O ye beloved of God, know that steadfastness and firmness in this new and
wonderful Covenant is indeed the spirit that quickeneth the hearts which
are overflowing with the love of the Glorious Lord; verily, it is the
power which penetrates into the hearts of the people of the world! Your
Lord hath assuredly promised His servants who are firm and steadfast to
render them victorious at all times, to exalt their word, propagate their
power, diffuse their lights, strengthen their hearts, elevate their
banners, assist their hosts, brighten their stars, increase the abundance
of the showers of mercy upon them, and enable the brave lions to conquer.
Hasten, hasten, O ye firm believers! Hasten, hasten, O ye steadfast!
Abandon the heedless, set aside every ignorant, take hold of the strong
rope, be firm in this Great Cause, draw light from this Evident Light, be
patient and be steadfast in this wise Religion! Ye shall see the hosts of
inspiration descending successively from the Supreme World, the procession
of attraction falling incessantly from the heights of heaven, the
abundance of the Kingdom of El-Abha outpouring continually and the
teachings of God penetrating with the utmost power, while the heedless are
indeed in evident loss.
Iscariot must not be forgotten; the Divine sheep must constantly be
guarded against devouring wolves; the light of the Cause of God must be
protected from contrary winds by means of a chimney; the oppressed fowls
must be shielded against the birds of prey; blooming roses should be saved
from the outstretched hands of injustice and the lambs of God must be
fortified against the fierce claws of ravenous animals.
Were it not for the protecting power of the Covenant to guard the
impregnable fort of the Cause of God, there would arise among the Baha'is,
in one day, a thousand different sects as was the case in former ages. But
in this Blessed Dispensation, for the sake of the permanency of the Cause
of God and the avoidance of dissension amongst the people of God, the
Blessed Beauty (may my soul be a sacrifice unto Him), has through the
Supreme Pen written the Covenant and the Testament; He appointed a Center,
the Exponent of the Book and the annuller of disputes. Whatever is written
or said by Him is conformable to the truth and under the protection of the
Blessed Beauty. He is infallible. The express purpose of this last Will
and Testament is to set aside disputes from the world.
Suffer the friends to become firm in the Covenant and give the message of
the Kingdom of Abha to other souls.
Praise be to God that the believers in America are steadfast but the
firmer they are the better that no one might be able to intrude and
introduce disputes, for disputes destroy the foundation of God's
Institution.
His Holiness Abraham, on Him be peace, made a covenant concerning His
Holiness Moses and gave the glad-tidings of His coming. His Holiness Moses
made a covenant concerning the Promised One, i.e. His Holiness Christ, and
announced the good news of His Manifestation to the world. His Holiness
Christ made a covenant concerning the Paraclete and gave the tidings of
His coming. His Holiness the Prophet Muhammad made a covenant concerning
His Holiness the Bab and the Bab was the One promised by Muhammad, for
Muhammad gave the tidings of His coming. The Bab made a Covenant
concerning the Blessed Beauty of Baha'u'llah and gave the glad-tidings of
His coming for the Blessed Beauty was the One promised by His Holiness the
Bab. Baha'u'llah made a covenant concerning a promised One who will become
manifest after one thousand or thousands of years. He likewise, with His
Supreme Pen, entered into a great Covenant and Testament with all the
Baha'is whereby they were all commanded to follow the Center of the
Covenant after His departure, and turn not away even to a hair's breadth
from obeying Him.
In the Book of Aqdas, He has given positive command in two clear instances
and has explicitly appointed the Interpreter of the Book. Also in all the
Divine Tablets, especially in the Chapter of The Branch--all the meanings
of which mean the Servitude of 'Abdu'l-Baha, that is 'Abdu'l-Baha--all that
was needed to explain the Center of the Covenant and the Interpreter of
the Book has been revealed from the Supreme Pen. Now as 'Abdu'l-Baha is
the Interpreter of the Book He says that the "Chapter of The Branch" means
'Abdu'l-Baha, that is, the Servitude of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and none other.