Priests and religious leaders are known to have held back most of the people from recognizing God’s chosen ones and persecuting God’s Holy messengers and followers.
182. Priests and religious leaders are known throughout the bible and other religions to hold back the people from recognizing God’s chosen ones and persecuting God’s messengers and followers: In the history of the Bahá’í Faith and the Holy Bible, as well as the other great world religions, we find that the clergy, and people in authority, try to keep the people from recognizing God’s holy prophets and manifestations, while trying to stamp out the new religions at their source. They do this by trying to imprison God’s holy ones or trying to kill off God’s chosen manifestations, or banish them from their presents, while, all the while, they try to break the new religion by sheer force of torment by burying God’s followers under so much religious persecution, harassment and torture that people are afraid to even be associated with followers of the new faith, let alone become followers of the new religion. 
Islam: 83. “But none believed in Moses except some children of his People, because of the fear of Pharaoh and his chiefs, lest they should persecute them; and certainly Pharaoh was mighty on the earth and one who transgressed all bounds.”
(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 10)
CHRISTIANITY: John 16:2 “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”
BAHA’I FAITH: “Men are killing their brothers, believing this to be the cause of salvation, believing that such work is approved by God, believing that those whom they kill will be sent to hell.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 101)
BABI RELIGION: “This is the day when man, not content with having abandoned his brother, sacrifices his substance in order to shed the blood of his nearest kinsman!”
The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 566)
Here are just a few examples: 
Judaism: Jeremiah 50:6 “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.” 
Christianity: John 7:45 “Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?” (Jesus) John 7:46 “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.” John 7:47 “Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?” John 7:48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” John 12:42 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:” John 12:43 “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Matthew 16:11 “Ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?” Matthew 16:12 “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew 23:13 “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
BAHA’I FAITH: “From the beginning of the world until the present time each Manifestation sent from God has been opposed by an embodiment of the Powers of Darkness.” “This dark power has always endeavored to extinguish the light. Tyranny has ever sought to overcome justice. Ignorance has persistently tried to trample knowledge underfoot. This has, from the earliest ages, been the method of the material world.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 102)
CHRISTIANITY: Matthew 23:30 “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.” Matthew 23:31 “Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.” Matthew 23:34 “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:” Mark 14:43 “And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.” Mark 14:46 “And they laid their hands on him, and took him.” Luke 24:19 “Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:” Luke 24:20 “The chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.” Judaism: Deuteronomy 30:7 “The LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.” Psalms 119:160 “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.” Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” Jeremiah 26:7 “So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of The LORD.” Jeremiah 26:8 “Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that The LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.” Ezekiel 26:26 “Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Ezekiel 26:27 “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.” Hosea 5:1 “Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.” Hosea 5:2 “And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.” Hosea 6:9 “And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.” Christianity: Acts 25:2 “Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him,” 25:3 “And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.”
ISLAM: 21. “As to those who deny the Signs of Allah (God), and in defiance of right, slay the Prophets, and slay those who teach just dealing with mankind, announce to them a grievous penalty.” 30. “Remember how the unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and Allah too plans, but the best of planners is Allah.” “Ah! alas for (My) servants! There comes not an messenger to them but they mock Him!”
(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surahs 3, 8 and 36)
BAHA’I FAITH: “The Quraysh stopped Him from praying in the Ka’bih, they pursued Him, they covered Him and His disciples with filth when they were praying, they incited children and the rabble to follow and mock them, a woman strewed thorns where He would walk. Bahá’u’lláh says: ‘How abundant the thorns and briars which they have strewn over His path! . . . Such sore accusations they brought against Him that in recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow . . . or the page to bear them . . . For this reason did Muhammad cry out: ‘No Prophet of God hath suffered such harm as I have suffered.”’ (Íqán, 108 thru 109).
(Islamic Miscellaneous, Gail – Six Lessons on Islam, p. 7)
Baha’i Faith: “All treated Him (Muhammad) as an impostor, and pronounced Him a lunatic and a calumniator. Such sore accusations they brought against Him that in recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow, Our pen to move, or the page to bear them. These malicious imputations provoked the people to arise and torment Him. And how fierce that torment if the divines of the age be its chief instigators, if they denounce Him to their followers, cast Him out from their midst, and declare Him a miscreant! Hath not the same befallen this Servant, and been witnessed by all?”
