What follows is a provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a talk that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave at the home of Lady Blomfield on 22 December 1912. The original text of this talk is published in Khiṭábát-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. 3, pp. 74–75.
He is God
Last night, there was a theatrical performance about the birth of Jesus Christ.[1] It was truly skillful to the utmost. It was, however, surprising that all those involved in this event acted as if they were awaiting the Messiah and that they recognized Him. Yet when Christ appeared, He remained a stranger, single and alone; the Messiah came and no one realized it. And so it was that the people went on searching for the Messiah in anticipation of His advent. Christ had come, but the Jewish leaders continued to await the Messiah’s appearance—a desire they cherished. But when He came, they were deprived [of Him]; indeed, they rejected Him, saying, “This is not the true Messiah!” Rather, they made allegations that I am ashamed to recount. You all have surely read the Gospel and seen that title which they gave Christ.
To put it briefly, they dubbed Him “Beelzebub,” meaning “Satan.”[2] It is with this title that they made Christ notorious. A hundred thousand times alas, a hundred thousand times indeed, that they called that celestial Beauty “Beelzebub”! A hundred thousand times alas, a hundred thousand times indeed, that they failed to recognize Him! A hundred thousand times alas, a hundred thousand times indeed, that that Sun of Truth remained concealed by the clouds of vain imaginings!
And to this very day, the Jews still await the advent of the Messiah. It has been two thousand years since the Messiah appeared, and yet the Jews continue to wait. Observe what unawareness does! They set their expectations on the text of Isaiah—that the Messiah would come from the skies, an unknown place,[3] and that, when He came, He would break the mountains apart and cause a mighty earthquake.[4] In fact, these things did happen, but they did not understand the symbolism thereof. They failed to apprehend this allegory: that by “mountains” was not meant mountains of stone, but rather people who resembled mountains and were scattered apart, and that the intended meaning of “earthquake” pertained to the realm of human thoughts, not this world of dust.
Everything that the Prophets foretold came to pass, but they were all allegories. Literal meanings were not intended, inasmuch as the Words of God are symbolic; they are mysteries. They are a treasure; treasures are hidden. They are a mine of gems; mines are always hidden. For example, Christ says, “I am the bread of heaven.”[5] It is obvious that Christ was not bread, and that to outward seeming He did not come from heaven; rather, He issued from the womb of Mary. By this “bread,” however, is meant the bread of heavenly bounty—the celestial perfections. There is no doubt that the reality of Christ was heavenly, that those perfections were heavenly—that they stemmed from the realm of divinity.
He further says, “He that eateth of this bread shall live forever,”[6] meaning that whoever draws on these divine perfections will certainly be quickened. Yet the people did not understand; they objected, saying, “This Man says, ‘I am the bread of heaven.’ Are we able to eat Him?” The meaning is that, although Christ issued from the womb, in reality He came from heaven. What was it that caused the expectant peoples to deny Him? They were waiting for Christ to literally descend from heaven, but when they saw that this did not happen, they rejected Him. The intended meaning, however, was the reality of Christ, not His body—and there is no doubt that the reality of Christ came from heaven, but because the people did not realize this, they rejected Him and have remained deprived to the present time.
Hence, the mysteries of this Holy Book must be understood, and the meanings of the Torah and the Gospel comprehended, for they are all allegories and mysteries. So long as one does not unravel these mysteries, one will remain deprived and fail to grasp the truth.
I hope that you all will unravel the mysteries of the Scriptures and correctly understand their meanings, in order that you may grasp the truth. Always discover the mysteries of reality, and never allow yourselves to be shut out by any veil. Fix your gaze on God, and pray to Him constantly for confirmation and success, that you may not be bereft of the beauty of reality—that you may benefit from the lights of the Sun of Truth and become apprised of the divine mysteries—so that you may enter the Kingdom of God, be accepted at His Threshold, and attain to eternal life.
This is my hope; this is the highest aspiration of the spiritual ones.
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[1] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was referring to the performance of Eager Heart, a play written by Alice Buckton, held at Church House Westminster on 21 December 1912. Hence, this talk had to have been given the following day on 22 December, not 21 December, which is the date assigned to it in Khiṭábát.
[2] cf. Mark 3:22 and parallel verses from the synoptic Gospels, where Jewish doctors accuse Christ of being possessed by Beelzebub.
[3] Apparently a reference to Isaiah 19:1.
[4] Apparently a reference to Isaiah 24:18–19.
[5] A paraphrase of John 6:51.
[6] John 6:58.
A typescript of the original Persian text of this talk appears below.
Adib Masumian 