In unraveling the mystery of the "Hidden Treasure" tradition, the Master
explains that it refers to the gradual movement of the Manifestation from
concealment to Manifestation, and that the tree aflame symbolizes one of the
stages:
O wayfarer in the path of the Beloved! Know thou that the main purpose of
this holy tradition is to make mention of the stages of God's concealment
and manifestation within the Embodiments of Truth, They who are the
Dawning-places of His All-Glorious Being. For example, before the flame of
the undying Fire is lit and manifest, it existeth by itself within itself in
the hidden identity of the universal Manifestations, and this is the stage
of the "Hidden Treasure". And when the blessed Tree is kindled by itself
within itself, and that Divine Fire burneth by its essence within its
essence, this is the stage of "I wished to be made known". And when it
shineth forth from the Horizon of the universe with infinite Divine Names
and Attributes upon the contingent and placeless worlds, this constituteth
the emergence of a new and wondrous creation which correspondeth to the
stage of "Thus I called creation into being". And when the sanctified souls
rend asunder the veils of all earthly attachments and worldly conditions,
and hasten to the stage of gazing on the beauty of the Divine Presence and
are honoured by recognizing the Manifestation and are able to witness the
splendour of God's Most Great Sign in their hearts, then will the purpose of
creation, which is the knowledge of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, become
manifest.
(`Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in The Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 175-176)
In the Iqan Baha'u'llah refers to Himself as the "flamelike Youth", and
seems to be saying here that He is in the stage between concealment and
Revelation in Iraq, prior to His declaration:
Say O people of the earth! Behold this flamelike Youth that speedeth across
the limitless profound of the Spirit, heralding unto you the tidings: "Lo:
the Lamp of God is shining," and summoning you to heed His Cause which,
though hidden beneath the veils of ancient splendour, shineth in the land of
Iraq above the day-spring of eternal holiness.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 147)
In the Revelation of John is promised the One with eyes of flame:
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like
a flame of fire
Revelation 1:14
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and
he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation of John 19:11 – 19:16
Baha'u'llah unseals this verse in Javahiru'l-Asrar:
He saith: "His eyes were as a flame of fire" … How could these words be
literally interpreted? … Know then that He who uttered these words in the
realms of glory meant to describe the attributes of the One Who is to come
in such veiled and enigmatic terms as to elude the understanding of the
people of error. Now, when He saith: "His eyes were as a flame of fire", He
alludeth but to the keenness of sight and acuteness of vision of the
Promised One, Who with His eyes burneth away every veil and covering, maketh
known the eternal mysteries in the contingent world, and distinguisheth the
faces that are obscured with the dust of hell from those that shine with the
light of paradise. Were His eyes not made of the blazing fire of God, how
could He consume every veil and burn away all that the people possess? How
could He behold the signs of God in the Kingdom of His names and in the
world of creation? How could He see all things with the all-perceiving eye
of God? Thus have we conferred upon Him a penetrating vision in this day.
Would that ye believe in the verses of God! For, indeed, what fire is
fiercer than this flame that shineth in the Sinai of His eyes, whereby He
consumeth all that hath veiled the peoples of the world? (Bahá'u'lláh, Gems
of Divine Mysteries, pp. 52-54)
So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame
Isaiah 10:17
And the verse from Revelation says that He had a name written, that no man
knew. In Revelation 3:12 Jesus refers to His return, and to the name of
God, and the name of the City of God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from
heaven, and to His own new name. This verse is fulfilled in Revelation
21:10-11, which also relates to the Quranic verse Khazeh quoted:
"And when his Lord revealed (His) glory to the mountain" (7:143)
"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God, having the glory of God." (Revelation 21:10-11)
So Jesus has hinted that His own new name is the same as the name of the
city of God; and the Revelation itself says that the city "has" the glory of
God.
Perhaps this is when He showed His glory to the mountain.
And again, He showed His glory to the Mountain as promised in Isaiah 35:1-2
when it says that Mount Carmel shall see "the glory of our Lord, the
splendor of our God".
Haste thee, O Carmel, for lo, the light of the countenance of God, the Ruler
of the Kingdom of Names and Fashioner of the heavens, hath been lifted upon
thee.
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 1)
Brent
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