyyid Kázim, like Shaykh Ahmad before him, prophesied to the people of Persia concerning the Two Who were about to appear. He told them:

“Verily, I say that after the promised Dawn, the promised Sun will be made manifest. For when the light of the Former has set, the Sun of the Latter will rise and illuminate the whole world.” [The Dawn-breakers]

I learned another unusual thing about double-stars which happened at this same time. One of the brightest stars in the heavens is Sirius. The astronomer Bessel advanced a theory that Sirius was not a single star, but a double-star. He made his pronouncement in the year 1844. Sirius has been called a double- star ‘of exceptional historical interest’.

To the millennial scholar this was also true. Bessel made his announcement in 1844, the year of the announcement of the Báb, and the year of the beginning of Bahá’u’lláh’s Faith.

Alvan Clark studied Sirius carefully, and then announced that Bessel’s theory was correct. Sirius was a double-star. It had a companion. Clark made his statement in 1862, but a few months before Bahá’u’lláh made his declaration to the world that he was the one foretold by the Báb.

This was fascinating, but it was only the beginning. As in almost every prophecy associated with the life and history of Bahá’u’lláh, I found that the prophecy was not only fulfilled, but the ‘cup runnerth over’.

I understood and sympathised with the words of the student of prophecy who said of these fulfilments:

“It is difficult for a seeker to find spring or a stream, or even a river, but who can fail to behold the ocean?”

----------

NEXT - Post #45: The Night Visitor

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

Twin Birthdays of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh
October 22nd& 23rd , 2025

Up until an announcement was made by the Universal House of Justice in their letter dated July 10, 2014, in the Western world, the Birth of the Báb was celebrated on October 20th, and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh was celebrated on November 12th.

In that letter it was explained:

“The adoption of a new calendar in each dispensation is a symbol of the power of Divine
Revelation to reshape human perception of material, social, and spiritual reality. Through it, sacred moments are distinguished, humanity's place in time and space reimagined, and the rhythm of life recast.”

“The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays, the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh, have, in the East, been traditionally observed according to their correspondence to the first and second days of Muharram in the Islamic calendar.

"These two days are accounted as one in the sight of God", Bahá'u'lláh affirms.

Yet, a letter written on behalf of the Guardian states, "In the future, no doubt all of the Holy Days will follow the Solar calendar, and provisions be made as to how the Twin Festivals will be celebrated universally."

"How to satisfy the intrinsic lunar character of these blessed Days within the context of a solar calendar has hitherto been unanswered. We have decided that they will now be observed on the first and the second day following the occurrence of the eighth new moon after Naw-Rúz, as determined in advance by astronomical tables using Tihrán as the point of reference. This will result in the observance of the Twin Birthdays moving, year to year, within the months of Mashíyyat, `Ilm, and Qudrat of the Badí' calendar [a.k.a. Bahá'í calendar,] or from mid-October to mid-November according to the Gregorian calendar.”

This year, 2025, the Birth of the Báb is celebrated on October 23rd, and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh on October 24th. Taking into consideration a Bahá'í day starts at sunset the previous day, celebrations may begin on the 21st and 22nd respectively; please check with your local community to confirm when events will take place.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #43

{Sears identifies the third of the three events as are mentioned in Revelation: The falling of the stars from the heavens.}

{from Post #40:

“The signs of Revelation that would appear in succession, leading up to the day of the return of Christ were, in order:

1. The great earthquake

2. The darkening of the sun and the moon.

3. ** The falling of the stars from the heavens. **

I {Wiliam Sears} did find a record of three just such events as are mentioned in Revelation, happening in exactly the order foretold.

...I came across the account of one millennial scholar who made a study of the historical events leading up to the 1840 period...

These events which he listed were as follows:

1. The Lisbon earthquake, 1755.

2. The Dark Day, 1780.

3. ** The Falling Stars, 1833. **

Was I on to something?

I decided to take up the three events one at a time and see for myself.”}

Part Four: Signs in the Heavens
When Stars Fell Like Snowflakes

I admit that as the detective in charge of The case of the missing millennium, I found the story fascinating. The third clue even more so. The third prophecy of Revelation said:

“And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind.”

I had found just such an event. It was called:

The star-fall of 1833

So exceptional was this event that Clarke in his History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century writes: “… a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth.”

According to the millennial scholars of the 1840s, the third sign in the sixth chapter of Revelation came to pass on 12 November 1833, the night of the unique star-fall.

Clarke wrote of that night, saying: “Once and for all, then, as the result of the star-fall of 1833, the study of luminous meteors became an integral part of astronomy.” He goes on to say: “North America bore the brunt of its pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax {eastern Canada}, until daylight with some difficulties put an end to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs.”

Denison Olmsted, Professor of Mathematics at Yale University, wrote the following in the American Journal of Science:

“The morning of 13 November 1833, was rendered memorable by an exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one hitherto recorded … Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was received with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class. For some time after the occurrence, the ‘meteoric phenomenon’ was the principle topic of conversation.”

