# Progressive Revelation

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

---

> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: John Ferraby, Progressive Revelation, London: Bahá'ı́ Publishing Trust, 1954/1966, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> PROGRESSIVE
> REVELATION
> 
> BY
> JOHN FERRABY
> 
> BAHA'I PUBLISHING TRUST
> 27 RUTLAND GATE
> LONDON,   S.W. 7
> "Religion should unite all hearts and cause
> wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the
> earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and
> light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause
> of dislike, hatred, division, it were better to be
> without it."- 'A1mu'L-BAHA.
> 
> ©   BAHA' I PUBLISH.ING TRUST
> FIRST EDITION 1954
> REPRINTED 1961
> REVISED EDITION 1966
> REPRINTED 1970
> THE ONENESS OF RELIGION
> Often in the past religion has caused strife.
> Sometimes co-religionists have fought about
> religious disagreement; sometimes men have
> attacked those of a different faith to force
> acceptance of their own belief. Still more
> often, differences of religion or sect have caused
> hatred, division and dislike, without physical
> violence. Even to-day there are millions of
> people who try to make others unhappy because
> they do not approve of their religious beliefs.
> Many more contribute to discord by narrow
> insistence on their religious view and refusal
> to investigate the views of others.
> A casual glance at the great religions of the
> world is enough, if unprejudiced, to reveal that
> they have much in common. All teach that
> we should love one another, do good, be sincere,
> truthful and law-abiding; that we should seek
> out our own shortcomings before we presume
> to condemn the faults of others, and that we
> should not consider ourselves superior to our
> neighbours. Each has a Central Figure, who
> is revered above all men and a scripture based
> on His teaching. With so much in common,
> it is strange that the followers of different
> religions should be so antagonistic to each
> other's beliefs.
> The point has been well made by George
> Townshend in his book The Promise of All Ages:
> "All the world over, mankind has hon-
> oured the spokesmen of God and has
> adopted their teachings. It reveres Christ,
> Buddha, Zoroaster, Krishna, and other High-
> Prophets as its greatest leaders. But it has
> not looked on them as related to one another.
> It has thought of them as rivals, competing
> for the homage of the world. It has
> imagined that to accept the revelation of one
> is to deny the revelation of every other, and
> that the votaries of any one High-Prophet
> are not loyal to their Lord unless they
> esteem him the sole authentic revealer come
> from God. It has balanced the High-
> Prophets against one another as it were in
> scales, so that when one goes up, the others
> must go down. . . . Thus the influence of
> religion, which ought to have tended to
> unify the peoples of the world, has through
> a misunderstanding, engendered hostility
> and strife. The High-Prophets never spoke
> ill of one another; the antagonism originated
> with their followers. None affirmed that
> his revelation was final or exhaustive."
> The followers of the Great Leaders have
> caused differences between religions to appear
> which had no part in the Message of their
> Founders. The Founders preached unity and
> concord because, although each revealed His
> Message ~n a form suited to the particular
> needs of a particular age, their Revelation was
> in essence one. Baha'u'llah, the Central Figure
> of the Baha'i Faith, explains this in a beautiful
> passage:
> "Their revelation may be likened unto the
> light of the moon that sheddeth its radiance
> upon the earth. Though every time it
> appeareth it revealeth a fresh measure of its
> brightness, yet its inherent splendour can never
> diminish, nor can its light suffer extinction.
> It is clear and evident, therefore, that any
> apparent variation in the intensity oftheir Zig ht
> is not inherent in the light itself, but should
> rather be attributed to the varying receptivity
> of an ever-changing world. Every Prophet
> Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath
> purposed to send to the peoples of the earth
> hath been entrusted with a Message, and
> charged to act in a manner that would best
> meet the requirements of the age in which He
> appeared."
> Needs change, and the needs of yesterday
> are not the needs of today; laws that were
> fitting when mankind was young would not be
> fitting now. Progress decrees that the form
> :1
> of religion revealed for an earlier stage of man's
> development cannot suit the later stages too.
> Under the tuition of each of the Great Edu-
> cators humanity advances, so that the next
> Manifestation of God comes to men prepared
> to hear what before was hidden.
