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 A CALL OF ATTENTION 
 TO THE BEHAISTS OR 
 BABISTS OF AMERICA 
 
 BY AUGUST J. STENSTRAND 
 
.JUiv! 2 1914 
 
 A CALL OF ATTENTION 
 
 TO THE BEHAISTS 
 
 OR BABISTS OF 
 
 AMERICA 
 
 AUGUST J. STENSTRAND 
 
 •WHOSO LOVETH INSTRUCTION LOVETH KNOWLEDGE: BUT HE THAT 
 HATETH REPROOF IS BRUTISH."— PROV. XII, 1. 
 
A Call of Attention to the Behaists 
 or Babists of America 
 
 By August J. Stenstrand 
 
 The first open notice of this separation which took place 
 between the Behaists, and the Babists or Ezelists was at a meet- 
 ing in Masonic Temple, hall 912, on May 6th, 1906, when I was 
 by an unanimous vote, voted out of the ''First Central Church 
 of the Manifestation" belonging to the Society of the Behaists 
 of America. 
 
 In June, 1906, I sent to some of the Behaists in New York, 
 Kenosha and Chicago three "abstracts" taken from the 
 utterances of the Bab, with the following letter: — 
 
 Dear Sir! I will inform you that another schism has taken 
 place between Dr. I. G. Kheiralla's Behaists followers. And 
 the obstacles for this separation are two, first: ''Different opin- 
 ions concerning the relationship between the Manifestation and 
 the Infinite God." Second: "Who is the True Manifestation 
 since there is many claimers. " 
 
 I will send you in this letter a few abstracts taken from 
 the utterances of the Bab himself concerning these two ques- 
 tions and you can read them and then judge for yourself. 
 
 THE FIRST ABSTRACT. 
 (Trans, by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 NOMINATION OF SUBH-I-EZEL AS THE BAB'S SUC- 
 CESSOR. 
 
 ("Copied by Subh-i-Ezel from the original document in his 
 possession, which is in the Bab's handwriting. See Journal 
 
A Call of Attention 
 
 THE THIRD ABSTRACT. 
 (The Bab's teaching concerning the Infinite God. See Jour- 
 nal of the Royal Asiatic Society, for 1889, pp. 913-14-15.) 
 (The Text. Trans, by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 *'The Unchanging and Unchangeable Essence of God has 
 existed from Eternity of Eternities in unapproachable Glory 
 and Purity. No one has known It as It should be known, and 
 no one has praised It as It should be praised. It is above all 
 Names, and free from all Likenesses or Similitudes. All things 
 are known by It, while It is more glorious than that It should 
 be known through aught else. From It was produced Its 
 Creation, which has no beginning in time, and shall have no 
 end. This Emanation or Creation was produced by the Primal 
 Will, and though eternal in duration, is subsequent to the Latter 
 as to causation. Since it is impossible for created beings to 
 know the Divine Essence, the Primal Will has, for their guid- 
 ance and instruction, incarnated Itself from time to time in 
 a human form. These incarnations are known as 'Prophets,* 
 and there have been endless number of them in the Past, as 
 there will be in the Future. That which spoke in all the 
 prophets of the Past, now speaks through the Bab, and will 
 speak through 'Him whom God shall manifest' and after him 
 through others, for there is no cessation to these Manifestations. 
 The Primal Will is like the Sun which rises and sets day after 
 day, but is always the same Sun in reality, though we may, in 
 common language, speak of Adam, Noah, Moses, David, Jesus, 
 and Muhammad as distinct, in truth that which spoke in each 
 of them was One, viz. the Primal Will. This is the meaning 
 of the saying of Muhammad, 'But as to prophets, I (am them).' 
 The last manifestation of the Primal AA^ill took place 1270 years 
 ago, and it has now incarnated Itself in Mirza Ali IMuhammad, 
 the Nukta, and speaks through him. In each manifestation 
 news has been given of the following one. Thus the Jews were 
 told to expect a Messiah, but when he came as Jesus they re- 
 jected him, because they imagined his coming in a different 
 way, and one which was impossible, and contrary to nature. 
 
A Call of Attention 
 
 So again the followers of Christ were told to expect His 
 return, yet when He returned as Muhammad they for the most 
 part failed to recognize Him, and are to this day expecting 
 His coming, although more than a thousand years have elapsed 
 since that took place. So likewise the Muhammadans are ex- 
 pecting the coming of the Imam Mahdi, and continue to pray 
 for that day when he shall appear and, whenever they mention 
 his name, add the formula 'May God hasten his gladness;' yet 
 now he has come, with verses and signs, they refuse to recog- 
 nize him, because the manner of his coming does not correspond 
 with their own vain imaginings of how he ought to come. 
 
 **By the Sun, for instance, is meant the Primal Will, mani- 
 festino- itself in the Prophet of the Age, as before explained. 
 By the Moon and stars are meant his immediate companions 
 and Disciples." 
 
 Now latter round in the summer 1906, I was distributing the 
 following two abstracts. 
 
 THE FIRST ABSTRACT. 
 
 (Taken from ''A Travellers Narrative," pp. 352-3-4-5.) 
 
 (The Text. Trans, by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 "Now during the two last years [of the Bab's mission], 
 when the five years cycle of the 'Minor Resurrection' had come 
 to an end, the manifestation of His Highness the Eternal (Haz- 
 rat-i-Ezel) took place. And he, being then nineteen years of 
 age, appeared in the hamlet of Takur in [the district of] Nur 
 of Mazandaran, and began with untaught tongue to utter the 
 Innate Word and spontaneous verses. When the first letter 
 from him was conveyed by means of Mirza Ali Sayyah to His 
 Highness the Point [i. e. the Bab], the latter instantly pros- 
 trated himself to the earth in thankfulness, saying, 'Blessed 
 be God for this mighty Luminary which hath dawned and this 
 noble Spathe which hath arisen in the night,' testifying of him 
 that he spoke spontaneously and by the Self -Shining Light, 
 which is the Innate Word, the Natural Reason, the Holy Spirit, 
 the Immediate Knowledge, the Sufficing Light, or, after another 
 manner of speech, by Inspiration, Revelation, and Illumination. 
 
8 -I Call of Attention 
 
 (( 
 
 'At this time His Highness the Point was imprisoned on the 
 mountain of Maku, and he therefore sent the writing of His 
 Highness the Eternal for each of the Letters of the Living 
 and the chief believers, testifying to his [i. e. Hazrat-i-Ezel's] 
 innate capacity, and calling him by the names of 'Fruit of the 
 Beyan,' 'Morning of Eternity,' 'Countenance,' 'Splendour of 
 God,' 'Mirror,' 'Crystal,' 'Essence of Sweet Perfumes,' 'Sun 
 of Eternity,' 'Second Point,' 'One,' 'the Living, the Speaking,' 
 and sundry other titles. Having designated Hazrat-i-Ezel as 
 his successor, he made over to him generally and particularly 
 all the affairs of the Beyan, even transferring to him the 
 [right of] disclosing the eight '.paths' of the Beyanic ordi- 
 nances which had [hitherto] remained concealed within the 
 Divine Volition (whereon their disclosure depended), in case 
 the time should demand this. 
 
