“Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east….”
(Ezekiel 43:1-2)
On May 23, 1844, a young man in Shíráz, Persia declared that He was sent by God to humanity to prepare human hearts for the coming of the Promised One of all ages. His title was the Báb, which means the Gate. His message of hope and inspiration soon attracted thousands of followers.
Those who accepted the Báb arose to spread His message across the land. Their intense fervor and selfless devotion aroused jealousy and fear in the religious leaders and government authorities. The Báb was vilfied, beaten, imprisoned, and finally executed on July 9, 1850. Thousands of believers suffered a similar fate, eagerly accepting martyrdom for the sake of His Cause.
When Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí learned of the Báb and read His Writings, He too immediately accepted His Cause. He arose fearlessly to promote the teachings of the Báb, and soon became a leading voice in the rapidly expanding movement. Each of the Báb’s leading followers received a new name, a title. Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí’s title was Bahá’u’lláh, which means The Glory of God.
When the persecutions came, Bahá’u’lláh was vilfied, beaten, and thrown into an underground prison in Tehran, along with dozens of other followers of the Báb. In this prison, weighed down with heavy chains, Bahá’u’lláh first received intimations of His Divine purpose. Years later, describing this event, He wrote:
“While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord—suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honoured servants.
“Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside.” (Bahá’u’lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 5)
Although His enemies had planned for Him to die in prison, Bahá’u’lláh was well-known and respected by some very influential people, who pressured for His release. But they could not prevent Him from being banished from His native land. In January 1853, because they believed in the Cause of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and His family were forced by a decree of the Sháh of Iran to leave the county. They travelled on foot, westward, through the snow-covered mountains to Baghdád. This is how Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God, came from the east by way of the Gate.