> It is as though man ascended through the
> classes of a school; each successive teacher
> imparts more truths to the child and when he
> has digested these he is ready to move to the
> next class. The lesson is suited to the child's
> stage of progress; there would be no advantage
> in giving a sixth-form lesson to a first-form
> pupil, rather the too great demand on the
> undeveloped soul would cause it to wither and
> die. So also the teaching of the Great Edu-
> cators is mercifully adapted to the stage · of
> development reached by mankind.
> The Messenger of God reveals both spiritual
> truths, which are eternal, and laws belonging
> to a particular age. The spiritual truths are
> revealed according to the spiritual development
> of the men of that time. Thus Moses said:
> "Love thy neighbour as thyself," but only the
> rarer spirits in His dispensation realised that
> Gentiles also were their neighbours. Jesus
> stressed that love should extend beyond the
> Jewish race, but still His followers were unable
> to grasp fully the oneness of mankind. Only
> recently have men progressed enough to regard
> the whole human race as one family, without
> division of colour, cfass or creed. Baha'u'llah,
> coming to a world prepared by the long line of
> earlier Messengers of God, could make this a
> central feature of His Teaching. All three
> Messengers were aware of the truth taught by
> Baha'u'llah, but until now man has not been
> ready to receive its full force. Knowing the
> limitations of the men of His age, Jesus said:
> "I have yet many things to say unto you but ye
> cannot bear 'them now. Howbeit when He, the
> Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you unto
> all truth." (John xvi. 12, 13).
> Besides such eternal teachings gradually
> unfolded to the advancing spirit of man, each
> Messenger of God also brings temporary laws
> and commands. These may be changed by
> the next of God's Messengers. To the Tribes
> of Israel wandering in the desert, Moses gave
> many laws which Jesus in a later age repealed.
> Yet even as He repealed them Jesus proclaimed:
> "Think not that I am come to destroy the law,
> or the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to
> fulfil." (Matthew v. 17). The truth that
> shines through the Law of Moses is revealed
> also in the Law of Jesus; but circumstances in
> the world had changed and a new law was
> needed to fulfil the old.
> When the Israelites were in the desert, they
> had no prisons and no established home. Had
> Moses not ordained strict laws with fearful
> punishments, the innocent among Israel would
> have been at the mercy of the vicious. Love
> and Justice demanded that the hw be strong.
> Therefore Moses decreed death as the penalty
> for ten separate offences. "An eye for an eye
> and a tooth for a tooth" was in those days a
> merciful command, prohibiting excessive pun-
> . ishment. Later, when Jesus came, altered
> circumstances permitted the law of love to be
> expressed in gentler form. 'Abdu'l-Baha, Son
> of Baha'u'llah, has explained this in the
> following words:
> "The practical part of religion deals with
> exterior for ms and ceremonies, and with modes
> of punishment for certain offences. This
> is the material side of the law and guides the
> customs and manners of the people. In the
> time of Moses, there were ten crimes punishable
> by death. When Christ came this was changed;
> the old axiom, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth
> for a tooth,' was converted into 'Love your
> enemies, do good to them that hate you,' the
> stern old law being changed into one of love,
> mercy and forbearance. In the former days
> f)
> the punishment for theft was the cutting off of
> the right hand; in our time this law could not
> be so applied. In this age, a man who curses
> his father is allowed to live, when formerly he
> u:ould have been put to death. It is therefore
> evident that whilst the spiritual law never
> alters, the practical rules must change their
> application with the necessities of time."
> To change these rules, and to give man more
> advanced teaching, God sends His Messengers
> to walk upon the earth.
> 
> THE MESSENGERS OF GOD
> Froin the beginning that has no beginning
> God has manifested Himself through His
> Messengers. Through them He causes man
> to know Hiin and to love Hiln; through thein
> He breathes fresh life into creation. They are
> the Educators of humanity, the Source of
> progress, the Founders of religion. Alone and
> unaided, opposed by the powers of the world,
> each one has triumphed over adversity, un-
> furled the banner of His Faith and established
> His sovereignty over the hearts of Inen. Such
> achievements are not possible for created
> beings; only Manifestations of God can do
> these things.
