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Chapter 8
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Prophecies of the twelve Apostles on the coming of Muhammad, the Holy Imams, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah.
1)
Prophecy on the coming of Muhammad and the Holy Imams ("his angels") in the Book of Matthew.
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
-- Bible: Matthew.
These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in accents of
majestic power in the Ridván of the Gospel, revealing those signs that
must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the
first Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked
Jesus concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them:
"Immediately after the oppression of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the earth shall be shaken: and then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet."
Rendered into the Persian tongue, the purport of these words is as
follows: When the oppression and afflictions that are to befall mankind
will have come to pass, then shall the sun be withheld from shining, the moon from giving light, the stars of heaven shall fall
upon the earth, and the pillars of the earth shall quake. At that time,
the signs of the Son of man shall appear in heaven, that is, the
promised Beauty and Substance of life shall, when these signs have
appeared, step forth out of the realm of the invisible into the visible
world. And He saith: at that time, all the peoples and kindreds that
dwell on earth shall bewail and lament, and they shall see that divine
Beauty coming from heaven, riding upon the clouds with power, grandeur,
and magnificence, sending His angels with a great sound of a trumpet.
Similarly, in the three other Gospels, according to Luke, Mark, and
John, the same statements are recorded. As We have referred at length
to these in Our Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have made no
mention of them in these pages, and have confined Ourselves to but one
reference.
Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the meaning
of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose, and
have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they
therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muhammadan
Revelation and its showering bounties.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 25-26
2)
Prophecy about Muhammad and the 12 Imams in the Book of Revelation.
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of
twelve stars:
-- Bible: Revelation
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and
the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
-- Bible: Revelation
The Law of God is also described as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem.
It is evident that the New Jerusalem which descends from heaven is not
a city of stone, mortar, bricks, earth and wood. It is the Law of God
which descends from heaven and is called new, for it is clear that the
Jerusalem which is of stone and earth does not descend from heaven, and
that it is not renewed; but that which is renewed is the Law of God.
The Law of God is also compared to an adorned bride who appears with
most beautiful ornaments, as it has been said in chapter 21 of the
Revelation of St. John: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband."[1] And in chapter 12, verse 1, it is said: "And there
appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."
This woman is that bride, the Law of God that descended upon Muhammad.
The sun with which she was clothed, and the moon which was under her
feet, are the two nations which are under the shadow of that Law, the
Persian and Ottoman kingdoms; for the emblem of Persia is the sun, and
that of the Ottoman Empire is the crescent moon. Thus the sun and moon
are the emblems of two kingdoms which are under the power of the Law of
God. Afterward it is said: "upon her head is a crown of twelve stars."
These twelve stars are the twelve Imams, who were the promoters of the Law of Muhammad and the educators of the people, shining like stars in the heaven of guidance.
[1 Rev. 21:2.]
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 68
3)
Prophecy about Muhammad and Imam
Ali in the Book of Revelation, giving the duration of Muhammedan
dispensation as 1260 years, which ended in 1844 with the Declaration of
the Bab.
11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth.
11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in
this manner be killed.
11:6 These have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues,
as often as they will.
-- Bible: Revelation,
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a
thousand two hundred and three-score days, clothed in sackcloth." These
two witnesses are Muhammad the Messenger of God, and `Alí, son of Abú
Tálib.
In the Qur'án it is said that God addressed Muhammad, the Messenger of
God, saying: "We made You a Witness, a Herald of good news, and a
Warner"--that is to say, We have established Thee as the witness, the
giver of good tidings, and as One bringing the wrath of God. The
meaning of "a witness" is one by whose testimony things may be
verified. The commands of these two witnesses were to be performed for
twelve hundred and sixty days, each day signifying a year. Now,
Muhammad was the root, and `Alí the branch,
like Moses and Joshua. It is said they "are clothed in sackcloth,"
meaning that they, apparently, were to be clothed in old raiment, not
in new raiment; in other words, in the beginning they would possess no
splendor in the eyes of the people, nor would their Cause appear new;
for Muhammad's spiritual Law corresponds to that of Christ in the
Gospel, and most of His laws relating to material things correspond to
those of the Pentateuch. This is the meaning of the old raiment.