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 108)
ISLAM: “Once the Prophet was offering prayers at the Ka’ba. Abu Jahl was sitting with some of his companions. One of them said to the others, ‘Who amongst you will bring the abdominal contents (intestines, etc.) of a camel of Bani so and so and put it on the back of Muhammad, When he prostrates?” The most unfortunate of them got up and brought it. He waited till the Prophet prostrated and then placed it on his back between his shoulders. I was watching but could not do any thing. I wish I had some people with me to hold out against them. They started laughing and falling on one another. Allah’s (God‘s) Apostle was in prostration and he did not lift his head up till Fatima (Prophet’s daughter) came and threw that (camel’s abdominal contents) away from his back. He raised his head and said thrice, “O Allah! Punish Quraysh.” So it was hard for Abu Jahl and his companions when the Prophet invoked Allah against them as they had a conviction that the prayers and invocations were accepted in this city (Mecca). The Prophet said, ‘O Allah! Punish Abu Jahl, ‘Utba bin Rabi’a, Shaiba bin Rabi’a, Al-Walid bin ‘Utba, Umaiya bin Khalaf, and ‘Uqba bin Al Mu’it (and he mentioned the seventh whose name I cannot recall). By Allah in Whose Hands my life is, I saw the dead bodies of those persons who were counted by Allah’s Apostle in the Qalib (one of the wells) of Badr.”
(Hadith, Bukhari Vol 1, Book 4, # 241)
ZOROASTRIANISM: 72. “The will of The Lord is the law of holiness, What protector hast thou given unto me, O Mazda (God)! While the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Who is the victorious who will protect thy teaching? Keep us from our hater, O Mazda!” 7. “Whom, O Mazda, can one appoint as protector for one like me, when the Liar sets himself to injure me, other than Thy Fire and Thy Thought, through actions of which twain the Right will come to maturity, O Ahura (God)? In this lore do thou instruct my very self.” 29. “Let not the man who harms us, mind or body, have power to go forth on both his legs, or hold with both his hands, or see with both his eyes, not the land (beneath his feet), or the herd before his face.” 8. “Whoso is minded to injure my possessions, from his actions may no harm come to me! Back upon himself may they come with hostility, against his own person, all the hostile (acts), to keep him far from the Good Life, Mazda, not from the ill!”
(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Avesta – Vendidad 8 and Yasna 9 and 46)
Zoroastrianism: 3. “The Druj said unto Angra Mainyu: ‘Thou, tormentor, Angra Mainyu! I see no way to kill Spitama Zarathushtra, so great is the glory of the holy Zarathushtra.’ Zarathushtra saw (all this) within his soul: ‘The wicked, the evil-doing Daevas (thought he) take counsel together for my death.” 7. “Spitama Zarathushtra said in answer: ‘No! never will I renounce the good Religion of the worshippers of Mazda, either for body or life, though they should tear away the breath!”’
(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Avesta – Vendidad 19)
Zoroastrianism: 4. “Yea, we send it forth (the word) for the encounter with, and for the overthrow of the murderers of the saints, and of those who hate and torment us for our Faith, and of those who persecute.” 1. “Mindful of your commands, we proclaim words unpleasant for them to hear that after the commands of the Lie destroy the creatures of Right, but most welcome to those that give their heart to Mazda.”
(The Zend-Avesta, Avesta – Yasna 31 and 61)
Zoroastrianism: Denkard. Zoroaster, “Those priests who disseminate vice among men are morally blind.”
HINDUISM: 171. “Let him, though suffering in consequence of his righteousness, never turn his heart to unrighteousness;” 8. “Let him be always industrious in privately reciting the Veda; let him be patient of hardships, friendly (towards all), of collected mind, ever liberal and never a receiver of gifts, and compassionate towards all living creatures.”
(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapters 4 and 6)
Hinduism: 7. “He shall bring evil on the evil-plotter whoever turns against us sin and outrage. Destroy this calumny of him,” 171. “Let him, though suffering in consequence of his righteousness, never turn his heart to unrighteousness;”
(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapters 4 and Hindu, Vedas, Rig Veda – Book 5)
Hinduism: 89. “(Saying), ‘Whatever places (of torment) are assigned (by the sages) to the slayer of a Brahmana, to the murderer of women and children, to him who betrays a friend, and to an ungrateful man, those shall be thy (portion), if thou speakest falsely.”