 *'In short, during the two last years [of the Bab's life and 
 mission] all that emanated from the Supreme Pen bore ref- 
 erence to His Highness the Fruit [of the Beyan], whom he 
 [i. e. the Bab] recommended to all the people of the Beyan, 
 saying that should they bring sorrow, even to the extent of 
 the mention of aught, on his holy heart, all their good works 
 and devotions would become as scattered dust. Of the words 
 of His Highness the Point [i. e. the Bab] still extant at the 
 present day, which bears reference to the Fruit [of the Beyan, 
 i. e. Snbh-i-Ezel] exceeds 20,000 verses, not counting what has 
 disappeared. And for ten years after [the death of] His High- 
 ness the Point all the people of the Beyan were unanimous 
 and agreed as to the bestowal of the successorship on His High- 
 ness the Eternal [i. e. Subh-i-Ezel] . And he abode for more 
 than two years in Teheran and Shimiran, whence he departed 
 into Mazandaran, whence again (because men had been stirred 
 up on behalf of the government to seek him out) he set out 
 disguised in the garb of a dervish for Hamadan and Kirman- 
 shahan. Thence he proceeded to the Abode of Peace of Bagh- 
 dad, and in reference to this the ' Tongue of the Unseen ' says : 
 
A. Call of Attention 
 
 . (Couplet) 
 'Baghdad shall be filled with tumult; one with lips like sugar 
 
 shall appear; 
 I fear lest the disturbance of his lips may cast Shiraz into 
 
 ■ confusion.' 
 '*At this juncture Mirza Huseyn Ali [i. e. Beha'u'llah], the 
 elder brother of His Highness [Subh-i-Ezel], came to Baghdad 
 with two other brothers and several of the believers, and these 
 gathered round that Most Mighty Light, who, in accordance 
 with instructions with His Highness the Point of Revelation 
 [i. e. the Bab] had given him, passed his nights and days 
 behind the curtains of seclusion apart from believers and 
 
 others — 
 
 (Couplet) 
 "Behind a veil sits that moon-browed beauty; 
 He has rent asunder the veils of the world, yet sits behind 
 a veil' — and none approached him save his brothers and certain 
 favored followers. But from behind that veil issued forth 
 letters, epistles, and books [written] in reply to men's ques- 
 tions and petitions." 
 
 (See also The New History of The Bab, pp. 381-82: Trans. 
 
 by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 "Now when the letters of Jenab-i-Ezel came to His Holiness 
 'the Reminder' [i. e. the Bab], he rejoiced exceedingly, and 
 thenceforth began the decline of the Sun of 'the Reminder' and 
 the rising of the Moon of Ezel. So he [i. e. the Bab] sent of 
 his own personal effects, such as pen-cases, paper, writings, 
 his own blessed raiment, and his holy rings, according to the 
 'Number of the Unity' [Vahid — 19], that the outward might 
 correspond with the inward reality. He also wrote a testa- 
 mentary deposition, explicitly nominating him [i. e. Ezel] as 
 his successor, and added, 'Write the eight [unwritten] Vahids 
 of the Beyan, and, if "He whom God shall manifest" should 
 appear in His power in thy time, abrogate the Beyan ; and put 
 into practice that which we shall inspire into thine heart.' 
 Now the mystery of his bestowing his effects on Ezel according 
 
10 A Call of Attention 
 
 to the 'Number of the Unity' is perfectly evident, namely that 
 he intended the inner meaning thereof, that it might be known 
 to all his followers that after himself Ezel should bear the 
 Divine influences. And his object in explicitly nominating him 
 as his successor also was to re-assure the hearts of the weak, 
 so that they might not be bewildered as to his real nature, but 
 that enemies and friends alike might know that there is no 
 intermission in God's grace, and that God's religion is a thing 
 which must be made manifest. And the reason why [the Bab] 
 himself refrained from writing the eight [unwritten] Vahids 
 of the Beyan, but left them to Ezel, was that all men might 
 know that the Tongue of God is one, and that He in Himself 
 is a sovereign Proof. And what he meant by 'Him whom 
 God should manifest' after himself was Hazrat-i-Ezel and none 
 other than him, for there may not be two 'Points' at one time. 
 And the secret of the Bab's saying, 'Do thus and thus,' while 
 Ezel was himself also a 'Proof,' was that at this time His 
 Holiness 'the Reminder' was the Heaven of Volition, and Ezel 
 was accounted the Earth of Devotion and the product of 
 purified gifts^ wherefore was he thus addressed. 
 
 "In short, as soon as the time had come when the 'Eternal 
 Fruit' [i. e. Subh-i-Ezel] had reached maturity, the Red Blos- 
 som -of Reminder-hood [i. e. the Bab], casting itself from the 
 branch of the Blessed Tree of the Ka'imate (which is 'neither 
 of the East nor of the West') to the simoom-wind of the 
 malice of foes, destroyed itself, and prepared to ascend from 
 the outward and visible 'World of Dominion' to the inward 
 realm of the Mystery of Godhead. Wherefore it was that the 
 accessories of his martyrdom appeared in the world; for it is 
 sufficiently obvious that, had he not himself been content with 
 martyrdom, none would have had power to harm him." 
 
 It is very important to note here, that in those early histories 
 of Babism, the Babis always called their master (i. e. the Bab) 
 by these titles, ' ' The Sun of ' the Reminder, ' ' ' and ' ' The Heaven 
 of Volition;" and they called his Successor (i. e. Subh-i-Ezel) 
 by the following titles: "The Moon of Ezel," "The Blessed 
 
A, Call of Attention 11 
 
 Earth of Devotion," and the ^^ Eternal Fruit," or ''The Fruit 
 of the Beyan." 
 
 The Second Abstract. 
 
 (Taken from "A Travellers Narrative, ' ' pp. 335 to 343. Trans. 
 
 by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 The second abstract was a list of the books written by the 
 Bab and Subh-i-Ezel, together with the following letter from 
 Subh-i-Ezel to Prof. E. G. Browne concerning some questions 
 which he had asked him in a previous letter. 
 
 Browne says: *'In the letter accompanying this list Subh-i- 
 Ezel w^rote as follows concerning the fate of the Bab's works 
 generally and of those enumerated in particular: — 
 
 ''As to what you asked concerning the existence of certain 
 epistles, it is even as you have heard, leaving out of account 
 that Avhich from first to last passed into the hands of strangers, 
 w^hereof no cop}^ was preserved. At the time of the martyrdom 
 [of the Bab] at Tabriz, as they wrote from thence, many of the 
 original writings passed into the hands of persons belonging 
 to the country of your Excellency or to Russia, amongst these 
 being even autograph writings of His Highness the Point 
 [i. e. the Bab]. Search is necessary, for to read the original 
 is difficult. If this humble one be applied to, copies thereof 
 will be sent. What I myself arranged and copied out while at 
 Baghdad, and what was commanded to be collected of previous 
 and subsequent [writings] until the Day of Martyrdom 
 [of the Bab], was nigh upon thirty volumes of bound books. 
 I myself wrote then with my own hand, and up to the present 
 time I have w^ritten many. The originals and copies of these, 
 together with Avhat was in the writings of others, sundry other 
 [books] written in proof of this religion by certain learned 
 friends, and Avhat I myself wrote and compiled, amounted to 
 numerous volumes, as [recorded in] the list thereof [which] 
 I have sent. For some years all of these w^ere in a certain 
 place in the hands of a friend as a trust. Afterwards they 
 w^ere deposited in another place. Eventually I entrusted them 
 
12 A Call of Attrition 
 
 to my own relatives, [in whose keeping] they were preserved 
 for a while; for, inasmuch as the friends of this recluse 
 [i. e. myself] had attained unto martyrdom through the equity 
 and justice of the oppressors of the age, who consider them- 
 selves as seekers after truth and just men, there was no 
 recourse but that this humble one [i. e. myself] should make his 
 relatives (By his 'relatives' Subh-i-Ezel means his half-brother 
 Beha'u'llah and those of his kindred Avho followed him), his 
 trustees. So did this humble one; and whatever [was mine] 
 of books and epistles was [deposited] in their house. The 
 vicissitudes of the world so fell out that these also unsheathed 
 the sword of hatred and wrought what they would. They 
 cruelly put to the sword the remnant of [my] friends wiio 
 stood firm, and, making strenuous efforts, got into their hands 
 such of the books of His Highness the Point as were obtainable, 
 with the idea of destroying them, and [thereby] rendering 
 their own works more attractive. They also carried off my 
 trust [i. e. the books above referred to committed to their 
 care], and fell not short in anything which can be effected by 
 foes." 
 
