Elijah

From Bahai9

(The following quotations seem to establish Elijah as an independent Manifestation of God.)

"And Elias truly was of our Sent Ones,"

(Qur'án, 37:123)

(Rationale: As this usage is apparently also used for Joseph, Who is confirmed in our Writings as a Manifestation of God (see Joseph), it seems this should apply for Elijah here. See also the discussion here under the section "2. The individuals who are called prophets and apostles")

"Thereupon God sent Elijah, the prophet, who redeemed the people, renewed the law of God and established an era of new life for Israel."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 407)

"With the transference of the remains of the Báb--Whose advent marks the return of the Prophet Elijah--to Mt. Carmel, and their interment in that holy mountain, not far from the cave of that Prophet Himself, the Plan so gloriously envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, in the evening of His life, had been at last executed..."

(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 276-277)

(The following quotations might seem to allude to Him as a lesser prophet, but He need not be limited to this.)

1) "The prophets of Judah and Israel, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel, were humble men, as were also the apostles of Jesus Christ." (Paris Talks, p. 164)

(Rationale: Elijah being grouped with these lesser prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah are clearly verified as being (only) lesser prophets in Some Answered Questions, p. 164) does not mean that He was limited to this station.)

2) "Know that the attributes of perfection, the splendor of the divine bounties, and the lights of inspiration are visible and evident in all the Holy Manifestations; but the glorious Word of God, Christ, and the Greatest Name, Bahá'u'lláh, are manifestations and evidences which are beyond imagination, for They possess all the perfections of the former Manifestations; and more than that, They possess some perfections which make the other Manifestations dependent upon Them. So all the Prophets of Israel were centers of inspiration; Christ also was a receiver of inspiration, but what a difference between the inspiration of the Word of God and the revelations of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah!" (Some Answered Questions, Chpt. 37)

(Rationale: This might simply be descriptive of Elijah as a Prophet of Israel (though not a mere lesser prophet, His Revelation might not have been of the potency of most Manifestations of God))

See also David for another case where a lesser prophet might be grouped with a Manifestation of God.