Even as He saith: “Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim, “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they, verily, utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and “Hidden”-all of which pertain to Him Who is the Innermost Spirit of Spirits and Eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say, “We are the Servants of God,” this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. … “Thus in moments in which these Essences of Being were deep immersed beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when they soared to the loftiest summits of Divine mysteries, they claimed their utterances to be the Voice of Divinity, the Call of God Himself.” (Gleanings from The Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p.54-55)

One would hear no difference from a New Age speaker communicating revelation from the ascended masters. In this explanation we have them all being as part of the one, as part of one person. However Bahá'ís will deny Mohammad is the seal of the prophets, for they claim it is Baha’u’llah.

Bahá'ís consider Baha’u’llah a theophany, or mirror in which the ultimately unknowable nature of God is reflected on earth in some way. He is no greater or lesser than any that have gone before him. Bahá'ís believe manifestations are sent by God to guide humanity toward a higher level of consciousness and they teach all religions are the same at the core differing only in their time and culture. These manifestations are endowed with the Holy Spirit (who is the Christ, the anointing spirit) so that God could work through them. Each one has a religion named after them. Despite that none of the religions use this term (Christ) except those who came after Jesus, they insist this to be true. Some even claim Jesus referred to Baha’u’llah as “Father.”So now we have the Father coming a man who died on earth, not for sin, but died from persecutors. Even though Jesus said no man has seen the Father.

“Wherefore, should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: “I am the return of all the Prophets,” He, verify, speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established...”(Gleanings from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh p.52)

With a succession of Revelator's they have a confusion of terminology about God's nature. And why not! When you believe anyone who was famous in history had a religion or spiritual thoughts they must have come from God.

Not only that, they can't agree on how many manifestations there are. In 1908 Abdul Baha said there was Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mohammed, the Bab, and Bahá'u'lláh, That's 6. In Oct. 1912 Abdul Baha said there was to be included Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, and Confucius, that makes 9. So we have a man deciding who the manifestations of God were and the list grows and changes.

Sometimes there were 9, 12 and 14. Who knows if they can even agree on who they are or how many there should be today.

The Bab, who is included in this list, said Adam was a manifestation. Bahá'u'lláh who came after the Bab said, “there was Noah, and Hud and Salih from the Koran. Also Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and his predecessor the Bab.

We have 4 different lists altogether with 14 manifestations and all of them must be accepted, But we can't really add any on after Bahá'u'lláh because he said there would be no new manifestation for at least 1,000 years. Bahá'u'lláh states that these manifestations will continue throughout the life of the world “ God has sent down his messengers to succeed to Moses and Jesus, and he will continue to do so till the end of the world. “(World Order pg.116) {Source used Francis Beckwith's book Bahá'í, p.12}

“These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the Prophets of God, His well favored, His holy and chosen Messengers, are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of His attributes. They only differ in the intensity of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their light .... (Book of Certitude pp.99-100)

We are told “each time a manifestation appears on earth it is as if the spirit of all the former manifestations return with him.” This sounds like some type of unified reincarnation.

XXII. The Bearers of the Trust of God are made manifest unto the peoples of the earth as the Exponents of a new Cause and the Revealers of a new Message. Inasmuch as these Birds of the celestial Throne are all sent down from the heaven of the Will of God, and as they all arise to proclaim His irresistible Faith, they, therefore, are regarded as one soul and the same person” (Gleanings from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh p.50).

“Each takes the work from the hand of his predecessor and carries it toward at the appointed hour he resigns his completed work to his successors” (Bahá'í World Faith pg. 49).

This concept is foreign to the Bible which states Jesus Christ completed God's work, being the final revelation to man as God come in the flesh. So there is no one afterward that can add to His perfect work. While there were apostles afterward they proclaimed what He taught, they did not come up with a new prophet or one to follow.

“Here is a sample of their appeal from one of their tracts…If you are of the Christian Faith, which had its origin approximately the year 1, your prophecy concerning the return of Christ in the glory of the Father has been new name In this day is which means “The Glory of God.”

“If you are of the Jewish Faith, which had its beginning about the thirteenth century B.C., your prophecy of the of the coming of the Lord of Hosts has also been fulfilled in Bahá'u'lláh.”

“If you are a Muslim, whose Faith dates from A.D.622, you will find that your prophecy concerning the “Great Announcement” likewise has been fulfilled with the appearance of Bahá'u'lláh.”

