Unconvinced by Baha'u'llah's Claims: A Search for the Promised One
My central question regarding the Baha'i Faith hinges on the implications for prior Abrahamic traditions if Baha'u'llah was indeed the "Coming Christ."
My takeaway is that Baha'ull'ah was fortunate and very into the Faith, but he stood out against many who claimed to be He Whom God Shall Make Manifest. Simply, he won the popular vote. And if he was a new "Christ" and Mahdi, why wasn't he convincing to the Muslims and government in Iran? Why are there a narrow bandwidth of people resonating with the edge of all we've come to know about the Abrahamic religions and Western social order? It seems it's either failed or Baha'is are really slow to overtake the world. I discovered the Bab in an internet search! I didn't know who he was... now I absolutely adore the man!
If Baha'u'llah fulfills this Messianic role, then the entire weight of biblical prophecy, including the Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim, and even Kabbalistic interpretation, would seemingly point to him as their culmination. All the saints, all the Vatican treasures, the Crusades, all the prophesy. This raises significant theological questions. Was the intense anticipation woven throughout these scriptures ultimately leading to a revelation embraced by a relatively small percentage of the global population? How many Jewish people have become Bah'ai? If Baha'u'llah represents the fulfillment of these traditions, it would seal up the past religions as answered in their totality sometime in the 1800s in a place that still doesn't aspire to 'Baha'i' greatness. As a meter of success, how universal is the Baha'i calendar?
Conversely, if we accept the Báb's pronouncements as divinely inspired, his pronouncements carry a weight that resonates at the fundamental foundations of the Christian framework. His predictions, particularly those regarding "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest," align with the anticipation of a future Messianic figure, so we STILL await a coming Lord! I cannot believe this has already happened. Why would you be a Christian if Baha'is have all-but squared that circle?
This leads to a significant point of tension: if Baha'u'llah is not who he claimed to be then the Báb's station takes on even greater significance. It then stands as the successive text to the Bible and Qur'an. And the world better re-examine his words, it's a religiously-inclined human imperative.
My intention is not to engage in polemics with Baha'is. I respect your beliefs. However, my research, as reflected in my paper on Academia.edu, has led me to engage more deeply with the Báb's message. This exploration has enriched my understanding of both Judaism and Christianity, opening new avenues for theological and philosophical inquiry.
My position is one of sincere inquiry, seeking to reconcile the claims of both the Báb and Baha'u'llah within the broader context of Abrahamic thought. I am not trying to challenge anyone's belief structure, I am just trying to find good scripture. Sometimes as background readings to my driving games.
This investigation, as I re-read the Bab's words again studiously, it may be a last reading of its type, in the future people will 'listen' or 'watch' reaction videos to the Bab's words and critics will be trailing off at the end of some AI-produced podcast. Another scholastic examination from the actual 600,000-line texts might never be done again. And few, if any, will be reading it with adrenaline-fueled thoughts igniting on the pages before us.
What follows is my beginning to an article with the working title, "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest," with the theme being to find some place to land with all of this information. I'm still collecting stuff, so it's a rough copy of some dynamite-laden ideas.
Brent Antonson
May 31/2025
Thee key attributes of "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest" as described by the Báb:
- Supreme Station: His spiritual station is far greater than the Báb's; the Báb's Revelation is preparatory to His.
- Object of Creation: He is the ultimate purpose and goal of the Báb's own Revelation and previous Divine Dispensations.
- Innate Knowledge: He will possess inherent divine knowledge, independent of human learning.
- Sovereign Authority: His word, laws, and teachings hold absolute authority and supersede those of the Báb.
- Fulfillment of Prophecy: He is the great Promised One anticipated in the scriptures of past religions.
- Absolute Power: He is endowed with absolute authority from God to ordain and command as He wills.
- The Fruit of the Cause: The Báb's Cause is the tree, and His Revelation is the fruit that perfects it.
