John the Baptist fortells the coming of Christ
1:5
And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem,
and
were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
1:6
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about
his
loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
1:7
And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the
latchet
of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
1:8
I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the
Holy
Ghost.
1:9
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee,
and was baptized of John in Jordan.
1:10
And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened,
and
the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
1:11
And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in
whom
I am well pleased.
1:12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
1:13
And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was
with
the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
1:14
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching
the
gospel of the kingdom of God,
1:15
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent
ye, and believe the gospel.
--
Bible: Mark.
Prophecy on the coming of Muhammad 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
"Trumpet" symbolises the call or revelation of the prophet.
Once
more hath the eternal Spirit breathed into the mystic trumpet, and
caused
the dead to speed out of their sepulchres of heedlessness and error
unto
the realm of guidance and grace.
--Baha'u'llah,
The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 26
Nay,
by "trumpet" is meant the trumpet-call of Muhammad's Revelation, which
was
sounded in the heart of the universe, and by "resurrection" is meant
His
own rise to proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring and wayward
arise
and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed them with
the
beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them with the breath of a new
and
wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muhammad, that divine Beauty,
purposed
to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in the symbolic terms
"resurrection,"
"judgment," "paradise," and "hell," Gabriel, the Voice of
Inspiration,
was heard saying: "Erelong will they wag their heads at Thee,
and
say, 'When shall this be?' Say: 'Perchance it is nigh.'"[1] The
implications
of this verse alone suffice the peoples of the world, were
they
to ponder it in their hearts. [1 Qur'an 17:51].
--Baha'u'llah,
The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 116
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 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." 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 Imáms,
who
were
the promoters of the Law of Muhammad and the educators of the people,
shining
like stars in the heaven of guidance.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 68
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.
Another
prophecy about Islam. This also gives the duration of the era Muhammad
as
1260 years which ended in 1844 with the Declaration
of the Bab.
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.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 52
Consider
that which hath been sent down unto Muhammad, the Apostle of God. The
measure
of the Revelation of which He was the bearer had been clearly
foreordained
by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Powerful. They that heard Him,
however,
could apprehend His purpose only to the extent of their station and
spiritual
capacity. He, in like manner, uncovered the Face of Wisdom in
proportion
to their ability to sustain the burden of His Message. No sooner had
mankind
attained the stage of maturity, than the Word revealed to men's eyes
the
latent energies with which it had been endowed --energies which manifested
themselves
in the plenitude of their glory when the Ancient Beauty appeared, in
the
year sixty, in the person of `Alí-Muhammad, the Báb.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
p. 76
Prophecy about 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
Prophecy about 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
Baha'u'llah
[the Glory of God] is foretold in the Bible coming as "the Son of
man
in 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
The
Day of God -- the era of the Glory of God (Baha'u'llah) is foretold the
Bible
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
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
The station of the 12 Apostles
Emmanuel
was indeed the Herald of the Second Coming of Christ, and a
Summoner
to the pathway of the Kingdom. It is evident that the Letter is
a
member of the Word, and this membership in the Word signifieth that the
Letter
is dependent for its value on the Word, that is, it deriveth its
grace
from the Word; it has a spiritual kinship with the Word, and is
accounted
an integral part of the Word. The Apostles
were even as Letters,
and
Christ was the essence of the Word Itself; and the meaning of the Word,
which
is grace everlasting, cast a splendour on those Letters. Again, since
the
Letter is a member of the Word, it therefore, in its inner meaning, is
consonant
with the Word.
--
Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 60
Accordingly
did Saint John the Divine tell of twelve gates in his vision, and
twelve
foundations. By `that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending
out
of heaven from God' is meant the holy Law of God, and this is set forth
in
many Tablets and still to be read in the Scriptures of the Prophets of
the
past: for instance, that Jerusalem was seen going out into the
wilderness.
The
meaning of the passage is that this heavenly Jerusalem hath twelve gates,
through
which the blessed enter into the City of God. These gates are souls
who
are as guiding stars, as portals of knowledge and grace; and within
these
gates there stand twelve angels. By `angel' is meant the power of the
confirmations
of God--that the candle of God's confirming power shineth out
from
the lamp-niche of those souls--meaning that every one of those beings
will
be granted the most vehement confirming support.
These
twelve gates surround the entire world, that is they are a shelter for
all
creatures. And further, these twelve gates are the foundation of the
City
of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and on each one of these foundations is
written
the name of one of the Apostles of Christ. That is to say, each one
maketh
manifest the perfections, the joyous message, and the excellency of
that
holy Being.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 165
Meaning
of: "Heaven and earth shall pass away:
but my words shall not pass
away."
from the Book of Mark.
