4. New Revelation
In this part of the Bible study, Christ Returns, we have focused primarily on our fourth basic principle – When Christ returns, He brings a new Revelation for deeper understanding. We have asked: Has Christ returned? And we have looked at the expectations for Christ’s first coming, at the prophecies of His return, at His fruits, and at some of the latter day events mentioned in the Bible. On this foundation, this Bible study affirms that Christ has indeed returned, as promised, with a new name, Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God. With His return, he brings a new revelation.
“This is the day whereon He Who is the Dayspring of Revelation hath come with clear tokens which none can number.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 101)
3. Authority of Christ
Bahá’u’lláh affirms the authority of Christ:
“My justice, however, declareth: ‘This is that which the Son (Jesus) hath decreed.’ And whatsoever hath proceeded out of His blameless, His truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered.” (Bahá’u’lláh, The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 93)
He affirms that He brings same truth:
“O kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of God, “I go away, and come again unto you”? Wherefore, then, did ye fail, when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto Him, that ye might behold His face, and be of them that attained His Presence? In another passage He saith: “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.” And yet, behold how, when He did bring the truth, ye refused to turn your faces towards Him, and persisted in disporting yourselves with your pastimes and fancies. Ye welcomed Him not, neither did ye seek His Presence, that ye might hear the verses of God from His own mouth, and partake of the manifold wisdom of the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Ye have, by reason of your failure, hindered the breath of God from being wafted over you, and have withheld from your souls the sweetness of its fragrance.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 246)
His own authority is also affirmed:
“We have conferred upon Thee the Staff of authority and the Writ of judgement, that Thou mayest test the wisdom of every command. We have caused the oceans of inner meaning and explanation to surge from Thy heart in remembrance of Thy Lord, the God of mercy, that Thou mayest render thanks and praise unto Him and be of those who are truly thankful. We have singled Thee out from amongst all Our creatures, and have appointed Thee as the Manifestation of Our own Self unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth.” (Bahá’u’lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 43-44)
2. Understanding and Interpretation
Bahá’u’lláh also affirms that our human understanding of scripture is limited, and that we need a divine educator to correctly interpret the Book of God:
“He hath in every age and cycle, in conformity with His transcendent wisdom, sent forth a divine Messenger to revive the dispirited and despondent souls with the living waters of His utterance, One Who is indeed the Expounder, the true Interpreter, inasmuch as man is unable to comprehend that which hath streamed forth from the Pen of Glory and is recorded in His heavenly Books. Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one to exhort them, guide them and to instruct and teach them. Therefore He hath sent forth His Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones that they might acquaint the people with the divine purpose underlying the revelation of Books and the raising up of Messengers, and that everyone may become aware of the trust of God which is latent in the reality of every soul.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 159)
One of the fruits of this revelation is a much broader scope of interpretation. As part of His new Covenant, Bahá’u’lláh appointed His son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to help us understand scripture:
“O people of the world! When the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock.” (Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 82)
“Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: ‘When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.’ The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá].” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 221)
And ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in turn, authorized his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to interpret the Word of God:
“O my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent … to turn unto Shoghi Effendi …. He is the Interpreter of the Word of God ….” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Will and Testament, p. 11)
Thus, we find affirmed the principle that our human understanding of the Bible is limited, while at the same time we accept that there are two distinguished people whose interpretation of the Bible has been authorized by Bahá’u’lláh, namely ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi.
1. Book of God
With all this in mind, we can now see whether our first principle, that the Bible is the book of God, is affirmed. Clearly, it is. Bahá’u’lláh upholds the validity of the Bible as being the book of God. Regarding the Bible, He said:
“Reflect: the words of the verses themselves eloquently testify to the truth that they are of God.” (Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 84)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote the following in the Old Bible in the City Temple in London, England:
“This book is the Holy Book of God, of celestial Inspiration. It is the Bible of Salvation, the Noble Gospel. It is the mystery of the Kingdom and its light. It is the Divine Bounty, the sign of the guidance of God.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 17)
In addition to the Bible itself, many Christian beliefs are also upheld:
“As to the position of Christianity, let it be stated without any hesitation or equivocation that its divine origin is unconditionally acknowledged, that the Sonship and Divinity of Jesus Christ are fearlessly asserted, that the divine inspiration of the Gospel is fully recognized, that the reality of the mystery of the Immaculacy of the Virgin Mary is confessed, and the primacy of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is upheld and defended. The Founder of the Christian Faith is designated by Bahá’u’lláh as the “Spirit of God,” is proclaimed as the One Who “appeared out of the breath of the Holy Ghost,” and is even extolled as the “Essence of the Spirit.” (Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 109)
At the same time, this new revelation from Bahá’u’lláh brings new perspectives on the meaning of the Bible.
“When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states we believe what is in the Bible, He means in substance. Not that we believe every word of it to be taken literally or that every word is the authentic saying of the Prophet.” (Shoghi Effendi, Lights of Guidance, p. 494)
The purpose of this Bible study is to come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Bible in substance. We pray to God, beseeching Him to assist us in our efforts.