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One word more in conclusion. The proclamation of the Oneness of Mankind - the head corner-stone of Baha'u'llah's all-embracing dominion - can under no circumstances be compared with such expressions of pious hope as have been uttered in the past. His is not merely a call which He raised, alone and unaided, in the face of the relentless and combined opposition of two of the most powerful Oriental potentates of His day - while Himself an exile and prisoner in their hands. It implies at once a warning and a promise - a warning that in it lies the sole means for the salvation of a greatly suffering world, a promise that its realization is at hand. (47:1) Uttered at a time when its possibility had not yet been seriously envisaged in any part of the world, it has, by virtue of that celestial potency which the Spirit of Baha'u'llah has breathed into it, come at last to be regarded, by an increasing number of thoughtful men, not only as an approaching possibility, but as the necessary outcome of the forces now operating in the world. (47:2) The Mouthpiece of God Surely the world, contracted and transformed into a single highly complex organism by the marvellous progress achieved in the realm of physical science, by the world-wide expansion of commerce and industry, and struggling, under the pressure of world economic forces, amidst the pitfalls of a materialistic civilization, stands in dire need of a restatement of the Truth underlying all the Revelations of the past in a language suited to its essential requirements. And what voice other than that of Baha'u'llah - the Mouthpiece of God for this age - is capable of effecting a transformation of society as radical as that which He has already accomplished in the hearts of men and women, so diversified and seemingly irreconcilable, who constitute the body of His declared followers throughout the world? (47:3) That such a mighty conception is fast budding out in the minds of men, that voices are being raised in its support, that its salient features must fast crystallize in the consciousness of those who are in authority, few indeed can doubt. That its modest beginnings have already taken shape in the world-wide Administration with which the adherents of the Faith of Baha'u'llah stand associated only those whose hearts are tainted by prejudice can fail to perceive.
(47:4)
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