 Anybody who reads this last abstract, can plainly see the 
 fulfilment of Christ's parable concerning "the Kingdom of 
 Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his 
 field: But while men slept his enemj^ came and sowed tares 
 among the wheat" and corrupted the field. 
 
 In October, 1906, I sent out another "pamphlet" with the 
 following letter: — Dear Sir! I will send you some more 
 evidences which I have picked out from the books of the 
 dift'erent religions which prove plainly that the Manifestation 
 and the Infinite-God are not one in personality, read them and 
 then decide for yourself Avhich is the Truth. 
 
 We are preaching against the Politlieism Avhich our ancestors 
 have estal)lished, and still we go ahead and try to commit the 
 same error again, which is not right. Please study this pamph- 
 let w^ell, it is very important. 
 
A Call of Attention 13 
 
 (The Pamphlet) 
 
 Some evidences taken from different religions which prove 
 that the messenger or manifestation is not one in personality 
 with the Infinite-God. 
 
 In The Book of Enoch pp. 224-225, reads as follows:— ''0 
 thou, who seekest knowledge of the Holy One, be thyself 
 imbued with sacred thoughts : follow not the Divine for things 
 that are unhallowed, nor pursue celestial things with carnal 
 purposes. God is Eternal; the Universe is perpetual: God is 
 exempt from time, but the Universe subsists in time. God, 
 who is all Life, Light, and Love, subsisted prior to both Light 
 and Darkness : from all eternity in venerable solitude ; He had 
 no equal, nor any rival." 
 
 This corresponds exactly to the saying in ''A Travellers Nar- 
 rative" pp. 115-116, which reads as follows: — "But that Real 
 King is in Himself sufficient unto Himself [and independent] 
 of all: neither doth any advantage acrue to Him from the 
 love of contingent beings, nor doth any hurt befall Him from 
 their hatred. All earthly places appear through Him and 
 unto Him return, and God singly and alone abideth in His 
 own place which is holy above space arrl time, mention and 
 utterance, sign, description, and definition, height and depth. 
 And none knoweth this save Him and whosoever hath 
 knowledge of the Book. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, 
 the Bountiful." 
 
 We know that a messenger or a manifestation is subject 
 to all these conditions, such as space, time, mention, utterance, 
 sign, description, definition, etc., but the Infinite-God is above 
 all these conditions, therefore, the messenger or the manifesta- 
 tion cannot be one in personality with the Infinite-God. 
 
 We read in "The Book of Fo" the same evidences, p. 6, is 
 the following sentence: — "Whatsoever we hear, or see, or 
 describe, or image, That verily is not God. There is no way 
 by which to reach Him; He hath no substance which can be 
 represented; He hath no form which can be taken hold of; 
 Thouo-ht cannot attain Him; Words cannot penetrate to Him. 
 
14 A Call of Attention 
 
 The production of the All diminishes Him not; The re-absorp- 
 tion of the All increases Him not. Everything is double: 
 Everything" hath its image in Heaven or Earth; But the Eternal 
 Lord of Light and Wisdom Alone, hath not an equal or an 
 image. A potter Diakes a thousand vessels, But what vessel 
 could make the potter? Even so Wisdom created all, But 
 all cannot create Wisdom." 
 
 We find similar things in the Bible. Isaiah 40.25: — ''To 
 whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the 
 Holy One." Deut. 4. 15-16: ''Take ye therefore good heed 
 unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the 
 day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst 
 of the fire : Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven 
 image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or 
 female." Ex. 20. 3-4: — "Thou shalt have no other gods 
 before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, 
 or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is 
 in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 
 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them : for 
 I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." 
 
 In February, 1907. I sent out the following pamphlet. 
 
 (The Pamphlet.) 
 
 The Sacred Scripture Teaches the Equality of All Men. 
 
 In "The Book of Enoch" p. 225, reads as follows: — "All men 
 are equal before God ; all men are the children of Him ! Mortal ! 
 forget not this truth ; let it be graven on thy inmost heart. In 
 thy morning hour meditate upon it; remember it in the time 
 of night: let it shape all thine actions, and never once be 
 absent from thv life. 
 
 • 
 
 "Wouldst thou see what God has made distinct? observe 
 the difference in trees and birds; the dove differs from the 
 poncor'k: the ])anyan differs from the rose. But man hath 
 the Sfime l)one and figure: is born in the same way, and dieth 
 ill the same way: therefore write this upon thine heart, that 
 all men are one and the same." 
 
A Call of Attention 15 
 
 In "The Book of Fo" p. 34, is the f ollowing :—'' There did 
 we learn that all (men) are equal, There are no divisions 
 before God; They are all from One Father; And all from the 
 same Essence. The king is not different from the beggar, 
 The outcast differs not from the high priests." 
 
 In "The Book of God" iii. p. 312, is the following sentence: — 
 "Buddhism, says Hodgson, proclaimed the equality of all men 
 and women in the sight of God." 
 
 In the book "Eeha'u'llah" p. 531, is the following sentence: 
 — -''0 Children of Man! Do you know why We created you 
 from one clay? That no one should glorify himself over the 
 other. Always be mindful of how you were created, for as 
 We created you from one substance, you must be as one soul, 
 walking upon the same feet, eating with one mouth and 
 living in one land; that you may be able to show from your 
 being and your deeds and actions, the signs of the Unity and 
 the essence of abstraction. This is My Advice to you, people 
 of Light; therefore profit by this advice, that you may attain 
 the fruits of Holiness from the Trees of Might and Power." 
 
 Christ said the first commandment is this: "Hear, Israel; 
 The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shait love the Lord 
 thv God, — Above all things." And the second commandment 
 is this : ' ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. For on 
 these two commandments hang both the laws and the proph- 
 ets." 
 
 Christ here defined the whole religion in two commandments, 
 viz. first: "That we should consider God — Above all things." 
 Second: "That we should consider our neighbors equal to 
 ourselves," and treat them accordingly. 
 
 In **The Apocryphal New Testament" p. 122, (i. Clement, 
 7. 3-4:) reads as follows: — "Above all, remembering the words 
 of the Lord Jesus, which he spake concerning equity, saying, 
 'Be ye merciful and ye shall obtain mercy; forgive, and ye 
 shall be forgiven: as ye do, so shall it be done unto you; as ye 
 give, so shall it be given unto you ; as ye judge, so shall ye be 
 judged; as ye are kind to others, so shall God be kind to you: 
 
16 A Call of Attention 
 
 with what measure ye mete, with the same shall it be measured 
 to you again.' " 
 
 We must bear in mind that — when God says: ''That all men 
 are equal before Him," it includes all the manifestations or 
 prophets of God also. Christ himself confessed the same truth 
 (that he was as helpless as any of us), when he said: "From 
 myself I can do nothing." 
 
 The Babis believe that in every manifestation there must 
 be a "Point of Darkness" opposed to the "Point of Light." 
 
 We will now go and see w^hat the Muhammadans Scriptures 
 teach concerning this two manifestations and see if we can 
 recognize them in this "The Babi Movement." 
 
 Concerning Antichrist, or the False Manifestation. 
 