A mere two decades later, a man from the same Persian-area claimed he was this deserving person. Here are some ways and contexts in which Baháʼu'lláh referred to his identity as the one foretold by the Báb, along with the nature of his claims:
- Direct Declarations: Baháʼu'lláh made direct and unequivocal statements in many of his works, particularly after his public declaration in 1863. He used titles and phrases that Baháʼís understand as fulfilling the Báb's descriptions of "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest."
- He often referred to himself as the "Most Great Revelation," the "Great Announcement," or other terms found in Islamic and Bábi scriptures that Baháʼís interpret as referring to this promised figure.
- He used titles like "Lord of all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth," "the Desired One of all nations," and "the King of Manifestations."
- The Kitáb-i-Íqán (The Book of Certitude): Written before his open declaration, this book is considered a masterful theological exposition that explains the nature of progressive revelation and how to recognize a new Messenger of God. While not explicitly naming himself as the promised one throughout the entire book, it prepares the reader by outlining the spiritual criteria and signs by which the promised one of all ages can be known. Baháʼís see this work as implicitly pointing to his own imminent manifestation.
- The Súriy-i-Haykal (Tablet of the Temple): In this major work, Baháʼu'lláh identifies himself with the "Temple" (Haykal), a symbolic figure representing the Manifestation of God. He inscribes letters within the structure of the Temple figure, which are interpreted as embodying the essence of his Revelation. Within this Tablet, he speaks with divine authority and explicitly addresses kings and rulers, fulfilling aspects of the Báb's prophecies regarding the power and reach of the coming One.
- Tablets to the Kings and Rulers: A significant portion of Baháʼu'lláh's writings includes letters addressed to the world's political and religious leaders of his time. In these Tablets (like the Súriy-i-Mulúk - Tablet to the Kings), he announces his advent, calls upon them to hearken to his message, warns them of the consequences of rejecting God's Messenger, and proclaims the dawn of a new era for humanity. These messages embody the authority and power that the Báb attributed to "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest" in establishing God's Cause on earth.
- Assumption of Divine Authority: Throughout his writings, Baháʼu'lláh speaks with a voice of divine authority, legislating laws, abrogating past ordinances (including some of the Báb's), establishing new principles, and interpreting religious truths – all actions that Baháʼís believe are only within the power of a Manifestation of God, and specifically the one promised by the Báb.
- Fulfillment of Prophecies: Baháʼís believe that Baháʼu'lláh's life story, his exile, imprisonment, and the spread of his teachings, fulfill numerous prophecies made by the Báb and the prophets of earlier religions regarding the circumstances and impact of the promised one's advent.
It is important to remember that, from the Baháʼí perspective, the "proof" of Baháʼu'lláh's claim lies not just in specific quotes but in the entirety of his revealed writings, which they see as possessing a unique power and divine origin, and in the transformative effect they believe his teachings have had and continue to have on individuals and the world.
He whom God shall make manifest
One of the core Bábí teachings is that a new prophet would soon come, whom the Báb termed He whom God shall make manifest (Arabic: من يظهر الله, Persian: مظهر کلّیه الهی), a messianic figure that would complete the revelation that the Báb begun.[71][72] The Báb describes this messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and states that his command is equivalent to God's command.[73] Unlike earlier religions in which references to future promised figures were occasional and only in hints and allusions, the entirety of the Bayan, the mother book of the Bábí dispensation, is essentially a discourse on a messianic figure, even greater than himself, that the Báb refers to as "He Whom God shall make manifest".
