Paragraph 152

This is the meaning of the “Day of Resurrection,” spoken of in all the scriptures, and announced unto all people. Reflect, can a more precious, a mightier, and more glorious day than this be conceived, so that man should willingly forego its grace, and deprive himself of its bounties, which like unto vernal showers are raining from the heaven of mercy upon all mankind? Having thus conclusively demonstrated that no day is greater than this Day, and no revelation more glorious than this Revelation, and having set forth all these weighty and infallible proofs which no understanding mind can question, and no man of learning overlook, how can man possibly, through the idle contention of the people of doubt and fancy, deprive himself of such a bountiful grace? Have they not heard the well-known tradition: “When the Qá’im riseth, that day is the Day of Resurrection”? In like manner, the Imáms, those unquenchable lights of divine guidance, have interpreted the verse: “What can such expect but that God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds,”109—a sign which they have unquestionably regarded as one of the features of the Day of Resurrection—as referring to the Qá’im and His manifestation.

"This is the meaning..." What is the meaning to which He is referring? To get the answer, we need to look at the last couple of sentences in the previous paragraph.

To put this into context first, though, let us remember where He is in His argument. The uncle of Bab had asked about the sovereignty of the Bab, claiming that He was a merchant, a prisoner, and even executed. How, he wondered, did this demonstrate sovereignty?

Previously, we had understood these various statements about the promised Qa'im to refer to some Messenger who would appear in the future. Baha'u'llah turns this around on us and shows us that they refer to all the Messengers. If we claim that the Bab was a merchant and could not have been a divine Messenger, well, so was Muhammad. If we say He was executed and therefore could not be the Promised One, Jesus was also executed. Any claim we make against the Bab for not showing the sovereignty of God in the way we expect can be turned around to try and deny another Messenger we already recognize.

Conversely, any statements we read about the wonder and awe of the promised Day to come can also be applied to the Day of any Messenger we already recognize.

Over and over Baha'u'llah continually draws us back to this concept of singularity and unity. To recognize one of the Messengers is to recognize them all. To deny one is to deny them all.

These glorious statements about the "Presence of God" at the time of the Resurrection refer to the time of any and all of the other Messengers, too. "...(W)hosoever, and in whatever Dispensation, hath recognized and attained unto the presence of these glorious, these resplendent and most excellent Luminaries, hath verily attained unto the 'Presence of God'..."

"Reflect" He says, "can a more precious, a mightier, a more glorious day than this be conceived..?" Remember from way back at the beginning of Part 1? Whenever He tells us to consider, meditate or reflect, it is always because He has introduced a new concept that we may naturally resist. The same holds true here. He is giving us a new understanding of a concept we thought we understood. And now, in the middle of this paragraph, He is asking us to consider it before outright denying it.

"(N)o day is greater than this Day, and no revelation more glorious that this Revelation..." That Day which is so precious is not just the time of the Bab, nor only the time of Baha'u'llah, but rather that Day in which any Messenger of God is walking the earth.

Of course, this leads us to very important question, which is at the heart of all that Baha'u'llah is addressing here. Are we living at such a time?