 In "A Travellers Narrative" pp. 304-5: — "Concerning Anti- 
 christ (Dajjal), and the ass on which he is mounted, the 
 Akaidush-Shia has the following passage: — "The forty-sixth 
 of the signs of the appearance [of the Imam Mahdi] is the 
 coming forth of Antichrist. And the name of that accursed 
 
 one is Said ibn Sayd The Prophet pointed him out to 
 
 his companions and said, '0 people, God hath not sent any 
 prophet without filling his church with the fear of Antichrist, 
 whom he has respited and left until your time. And this man 
 shall come forth with a mountain of bread and a river of water ; 
 and he will appear in a time of famine. Most .of his followers 
 will be Jews, women, Arabs, and nomads. He will enter into 
 all quarters and regions of the earth save Mecca and its two 
 mountains, and Medina and its two mountains. And whenever 
 he comes forth he will claim to be God, althousjh he is one-eved 
 
 and God is not one-eyed' Now the characteristics of 
 
 Antichrist are these : — his right eye is crushed ; his left eye is 
 in his forehead, and glitters as though it were the morning 
 star, and in it is a piece of blood, so that it seems to be per- 
 vaded with blood; between his two eyes it is written that he 
 is a misbeliever, so that every one, whether learned or un- 
 learned, can read it; he is a skilled magician, who by his 
 magic, descends into the oceans; with him travel the sun; 
 
A Gall of Attention 17 
 
 before his face is a mountain of smoke, and behind his back 
 is a white mountain, and through [his] magic it seemeth in 
 mens eyes that there are two mountains of water and bread, 
 though in truth it is not so, but a mere juggle; he traverseth 
 all oceans, and over whatsoever ocean or water he 
 passeth it sinketh down and cometh forth no more 
 till the Day of Judgment; before him Satan dances, and 
 the devils cause him and his ass to appear pleasing in men's 
 eyes, and this is a mischief for the proving of mankind. And 
 he crieth out so that the dwellers in the East and in the West, 
 whether of jinn or mankind, hear his voice, and he saith, '0 
 my friends, I am that God who created and fashioned the 
 members and parts of the world; I am that God who pre- 
 destined the affairs of [His] servants and guided and directed 
 mankind ; I am your Supreme Lord ! And most of his followers 
 are women, Jews, bastards, and musicians. But when he cometh 
 to Akaba-i-Afik, which is a mountain in Syria, His Highness 
 the Kaim shall slay him at the third hour on Friday, and 
 shall cleanse the world of the filth and foulness of that Ac- 
 cursed One.' Many other wonderful qualities are attributed 
 to the ass of Antichrist, as for instance, that the distance 
 between its ears is a full mile, that each of its hairs gives forth 
 ravishing strains of music, and the likes, of which things the 
 further enumeration appears to be unprofitable and unneces- 
 sary. ' ' 
 
 Concerning Kaim or Imam Mahdi, the True Manifestation. 
 
 In ''A Travellers Narrative" pp. 299-300-301, is the follow- 
 ing passage : — "In the remotest East is a city whereof the name 
 is Jabars, and its inhabitants are of the children of Thamud. 
 And in the remotest West is a city whereof the name is Jabalk, 
 and its inhabitants are of the children of Ad. And in each 
 one are remnants of these two peoples. The Jews say that 
 the children of Moses fled in the fight with Bukht-Nassar 
 [Nebuchadnezzar], and God caused them to journey towards 
 Jabars and to alight therein. And in that place they dwell; 
 none can come unto them nor reckon their number. The 
 
18 A Call of Attention 
 
 Prophet on the night wherein he made the night-journey said 
 to Gabriel, 'I wish to see the people concerning whom God hath 
 said, ''Of the people of Moses there is a party who are guided 
 in truth, and act justly according to the same." ' [Kuran vii, 
 159]. 'Between thee and them,' said Gabriel, 'is a journey of 
 six years to go and six years to return ; and between thee and 
 them is a river of sand which runs swiftly as the flight of an 
 arrow and ceaseth not save on the Sabbath day; but ask of 
 thy Lord.' So the prophet prayed, and Gabriel said 'Amen;' 
 and God revealed unto Gabriel, 'Grant him what he hath 
 asked.' So he mounted Burak, who took a few steps, and 
 behold he was in the midst of the people. Then he saluted them, 
 and they asked him 'Who art thou?' He said, 'I am the un- 
 lettered Prophet.' They said, 'Yes, thou art he concerning 
 whom IMoses was given good tidings, and verily the angels 
 would take thy people by the hand, were it not for their 
 faults.' 'I saw their tombs,' saith the Apostle of God, 'at the 
 doors of their abodes, and I said unto them, "Wherefore 
 this?" They answered, "That we may remember death morn- 
 ing and evening; for did we not do thus, we should only 
 remember it from time to time. ' ' ' Then he said, 'How is it that 
 I see your buildings equal [in height] V They answered, 'That 
 none of us may overlook another, and that none may shut out 
 the air from another.' Then he said, 'How is it that I see no 
 King or judge amongst you?' They said, 'We are just one to 
 another and give what is due to ourselves, wherefore we need 
 not any to deal out justice in our midst.' Then he said, 
 * Wherefore are your streets empty?' They answered, 'We all 
 sow and all reap, and every man amongst us taketh what 
 sufficeth h'im and leaveth what remaineth for his brother.' 
 Then he said, 'Wherefore do I see these people laughing?' 
 They replied, 'One amongst them hath died.' He said, 'Why 
 then do they laugh?' They answered, 'For joy, because he 
 hath been taken away in the belief of the Unity.' He said 
 'What aileth these that they weep?' They answered, 'A child 
 hath been born unto them, and they know not in what faith 
 
A Call of Attention 19 
 
 he will be taken away.' He said, 'When a male child is 
 born unto you, tell me what you do?' They said, 'We fast for 
 a month in thankfulness to God.' He said, 'And if a girl 
 be born unto you?' They answered, 'We fast two months in 
 thankfulness to God, because Moses hath told us that resigna- 
 tion on account of a female child hath a greater reward than 
 resignation on account of a male child. ' He said, 'Do ye commit 
 adultery?' They said, 'Doth any one do this thing whom the 
 heaven stoneth not with pebbles from above, and whom the 
 earth swalloweth not from beneath?' He said, 'Do ye take 
 usury?' They answered, 'He alone taketh usury who believeth 
 not in the provision of God.' He said, 'Do ye sicken?' They 
 said, 'We sin not, neither do we sicken; thy people are 
 afflicted with sickness only as an atonement for their sins.' 
 He said, 'Have ye wild beasts and reptiles?' They answered, 
 'Yes; they pass us by and we pass them by, and they hurt us 
 not.' Then the Prophet proposed unto them his Law; and 
 they asked, 'How shall we do as regards the Pilgrimage, for 
 between us and it is a great distance?' Then the Prophet 
 prayed, 'and,' saith Ibn Abbas, 'the earth was roller up for 
 them so that those of them who would perform the Pilgrimage 
 might do so with [the rest of] mankind. And when it was 
 morning, the Prophet told this [to] such as were present of 
 his people, amongst whom was Abu Bekr. And he said, "Verily 
 it is well with the people of Moses, and God knew what was 
 in their hearts, and revealed 'Of those whom We have created 
 is a nation who are guided in truth and thereby act with 
 equity.' [Kuran vii, 180.] Such are the cities of Jabulka 
 and Jabulsa — the Muslim 'Land of Cocagne' — wherein, ac- 
 cording to the Shiite belief, the Imam Mahdi dwells." 
 
 We will now go and see what our own Bible, and the other 
 religions of the world, teach concerning the struggle between 
 these two Manifestations, of viz. "Light" and "Darkness," and 
 see if we can recognize them in this "The Babi Religion." 
 
 We read in the Revelation, that after the door or the Gate 
 (the Bab) was opened the Servant of God, went through that 
 
20 A Call of Attention 
 
 Gate, and then found himself in heaven, or in the kingdom 
 of God, and saw everything that was going to happen in 
 that heaven. ''And there appeared two wonders in heaven." 
 What was this two wonders? No more and no less than the 
 two manifestations, of viz. Light and Darkness. 
 