Simon Newcomb in Astronomy for Everybody called the display of falling stars “the most remarkable one ever observed”.

The French astronomer, Flammarion, in Popular Astronomy, wrote: “The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment of maximum, to half the number of flakes which are perceived in the air during an ordinary shower of snow.”

Professor Olmsted estimated 34,640 falling stars per hour. His estimate was made after the shower had diminished sufficiently for him to make some sort of a count.

Dr Humphreys, President of St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland, in his report in the American Journal of Science, said: “In the words of most, they fell like flakes of snow.”

The American Journal of Science carried the following report: “Though there was no moon, when we first observed them, their brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read common-sized print without much difficulty, and the light which they afforded was much whiter than that of the moon, in the clearest and coldest night, when the ground is covered with snow.”

The New York Journal of Commerce wrote: “No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars.”

Thomas Milner of Britain, writing in the Gallery of Nature in 1852, points out that not only America but all the world was aroused by the profound impression the display made. “In many districts,” he said, “the mass of the population was terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image—that of the stars of heaven falling to earth, even as a fig tree casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.”

Astronomers, after careful study, learned that this particular meteoric display occurs every thirty–three years. However, the display of 1833 was unique in its drama. The fall of 1866 did not rival it in any way, and that of 1899 was of even less interest.

In any event, as the millennial scholars said, it was not the cause behind the sign, but the time of its arrival, and its sequence with the earthquake and the dark day which were important. Many Biblical scholars pointed to the exact fulfilment, and in the proper order of the prophecies concerning the heavens and the signs of the coming of Christ as given in the sixth chapter of Revelation:

1. The appearance of the great earthquake in 1755.

2. The sun darkened and the moon turned into blood on the Dark Day of 1780.

3. The stars falling from the heavens in 1833.

In this same chapter it is foreseen that the Messiah shall come and topple the kings from their thrones, for the great day of the Lord will have come. Christ said:
“… and the stars shall fall from heaven …. And then … shall they see the Son of man coming …” [Matthew 24:29–30]

The millennial scholars pointed to the great convergence of prophecies on the year 1844. Now that the three signs in the heavens, promised as a prelude in Revelation, had been fulfilled, it further strengthened their belief that the hour of the return of Christ was at hand.

The Rev. L. D. Fleming, in his Synopsis of the Evidences of the Second Coming of Christ about AD 1843, written in 1842, declares: “Many distinguished students of prophecy have come to very similar conclusions … How can that wonderful phenomenon of falling stars, or meteors, which astonished the world a few years since, be regarded but as a sign of the last times?” Fleming then reminds the people of the strange ‘nocturnal light’ which a few years before had ‘hung over the earth’. He concludes, saying: “May God help us to watch!”

It is interesting to note that the great star-fall came on the night of 12 November, which is the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh. {In 1833, He would have turned 16 years old on that remarkable day of the third sign.}

Could there possibly be any additional signs?

----------

NEXT - Post #44: The Face of Heaven

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

#TITN < follow link for more Thief in the Night posts

Thief in the Night
by William Sears
Reading Journal
Post #42

{Sears identifies the second of the three events as are mentioned in Revelation: The darkening of the sun and the moon.}

{from Post #40:

“The signs of Revelation that would appear in succession, leading up to the day of the return of Christ were, in order:

1. The great earthquake

2. ** The darkening of the sun and the moon. **

3. The falling of the stars from the heavens.

I {Wiliam Sears} did find a record of three just such events as are mentioned in Revelation, happening in exactly the order foretold.

...I came across the account of one millennial scholar who made a study of the historical events leading up to the 1840 period...

These events which he listed were as follows:

1. The Lisbon earthquake, 1755.

2. ** The Dark Day, 1780. **

3. The Falling Stars, 1833.

Was I on to something?

I decided to take up the three events one at a time and see for myself.”}

-
Part Four: Signs in the Heavens
The Blast of the Trumpet
-

I was now on the trail of my second clue. The prophecy said:
“… and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”

I discovered such an event in various documents. It was called:

The dark day of 1780

This event attracted so much attention that it made newspaper headlines in all parts of the United States and in other countries as well.

The following account was given by Dr Samuel Stearns in the Boston Independent Chronicle of 22 June 1780: “That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by the various positions of the planets of our system at that time; for the moon was more than one hundred and fifty degrees from the sun all that day.”

The event was so unique that it was placed in the 1883 edition of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, as follows:

“The Dark Day, 19 May 1780—so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day extending all over New England … The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”

In his Collections for the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792, Samuel Tenny writes: “This gross darkness held till about one o’clock, although the moon had filled but the day before.”

Uriah Smith, writing of Tenny’s statement says: “This statement respecting the phase of the moon proves the impossibility of an eclipse of the sun at that time. Whenever on this memorable night the moon did appear, as at times it did, it had … the appearance of blood.”

