Baha'i understanding of revelation

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I mean helping members of one religion from killing members of another. Helping to reduce tensions that occurr because of misunderstandings. Example: some wack-job Imam in a Muslim country decides that the Christians down the road are desecrating the Qur’an. He tells his buddies and they go down and burn, pillage, beat and kill some Christians. Or, some nut-case guru tells his fellow Hindus that a Hindu girl has been raped, kissed, flirted with, winked-at, whatever, by a Muslim, so the Hindus go down the road and kill some Muslims. Or some Christians get the idea that Jews are stealing blond Christian children for a blood sacrifice, so the Christians go crazy and burn down the Jewish quarter (as has happened often in Europe).

I was part of several interfaith groups in the 90s when I was a Baha’i. My friends included a Buddhist minister, a Catholic priest, a Unitarian minister, a number of nuns, not Catholic but Brahma Kumari. Fostering good relations is really quite essential for the survival of the planet.
This is good as long as it does not lead to moral or religious relativism (a watering down of the Catholic Faith).
 
I know you weren’t doing so. I understand that you were just giving some information and I am grateful for it.

Yes, I am a Carmelite friar in formation. I am in simple vows and working though the formation program which will end with, first making solemn vows, then ordinations to the diaconate and then priesthood (God Willing).

I am currently in our internship program which occurs after one year of theological studies in the 4 year Masters of Divinity program.

I am currently assigned to our high school in Tucson, AZ, teaching in the Career and Technology department. This will be for 2 years (again, God Willing).
Thanks for your sharing that…

You may have heard of the Carmelite Monastery the Stella Maris on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land?

sacred-destinations.com/israel/haifa-stella-maris-carmelite-monastery.htm

You may be aware of this but beneath that Monastery is the Shrine of the Bab and the Terrraces the Administrative Center of the Baha’i Faith…

I visited the Stella Maris Monastery away back in 1977. So we Baha’is go to Mount Carmel as part of our pilgrimage to the Holy Land and share Mount Carmel with the Carmelites.

-Art:)
 
The site of Mount Carmel was where the Carmelite Order began:

*In the 12th century, during the Crusader occupation of the region, groups of religious hermits began to inhabit the caves of this area in imitation of Elijah the Prophet. *
Within a century, these monastic hermits were organized into the Carmelite order and the Carmelite order spread throughout Europe.

There are still caves around Mount Carmel where the hermits lived in imitation of Elijah who was belieevd to have lived there. Napoleon stormed the citadel of Akka across the Bay and abandoned his soldiers there much like he did when he retreated from Russia.

Meanwhile Akka was used as a Penal Colony by the Ottomans and Baha’u’llah was sent there around 1868 for “life imprisonment” this did not last however and eventually the Baha’is built the foundation of the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel below the Monastery and the mausoleum was completed around 1909.

Anyway we do share some things whether or not we agree in some respects…
  • Art 🙂
 
I mean helping members of one religion from killing members of another. Helping to reduce tensions that occurr because of misunderstandings. Example: some wack-job Imam in a Muslim country decides that the Christians down the road are desecrating the Qur’an. He tells his buddies and they go down and burn, pillage, beat and kill some Christians. Or, some nut-case guru tells his fellow Hindus that a Hindu girl has been raped, kissed, flirted with, winked-at, whatever, by a Muslim, so the Hindus go down the road and kill some Muslims. Or some Christians get the idea that Jews are stealing blond Christian children for a blood sacrifice, so the Christians go crazy and burn down the Jewish quarter (as has happened often in Europe).
In reality, no matter how much goodwill you foster, there will always be a wack job somewhere.
I was part of several interfaith groups in the 90s when I was a Baha’i. My friends included a Buddhist minister, a Catholic priest, a Unitarian minister, a number of nuns, not Catholic but Brahma Kumari. Fostering good relations is really quite essential for the survival of the planet.
Its nice to be friends–but compromising the faith can lead to problems.
 