 In ''The Book of God" by E. V. Kenealy, p. 376 :— "Now for 
 the first time the Prophet sees the most splendid of all spec- 
 tacles — the Virgin Spirit of God — in the Hebrew, named Al- 
 mah, that is Virgin, one who has never been even seen by a 
 man. She it is who sends forth the Incarnation at the ap- 
 pointed time: she is clothed with the sun; the Sun and Moon 
 being types of the male and female principle, which has formed 
 a distinctive mark of every religion. Alma, this word Al, 
 means the 'Preserver/ and Ma, 'Mother.' The Holy Spirit, 
 also indicate the four-sided 'City of God.' Also connected with 
 the old Arab worship of the four-sided stone, Bra-Chthan, in 
 which the creative BR is read." Ptolemy Hephesyion says, 
 "That the Holy Spirit was Echo, that is, the Divine Voice of 
 the Deity, whose laws and counsels she repeated." She is also 
 called "The Hidden Treasure," "The Garden," "The Fount- 
 ain," "The Apocatypse," "The Inspiration," "The Word of 
 God," "The Primal Will." Enoch says:— "This is the Be- 
 loved, the Holy Spirit,- who speaks in thee and in the Prophets, 
 QUEEN of the OCEAN of LIGHT." By all these names we 
 learn that the Holy Spirit means ' ' The Inspired Word of God, ' ' 
 or the "Revelations of God." Just as we call the laws of 
 nature, "The Mother of all material Growth;" so also, the 
 Holy Spirit, or the Word of God, is called "The Mother of 
 all spiritual Growth." 
 
 ' ' She is clothed with the Sun ; ' ' the sun is Her Veil, Robe, or 
 Manifestation. "And the Moon beneath Her feet:" the moon 
 is Her Foot-Stool, or Foundation. The Moon was the first 
 fruit of that Revelation, or the first bom of Her increase. 
 The Sun is the "Heaven of Volition," and the Moon is the 
 "Earth of Devotion," or "The Sun of the Reminder," and 
 "The Moon of Ezel." The Moon assumes a boat-like or cres- 
 
A Gall of Attention 21 
 
 cent shape; the symbol of Yona, (the Dove). ''And She had 
 a Crown of twelve stars on Her head;" She has brought forth 
 twelve sons or messengers, this is Her crown of glory. 
 
 In ''The Book of God" vol. iii. p. 383:— "Now the Prophet 
 sees the Evil personified as the Dragon, which is always ready 
 to destroy the Incarnation. The fiery red colour indicates the 
 blood which in his ferocity he spills : his heads and horns his 
 immense power, the dragon-form his destructive nature. This 
 symbol is susceptible also of an interpretation deeply subtle 
 and philosophic, according to the oriental theosophy, which 
 puts to the blush the modern vulgar notion of a devil. This 
 dragon is Typhon, or Maha-Deva, in its destroying capacity, 
 weakens the force of the Beautiful ; corrupts Truth and Wis- 
 dom, and is therefore the manifestation of evil. This Dragon 
 declares war against the Holy Spirit, who calm and beautiful 
 as the Moon on a troubled night shines still serenely amid the 
 warfare. It is curious to note how, among the people of the 
 most remote antiquity, the tradition of this remarkable mythos 
 still remains. Whenever they see an eclipse of the Moon they 
 believe it is occasioned by the approach of a Dragon seeking to 
 devour her, and they raise the most hideous noises to frighten 
 him away. From this Dragon, says Vallancey, depicted on the 
 ancient celestial globes certainly arose the poetic fiction of 
 the contest of the Moon and Dragon in time of an eclipse. 
 But how the same idea of an eclipse prevailed with the 
 Chinese, the Japanese, the savages of North America, and the 
 inhabitants of Peru; for all attribute an eclipse to a contest 
 of the Moon with a Dragon, and it cannot be accounted for, 
 except by reference to the most ancient book — the Apocalypse 
 —in which it is first found as above. This combat with the 
 Serpent that cast water out of his mouth like a flood, was 
 commemorated in the mythos of Hercules in conflict with the 
 Hydra. It has also suggested the numerous ancient gems of 
 Cadmus, warring with the Dragon. The episode was beauti- 
 fully represented in the Mysteries, and it gave birth to the 
 fable of Medea (Metis, Wisdom) flying with her son in a 
 
22 * A Call of Attention 
 
 chariot drawn by Seraphims or Winged Serpents. We find the 
 same idea everywhere. When an eclipse occurs in the Nicober 
 island the people beat all their gongs with the utmost violence, 
 and hurl their spears into the air to frighten away the demon 
 who is devouring the celestial body. The Burman tradition 
 which gives to this Red Dragon a human form, is in accordance 
 with those of other empires. They symbolize him as the planet 
 Rahu which gives no light — ^that is, he is a lapsed or fallen 
 Spirit no longer clothed with heavenly brightness — . When 
 this monstrous and foul planet, is inflamed with envy at 
 the brightness of the Moon, he descends into her path, and 
 draws, or rather takes, her into his mouth, but he is soon 
 obliged to disgorge her again. In this manner they explain 
 an eclipse, making the duration of the eclipse depend on 
 the time that Rahu retains the planet in his mouth. It is said 
 that the King of the Dragons saw the first Divine Messenger 
 that appeared on this earth, and that he will also see the last. 
 It is also said of this King of the Dragons that he always 
 sleeps at the foot of those mountains from whence the river 
 Casse springs, and that he only awakes on the appearance 
 of a new Celestial. That is, when any being has arrived at 
 such a degree of merit as to deserve to be declared a god, 
 he eats rice which has been boiled in a golden goblet: he then, 
 in order to give a proof of his divinity, throws the goblet 
 into the river Casse. The goblet swims up against the stream 
 till it arrives at the place where the King of the Dragons 
 sleeps. There it strikes against the rock, and makes a noise 
 until the king awakes. In Beeckman's Voyage to Borneo 
 (London, 1718) we read as follows: — We sat very merry till 
 about eight at night, when preparing to go to bed we heard 
 on a sudden a most terrible outcry, mixed with squealing, 
 hallowing, whooping, firing of guns, ringing and clattering 
 of gongs or brass pans, that we were greatly startled, imagin- 
 ing nothing less but that the city was surprised by the rebels. 
 I ran immediately to the door where I found my old fat 
 landlord roaring and whooping like a man raving mad. This 
 
A Call of Attention 23 
 
 increased my astonishment, and the noise was so great that 
 I could neither be heard nor get an answer to know what 
 the matter was. At last I cried as loud as I possibly could to 
 the old man to know the reason of this sad confusion and 
 outcry, who, in a great fright, pointed up to the heavens, and 
 said, — Leat joo Shatan dea Macon Boolon — which signified, 
 ''Look here! see the Devil is eating up the Moon." I was 
 very glad to hear there was no other cause of their fright 
 but their own ignorance. It was only a great eclipse of the 
 Moon." 
 
 "In the Northern Mythology we have the same mythos, 
 evidently borrowed from this sentence of the Apocalypse or 
 Revelation : — 
 
 'Eastward sat the crone 
 
 In the Iron wood, 
 
 And there brought forth 
 
 Fenrir's offering. 
 
 One worse than all, 
 
 "The Moon's devourer 
 
 In a Demon's guise." 
 
 Filled shall he be 
 
 With the fated lives : 
 
 The god's abode 
 
 Which the red blood shall stain. 
 
 Then shall the summer's 
 
 Sun be darkened, 
 
 All weather turned to storm.' 
 
 (Voluspa. Str. 32, 33.) 
 
 "Note, also, how another glimpse of the Past reveals a part 
 of the Apocalypse. Thus, in the Dionysiac festival, which was 
 but a part of the Eleusinean Mysteries, the first great spectacle 
 presented was the onslaught on Bacchus by the Giants, and his 
 miraculous escape, which was simply the flight of the Holy 
 Spirit here described, with her child, and the attack made on 
 both by the Scarlet Dragon. 
 
24 A Call of Attention 
 
 ''In the Hindu theology this Evil Essence is said to have 
 drawn over to rebellion — one-third of the Spirits — as mentioned 
 in the text. This incident is also represented in a gem published 
 in D 'Hancarville, i. 36, where Michael is represented riding 
 in a chariot drawn by four fiery horses: in his right hand he 
 holds the lightnings, and in the left a cruciform wand or 
 sceptre: the dragon-ending angels are, crushed beneath his 
 trampling chargers, and seen as if overwhelmed with agony 
 and despair." 
 