(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 8)
Hinduism: 19. “Whoso would kill us, whether he be a strange foe or one of us, May all the Gods (God) discomfit him.”
(Hindu, Vedas, Rig Veda – Book 6)
BUDDHISM: “In a previous life, Subhuti, when the Prince of Kalinga severed the flesh from my limbs and body, because of the discipline…. I remained patient… when my limbs and body were torn apart, there would have originated in my mind feelings of anger and resentment. I recollect, five hundred incarnations ago, that I was practicing this Kshanti Paramita and, because of it, I got rid of such arbitrary ideas. Therefore, Subhuti, an enlightened disciple ought to discard, as being unreal and illusive, every conceivable form of hindering phenomena.” (Buddha, Diamond Sutra)
Buddhism: “Patiently one endures wicked and malicious speech, as well as bodily pains, that befall one, though they be piercing, sharp, bitter, unpleasant, disagreeable and dangerous to life.” 23. “As an elephant in the battle field Withstands the arrows shot from a bow, Even so will I endure abuse, For people’s conduct is mostly low.” 26. “He who endures undisturbed criticism, ill treatment and bonds, strong in patience, and that strength his power – that is what I call a brahmin.” 15. “Let us live in joy, not hating those who hate us. Among those who hate us, we live free of hate.”
((The Eightfold Path), Buddha and Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1, 2 and 3 (tr. J. Richards))
Buddhism: “There are common heretics Of this world who teach amongst humans what is not true. You will be beset by these heretics on every hand within and without. There will be plenty of these heretics about hiding themselves in the very personalities of the saints, the better to carry out their deceitful tricks on the un-weary persons.” (Buddha, Surangama Sutra)
SABEANISM: “For my heart hath testified to The First Life (Haiyi, God) and I endure the persecution of the world.” “For myself so that there should be someone to commemorate my name on earth and yonder in the celestial worlds of light. For my heart hath loved the Life and mine eyes wait upon Manda-d-Hiia, who will be to me a support, a deliverer and a rescuer from the sons of Krun And I testify to The Life and to my lord Manda-d-Hiia with a true and faithful heart. (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapters 74 and 77)
Sabeanism: “Let not torturers strike us nor condemners damn our souls!” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 76)
Sabeanism: “My Lord, High King of Light, Revealer Whose eyes are uncovered, seeking justice And enacting justice for those who love it, Do justice on those who persecute us, Those persecutors who pursue us, And on the wicked and furious ones Who scheme to work evil upon us.”
“If it please Thee, High King of Light, Look on us and condemn us not!”
“Behold these souls who believed in Thee And for Thy name’s sake stood by on earth And were persecuted. Show us pure ether air So that we may forget earthly persecution, That we may forget the persecution of earth And the vexation of the wicked and liars.” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 71)
Sabeanism: “Behold me, who have sought purification before Thee! Look on me, who have borne persecution for Thy name! End for me acts of violence, for I am Thy servant and Thy child. Now I humble myself and my children to Thy name, for I have been true to Thy name, and speak (it) in my heart and talk (of it) in my mind. And I subdue my form and my loins,” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 410)
Sabeanism: “Priests, slaughterers, priests who cut up victims, scorners, those who make evil signs.” “O Hibil-Ziwa (Manda-d-Hiia), great Fulfiller who deliverest us from evil plots and deliverest us from all that is evil and ugly, O High King of Light, thou wilt give me comeliness of body, compassion of heart, fullness of hand and integrity of eye. O Life, and my Lord Manda-d-Hiia Thou deliverest me savest me and guardest me. O High King of Light!” “Deliver me from the hands of the wicked, and loosen my feet from the bonds of death. Cut me not off from Your presence. Arm me against all that is evil: be for me a bulwark against rebels and a Hand of Truth against the destructive powers of this world.” “Who chained me in the wall? Who cast me into the stocks, which matches the fullness of the world? Who threw a chain round me, that is without measure?” (Sabeanism, The Soul in its Coat, Adam and Ginza Rba- 15, 176 and 410)
BAHA’I FAITH: “Moses was persecuted and driven out into the desert, Abraham was banished, Muhammad took refuge in caves, the Bab was killed and Bahá’u’lláh was exiled and imprisoned forty years. Yet all of Them desired fellowship and love among men. They endured hardships, suffered persecution and death for our sakes that we might be taught to love one another and be united.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 234)
Baha’i Faith: “The Báb was born in Shiraz, in the month of October, 1819. At the age of twenty-four he heralded the advent of a universal teacher whom God would manifest, and through whom the unity of all nations would be established. The Báb (door or gate) effected a reformation of Islam, opening the way for a broader movement — for always with earnestness and zeal he cried of one who was to come after him to illumine not only Islam, but the whole world. The young reformer made his declaration in 1844 at Shiraz and afterward at Mecca, where one hundred thousand people had congregated.”