In reality, no matter how much goodwill you foster, there will always be a wack job somewhere.
Its nice to be friends–but compromising the faith can lead to problems.
You bring out one of the problems that sometimes occurrs with interfaith activity. You often find that liberal Muslims are talking to liberal Buddhists who are talking to liberal Jews who are talking to liberal Hindus who are talking to liberal Christians who are talking to Wiccans (don’t know if there are liberals and conservatives there!).

The best kind of interfaith conversation comes from the center, that is, from committed believers of each faith. That is why it is very good to see leaders like the Pope, the Orthodox Patriarch, the Archbishop of Canterbury, etc. talking to central leaders in Islam such as the Mufti of Jerusalem, shaykhs at al-Azhar, etc. Each comes from a committed center and is not inclined toward compromise in matters of faith. The purpose is to create goodwill among peoples with a view toward fostering peace.

I think I am off topic.
 

The meek shall inherit the earth

Part 1

Christians are familiar with this sacred verse:
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
~Matthew 5:5

They want it to happen, but what are they doing to assist it? Do they know it’s roots are in the Psalm 37? I call this the “Fret not” Psalm, because the phrase is used three times. Five times it is stressed that the meek will inherit the land. (Read the entire Psalm)
What land? First it means King David’s land of Eretz Israel; second the entire planet!

In Dead Sea “War Scroll”, which was found at Qumran, there is described the contest between the ‘Sons of Light’ and the ‘Sons of Darkness’ in military terms, we find the following passage:
But as for the God of Israel, all that has been and is and shall be throughout the vicissitudes of all time are in His hand. This is the Day which He hath appointed for abasing and humbling the [Prince] of the Dominion of Wickedness. But He will send perpetual help to those who have a share in His redemption through the power of Michael, the mighty, ministering angel; and He will send also an eternal light to light up the children of Israel with joy. They that have cast their lot with God shall enjoy peace and blessing. In this way, the rule of Michael will be exalted among the angels, and the dominion of Israel among all flesh. (The Dead Sea Scriptures, Theodor H. Gaster)

This is part of the Covenant with God that Abraham’s seed would bless the earth. Now, we are talking about what Christians expect to happen after Armageddon, which is Har Megiddo (the Mountain of Megiddo, i.e. Carmel) where a final, titanic contest between good and evil happens again, as it did in Elijah’s day against the baalím.

What does Islam have to say about this? In the Sura Prophets 21:105, it says:
**And now, since the Law was given, have we written in al-Zubur **(the Psalms) **that my servants, ‘the righteous, shall inherit the earth’. **

Now consider: This verse, which quotes Psalms 37:29, is the only verse in the Qur’án to quote from any other text. Gabriel is verifying the claim of David’s people on the land of Israel! And shortly before it mentions Gog and Magog, as did Ezekiel and Revelation, which points to events yet to take place after Muhammad.
This is also the case with the sketchy references to Archangel Michael in Daniel, Revelation and again in the Qur’án 2:98
Whoso is an enemy to God or his angels, or to Gabriel, or to Michael, shall have God as his enemy: for verily God is an enemy to the Infidels.

Now, modern Muslims have chaffed since 1948, that Jews were returning from the diaspora; but it was promised again and again in the Torah and the Gospel, Scriptures which the Qur’án asserts are divine. In sura 5, The Table, this is stressed many times. For instance:

5:68 Say O People of the Scripture! Ye have naught (of guidance) till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord.

So, let there be an end to Jews thinking Messiah forgot to come, and Christians agitating against the Qur’án, which came to a polytheistic patchwork of barbaric tribes. And let there be an end to Muslims thinking that God can never reveal a new Book and change one community for another, and weld mankind into a coherent whole!

Again, let’s see what Jesus said about this:
And they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And He said…they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:7 & 24)
Non-Jewish countries had ruled over Eretz Israel for most of its history. In fact, from the first captivity in Babylon, from 676 BC, until 1844, stretched 2520 years, the “Seven Times” that Moses warned the Israelites about in Leviticus 26:28 and again, Daniel 4:23 repeats it.