“ If you are of the Buddhist Faith, which began about 560 B.C., your prophecy, too, about the coming of the Fifth Buddha has found fulfillment in Bahá'u'lláh.”

“If you are a Hindu, whose Faith began several thousand years B.C., your prophecy concerning the return of Krishna has at last been fulfilled by the same new Prophet, Bahá'u'lláh.”

“If you are of the Zoroastrian Faith, which dates back to the sixth or seventh century B.C., you also will find that Bahá'u'lláh fulfills your awaited coming of the Shah Bahram.”

Every true religion has received the promise of the great One to come and of an age of unity and peace.

After all these centuries, do you not think it is time for God's Messenger to come again? Bahá'í's believe that He has come, the One Who fulfills. the promises of all the Prophets, and that He has released the spiritual power which will unite all mankind in one universal faith and establish peace and brotherhood. (Bahá'í tract in Hawaii from Wilmette Ill.)

THE GOD OF THE BIBLE SAYS, “YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME”. IF ALL OF THESE RELIGIONS ARE OF THE SAME GOD THEN WHO IS GOD SPEAKING OF? ARE THERE NO FALSE GODS!

WHAT THEIR SPIRITUAL RELATIVISM MEANS IS TO ACCEPT ALL AND DENY NONE. THEY WILL FIND SOMETHING THEY CAN ACCEPT FROM EVERYONE TO MAKE IT ALL FIT THEIR PHILOSOPHY.

The second of the two major works composed by Bahá'u'lláh… is The Book of Certitude, a comprehensive exposition of the nature and purpose of religion. In passages that draw not only on the Quran, but with equal facility and insight on the Old and New Testaments, the Messengers of God are depicted as agents of a single, unbroken process, the awakening of the human race to its spiritual and moral potentialities. (Bahá'u'lláh, p.10, 1991 by the National spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís, Canada)

If they are all from the same God we would expect them to agree with each other, but this isn't the case. While the Hebrew prophets spoke in unity on the same God, sin, and the coming Messiah this is not so with the major and minor religions of the world.

Krishna - Hinduism has an impersonal God who is part of the universe. God is part of all things, man can discover his true self through yoga and meditation and that he is God. Unlike Hinduism the God of the Bible is transcendent, he is beyond creation, he existed before it, is not part of creation but lives outside space and time. He is not dependent on anything but is self- sufficient. Hinduism teaches there are million's of Gods so they are not monotheistic. Not even the Bahá'í's or Muslims would agree with this. As Christian's we certainly do not! But the Bahá'í want us to believe we can incorporate Hinduism with other religions. They also believe their is no evil that all reality seen is maya, an illusion. They also believe in reincarnation and Karma the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. It is through this process of universal law that one eventually becomes reunited with his God self. The Bible teaches only one life that each of us have and then a resurrection, a totally different concept of what happens to the body after death. These are mutually exclusive. Jesus taught and practiced resurrection, He said of himself “ I Am the resurrection and the life”, meaning he himself gives physical life to those who died.

This religion is in conflict with Buddhism , Christianity and Islam.

Zoroaster- Was a 7th B.C Century Persian prophet who was confused with the problem of evil. He couldn’t solve the problem of the conflict of good and evil so he created a system of dualism. He had Ahuru Mazda as the supreme being and then a literal personal Devil (Angra Mainyu, Ahriman, Spirit of evil ) as equals in the conflict of light vs. darkness. Bahá'ís deny a literal Devil. Zoroaster was a polytheist. He spread his faith with two Holy wars with the aid of a ruler of Iran (Hystaspes.) Bahais do not believe in wars. He also said, “ man is in god, god is in man.” Influenced by Vedic literature he was a contemporary of Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, who all lived at the time of the Hebrew prophets who were monotheistic.

This religion is in conflict with Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.

Bahá'í claims the manifestations are not educated “As a man, he is marked by his simplicity and gentleness and a lack of personal ambition. Often he is born of lowly parents, is obscure and impecunious. He is always a man of little human learning.” (Bahá'í World Faith, p.49 )

Gautama Buddha was born into royalty (his father was king Suddhodana Gautama, they were a family of warriors and nobility. ) He grew up in luxury until he observed the human misery around him. He then forsook it all at age 29.

Moses was educated in the royal court of Egypt. He grew up in the Pharaoh's palace. This can hardly considered an impoverished lifestyle.

