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But not everyone has spiritual insight. The Bible tells us that although the divine majesty of Jesus of Nazareth was as evident as the sun at noon to those who believed in Him, this same majesty was hidden from those who did not. A bewildering phenomenon, it is, nevertheless, a fundamental reality of Christ's appearance. It is also a sobering reality; for if we consider thoughtfully, we must admit that if we, ourselves, were to have stood in His presence, although He radiated the light of God Himself, there would be no guarantee that we would have seen anything more in His Person than the son of a carpenter. If we had lived in His time, we may have recognized Him, but then again, we may not have (108:2) Baha'is believe that this same phenomenon has appeared at His Second Coming. In Baha'u'llah, Baha'is see that same majesty which shone in Christ, a majesty which none but the Promised One of God, returned to gather in the harvest, can manifest; a majesty which struck fear into the hearts of the kings and rulers who in their impotent rage lifted their hands to crush His Faith; a majesty which inspired in His believers a "devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain." (108:3) To the sleeping world, He may have been no more than a prisoner and an exile, but to those who believed in Him, He was their Lord (108:4) The rare qualities which Baha'u'llah possessed are made evident in the story of His life. And about His life, there is wealth of material written. Having appeared in the nineteenth century, Baha'u'llah was exposed to the full glare of history. Unlike the First Coming, in which only certain essential highlights of Christ's life have been recorded, at His Second Coming, virtually all of the moving episodes and countless details of His eventful life are available to those who wish to know Him (108:5) There emerge, in the chronicles of His life, certain overriding themes which reveal His hallowed nature. As a child and youth, He was much beloved and admired for His compassion and innate knowledge. The early years of His adulthood were characterized by philanthropic pursuits which demonstrated the abundance of His heart, and which earned Him the title "Father of the Poor". However, upon receiving the revelation from God to commence His holy mission, new themes emerged: among them, His sacrifice and suffering, and His unwavering fortitude in the Cause of God (108:6) Through all the affliction and hardship which governments and clergy relentlessly inflicted upon Him, in all the situations which presented to Him the real danger of His losing His life, Baha'u'llah never retreated, never sought to hide Himself, never halted. His fearless proclamation of the Message that He had come to deliver was constant
(108:7)
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