7 X 360 biblical years = 2520
**676 BC + 2520 solar years = 1844 C.E. **
(See Dan. 4:23 & 32)
 
The meek shall inherit the earth

Part 2
The Babylonians were followed by the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims and finally the British General Allenby, who ousted the Ottoman Turks in 1918. When Allenby approached Haifa, in the Galilee, he received a wire from the British Foreign Office instructing him to see to the safety of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who was in as much danger from His fiendish brothers as He was from the Turkish Jamal Pasha , who had vowed to crucify Him. After taking the city, Allenby replied “Notify the world that Abdu’l-Baha is safe.” This is an example of what the Psalmist and Shepherd King meant when he said “Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.” (37:10)

The British had also been instrumental in coercing the Turks to pass an edict of Toleration, which permitted the Jews to practice their religion and settle in Palestine, which they did in increasing numbers, after 1844. This Edict was on 1 Nísan, 21 March, 1844, exactly 2300 years after the Edict to build the Second Temple was issued by Artaxerxes, as mentioned in Ezra 7. Herein is another prophecy, from Lord Jesus Himself, pointing to the “end of the abomination that makes desolate.”

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand). (Matthew 24:15)
Jesus refers to the following prophecy in Daniel 8:13-14: … **Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. **

It isn’t just a matter of Christians or Jews controlling the land again. It is God’s command that mankind live together peaceably. Are we not weary of wars? Isn’t the Golden Rule in every Faith? What will it take to weld mankind together? What is supposed to happen when the Jews return? Aren’t we expecting the Holy One of Israel to preside over the nations, and separate them and judge them, as He promised? Wouldn’t it be better to obey than to suffer? Do we expect the same body of the Nazarene to appear again?
Be assured the same fiery Spirit will suffice.

“Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt…” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 4)
We have, of old, uttered these words: Spread thy skirt, O Jerusalem! Ponder this in your hearts, O people of Bahá, and render thanks unto your Lord, the Expounder, the Most Manifest. (Bahá’u’lláh, GWB, p. 117)

“Revile ye not one another. We, verily, have come to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth. Unto this beareth witness what the ocean of Mine utterance hath revealed amongst men, and yet most of the people have gone astray. If anyone revile you, or trouble touch you, in the path of God, be patient, and put your trust in Him Who heareth, Who seeth. He, in truth, witnesseth, and perceiveth, and doeth what He pleaseth, through the power of His sovereignty. He, verily, is the Lord of strength, and of might. In the Book of God, the Mighty, the Great, ye have been forbidden to engage in contention and conflict. Lay fast hold on whatever will profit you, and profit the peoples of the world.
Thus commandeth you the King of Eternity, Who is manifest in His Most Great Name. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 24)

The following day when we attained (Bahá’u’lláh’s) presence, He turned His face to me and addressed the following words to me with infinite charm and loving kindness. He said: ‘If the kings and rulers of the world had embraced the Faith in this day, you people could never have found an entry into this exalted Court. You could never have had the opportunity to attain Our presence, nor could you ever have acquired the privilege of hearing the words of the Lord of Mankind. Of course, the time will come when the kings and rulers of the world will become believers, and the Cause of God will be glorified outwardly. But this will happen after the meek and the lowly ones of the earth have won this inestimable bounty.’ [These are not to be taken as the exact words which Bahá’u’lláh spoke on that occasion.] (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah v 3, p. 161)
 
The axiom of 360 days for a year or a time was derived from the following verses:
  1. Genesis 7:11 – The waters of the flood came on the 17th day of the second month.
  2. Genesis 8:4 – The waters abated and ceased on the 17th day of the seventh month.
  3. Genesis 7:24 – The waters prevailed upon the earth 150 days.
From the 17th day of the second month to the 17th day of the seventh month was exactly five months. These five months took exactly 150 days. (150 ÷ 5 = 30)
Therefore, they were five months of 30 days each. This, the scholars agreed, would make a year of 360 days, or 12 months of 30 days. ( 12 X 30 = 360) Therefore, a day in calculating prophecy was a year of 360 days. (William Sears, Thief in the Night, p. 15)

Num. 14:34 “The day of the Lord is one year.”
Ezekiel 4:6 “…I have appointed thee each day for a year.”