 ''We next read that the Holy Spirit or the 'Woman' was 
 borne away. In the primeval mythology of Egypt," this text 
 was symbolized by Isis dropping a sheaf of corn as she fled 
 from Typhon (the Dragon) who scattered it over the heavens 
 as he continued to pursue her. The Woman, that she mav 
 be out of all danger, is borne away into Hermon (or Wilder- 
 ness). This was a lofty mountain, the Mountain of the Lord, 
 to which the Splendid Spirit departed away from the machina- 
 tions of the Evil-doer; mystically she was named thenceforth 
 Alma, or the Hidden, as well as Harmonia. In Amos, this 
 mountain is called 'E'r-Mune,' or Mountain of the I\Ioon. 
 Hermon, says Brant, in Hebrew means — Sprung from a ser- 
 pent. Armonia, means also the Fortress of Yah, or God: it 
 has relation to 'yoneg' delight. To this incident, likewise, in 
 some measure may be traced the sacredness assigned to moun- 
 tains and caverns. It w^as in a cavern that Hercules found 
 Echidna, the Holy Spirit, when he travelled through Hu-laia, 
 the land of Hou or God. So the Sibyls who symbolized the 
 Holy Spirit always gave their oracles from caverns. During 
 this sojourn in the Mount Hermon, the infant Incarnation was 
 supposed to have been concealed in a cavern, a mythos which 
 is introduced into the history of most of the Messengers. 
 There were statues in Greece to the Sacred Interpreter of 
 God, and these were called caverned. W^e mav fairlv con- 
 elude, says Brant, that under the characters of Hermon, 
 Hermes, Thoth, and Cadmus, one person is alluded to, and the 
 same religious mythos. In connection with this, the ancient 
 
A Call of Attention 25 
 
 Peruvians shewed a small island in a lake, where they believed 
 the Sun Messenger to have once hid himself, and to have been 
 thus preserved from a great danger which awaited him. There 
 is a strange iUustration of the words 'the earth helped the 
 Avoman' in the mythos which relates the birth of Zeus, the 
 Messenger. When his divine Mother brought him forth in 
 the Mountain, she sought in vain for water to baptize the 
 new-born infant; the land was without streams or lakes; 
 wiiereupon she prayed as follows:— 'Dear Earth, do thou also 
 bring forth:' she smote the rock wdth her wand, and water 
 instantly gushed forth. Note here that the Holy Spirit as 
 Venus Architis, or of the Argha, was w^orshipped at Mount 
 Libanus, in the form of one disconsolate and afflicted, having 
 her head covered, and leaning upon her left hand, insomuch, 
 says Macrobius, that you would have thought you saw her 
 tears flowing. Manilius says she transformed herself into a 
 fish; and Ovid declared that she concealed herself in one to 
 escape great danger. The tradition was founded on this sec- 
 tion of the Apocalypse: the early mythologues having de- 
 clared that when the Serpent cast out the flood of- waters for 
 the purpose of destroying the Woman, she escaped by changing 
 herself into a Fish. Diogenetes Erythriacus, says Hyginus. 
 related that Venus and her Son came on a certain occasion 
 to the Ephr, and that at the same moment Typhon appeared. 
 The two holy ones endeavored to escape: Typhon discharged 
 a vast quantity of water, so that he might overwhelm them, 
 when they changed themselves into fishes, and so escaped. 
 Hence the origin of Venus issuing from the ocean, and the 
 beautiful mermaiden. Hence, also, out of this fish the Indian 
 Incarnation emerges, as may be seen in their mythologic paint- 
 ings. The departure of the Holy Spirit, her escape from the 
 Evil One, immediately produces war in heaven. Michael 
 arises with his angels to smite the Dragon. The legend of 
 Apollo destroying the serpent Python w^as founded on this; 
 and hence also Michael has always been called the guardian 
 soldier of the Church. On this also is founded the old Greek 
 
26 A Call of Attention 
 
 mythos of the combat between Bel-Ari-Phon (the Lion Word 
 of God) and the dragon-shaped Chimera. The Serpent pursues 
 her with a flood. Water here prophetically means people — the 
 idolatrous and wicked who serve the Serpent, and who are 
 ever opposed to the Spirit of God and persecute her Son the 
 Messenger, but who are eventually swallowed up in the earth, 
 that is, in ruin and the grave. Yet the earth helped the 
 woman, that is, the revealed truth of God succeeded even 
 amongst men. So the Hindus teach that, when God appointed 
 Endeer (commonly called Indra) and his descendants to be 
 universal Rajahs of the world, the appointment was so dis- 
 tasteful to the Evil One, that he waged war against them and 
 drove them away from heaven: but Buvani Doorga (the Holy 
 Spirit) descended to the earth, and restored peace and beauty. 
 What has been commonly called the Trimourti Image in the 
 Cave of Elephanta, has been popularly called Brahm in his 
 Creative, Siva in his Destroying and Veeshnu in his Preserving 
 character." 
 
 (See Koran Chapter XCIX.) 
 
 ''In the Name of the Most Merciful God. 
 
 ''When the Earth shall be shaken by an earthquake ; and the 
 Earth shall cast forth her burdens ; and a man shall say. What 
 aileth her? On that day the Earth shall declare her tidings, 
 for that thy Lord will inspire Her. On that day men shall go 
 forward in distinct classes, that they may behold their works. 
 And whoever shall have wrought good of the weight of an ant, 
 shall behold the same. And whoever shall have Avrought evil 
 of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same." 
 
 In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, p. 92, is the following 
 passage: — "And he who was speaking to me answered: 'be 
 not afraid, Nir. I am the chief captain of the Lord. The 
 Lord hath sent me, and lo ! I will take thy child (Melchizedek) 
 today, and will go with him, and place him in paradise of 
 Eden, and there shall he be for ever. And when the twelfth 
 generation shall be, and a thousand and seventy years shall be, 
 in that generation a just man shall be born, and the Lord 
 
A Call of Attention 27 
 
 shall tell him to come out upon that mountain where the ark 
 of thy brother Noe shall stand, and he shall find there another 
 Melchizedek who has lived there seven years concealing him- 
 self from the people who worship idols, so that they should 
 not slay him, and he shall lead him forth, and he shall be 
 priest, and the first king in the town of Salem after the fashion 
 of this Melchizedek, the commencement of the priests." 
 
 We read in the New Testament that Christ was crucified, 
 dead and buried, but he was restored to life on the third day. 
 In another place it stands that after his death, he was among 
 his disciples, but in concealment for forty days, after which 
 he returned to heaven. 
 
 In the Old Testament it stands that Noah was concealed in 
 the ark on Mount Ararath, for a period of time, to save himself 
 from the evil-doers, but after the indignation was over he 
 came forth and showed himself and established the truth. 
 And Moses was upon the mount for forty days, during which 
 time the children of Israel had joined themselves to idolatry, 
 but when he came down he restored the truth again to the 
 Israelits. We read that Elijah hid himself from the idolatrous 
 and tyrannous Ahab king of Israel for a while, but afterwards 
 he came forth and slew his whole congregation. We have read 
 how David hid himself from Saul. And how Jacob hid himself 
 from his brother Esau. And how Joseph was separated from 
 his brethren. 
 