> In former ages the Manifestations did not
> explain clearly Their station. Sometimes they
> spoke as though They were God Himself; at
> others They would admit themselves human.
> Their immediate companions perhaps under-
> stood the hidden references to Their true
> station, but later followers were confused.
> These either worshipped them as God or
> regarded them only as inspired men. Doc-
> trines such as the Trinity were evolved to try
> to explain the seeming contradiction of their
> station.
> We, in this glorious age, are more fortunate.
> Baha'u'llah has revealed to us the true meaning
> of the paradox in words that are deep, yet
> crystal clear. God in His Essence, He ex-
> plains, is beyond the understanding of man:
> "The door of the knowledge of the Ancient
> Being hath ever been, and will continue for
> ever to be closed in the face of men. No
> man's understanding shall ever gain access
> unto His holy court."
> Therefore He sends His Messengers to
> mediate between His Essence and mankind:
> "As a token of His mercy, however, and as a
> proof of His loving-kindness, He hath mani-
> fested unto men the Day-Stars of His divine
> guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and
> hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified
> Beings to be identical u·ith the knowledge of
> His own self."
> These Day-Stars of divine guidance owe
> their great station to the Holy Spirit with
> which God has endowed Them. Because of
> it they have direct intercourse with God and
> act as channels for the outpouring of His grace.
> 'Abdu'l-Baha, in explaining how They mediate
> between God and man, likens God to the sun
> and the Holy Spirit to the rays of the sun
> bringing light and life and heat to the earth:
> "As the rays of the sun bring the light and
> warmth of the sun to the earth, giving life to all
> created beings, so do the Manifestations bring
> the power of the Holy Spirit from the Divine
> Sun of Reality to give light and life to the
> souls of men. Behold, there is an inter-
> mediary necessary between the sun and the
> earth; the sun does not descend to the earth,
> neither does the earth ascend to the sun. This
> contact is made by the rays of the sun which
> bring light and warmth and heat. The Holy
> Spirit is the light from the Sun of Truth
> bringing, by its infinite power, life and illumi-
> nation to all mankind, flooding all souls with
> Divine radiance, conveying the blessings of
> God's mercy to the whole world. The earth,
> without the medium of the warmth and light
> of the rays of the sun, could receive no benefits
> from the sun. Likewise the Holy Spirit is the
> very cause of the life of man."
> In another passage He likens the Holy Spirit
> to a mirror held to the Face of God, reflecting
> it for the eyes of man. To gaze directly on
> the Face of God is beyond man's power, but
> by turning towards the Holy Spirit he can see
> the light of the sun reflected as in a clear
> mirror. Therefore Baha'u'llah says:
> "Whoso recogniseth them hath recognised
> God. Whoso hearkeneth to their call, hath
> hearkened to the voice of God, and whoso
> testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath
> testified to the truth of God Himself. Whoso
> turneth away from them, has turned away from
> God, and whoso disbelieveth in them, hath
> disbelieved in God. Every one of them is the
> Way of God that connecteth this world with
> the realms above, and the Standard of Truth
> unto everyone in the kingdoms of earth and
> heaven. They are the Manifestations of God
> amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and
> the signs of His glory."
> These Mirrors are perfect Beings, who live
> perfect lives and give perfect teaching. There
> have been many of Them; .MutJ.ammad,
> IO
> Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Noah,
> Zoroaster, Abraham, are examples. Of most
> we have now no record, even Their names are
> lost to us; but the glory which surrounds the
> names of those we know is itself a proof of
> Their divine station.
> Divine, but not to be identified with the
> Essence of God, for that i~ exalted above place
> and time; the sun does not come down into the
> mirror, nor is the light of the sun the same as
> the sun itself. The Manifestations are exalted
> above men, but they partake of humanity.
> Although possessed of the Holy Spirit, They
> have also a human body and a human soul.
> This is Their dual station, which mankind has
> in past ages found so confusing.
> The human station of these Day-Stars of
> divine guidance has always been a severe test
> for mankind. It causes them to need food and
> sleep like other men, to be subject to the ills
> and chances of this world and to appear out-
> wardly like ordinary human beings.
