r invisible habitations of
ancient glory unto this world to educate the souls of men and endue with
grace all created things, are invariably endowed with an all-compelling
power and invested with invincible sovereignty... These sanctified
Mirrors, these Day-Springs of ancient glory are one and all the exponents
on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its essence and
ultimate purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is
derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a
reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless
glory... Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them
is revealed the light that can never fade... Human tongue can never
befittingly sing their praise, and human speech can never unfold their
mystery." "Inasmuch as these Birds of the celestial Throne," He adds, "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... They all abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the
same heaven, are seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and
proclaim the same Faith... They only differ in the intensity of their
revelation and the comparative potency of their light... That a certain
attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested by these Essences of
Detachment doth in no wise imply that they Who are the Day-Springs of
God's attributes and the Treasuries of His holy names did not actually
possess it."

It should also be borne in mind that, great as is the power manifested by
this Revelation and however vast the range of the Dispensation its Author
has inaugurated, it emphatically repudiates the claim to be regarded as
the final revelation of God's will and purpose for mankind. To hold such a
conception of its character and functions would be tantamount to a
betrayal of its cause and a denial of its truth. It must necessarily
conflict with the fundamental principle which constitutes the bedrock of
Baha'i belief, the principle that religious truth is not absolute but
relative, that Divine Revelation is orderly, continuous and progressive
and not spasmodic or final. Indeed, the categorical rejection by the
followers of the Faith of Baha'u'llah of the claim to finality which any
religious system inaugurated by the Prophets of the past may advance is as
clear and emphatic as their own refusal to claim t