 Matthew 24.29 : — "Immediately after the tribulation of those 
 days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give 
 her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers 
 of the heavens shall be shaken." See also Luke 21.25: and 
 Mark 13.24: — "But in those days, after that tribulation, the 
 sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." 
 Isaiah, 13.10: — "For the stars of heaven and the constellations 
 thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in 
 his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to 
 shine." Revelation, 6.12-13 :—" And I beheld when he had 
 opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; 
 
28 A Call of Attention 
 
 and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon 
 became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, 
 even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken 
 of a mighty wind." Surat'ul Hykl, p. 38: — "Say, people, 
 do ye desire to conceal the Beauty of the Sun by the veils of 
 your souls, or to prevent the Spirit from singing in this pure 
 and illustrious Breast? Fear God and oppose not Himself and 
 dispute not with the One by whose command the Kaf was 
 created and connected with this Great Support. Believe in 
 the Ambassadors of God, in His Dominion, in Himself and His 
 Greatness, and come not near those who have denied after they 
 have believed, and who have taken a station for themselves 
 in their own lust ; verily are they not infidels ? ' ' 
 Psalm 89.34-35-36-37:— 
 
 "My covenant will I not break, 
 Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 
 Once have I sworn by my holiness : 
 I will not lie unto David: 
 His seed shall endure for ever. 
 And his throne as the sun before me. 
 It shall be established for ever as the moon. 
 And as the faithful witness in the sky." 
 
 In The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1892, pp. 
 324-5, is the following Babi Poem. 
 
 (The text trans, by E. G. Browne.) 
 
 "Good news, O apparitions of holiness, for the Beauty of God 
 is divulged ! 
 
 Zephyr ! convey to the quickened of heart a summons to his 
 presence ! 
 
 Ho ! ye peoples who expectantly await the Grace of the Mighty 
 King, 
 
 The glorious Moon is publicly apparent, l-esplendent and 
 beautiful. 
 
 The Apparition of the Eternal hath appeared to set up the 
 standard of the Beyan ; 
 
A Call of Attention 29 
 
 Exalted beyond the conception of worldlings fancy is the Most 
 
 Holy Ralm of Power. 
 That Signless King hath sat on the throne of majesty, and 
 
 state ; 
 He hath thus greeted the sufferers of affliction : — band who 
 
 pretend to (my) love ! 
 When anyone treads my path I will cry to him, that he 
 
 may know. 
 That whosoever becomes enamoured of me shall not escape 
 
 suffering and sorrow. 
 Should anyone not obey me, not take hold of the rope of 
 
 my protection, 
 I will drive him far from my presence, I will give him in 
 
 my wrath to the wind of Not (being). 
 I am Eternal : I am from the World of the Everlasting : I am 
 
 One : I am from the Land of the Unlimited : 
 I am come after the children of the Spirit, and unto me do they 
 
 advance. 
 Kindlings of the Fire of my Will ! Lo, am I not your Lord? 
 Pass to the place of the holy ones; hear the shrill cry of 
 
 'Yea! Yea!' 
 I am that Manifestation of the All-Protecting! I am that Ark 
 
 of Safety! 
 I am that Impersonal Personality, and I have appeared in my 
 
 Glory ! 
 I am the uplifted Tree of Life ! I am the Hidden and Apparent 
 
 Fruit ! 
 I am the King of the Kings of the Beyan, and by me is the 
 
 Beyan exalted ! 
 O witnesses of my fiery Apparition ! Hasten toward my country ! 
 Make your heads and lives my sacrifice ; for I am the Monarch 
 
 of Kerbela ! 
 
 All those people who have studied the early histories of the 
 Babism can plainly see that this poem belongs to the True 
 Manifestation, for his Names and Attributes are shining forth 
 from every line thereof. 
 
30 A Call of Attention 
 
 We will now go and see from whence the Truth is going 
 to come to re-build Zion or Jerusalem "the religion of God," 
 if it is from Cyprus or not. 
 
 The Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 14: — "Shittim Wood. See 
 Kittim." Vol. 4 :— ' ' Chittim. SeeKittim." Vol. 9 :— "Kittim 
 or Chittim, a term of Biblical origin for the inhabitants of the 
 island of Cyprus, derived from the important town of Kition 
 or Cition, the modern Lanarca. Vol. 5: — -"The forests (of 
 Cyprus or Shittim Wood) were formerly very extensive, and 
 in ancient times yielded wood much valued by the Phoenicians 
 
 for shipbuilding It is remarkable what Cyprus was 
 
 celebrated in antiquity for its forests, which not only clothed 
 the whole of its mountain ranges, but covered the entire central 
 plain with a dense mass, so that it was with difficulty that the 
 land could be cleared for cultivation." 
 
 The New International Encyclopedia, vol. 15 : — ' ' Shittim 
 Wood, the wood of which the ark of the covenant was made 
 (Ex. 25.10: — Deut. 10.3: — ). The wood is exceedingly hard 
 and well suited for furniture. It is not attacked by insects." 
 
 Vol. 5: — "Cypriotes, Sipri-ots (from Lat. Cyprius, Cyprian, 
 from Cyprus; Gk. Kumpos, Kypros, Cyprus; Turk, Kibris). 
 Natives or inhabitants of Cyprus (q. v.) Since there appears 
 to have existed at least as early as B. C. 4000 an indigenous 
 civilization in the island of Cyprus, the creative and stimula- 
 tive influences of which are discovered all over the eastern 
 Mediterranean, the relationship of its ancient inhabitants is a 
 question of great importance. The idea that they were simple 
 Semitic Phoenicians is being abandoned, since the civilization 
 of the latter may very well have been derived from Cyprus, 
 and not vice versa. Some of the latest authorities, like Ohne- 
 falsch-Richter and Sergi, regard the autocthonous civilization 
 of Cyprus as belonging, with the prehistoric Egyptian, to the 
 Afro-Mediterranean or 'Afro-European' culture-centre, and its 
 originators physically to the North African white race. Asiatic 
 influence as such is later. In ancient times Cyprus supplied 
 the Greek Monarchs of Egypt with timber for their fleets." 
 
A Call of Attention 31 
 
 (Max Ohnefalsch-Richter Kypros, the Bible and Homer, pp. 
 110-111:) speaking about Cyprus he says: — ''In the next sec- 
 tion we will discuss these worships, which have left their traces 
 in the Homeric Poems and the Bible, and of which Kyprus was 
 one of the most active seats, if not indeed the chief focus." 
 On page 147, he describes one of his discovered relics thus : — 
 ''The crescent moon above the Ashera, and the radiate sun 
 above the Masseba." (p. 154. Fig. 156.) has the following 
 description: — "Above an altar of columnar form float the 
 radiate sun and the crescent moon. Behind the priestly cele- 
 brant rise the holy palm in front of which a dog appears to 
 be devouring the offal from the victim. To the right of the 
 altar a rampant Avinged sphinx rests its forepaws against the 
 first line of the inscription in just the same manner as the dog 
 in the Cyprian group places his on the column, pp. 175-6. 
 (Josh. 4.9:) What we are told here, therefore, is hoAv Joshua 
 erected in the midst of Jordan tAvelve stones, which were evi- 
 dently twelve large ones of regular shape, from the river bed, 
 and had them set upright on their ends, exactly as the ancient 
 Cypriotes at Tamassos in the second millennium B. C. placed 
 the pillars on the graves of Lamberti hill, just as Jacob placed 
 the pillar on the grave of Rachel. We are next told of the 
 size and weight of the twelve stones, which the twelve Israel- 
 ites, corresponding to the twelve tribes, carried on their shoul- 
 ders from the Jordan to Gilgal and erected there. It was 
 possible, therefore, for a strong man to carry one of these 
 stones on his shoulders. The stones which the Cypriotes had 
 carried from the neighbouring river Pidias near Tamassos up 
 to the hill of Lamberti, were as a rule of this size and weight. 
 Only a few were still heavier. I tested this by means of my 
 workmen, as they carried these pillars for me on their shoul- 
 ders to the convent of Hagios Heraklides at the foot of the hill. 
 
 "In addition to these Masseba from the river bed. we heard 
 of others which were erected on Mount Ebal. They were to be 
 covered Avith plaster, and to have all the works of the law of 
 Moses very plainly written upon them. Moreover an altar of 
 
32 A Call of Attention 
 
 unhewn stones, Avhich had not been prepared with iron tools, 
 was erected. 
 
