Verily, the sun is but a token from My presence so that..My servants may discern in its rising the dawning of every Dispensation.

The quote is one of the many places where the Bab uses the analogy of the rising and setting of the sun to explain the nature of the Revelations of God to humanity, (which He also refers to as “Dispensations”). It is a very powerful analogy because it expresses a number of features simultaneously.  If we think about the physical sun, and our relationship to it, we recognize that we are all dependent on it for our life.  All the energy that exists on earth ultimately comes from the sun.  The plants use its energy directly, which feeds the animals, which then support other animals, and then we eat both to grow and develop as humans.  Without the sun, the world would be cold and dark, with no light to illumine our path or reveal anything about the world around us. 

In the world of spiritual truth, it is the Revelations of God that are like the sun.  They don’t feed us physically, but in the world of ideas, spiritual truths, and inspiration, they are like the sun to us.  Following their appearance, a new life begins to appear.  Humans begin to talk about spiritual things again, turn their hearts towards that which is noble and true and begin to express it more fully in their lives.  A day of resurrection- of renewal- has come.  The Bab would further describe that humans should be like mirrors, who are turned towards the sun and begin to reflect its light to others.  He referred to His own early followers as “mirrors” to express this idea concretely. 

If we think about this analogy more deeply, new insights come to the fore.  Even though the sun can look a little different every day, it isn’t the sun that has changed, but intervening clouds or other phenomena that are different. It is our relationship to the sun that changes, not the sun itself.  Also, when the sun shines its light on the earth, the light can look different depending on what reflects it- it can be red, blue- the infinite variety of colors and images we see in the world. But all those different aspects are not because of the light itself, which doesn’t change, but the differences of the objects and places that are illumined by the light.  In the same way, the Revelations of God have the same inner essence, an essence that never changes, but what varies from Revelation to Revelation- the different appearances of the Sun- is the place upon which it shines, which gives each Revelation a different character- a different “color”. 

In the passage that began this essay, the Bab tells us that the Sun is a “symbol” of the inner spiritual reality of our world.  In the one below, He continues the idea that our experience of God is not the Essence of God, but the Will of God expressed in all creation.  He refers to each of the Revelations of God- like that of Christ, Muhammad and of course Baha’u’llah- as being all the same in that they are expressions of the “Primal Will” of God.  The “Primal Will” is like the paintbrush in the painting of creation- it is what acts in the world under the control of the Painter, who is God. 

If, however, thou art sailing upon the sea of creation, know thou that the First Remembrance, which is the Primal Will of God, may be likened unto the sun. God hath created Him through the potency of His might, and He hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, caused Him to be manifested in every Dispensation through the compelling power of His behest, and God will, to the end that knoweth no end, continue to manifest Him according to the good-pleasure of His invincible Purpose.

And know thou that He indeed resembleth the sun. Were the risings of the sun to continue till the end that hath no end, yet there hath not been nor ever will be more than one sun; and were its settings to endure forevermore, still there hath not been nor ever will be more than one sun. It is this Primal Will which appeareth resplendent in every Prophet and speaketh forth in every revealed Book. It knoweth no beginning, inasmuch as the First deriveth its firstness from It; and knoweth no end, for the Last oweth its lastness unto It.

In the time of the First Manifestation the Primal Will appeared in Adam; in the day of Noah It became known in Noah; in the day of Abraham in Him; and so in the day of Moses; the day of Jesus; the day of Muḥammad, the Apostle of God; the day of the “Point of the Bayán”; the day of Him Whom God shall make manifest; and the day of the One Who will appear after Him Whom God shall make manifest. Hence the inner meaning of the words uttered by the Apostle of God, “I am all the Prophets,” inasmuch as what shineth resplendent in each one of Them hath been and will ever remain the one and the same sun.

In these passages and many others from the Bab, we can see that his teaching about the nature of religion is new and invigorating, and more consistent with what we now know from science than previous understandings of religion.  God doesn’t manifest his religion just once in the world, but endlessly, in. a process that will never cease.  We know that the physical world- our earth and universe- are ancient. The Bab also is expressing that God is a “living God”- a God that cares about His creation and is illuminating their spiritual and intellectual lives with periodic expressions of His truth- suited to human capacity at that time in history. Just as the natural world is dynamic and ever-evolving- the relationship of humanity to God is dynamic and ever-evolving.  Humans used to believe the world was only 6 thousand years old, and Aristotle- who dramatically influenced medieval thinkers- held a view that the world was static and unchanging. In the centuries before the Bab’s revelation, those ideas were challenged, particularly among European thinkers.  They would then turn away from religion itself, thinking it was too static, too much locked in the past, or just too old.  The Bab is setting up a new way of thinking about religion- one that is progressive, dynamic, evolutionary, and ever-suited to humanity’s capacity. 

One last point. You’ll notice in the quote above that the Voice that is speaking is that of God- “The sun is a token of My presence”- meaning God’s presence, Both the Bab and Baha’u’llah occasionally speak in this way- from the perspective of God as the author.  As we discussed in previous essays, the Manifestations of God represent God to us, therefore they can speak with the Voice of God directly.  In the second quote, the Bab speaks from His own voice, in which He is explaining a concept that helps us understand our relationship to God. These different “voices” are very common in the Baha’i Writings- both the Bab and Baha’u’llah.  If we reflect back on the Gospels, Christ also distinguished between these different “stations”, how he was bringing God’s message but also spoke with the authority of God.  The Quran and the words of Muhammad are similarly distinguished. Through these “voices”, they are exhibiting the primary theological point made by the Bab, that the Revelations of God are “God” to us.