As to the meaning of the quotation, “My fears are for Him
who will be sent down unto you after Me,” this refers to the Manifestation who
is to come after a thousand or more years, who like all previous Messengers of
God will be subjected to persecutions, but will eventually triumph over them.
For men of ill-will have been and will always continue to be in this world,
unless mankind reaches a state of complete and absolute perfection -- a
condition which is not only improbable but actually impossible to attain. The
fundamental difference, however, between this Dispensation and all previous
ones is this, that in this Revelation the possibility of permanent schism
between the followers of the Prophet has been prevented through the direct and
explicit instructions providing for the necessary instruments designed to
maintain the organic unity of the body of the faithful.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 1
December 1934 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of the United
States and Canada; Baha’i News, no. 89, January 1935)