Then it is said: "These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." These two souls are
likened to olive trees because at that time all lamps were lighted by
olive oil. The meaning is two persons from whom that spirit of the
wisdom of God, which is the cause of the illumination of the world,
appears. These lights of God were to radiate and shine; therefore, they
are likened to two candlesticks: the candlestick is the abode of the
light, and from it the light shines forth. In the same way the light of
guidance would shine and radiate from these illumined souls.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 48
The Elijah of the New Day appeared in Persia and made His declaration
May 23, 1844, at the time when the Millerites in America, having
studied the prophecies of the Bible, expected the Son of Man to drop
down from the clouds. Mirza 'Ali Muhammad, known among the Muslims as a
young man of excellent character, but following the occupation of
merchant, suddenly declared Himself to be the Imam Mahdi whose coming
is foretold in their Holy Book, the Qur'an.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets addressed to Louis Gregory.
4)
Prophecy about the Sunni Muslims, who rejected the Holy Imams (disobeying Muhammad regarding his successors).
11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was
crucified.
11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall
see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer
their dead bodies to be put in graves.
-- Bible: Revelation
"And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see
their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their
dead bodies to be put in graves."
As it was before explained, in the terminology of the Holy Books three
days and a half signify three years and a half, and three years and a
half are forty and two months, and forty and two months twelve hundred
and sixty days; and as each day by the text of the Holy Book signifies
one year, the meaning is that for twelve hundred and sixty years, which
is the cycle of the Qur'án, the nations, tribes and peoples would look
at their bodies--that is to say, that they would make a spectacle of
the Religion of God: though they would not act in accordance with it,
still, they would not suffer their bodies--meaning the Religion of
God--to be put in the grave. That is to say, that in appearance they
would cling to the Religion of God and not allow it to completely
disappear from their midst, nor the body of it to be entirely destroyed
and annihilated. Nay, in reality they would leave it, while outwardly
preserving its name and remembrance.
Those "kindreds, people and nations" signify those who are gathered
under the shadow of the Qur'án, not permitting the Cause and Law of God
to be, in outward appearance, entirely destroyed and annihilated -- for
there are prayer and fasting among them -- but the fundamental
principles of the Religion of God, which are morals and conduct, with
the knowledge of divine mysteries, have disappeared; the light of the
virtues of the world of humanity, which is the result of the love and
knowledge of God, is extinguished; and the darkness of tyranny,
oppression, satanic passions and desires has become victorious. The
body of the Law of God, like a corpse, has been exposed to public view
for twelve hundred and sixty days, each day being counted as a year,
and this period is the cycle of Muhammad.
The people forfeited all that these two persons had established, which
was the foundation of the Law of God, and destroyed the virtues of the
world of humanity, which are the divine gifts and the spirit of this
religion, to such a degree that truthfulness, justice, love, union,
purity, sanctity, detachment and all the divine qualities departed from
among them.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 52
5)
Prophecy on the appearance and martyrdom of the Bab.
11:11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God
entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell
upon them which saw them.
-- Bible: Revelation
"And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered
into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
them that saw them." Three days and a half, as we before explained, is
twelve hundred and sixty years. Those two persons whose bodies were
lying spiritless are the teachings and the law that Muhammad
established and `Alí promoted, from which, however, the reality had
departed and only the form remained. The spirit came again into them
means that those foundations and teachings were again established. In
other words, the spirituality of the Religion of God had been changed
into materiality, and virtues into vices; the love of God had been
changed into hatred, enlightenment into darkness, divine qualities into
satanic ones, justice into tyranny, mercy into enmity, sincerity into
hypocrisy, guidance into error, and purity into sensuality. Then after
three days and a half, which by the terminology of the Holy Books is
twelve hundred and sixty years,
these divine teachings, heavenly virtues, perfections and spiritual
bounties were again renewed by the appearance of the Báb and the
devotion of Jináb-i-Quddús.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 54
11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
-- Bible: Revelation
"And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up
hither. And they ascended up to heaven," meaning that from the
invisible heaven they heard the voice of God, saying: You have
performed all that was proper and fitting in delivering the teachings
and glad tidings; you have given My message to the people and raised
the call of God, and have accomplished your duty. Now, like Christ, you
must sacrifice your life for the Well-Beloved, and be martyrs. And that
Sun of Reality, and that Moon of Guidance, both, like Christ, set on
the horizon of the greatest martyrdom and ascended to the Kingdom of
God.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 55
6)
Prophecy on the appearance of Baha'u'llah.