 "We are thus able to learn precisely the nature of the ]Masse- 
 both permitted in the worship of Yahve, they were either 
 simple, unadorned stones, unhewn fragments, stones found m 
 the river bed without any ornament or inscription., like the 
 stones from Bethel, Galed, Bethlehem and from the foot of 
 Sinai, or the simple hewn and inscribed stones, tablets, pillars 
 or columns without any figures or ornamental design. 
 
 "It is a remarkable coincidence, that in the same year (1887) 
 both Stade in his history of the people of Israel (i. p. 459) and 
 Perrot in the fourth volume of his History or art 'La Judee' 
 (p. 385 — Fig. 203) gave the same Cyprio-Phoenician inscribed 
 monument (my Plate LXXX, 5) in order to illustrate the Jew- 
 ish Masseba of the Bible. Yahve, the God of Israel, therefore 
 permitted and required the erection of simple pillars, and 
 originally also the planting of trees by the altar. It was like- 
 wise permissible, or even compulsory, to erect inscribed stones. 
 We learn further that both the Hebrews and the Cypriotes 
 w^ere in the same habit of setting up simple stones from the 
 river bed." 
 
 The Bible also teaches that the Restorer and the Substance 
 to re-build Zion or Jerusalem (i. e. God's Religion) is going 
 to come from Chittim, Shittim, Kittim or Cyprus. Exodus, 
 25.10: — -"And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two 
 cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and 
 a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height 
 thereof." Ex. 27.1 : — "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim 
 wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall 
 be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits." 
 Ex. 26.15: — "And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle 
 of shittim wood standing up." See also, Ex. 25.5 to 28, 26.37, 
 37.1 to 25, 38.1 to 6, and 25.23:— "Thou shalt also make a 
 table of shittim wood." 
 
 So we see that the substance to build the holy things with, 
 is going to be taken out of the island of Shittim or Cj^prus. 
 
A Call of Attention 33 
 
 Joshua, 2.1:— !^" And Joshua, the son of Nun. sent out of 
 Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even 
 Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlots house, named 
 Rahab, and lodged there." Joshua, 3.1: — "And Joshua rose 
 early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and 
 came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged 
 there before they passed over. ' ' Numbers, 24.23-24-25 : — ' ' And 
 he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live Avhen God 
 doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim. 
 and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall 
 perish for ever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned 
 to his place : and Balak also went his way." Numbers, 25.1 : — 
 ''And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit 
 whoredom with the daughters of Moab." Isaiah. 23-1 :— "The 
 burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish : for it is laid 
 waste, so that there is no house, no entering in : from the land 
 of Chittim it is revealed to them." Daniel, 11.30:— "For the 
 ships of Chittim shall come against him : therefore he shall be 
 grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy 
 covenant: so shall he do: he shall even return, and have in- 
 telligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." Jere- 
 miah, 2.9-10:— "Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the 
 Lord, and with your children's children will I plead. For 
 pass over the isles of Chittim, and see : and send unto Kedar 
 and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing 
 Ezekiel, 27.5-6 :—" They have made all thy ship's boards of 
 fir trees of Siner: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to 
 make masts for thee. Of the oaks of Basham have they made 
 thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy 
 benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim." Michah, 
 6 5: — '^0 my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab 
 <3onsulted, and what Balaam the son of Boer answered him 
 from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteous- 
 ness of the Lord." Joel, 3.18:— "And it shall come to pass 
 in that day, that the mountain shall drop down new wine, and 
 the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah 
 
 ? J 
 
34 A Call of Attention 
 
 shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the 
 house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Chittim." 
 In the book of Job, Cyprus is called ' ' The Island of the Inno- 
 cent." Job, 22.30: — "He shall deliver the island of the inno- 
 cent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands." 
 
 In ''The Book of God" vol. iii, p. 763, Cyprus is called "The 
 Island of the Blessed:" — "We were conducted," says Lucian, 
 "to the City of the Island of the Blessed, to assist at their 
 feasts; at our entrance we were ravished to behold a City of 
 Gold, (The Holy City) encompassed by walls of emerald, whilst 
 its pavement was inlaid with ebony and ivory. The temples 
 were of rubies and diamonds, having large altars raised upon 
 one single precious stone, on which hecatombs were seen to 
 smoke. Its seven gates were all of cinnamon, surrounded by a 
 moat of sweetscented lustral water an hundred yards broad, 
 and as deep as it was necessary to bathe at one's ease. The 
 public baths are of admirable artifice, which are heated by 
 nothing but faggots of cinnamon. The edifice itself is of 
 crystal, the basons, or lavacra, are all large vessels of por- 
 celain filled with dew. The blessed ones are incorporeal and 
 impalpable ; they never grow old, but enjoy perpetual youth 
 and vigour. Of all the seasons they know none but the spring, 
 and feel no other wind but the zephyr. The earth is covered 
 with flowers and fruits all the year round, which are gathered 
 every month. There are three hundred and sixty-five 
 fountains of fresh water, as many of honey, and four hundred, 
 but smaller than the others, of sweet unguents with several 
 rivers of milk and wine. They keep their feasts without the 
 city in the Elysian Fields, under the shade of a wood which 
 surrounds it, sitting upon beds of flowers, and have their 
 refections brought by the winds. They are at no pains to 
 make garlands, for the little birds Avhich hop round them sing- 
 ing, scatter floAvers upon them, cropt from the neighboring 
 meadows. They never cease singing during the banquet, and 
 rehearsing the most pleasing verses. Their dances are per- 
 formed by boys and virgins, and their musicians are Eunomus, 
 
A Call of Attention 35 
 
 Arion, Anacreon, and Stesichorjis. When they have finished 
 their songs a second choir of -musicians appears, composed of 
 swans and nightingales, which with the zephyrs make up a 
 delightful concert. But what contributes most to the felicity 
 of the blessed is that there are two springs, one of laughter, 
 and the other of joy, of which each person drinking before 
 he sits down, is filled with hilarity for the rest of the day." 
 
 In ''The Book of God" vol. iii, p. 393:— "In connection with 
 this, the ancient Peruvians shewed a small island in a lake, 
 where they believed the Sun (the messenger) to have once 
 hid himself, and to have been thus preserved from a great 
 danger which awaited him." Volume ii, pp. 72-73: Is alluded 
 to an island called "The Isle of Man" where a great messen- 
 ger dwelt in a cavern for some while, and thus escaped a 
 great danger. 
 
 "We find also in "A Travellers Narrative" an utterance by 
 the Bab himself concerning an "Island" and some prophesies 
 which is going to happen in the future when the time comes. 
 Page 177:— "They [the Babis] shall descend from the Green 
 Isle unto the foot of the mountain of Zawra, and shall slay 
 about twelve thousand of the Turks." 
 
 ' ' Thy sun shall no more go down ; 
 Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : 
 For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light. 
 And the days of thy mourning shall be ended." 
 
 —Isaiah, 60.20: 
 
 I will advise everyone who is an honest seeker after the 
 
 Truth, to study impartially the early histories of Babism, for to 
 
 get a real idea of its meaning, as well as the events which 
 
 took place in its early days. If you do this honestly, you will 
 
 get an entirely different view concerning the Bab and his 
 
 religion. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 AUGUST J. STENSTRAND. 
 
 (Address Route 4, Box 37.) 
 
 Naperville, Ills., February 13th, 1907. 
 
36 A Call of Attention 
 
 The following books in the !^nglish language, are some of the 
 histories of the Babi Religion: 
 
 1. '*A Travellers Narrative" written to illustrate the Episode 
 
 of the Bab. Translated by Edward G. Browne, M.A., 
 M.B. (Pub. Cambridge, England, 1891.) 
 
 2. ''Tarikh-i-Jadid" the New History of the Bab. Translated 
 
 by E. G. Browne. (Pub. Cambridge, England, 1893.) 
 
 3. ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society" for 1889, 1892 and 
 
 1897. By E. G. Browne. 
 
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