Paragraph 236

After the denials and denunciations which they uttered, and unto which We have referred, they protested saying: “No independent Prophet, according to our Scriptures, should arise after Moses and Jesus to abolish the Law of divine Revelation. Nay, he that is to be made manifest must needs fulfill the Law.” Thereupon this verse, indicative of all the divine themes, and testifying to the truth that the flow of the grace of the All-Merciful can never cease, was revealed: “And Joseph came to you aforetime with clear tokens, but ye ceased not to doubt of the message with which He came to you, until, when He died, ye said, ‘God will by no means raise up a Messenger after Him.’ Thus God misleadeth him who is the transgressor, the doubter." Therefore, understand from this verse and know of a certainty that the people in every age, clinging to a verse of the Book, have uttered such vain and absurd sayings, contending that no Prophet should again be made manifest to the world. Even as the Christian divines who, holding fast to the verse of the Gospel to which We have already referred, have sought to explain that the law of the Gospel shall at no time be annulled, and that no independent Prophet shall again be made manifest, unless He confirmeth the law of the Gospel. Most of the people have become afflicted with the same spiritual disease.

Baha'u'llah is still continuing with His proofs from the Qur'an. Earlier we said that we saw nine quotes that He was using, with occasional references to support those nine. The case could easily be made that this paragraph is looking at a new quote, a tenth one in addition to the nine we offered. And sure, that can be made. No problem. But we prefer to look at it this other way, focusing our attention on the quotes that are cited at the very beginning of the paragraphs.

For that, we see all these paragraphs, from paragraph 234 all the way through paragraph 241, as explaining the quote, "As for those who believe not in the verses of God, or that they shall ever meet Him, these of My mercy shall despair, and these doth a grievous chastisement await.”

They are all about how the people responded to Muhammad after reading or hearing His verses.

They began by calling him a poet, claiming that all He did was rearrange verses from the past. Now they're claiming that they can't be divinely revealed verses because God wouldn't send another Messenger.

You may note that He has already addressed this issue back in paragraph 147, where He quoted, "'The Hand of God,' say the Jews, 'is chained up.' Chained up be their own hands!" This, of course, is referring to the Jewish leaders denying Muhammad based on this exact same argument. He continues in paragraphs 172 and 173, where He talks about the "Seal of the Prophets", saying that the "mystery of this theme hath... been a sore test unto all mankind."

Here He offers the example of Joseph, and how the people denied Him until after He died. What's interesting about this is that he could have mentioned Moses, or Jesus, or even Muhammad, but He chose to reference Joseph here. Why? Possibly because the brothers benefited from Joseph numerous times, once when they sold Him into slavery, and again when He invited them into Egypt to escape the famine. But still, they didn't recognize Him until after He died.

Then they said that God would never raise up another. It is the same argument over and over again, and it all comes back to the idea that "we shall never meet Him". It is a claim of finality, even though all the Scriptures say that He shall return.

The natural question is why is Baha'u'llah addressing this theme yet again? How does it help the uncle advance in his understanding of the station of his Nephew?

The uncle is faced with a question that none of us shall ever face. He essentially asked, very reasonably, "How can my nephew be the Promised One?" And just as Muhammad's uncle was faced with the same question, this uncle had to contend with it, too. Just as Joseph's brothers were faced with the same question.

Baha'u'llah seems to be getting the uncle to raise the question from simple recognition to the more personal question, "Why do I find it difficult to believe?" That is a personal question, not just a theological one. By mentioning Joseph, Baha'u'llah seems to be reminding the uncle that Joseph was the brother of those who betrayed Him. It changes the question from one of evidence to something a little bit closer. He already loves the Bab. He made the journey all the way to Baghdad because of that love. But now he has to contend with the reality that his refusing to believe may be due to it being too close. Joseph was someone's brother. Jesus was someone's carpenter. Muhammad was someone's nephew. And so is the Bab.

The rest of us, though, have a similar variation. We all read in our sacred Texts that the Messenger we follow will return. Sure, we think. Sounds great. I wish I could be there when He does, but it won't be in my lifetime. How could it be?

Well, it has to be in someone's lifetime. So we must be open to the possibility that it is ours. As it says in Matthew 24:44, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

So many of us, if we were faced with that reality, would not believe it. We would be convinced that it must be either a hoax, or the person must be mad, just as they thought of Muhammad.

Aside from the various things Baha'u'llah has said here, we feel that this is just a social reality of the human condition.

But let's look at that last sentence again. He says "Most of the people have become afflicted with the same spiritual disease." Which spiritual disease is He referring to? At this point in the argument, Baha'u'llah seems to be pointing out that the issue is between anticipation and recognition. And that particular point is based on arrogance and pride, which we can easily see as a spiritual disease.