11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
-- Bible: Revelation
"The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly."
The first woe is the appearance of the Prophet, Muhammad, the son of
`Abdu'lláh-- peace be upon Him! The second woe is that of the Báb--to
Him be glory and praise! The third woe is the great day of the
manifestation of the Lord of Hosts and the radiance of the Beauty of
the Promised One. The explanation of this subject, woe, is mentioned in
the thirtieth chapter of Ezekiel, where it is said: "The word of the
Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus
saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near,
even the day of the Lord is near."
Therefore, it is certain that the day of woe is the day of the Lord;
for in that day woe is for the neglectful, woe is for the sinners, woe
is for the ignorant. That is why it is said, "The second woe is past;
behold the third woe cometh quickly!" This third woe is the day of the
manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh, the day of God; and it is near to the day
of the appearance of the Báb.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 56
7)
Baha'u'llah is foretold in the Bible coming as "the Son of man in the Glory of the Father" (the Glory of God).
16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked
his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven [God].
-- Bible: Matthew
16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall
not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
-- Bible: Matthew
8)
The Day of God -- the era of the Glory of God (Bahá'u'lláh), the "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness", is foretold in the Bible by Peter:
3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the
holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord
and Saviour:
3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation.
3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God
the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in
the water:
3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men.
3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.
3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner
of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat?
3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
-- Bible: Peter
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It hath been sent
down in the form of the human temple in this day. Blessed be the Lord
Who is the Father! He, verily, is come unto the nations in His most
great majesty. Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the
righteous...
This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and shouteth, and
celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High,
saying: `Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the
Kingdom is fulfilled!...'
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 84-85
Verily, verily the new heaven and the new earth are come. The holy
City, new Jerusalem, hath come down from on high in the form of a maid of heaven,
veiled, beauteous, and unique, and prepared for reunion with her lovers
on earth. the angelic company of the celestial Concourse have joined in
a call that hath rung throughout the universe, all loudly and mightily
acclaiming: "Hail, O City of God! Abide Thou, and make Thy habitation
with the pure, virtue and holy servants of Thine; for they are Thy
people, and Thou art their Lord."
-- Compilations, Baha'i World Faith, p. 350
The Spirit and the Word mean the divine perfections that appeared in
the Reality of Christ, and these perfections were with God; so the sun
manifests all its glory in the mirror. For the Word does not signify
the body of Christ, no, but the divine perfections manifested in Him.
For Christ was like a clear mirror which was facing the Sun of Reality;
and the perfections of the Sun of Reality--that is to say, its light
and heat--were visible and apparent in this mirror. If we look into the
mirror, we see the sun, and we say, "It is the sun." Therefore, the
Word and the Holy Spirit, which signify the perfections of God, are the
divine appearance. This is the meaning of the verse in the Gospel which
says: "The Word was with God, and the Word was God"; for the divine
perfections are not different from the Essence of Oneness. The
perfections of Christ are called the Word because all the beings are in
the condition of letters, and one letter has not a complete meaning,
while the perfections of Christ have the power of the word because a
complete meaning can be inferred from a word. As the Reality of Christ
was the manifestation of the divine perfections, therefore, it was like
the word. Why? because He is the sum of perfect meanings. This is why
He is called the Word.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 206-207
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