The Báb always discusses his own revelation and laws in the context of this promised figure.[74] The essence and purpose of the Báb's own mission, as he always stressed, was to prepare the people for the advent of him.[75] He asks his followers to independently investigate and look for the promised one, and recognize him out of his own intrinsic reality, works and attributes, and not due to any reasons external to him.[76] He even warns them not to be deprived of the promised one by arguing against him from the works of the Báb, the same way the followers of the previous religions opposed the next prophet while citing their holy scriptures.[76] Furthermore, the Báb speaks of the imminence of the advent of the promised one and refers to the time of his advent as year nine and nineteen.[77] After the Báb's execution in 1850, there were some Bábis who claimed to be "He whom God shall make manifest".[78] Later in 1863, nineteen years after the declaration of the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh privately laid claim to be the messianic figure, and made his claim publicly in 1866–1868. His claim was by far the most successful. The majority of the Bábis followed him and later became known as Baháʼís.[79] The Azalis (those Babis who did not accept Baháʼu'lláh) objected to Baháʼu'lláh's statement.[80][58]
The Azalis (Babis who didn't believe Baháʼu'lláh was He Who God Shall Make Manifest) - apparently named after the Bāb's chief deputy who was Baháʼu'lláh's step-brother... How could they NOT have met and what credibility does this give Baháʼu'lláh?
The tablet the Bab gave through an intermediary, to someone he felt adequate was Baháʼu'lláh... they must have met, this dilutes the pool a lot, because they were, if not known to have met, then a half-a-degree from each other!
Subh-i-Azal[a] (1831–1912, born Mīrzā Yahyā Nūrī[b]) was an Iranian religious leader and writer who was the second head of the Bābī movement after the execution of its founder, the Bāb, in 1850. He was named the leader of the movement after being the Bāb's chief deputy shortly before its execution, and became a generally acknowledged head of the community after their expulsion to Baghdad in 1852.[2]
The Bāb believed Subh-i-Azal had an ability to write divinely-inspired verses and saw him as a mirror, providing the ability to explain the unexplained, in the time before the appearance of the messiah, known in the Bābī religion as He whom God shall make manifest (Arabic: من يظهره الله, romanized: man yuẓhiruhu llāh). However, not all Bābīs followed his authority, and some of them also made claims of their own, including those to the position of the messiah. After his later conflict with his half-brother Baháʼu'lláh, who became Subh-i-Azal's leading intermediary and later claimed the messianic status, over leadership of the Bābī community, his followers became known as Azalis.[3]
Ultimately, my hesitation around accepting Baháʼu'lláh as He Whom God Shall Make Manifest does not arise from hostility, but from reverence—for the scale of what that claim entails. If such a figure is to seal the Torah, the Gospels, the Qur’an, and the Bayan, then what follows must be nothing short of transcendentally convincing—historically, spiritually, and symbolically. And I simply have not been convinced. The sheer gravity of such a culmination should resound through every corridor of human civilization, not remain concentrated in the margins of spiritual discourse.
The Báb’s own warnings ring in my ears: do not reject the Promised One using the very scriptures that foretold Him. And yet, what if the inverse is true—what if the Promised One has yet to appear, and the assumption of His arrival has prematurely sealed the gate of inquiry? If Baháʼu'lláh was not the fulfillment, then the Báb’s station is elevated even higher—not as a prelude to completion, but as a divine lighthouse in a still-drifting sea. In that case, the world owes his writings a renewed examination, not as stepping-stones to a new religion, but as direct revelation with unfinished purpose.
I write this not to provoke, but to preserve the possibility that something immense still approaches. That the Manifestation the Báb anticipated may still be future—still unwritten, still unresolved. And if so, then to remain in awe of that possibility is not doubt. It is reverence. It is fidelity to the mystery that called Abraham into the night, that set fire to the bush of Moses, that echoed through the Psalms and the Injil, that now pulses through our time like a silent waiting. The Báb's voice still echoes through that silence—not silenced by history, but held aloft by those still brave enough to listen.
And I am listening.
—Brent Antonson
May 31, 2025
“He Whom God Shall Make Manifest”
Additionally:
As soon as the Báb became manifested, Bahá’u’lláh said, “This great Man is the Lord of the righteous, and faith in Him is incumbent upon all.” — Reported by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 27-8