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When Bahá'ís
say that the various religions are one, they do not mean that the
various religious creeds and organizations are the same. Rather,
they believe that there is only one religion and all of the
Messengers of God have progressively revealed its nature.
Together, the world's great religions are expressions of a single
unfolding Divine plan, "the changeless Faith of God, eternal
in the past, eternal in the future."
People from all of the major religious backgrounds have found that
the promises and expectations of their own beliefs are fulfilled
in the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís from Native American, African and
other indigenous backgrounds, similarly, find in the Bahá'í
teachings fulfillment of prophetic visions.
For Bahá'ís of Jewish background, Bahá'u'lláh is the
appearance of the promised "Lord of Hosts" come down
"with ten thousands of saints." A descendent of Abraham
and a "scion from the root of Jesse," Bahá'u'lláh has
come to lead the way for nations to "beat their swords into
plowshares." Many features of Bahá'u'lláh's involuntary
exile to the Land of Israel, along with other historical events
during Bahá'u'lláh's life and since are seen as fulfilling
numerous prophecies in the Bible.
For
Bahá'ís of Buddhist background, Bahá'u'lláh fulfils the
prophecies for the coming of "a Buddha named Maitreye, the
Buddha of universal fellowship" who will, according to
Buddhist traditions, bring peace and enlightenment for all
humanity. They see the fulfillment of numerous prophecies, such as
the fact that the Buddha Maitreye is to come from "the
West", noting the fact that Iran is West of India.
For Bahá'ís of Hindu background, Bahá'u'lláh comes as the new
incarnation of Krishna, the "Tenth Avatar" and the
" Most Great Spirit. " He is "the birthless, the
deathless" the One who, "when goodness grows weak,"
returns "in every age" to "establish
righteousness" as promised in the Bhagavad-Gita.
For Bahá'ís of Christian background, Bahá'u'lláh fulfils the
paradoxical promises of Christ's return "in the Glory of the
Father" and as a "thief in the night." That the
Faith was founded in 1844 relates to numerous Christian
prophecies. Bahá'ís note, for example, that central Africa was
finally opened to Christianity in the 1840s, and that event was
widely seen as fulfilling the promise that Christ would return
after "the Gospel had been preached " to all
nations." In Bahá'u'lláh's teachings Bahá'ís see
fulfillment of Christ's promise to bring all people together so
that " there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
For Bahá'ís of Muslim background, Bahá'u'lláh fulfils the
promise of the Qur'an for the "Day of God" and the
"Great Announcement," when "God" will come
down "overshadowed with clouds." They see in the
dramatic events of the Bábí and Bahá'í movements the
fulfillment of many traditional statements of Muhammad, which have
long been a puzzle.
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