The Day of God and the Baha’i Revelation

Like the prophets Amos and Hosea before him, and the prophet Micah who was his contemporary, Isaiah roundly condemned the Israelites for their sins in chapter after Biblical chapter. 

If his spoken word was as strong and persuasive as his written word, one might wonder why the people did not repent and throw themselves on the mercy of God. 

Isaiah gently urged the people to repent of their disobedience to the teachings of Moses and warned them of devastation if they did not:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. – Isaiah 1:18–20.

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But when a king of Judah chose an alliance with Egypt instead of trusting in God, Isaiah was no longer gentle but harshly condemned him:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. – Isaiah 31:1.

Ultimately, the Bible says, the Lord unfolded His plan for the far future through the prophetic voice and pen of Isaiah: 

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 

For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low … – Isaiah 2:10–12.

Baha’u’llah wrote that Isaiah, in these verses, proclaimed the Day of God – a day glorified in all the holy scriptures. That “Day of God,” Baha’u’llah wrote, refers directly to the Baha’i revelation:

In the Book of Isaiah it is written: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty.” No man that meditateth upon this verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or doubt the exalted character of this Day – the Day of God Himself. This same verse is followed by these words: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day.” This is the Day which the Pen of the Most High hath glorified in all the holy Scriptures. There is no verse in them that doth not declare the glory of His holy Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto the loftiness of this most exalted theme. … It is incumbent in this Day, upon every man to place his whole trust in the manifold bounties of God, and arise to disseminate, with the utmost wisdom, the verities of His Cause. Then, and only then, will the whole earth be enveloped with the morning light of His Revelation. 

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What is the Day of God? It refers to the time of the appearance of a new messenger and prophet of God, who brings a newly revealed religious dispensation for humanity. Each new messenger repeats the eternal spiritual verities of the past prophets, and also reveals modern laws and teachings appropriate for the era and the spiritual level of the people of that time. 

As Baha’u’llah wrote in his Book of Certitude, all of these blessed beings, the prophets and founders of the world’s great Faiths, are one: “… all the Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and chosen Messengers, are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of His attributes.” They come from the same essence, from one God, and all their scriptures foretell the coming of Baha’u’llah. 

Eileen Maddocks is the author of the trilogy The Coming of the Glory: How the Hebrew Bible Reveals the Plan of God. Volume 1 was released in 2020. Volume 2 will be released in April 2022, and Volume 3 a year or two later. Her blogs and video presentations can be accessed on her website (eileenmaddocks.com).