Paragraph 238

Although the outward meaning of “Whom God causeth to err through a knowledge” is what hath been revealed, yet to Us it signifieth those divines of the age who have turned away from the Beauty of God, and who, clinging unto their own learning, as fashioned by their own fancies and desires, have denounced God’s divine Message and Revelation. “Say: It is a weighty Message, from which ye turn aside!” Likewise, He saith: “And when Our clear verses are recited to them, they say, ‘This is merely a man who would fain pervert you from your father’s worship.’ And they say, ‘This is none other than a forged falsehood.’”

We're still continuing on with 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.” The question, of course, is how does this current quote relate to that.

The generally accepted interpretation of the verse "Whom God causeth to err through a knowledge” is that God already knows who will reject the verses, and He therefore punishes them ahead of time by veiling their eyes and hearts. That doesn't quite seem reasonable, as it appears to take free-will out of the equation. In fact, it reminds us of paragraph 98 where He refutes the idea that the Christians didn't have the real Gospel. The very idea goes against the concept of justice. Similarly, this interpretation that God would punish people ahead of time doesn't make sense either. After all, one of the very first attributes of God mentioned in the Qur'an is the Compassionate. How would this demonstrate compassion?

Instead of this interpretation, Baha'u'llah offers a different one. It isn't an affirmation that God is responsible for people turning away. It is a recognition that there are those who turn away from the Manifestation because of their own learning.

This reminds us of Haji Mirza Karim Khan, that individual who Baha'u'llah talked about in paragraphs 203 - 210. Of him He quoted, “The most grievous of all veils is the veil of knowledge.”

Baha'u'llah isn't slamming knowledge here, though. He is condemning the idea that so many of us have that our knowledge is somehow final. This is the veil that has prevented people over and over throughout history from recognizing the new Manifestation. That is one of the reasons why He recounted all those stories of the other Manifestations at the very beginning of the Iqan. He is showing how this has been the problem in every age.

This is also how it relates to that quote, "those who believe not in the verses of God". When we read those verses, they show that this problem has occurred every single time. So if we are falling into the same pattern, have we really believed in them?

This also goes back to that first paragraph in Part Two, where He says the Manifestation has "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." They come with true knowledge, explaining what the older verses meant, but nobody obeys them because they're too busy obeying their own understanding and desires.  

Baha'u'llah isn't offering the uncle any more facts here. He isn't giving him anything new, in a sense. He is, instead, removing this veil. He is helping the uncle look at the world in a new way. He already knows the Word of God. He already knows the prophecies. What Baha'u'llah does, though, is help the uncle see them in a new light.

Once this happens, then the uncle will be ready to approach the Writings of the Bab without any veils preventing him from seeing them in their true light.

But we do have one more question. Baha'u'llah says that they "have denounced God’s divine Message and Revelation"? Are these two different things? We'd love to hear your thoughts on that.