> Baha'u'llab has written:
> "As these holy Persons were subject to such
> needs and wants, the people were, consequently,
> lost in the wilds of misgivings and doubts, and
> were afflicted with bewilderment and perplexity.
> I[
> How, they wondered, could such a person be
> send down from God, assert His ascendancy
> over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth,
> and claim Himself to be the goal of all crea-
> tion . . . and yet be subject to such trivial
> things."
> Sometimes the Manifestations speak in
> Their divine station as through with the voice
> of God. At others Their words stem from
> Their human station. Jesus spoke thus when
> He said: "Why callest thou me good? there is
> none good but One, that is, God." (Matthew
> xix. 17). The parable of Satan tempting Jesus
> has been explained by 'Abdu'l-Baha to refer
> to the tempting of the Holy Spirit in Jesus by
> His human impulses.
> The distinctions and differences between the
> Messengers of God originate in Their human
> station. In Their divine station these Great
> Beings are one-one in Their perfection and one
> in Their Message. Bah:i'u'llah describes this
> unity in words of great beauty:
> "If thou wilt observe with discriminating
> eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the
> same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven,
> seated upon the same throne, uttering the same
> speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such
> .12
> is the unity of those Essences of Being, those
> Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable
> splendour."
> In another place He puts more strongly the
> need to recognise Their unity:
> "Beware, 0 believers in the Unity of God,
> lest ye be tempted to make any distinction
> between the Manifestations of His Cause, or
> to discriminate against the signs that have
> accompanied and proclaimed Their Revelation.
> This, indeed, is the true meaning of Divine
> Unity."
> The word of Jesus is one with the word of
> Moses and the word of Buddha with the word
> of MuJ:iammad. Eyes directed to the perfec-
> tion They share can detect no difference be-
> tween these Essences of Being. They may
> truly claim in this station to be but one Essence
> speaking with but one voice. In contrast, in
> Their human station They are subject to the
> limitations of the world of creation. All
> created things have their own individuality
> and are separated one from another. There-
> fore Baha'u'llah writes:
> "In this respect, each Manifestation of God
> hath a distinct individuality, a definitely pre-
> scribed mission, a predestined revelation, and
> specially designated limitations. Each one of
> them is known by a different name, is char-
> acterised by a special attribute, fulfils a
> definite mission, and is entrusted with a
> particular Revelation."
> Eyes directed to differences and to the human
> personality of the Manifestations of God must
> inevitably fail to see Their inner oneness.
> Failing in this, men scorn and persecute
> Them; so have they always treated God's
> Messengers.
> 
> THE RELIGIOUS CYCLE
> Manifestations of God are always at first
> rejected by those They come to save. They
> are imprisoned, exiled, crucified, in a thousand
> ways persecuted, by men who profess to believe
> in God, but are far from the Court of His
> Holiness. In the Day of the Manifestation
> only a few pure souls recognise His glory; these
> also suffer at the hands of the proud and
> worldly. Gradually the power of the Holy
> Spirit asserts itself; other souls are attracted
> to the sweet melodies of the Divine Nightingale;
> the hard clay of men's hearts is softened and
> their blind eyes opened to His shining splen-
> dour. Through this channel of Divine grace,
> the spiritually dead receive life and the leprosy
> of unbelief is healed. A miracle occurs which
> embraces the whole creation-a miracle far
> greater than vitalising a dead body or healing a
> physical ill. Spiritual life is given to erring
> humanity to raise it from the mud in which it
> is always sunk when a Messenger of God is due.
> 
> As time passes, more and more people
> recognise the Bearer of the Holy Spirit. The
> forces of denial wax fierce in their efforts to
> resist the Cause of God; but God cannot be
> resisted. Opposition crumbles until eventually
> the Manifestation of God emerges supreme,
> recognised and revered by all save those God
> chooses to except. For a time His Faith experi-
> ences a Golden Age during which its youthful
> vigour has not yet been irretrievably perverted
> by its own followers. Then degeneration sets in.
> Men still profess to honour the teaching of the
> Founder of their religion, but they cease to
> obey it. They invent creeds and rituals not
> sanctioned by their Leader, to which they pay
> more attention than to the revealed word itself.