“His teachings met with instant opposition on the part of the orthodox religionists of the day.
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 5)
BABI RELIGION: “While I was in Shiraz the indignities which befell Me at the hands of its wicked and depraved Governor waxed so grievous that if thou wert acquainted with but a tithe thereof, thou wouldst deal him retributive justice. For as a result of his unmitigated oppression, thy royal court hath become, until the Day of Resurrection, the object of the wrath of God.”
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 12)
BAHA’I FAITH: “The Bab was subjected to bitter persecution in Shiraz, where He first proclaimed His mission and message. A period of famine afflicted that region, and the Bab journeyed to Isfahan. There the learned men rose against Him in great hostility. He was arrested and sent to Tabriz. From thence He was transferred to Maku and finally imprisoned in the strong castle of Chihriq. Afterward He was martyred in Tabriz.”
“This is merely an outline of the history of the Bab. He withstood all persecutions and bore every suffering and ordeal with unflinching strength. The more His enemies endeavored to extinguish that flame, the brighter it became. Day by day His Cause spread and strengthened.”
(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 138)
BABI RELIGION: “The tales of the signs and wonders which the Báb’s unnumbered admirers had witnessed were soon transmitted from mouth to mouth, and gave rise to a wave of unprecedented enthusiasm which spread with bewildering rapidity over the entire country. It swept over Tihran and roused the ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm to fresh exertions against Him. They trembled at the progress of a Movement which, if allowed to run its course, they felt certain would soon engulf the institutions upon which their authority, nay their very existence, depended. They saw on every side increasing evidences of a faith and devotion such as they themselves had been powerless to evoke, of a loyalty which struck at the very root of the fabric which their own hands had reared and which all the resources at their command had as yet failed to undermine.”
The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 312)
BAHA’I FAITH: “Bahá’u’lláh endured ordeals and hardships sixty years. There was no persecution, vicissitude or suffering He did not experience at the hand of His enemies and oppressors. All the days of His life were passed in difficulty and tribulation — at one time in prison, another in exile, sometimes in chains. He willingly endured these difficulties for the unity of mankind, praying that the world of humanity might realize the radiance of God, the oneness of humankind become a reality, strife and warfare cease and peace and tranquility be realized by all. In prison He hoisted the banner of human solidarity, proclaiming universal peace, writing to the kings and rulers of nations, summoning them to international unity and counseling arbitration. His life was a vortex of persecution and difficulty; yet catastrophes, extreme ordeals and vicissitudes did not hinder the accomplishment of His work and mission. Nay, on the contrary, His power became greater and greater, His efficiency and influence spread and increased until His glorious light shone throughout the Orient, love and unity were established, and the differing religions found a center of contact and reconciliation.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 145)
Baha’i Faith: “The Blessed Perfection (Bahá’u’lláh) was a prisoner twenty-five years. During all this time He was subjected to the indignities and revilement of the people. He was persecuted, mocked and put in chains. In Iran His properties were pillaged and His possessions confiscated. First, banishment from Iran to Baghdad; then to Constantinople; then Adrianople; finally from Roumelia to the prison fortress of ‘Akká.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith – Abdu’l-Baha Section, p. 223)
Baha’i Faith: “In Persia the early believers in this revelation met with the utmost opposition, persecution and cruelty at the hands of their fellow countrymen, but they faced all calamities and ordeals with sublime heroism, firmness and patience. Their baptism was in their own blood, for many thousands of them perished as martyrs; while thousands more were beaten, imprisoned, stripped of their possessions, driven from their homes or otherwise ill-treated. For sixty years or more anyone in Persia who dared to own allegiance to the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh did so at the risk of his property, his freedom and even his life. Yet this determined and ferocious opposition could not more check the progress of the Movement than a cloud of dust could keep the sun from rising.”
(Bahá’í Faith, Dr. J.E. Esslemont, Baha’u’llah and the New Era, p. 252)