Many of the scholars made much of the uniqueness of this event, pointing out that it was not a natural eclipse of the sun—but a sudden darkening of the sky, with the moon having the appearance of blood. The more conservative scholars explained that it did not matter whether the happening was a natural one or a mysterious one. The important thing was that the sun was darkened and the moon turned into blood. What caused it was of no importance they said.

Many explanations were advanced for this phenomenon, but the millennial scholars were at least agreed that it was the fulfilment of the prophecy which was important, and not the manner it which it came to pass. Some protested that the ‘dark day’ was not seen by the whole world. Others replied that the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ was seen only in the Middle East, and that half the world is dark each day—how could all see it at once? The excitement and debates were vigorous. Excitement over Christ’s return grew in ratio to the intensity of the disputes.

The Massachusetts Spy reported the following: “Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full moon, no object was discernible, but by help of some artificial light … Some considered it as the immediate harbinger of the last day, when ‘the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.’”

Barber, in his Connecticut Historical Collections reports an amusing drama that took place in the Connecticut Legislature at Hartford. The body was in session when the sky suddenly darkened. The general view soon prevailed that the Day of Judgement had come.

However, Colonel Davenport spoke against a motion for adjournment. He said: “The Day of Judgement is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles be brought.”

The poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote of the awesome day, saying: “… there fell … Over the fresh earth and heaven of noon,

“A horror of great darkness … “… all ears grew sharp

“To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter “The black sky…”

Christ said:

“… shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light … And then … they shall see the Son of man coming …” [Matthew 24:29–30]

Millennial scholars of that day were deeply moved by the event. Many of them were satisfied that the Dark Day that followed the Great Earthquake had fulfilled in succession two of the prophecies recorded in Revelation, events that would precede the appearance of the Messiah on earth.

Both had taken place in the Western world. Anxious eyes looked heavenward, awaiting with expectancy the fulfilment of the third prophecy when the stars would fall from heaven.

----------

NEXT - Post #43: When Stars Fell Like Snowflakes

NOTE:

‘Thief in the Night’ is fully annotated and the references/footnotes can be found in the book.
https://t.co/c4BKFQWMRB

Edits in {curly brackets} are notes just for this Reading Journal.

[Unenslaved Mind @UnenslavedMind]

The Bahá’í Month of 'Ilm (Knowledge) starts October 15th
The Nineteen Day Feast is the evening of the 14th

~~~~~~~~~~
What is the Nineteen Day Feast?
~~~~~~~~~~
...it should be a joyful occasion and rallying point of the entire community (Letter from the Universal House of Justice, Feb 2 1966)

The 19 Day Feast is an institution of the Cause, first established by the Báb, later confirmed by Bahá'u'lláh, and now made a prominent part of the administrative order of the Faith.

These 19 Day Feasts are for the Bahá'ís, and the Bahá'ís exclusively, and no variation from this principle is permitted.
(Lights of Guidance #805)

~~~~~~~~~~
What should be one's approach to The Nineteen Day Feast?
~~~~~~~~~~
...when you present yourselves in the meetings, before entering them, free yourselves from all that you have in your heart, free your thoughts and your minds from all else save God, and speak to your heart. That all may make this a gathering of love, make it the cause of illumination, make it a gathering of attraction of the hearts, surround this gathering with the Lights of the Supreme Concourse, so that you may be gathered together with the utmost love
(Lights of Guidance #796)

~~~~~~~~~~
What goes on at the Nineteen Day Feast? ~~~~~~~~~~
The Feast is known to have three distinct but related parts: the devotional, the administrative, and the social.

- The first entails the recitation of prayers and reading from the Holy Texts.

- The second is a general meeting where the Local Spiritual Assembly reports its activities, plans and problems to the community, shares news and messages from the World Center and the National Assembly, and receives the thoughts and recommendations of the friends through a process of consultation.

- The third involves the partaking of refreshments and engaging in other activities meant to foster fellowship in a culturally determined diversity of forms which do not violate principles of the Faith or the essential character of the Feast.
(Letter from the Universal House of Justice, Dec 27, 1989)

~~~~~~~~~~
What are functions of the Nineteen Day Feast?
~~~~~~~~~~
“the Nineteen Day Feast which, “besides its social and spiritual aspects, fulfills various administrative needs and requirements of the community, chief among them being the need for open and constructive criticism and deliberation regarding the state of affairs within the local Bahá’í community.”
(Letter from the Universal House of Justice, Dec 29, 1988)

~~~~~~~~~~
When is the Nineteen Day Feast?
~~~~~~~~~~
The Nineteen Day Feast should be held, preferably, on the first day of the Bahá'í month, that is to say the Bahá'í day, beginning at sunset. If this is not possible for some good reason, for example that it clashes with the regular day for a public meeting, then it may be held later, but it must fall within that same Bahá'í month and should be on the nearest possible date.
(Lights of Guidance #812)