Confucius was a learned man. He had started a school in which he had 3,000 students . Even Jesus was contending with the rabbis in the temple at the mere age of 12 and they and others wondered where he received such knowledge and wisdom.

Buddhism- Arose as a sect of Hinduism. Gautama Buddha lived around 560 BC. In Buddhism there is no teaching of God. At best they are agnostic and also pantheistic. The ultimate end of the soul is to become a drop of water in the vast cosmic ocean. There is no individuality. Buddhism believes in transmigration of the soul, which contradicts both Islam and the Bible. Buddha gave man the 8 fold path; a system of self work's to enter nirvana, which is the ultimate extinguishing.

This religion is in conflict with all reality, other religions, and even itself.

Confucius- ( Master Kung) 551 B.C. was a polytheist and practiced ancestor worship which is forbidden in the Bible. We have Buddha and Confucius living as, two manifestation's at the same time, teaching very different philosophies, contradicting each other. Neither one was teaching about God, so how can they be a light for God. So they can't be manifestations of God!

Islam- Mohammed states there is no Son of God. Which is a denial of what the Bible states in the Old and New Testament. The same angel that gave Mohammed his revelation also said to Mary he will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35 and he will be called Emmanuel- God with us (Mt. 1:23).

Their God is capricious unknowable and far away. God is a singular person, no triune nature. Mohammed is the last and greatest Prophet their are no more after him. To call Mohammed a manifestation of God is held by only 10% of Islam who believe in Imam's, the Shiite sect. Which is where the origin of the Bahá'í are from. Islam is derived from some truth but mostly distortions of their Judaic roots by Abraham. Bahá'í is an Islamic offshoot which goes even farther away from the source of authenticity than their predecessor.

This religion is in conflict with Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Judaism- Moses -Believed in one God, they are strictly monotheistic. This God is personal and knowable (God spoke to Moses as a man speaks to another man) Man is a sinner in need of redemption. Was given the law and the sacrificial system to be aware of his sin and his need for cleansing because he has offended God, he is in need of forgiveness. All this points to one person- Christ and his cleansing for sin. Judaism prophecies of the one who would come as messiah. The Law ended with Christ for those who have faith in Jesus (Galatians 2-3).

This is in conflict with Islam, with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Bahá'í.

Christianity-Jesus claimed to be the invisible God- to know him is to know God. All the Prophets spoke of him, He is the final revelation at the end of the age. He taught that men are sinners in need of salvation. He is the only one who has taken care of sin. The only one who rose from the dead and is alive ruling from heaven.

1 John.5:20: “ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” The true God and eternal life. By believing in Him, we believe in the true God, and are in possession of eternal life. John warns against any others who come along no matter what display of religion they may have. Jesus Christ is the one and only `express image of God's person approved for all time, the only true manifestation of God. Any other representations that claim to be of God are forbidden to be followed by Christ Jesus, and are no more than idols being mere men. This is according to the Bible.

When Jesus asked his followers who do men say I am, they gave only names of the Hebrew Prophets not Krishna, or Buddha or anyone else. Christ only quoted the Bible, no other literature. But all the others afterwards quote Him.

This is in conflict with Islam, with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Bahá'í and everyone who denies sin.

SUMMARY OF THE MANIFESTATION IN THEIR DOCTRINE OF GOD

Krishna =A Mixture of polytheism and pantheism. The universe is eternal. The universe is God, and so are we.

Zoroaster =One good god and one evil god (religious dualism).

Moses= One personal God. The universe is not eternal, but was created by the eternal God; sin needs to be cleansed by a sacrifice.

Buddha = God is not relevant; essentially agnostic. The 8 fold path , negate desiring and have fulfillment

Confucius= Polytheistic.

Jesus Christ= The true God who is personal (Mark 12:29; John 4:24; 5:18-19; etc.).

Muhammad= One personal God who has no Son, Jesus did not die or resurrect. Sin is done away by doing good.

Bahá'u'lláh = God and the universe, are an emanation of God, and are co-eternal. Jesus is only one of many manifestation for our progression. He is the last manifestation.

Jesus is not just one in a progressive line of manifestations of truth in history that includes Buddha, Krishna and Mohammed -- He is the Alpha and the Omega; the author and finisher of our faith; the Lord of lords, the King of Kings; the Light of all men; Savior of our souls; Counselor; Prince of Peace; the Mighty God; the Way, the Truth, the Life; the eternal I Am. Without Him nothing would exist.

