O Kings Of Christendom! Heard Ye Not The

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

O kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of

God, "I go away, and come again unto you"? Wherefore, then, did ye fail,

when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto

Him, that ye might behold His face, and be of them that attained His

Presence? In another passage He saith: "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is

come, He will guide you into all truth." And yet, behold how, when He did br />
bring the truth, ye refused to turn your faces towards Him, and persisted

in disporting yourselves with your pastimes and fancies. Ye welcomed Him

not, neither did ye seek His Presence, that ye might hear the verses of

God from His own mouth, and partake of the manifold wisdom of the

Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Ye have, by reason of your

failure, hindered the breath of God from being wafted over you, and have

withheld from your souls the sweetness of its fragrance. Ye continue

roving with delight in the valley of your corrupt desires. Ye, and all ye

possess, shall pass away. Ye shall, most certainly, return to God, and

shall be called to account for your doings in the presence of Him Who

shall gather together the entire creation...



Twenty years have passed, O kings, during which We have, each day, tasted

the agony of a fresh tribulation. No one of them that were before Us hath

endured the things We have endured. Would that ye could perceive it! They

that rose up against Us have put us to death, have shed our blood, have

plundered our property, and violated our honor. Though aware of most of

our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the

aggressor. For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the

oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that your high sense

of justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind?



God hath committed into your hands the reins of the government of the

people, that ye may rule with justice over them, safeguard the rights of

the down-trodden, and punish the wrong-doers. If ye neglect the duty

prescribed unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be numbered with

those of the unjust in His sight. Grievous, indeed, will be your error.

Cleave ye to that which your imaginations have devised, and cast behind

your backs the commandments of God, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible,

the All-Compelling, the Almighty? Cast away the things ye possess, and

cling to that which God hath bidden you observe. Seek ye His grace, for he

that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.



Consider the state in which We are, and behold ye the ills and troubles

that have tried Us. Neglect Us not, though it be for a moment, and judge

ye between Us and Our enemies with equity. This will, surely, be a

manifest advantage unto you. Thus do We relate to you Our tale, and

recount the things that have befallen Us, that ye might take off Our ills

and ease Our burden. Let him who will, relieve Us from Our trouble; and as

to him that willeth not, My Lord is assuredly the best of helpers.



Warn and acquaint the people, O Servant, with the things We have sent down

unto Thee, and let the fear of no one dismay Thee, and be Thou not of them

that waver. The day is approaching when God will have exalted His Cause

and magnified His testimony in the eyes of all who are in the heavens and

all who are on the earth. Place, in all circumstances, Thy whole trust in

Thy Lord, and fix Thy gaze upon Him, and turn away from all them that

repudiate His truth. Let God, Thy Lord, be Thy sufficing succorer and

helper. We have pledged Ourselves to secure Thy triumph upon earth and to

exalt Our Cause above all men, though no king be found who would turn his

face towards Thee.