> They quarrel over the meaning of their
> acknowledged scripture, form themselves into
> sects and parties, preach things in the name of
> religion. from which religion recoils. Material-
> ism and greed gain possession of the world; the
> priesthood becomes a vested interest; selfish-
> ness and pride capture the hearts of men;
> despair sweeps the surface of the earth,
> wrapping men's souls in clouds of darkening
> gloom. Then, when men least expect a
> saviour, the clouds are parted by the rising
> Sun of Glory. The light of the Holy Spirit
> shines again upon the earth, bringing promise
> of new life.
> In 'Abdu'l-Baha's words:
> "God leaves not his children comfortless,
> but when the darkness of winter overshadows
> them, then again He sends His Messengers,
> the Prophets, with a renewal of the blessed
> spring. The Sun of Truth appears again on
> the horizon of the world, shining into the eyes
> of those who sleep, awaking them to behold
> the glory of a new dawn."
> Again the Messenger of God is persecuted
> and again He is recognised by a few. Again
> He triumphs over adversity and again His
> word is established in the hearts of men.
> The whole cycle is repeated again and again,
> causing mankind each time to advance another
> stage on its journey to God. Thus does God
> perform His work of creation and thus has it
> been since the beginning, and thus will it be
> for evermore.
> Once in every age this miracle is performed.
> We are still close to the time when Baha'u'lliih,
> God's Messenger for this age, shed His radiance
> on the earth; We are witnessing the birth of
> a new day; as 'Abdu'l-Baha has said:
> 
> "Now is the dawn; ere long the effulgent
> Sun shall rise and station itself in the meridian
> of its majesty. Then you shall observe the
> effects of the Sun. Then you shall behold
> what heavenly illumination has become mani-
> fest. Then you shall comprehend that these
> are the infinite bestowals of God! Then you
> shall see that this world has become another
> world."
> 
> Mankind has been called to recognise a new
> Mirror reflecting the same Eternal Counten-
> ance; but it has failed to respond. Men have
> rejected the Messenger of God and in doing so
> they have denied the Founder of every great
> religion. Therefore mankind is experiencing
> great turmoil, for the Will of God cannot be
> denied. If humanity will not tum to the
> Baha'u'lliih without first suffering, then it
> must suffer greatly. He has warned:-
> 
> "Say, 0 concourse of the heedless! I S'Wear
> by God! The promised day is come, the day
> l7
> when tormenting trials will have surged
> above your heads and beneath your feet,
> saying: 'Taste ye what your hands have
> wrought!' "
> But 'Abdu'l-Baha, echoing His Father's
> promise, has said:
> "Rest ye assured that this darkness shall
> be dispelled and these impenetrable clouds
> which have darkened the horizon shal lbe
> . scattered and the Sun of Reality shall appear
> in its full splendour. Its rays shall melt the
> icebergs of hatred and differences which have
> transformed the moving sea of humanity into
> hard frozen immensity. The vices of the
> world of nature shall be exchanged into praise-
> worthy attributes and the lights of the
> excellences of the Divine realm shall appear."
> A little while, and the trials will pass, leaving
> mankind chastened and turning towards the
> Source of its life. Then will the truth become
> apparent to which Baha'u'llah calls humanity:
> "Verily I say, this is the Day in which
> mankind can behold the Face, and hear the
> Voice of the Promised One. The Call of
> God hath been raised, and the light of His
> Countenance hath been lifted up upon men.
> It behoveth every man to blot out the trace
> of every idle word from the tablet of his heart,
> and to gaze, with an open and unbiassed mind,
> on the signs of His Revelation, the .proofs of
> His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.
> Then at last will men befittingly answer this
> invitation sent by God:
> "The seal of the choice Wine of His
> Revelation hath, in this Day, and in his
> Name, the Self-Sufficing, been broken. Its
> grace is being poured out upon men. Fill
> thy cup, and drink it in His Name, the Most
> Holy, the All-Praised."
> 
> PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY
> W, HBFFER AND SONS, LTD.
> CAMBRIDGE
> 
> LS
>
> — *Progressive Revelation (Used by permission of the curator)*