Bahá'í teaches the manifestations are sinless- “ For these holy souls are pure from every sin, and sanctified from faults” (Abdul Baha Some Questions Answered pg. 195).

“He hath ordained that in every age and dispensation a pure and stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Unto this subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a twofold nature; the physical, pertaining to the world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born of the substance of God Himself ( GLEANINGS FROM THE WRITINGS OF Bahá'u'lláh p.66-p.66-67).

Sinless representatives, Moses didn’t think he was, Mohammed didn’t think he was. They sacrificed for their sins, you don't do this if you are sinless.

When we look at their examples of those who are supposedly sinless as representatives we see the truth of their teaching as not coinciding with reality. Adam was the first sinner, he brought sin into the world and to every man, so he is disqualified. Abraham sacrificed because he was a sinner. Moses -killed a man, was punished by God for misrepresenting him to the people, he also sacrificed for his sins. Mohammed-admitted he was a sinner Allah said he was a sinner Quran 48:1-2 “ Lo 'We have given thee (Mohammed) a signal victory. that Allah may forgive thee of thy sin that which is past and that which is to come...” Sura 40:55 He asks for forgiveness of his sin. The Hadith states that Muhammad had to ask forgiveness for sin more than seventy times a day. (Bukhari vol. I, no. 711, 78; vol. V, no. 24)

So if these prophets were sinners then they are not a manifestation of God according to Bahá'ís own standard.

The Bible says no man is without sin Rom.3. Jesus was sinless therefore he is more than a man. Only God is sinless, for this reason Jesus came to mankind through a virgin birth.

Man is dealing with the same problem's that he has had from the beginning, he's a fallen creature, a sinner in need of repair and only Jesus has the cure. The bible says from beginning to end “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Christ is the sinless lamb sacrificed to take away the sin of the world. John the Baptizer announced him as this and we will continue to proclaim it.

“We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned... they cannot discover the cause of the disease, nor have they have any knowledge of the remedy” (Gleanings from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh pg. 213).

Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians task is to foster the well-being of the world and it's that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity ... Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy?....(Book of Certitude p.99)

Jer.17:9 “the heart is deceitfully wicked” ( incurably sick). God the creator is the only one capable of fixing what is broken in man. We need a touch from a divine agency, the great physician himself. There is only one universal remedy to restore our alienation from God and cleanse us from guilt. God has given mankind the blood of Christ as the cure to remove the innate problem of sin. The Bahá'ís have no solution for the fallen state of man.

No other religion claims to solve the sin factor because they don't believe it exists, this includes the Bahá'í. Only when they see their sickness and how desperate they are in need of cleansing from their sin, will they be willing to go to the great physician. They are no different than anyone else, they need the gospel to be saved from sin and judgement.

What Jesus does is from the inside out, what man does is from the outside which can never affect our fallen nature inside. Religion gives us rules and regulations to live by; Jesus reforms us from the inside.

Those who are sinners die. “ The wages of sin is death”, only those without sin do not die. Jesus stands as a beacon among all the rest of these so called manifestation's because he alone had no sin. He didn't die for anything he did but as a sacrifice for us. Only someone with no sin could die in our place as the sinless lamb, all these other men proved they were sinners because they all died. Jesus sacrificed His life for ours yet death could not hold Him; He raised himself from the grave bodily. Only God can do such a feat.

What Bahá'í has done is synthesize all the different religion's to be one ignoring all the differences and looking for any type of agreements found in principles. This is the spirit of our age, tolerance at the expense of truth. Jesus is not just one manifestation in a progressive line in history, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord of lords, the King of Kings, the light of men, Savior of our souls, Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Mighty God the way the truth the life, the I Am.

No prophet would say I Am or believe in me to forgive ones sins. There is only one out of all that claim to be teachers that said this, JESUS CHRIST- the only Messiah for all people.

Bahá'ís have a real problem because if Bahá'u'lláh came in 1840 as the last manifestation of truth, so did Joseph Smith so did Mary Baker Eddy so did E.G. White, as well as host of others since then. All claimed to be prophets. Were they true ones? Since Bahá'í is inclusive to other religions why not include these? If these are not acceptable, the Bahá'í's need to give an answer of why not? Then they must admit there are false prophets, since many contradict each other and other religious systems. If they are true, they must be added to their made up list of manifestations. If not they need to admit their own religion is false for the very same reasons they don't accept all others.