Chapter 20
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Conflicting writings on the four and twenty elders.
In passage 1 below, the twenty
four elders are identified as, "the Báb, the eighteen Letters of the
Living, and five others who would be known in the future." As explained
by Abdu'l-Baha in Some Answered Questions p. 48-58 (passage 2 is an excerpt), the sequence from
the Book of Revelation verses 11:3 to 11:17 fortells the coming of
Muhammad (First woe) and Imam Ali, followed by The Bab (Second woe) and
Quddus, followed by Baha'u'llah (Third woe) and the 24 elders. Based on
this sequence of dispensations ("woes"), the 24 elders cannot include
the Bab and the 18 Letters of the Living, because they appear in the
period of the second woe (the dispensation of the Bab), and the Bab and
Quddus (who was also one of the Letters of the Living) are martyred in
that dispensation.
If the tablet that Shoghi Effendi refers to actually exists, its
authenticity should be investigated... Also, in passage 3 Abdu'l-Baha
states, "Any narrative that is not authenticated by a Text should not be trusted."
1)
58 ELDERS (Four and Twenty)
"Regarding the four and twenty elders: The Master [Abdu'l-Bahá], in a Tablet, stated
that they were the Báb, the eighteen Letters of the Living, and five
others who would be known in the future. So far we do not know who
these five others are."
-- Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 21
4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the
seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment;
and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
-- Bible: Revelation.
2)
Such is the day of God. For
all the days which have come and gone were the days of Abraham, Moses
and Christ, or of the other Prophets; but this day is the day of God,
for the Sun of Reality will arise in it with the utmost warmth and
splendor.
"And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.
"Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast,
and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and
hast reigned." In each cycle the guardians and holy souls have been
twelve. So Jacob had twelve sons; in the time of Moses there were
twelve heads or chiefs of the tribes; in the time of Christ there were twelve Apostles; and in the time of Muhammad there were twelve Imáms. But
in this glorious manifestation there are twenty-four, double the number
of all the others, for the greatness of this manifestation requires it. These holy souls are in the presence of God seated on their own thrones, meaning that they reign eternally.
These twenty-four great persons, though they are seated on the thrones
of everlasting rule, yet are worshipers of the appearance of the Universal Manifestation [Baha'u'llah],
and they are humble and submissive, saying, "We give thanks to Thee, O
Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come, because Thou
hast taken to Thee Thy great power and hast reigned" -- that is to say,
Thou wilt issue all Thy teachings, Thou wilt gather all the people of
the earth under Thy shadow, and Thou wilt bring all men under the
shadow of one tent. Although it is the Eternal Kingdom of God, and He
always had, and has, a Kingdom, the Kingdom here means the
manifestation of Himself; and He will issue all the laws and teachings
which are the spirit of the world of humanity and everlasting life. And
that universal Manifestation will subdue the world by spiritual power,
not by war and combat; He will do it with peace and tranquillity, not
by the sword and arms; He will establish this Heavenly Kingdom by true
love, and not by the power of war. He will promote these divine
teachings by kindness and righteousness, and not by weapons and
harshness. He will so educate the nations and people that,
notwithstanding their various conditions, their different customs and
characters, and their diverse religions and races, they will, as it is
said in the Bible, like the wolf and the lamb, the leopard, the kid,
the sucking child and the serpent, become comrades, friends and
companions. The contentions of races, the differences of religions, and
the barriers between nations will be completely removed, and all will
attain perfect union and reconciliation under the shadow of the Blessed
Tree.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 58.
See related compilation: Twelve Messengers.
3)
1431. Any Narrative not Authenticated by a Text should not be Trusted
"Thou has written concerning the pilgrims and pilgrims' note. Any
narrative that is not authenticated by a Text should not be trusted.
Narratives, even if true, cause confusion. For the people of Baha, the
Text, and only the Text, is authentic."
('Abdu'l-Bahá: from a previously untranslated tablet)
-- Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 437
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