The “biblical year” of 360 days is a compromise between the lunar year of 354.34 days and the solar year of 365¼.

In one book, William Miller writes: ‘In the year 677 before Christ; see II Chron. 33:9-13; see also the Bible chronology of that event; this being the first captivity of Judah in Babylon. Then take 677 years which were before Christ, from 2520 years, which include the whole ‘seven times’ or ‘seven years’ prophecy, and the remainder will be 1843 years after Christ …’
Other scholars maintained that it was 676 years from the first captivity to the birth of Christ, and that consequently the year of fulfillment should be 1844 and not 1843. Other scholars pointed out that this same prophecy of the ‘seven times’ was given in the Book of Daniel. Certainly, they said, these same 2520 years from the time of Nebuchadnezzar could not be made to come out to this same 1844 period; therefore, the date must be wrong. The prophecy of Daniel and the ‘seven times’ clearly states that it will take place when a Holy Messenger of God appears on earth. The prophecy says:

‘Behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus … let seven times pass over him.’[Daniel 4:23]
Most of the millennial scholars who dealt with this prophecy felt that it began in 604-602 B.C. when Nebuchadezzar conquered Jerusalem. Some of the students of Scripture pointed to a remarkable coincidence. According to the calendar of Iraq, the original land of Nebuchadezzar, there were 2520 years from 604-602 B.C. to 1844.* These were lunar years. Thus the discrepancy between the prophecies of Moses and Daniel was resolved by the astonishing fact that:

There were 2520 solar years from 676 B.C. to A.D. 1844,
There were 2520 lunar years from 602 B.C to A.D. 1844.

*Nebuchadnezzar ruled from 605 to 562 BCE.

It makes most people wack at first. That’s why a spiritual countenance is more readily discernible!
 
When we contemplate this vast machinery of omnipresent power, perceive this illimitable space and its innumerable worlds, it will become evident to us that the lifetime of this infinite creation is more than six thousand years; nay, it is very, very ancient. Notwithstanding this, we read in Genesis in the Old Testament that the lifetime of creation is but six thousand years. This has an inner meaning and significance; it is not to be taken literally. ~‘Abdu’l-Bahá, PUP, p. 463 [Objects exist farther than 6000 Light Years]

In my view, the hisotrical Adam around 4004 BC was not the first man, since his sons married women elsewhere. But Adam was the beginning of a new Cycle of expectancy, leading to Christ and the Return of Christ. The 1000 year reign is like the “Lord’s rest” on the seventh “Day”
 
I did not know that the Baha’is practiced numerology. You learn something new every day. 😃
 
I did not know that the Baha’is practiced numerology. You learn something new every day. 😃
It’s all Bible based…like the prophecy of “Seventy Weeks” pointing to Christ. Somehow Jews missed that one. 7 X 70 = 490. 457 BC + 490 = 33 AD. THAT’S forgiveness, when the ‘anointed one’ is cut off, and it was foreseen by Daniel, and couched in a numerical way. Don’t tell me it is not common knowledge among devoted Christians. :).
 
Actually if you study the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) you will find “numerology” but it is called “Gematria”… In the East it is called the Abjad Reckoning… So it may not be “numerology” as it’s popularly known say in the West but a kind of Code.

Most ancient languages did not have a numerical system so they used the letters of the alphabet and gave them numerical values.
  • Art;)
 
People of different Faiths base their belief on certain Books. If I were to ask a Christian, for instance, what he offers as support for his belief, he will hold up the Gospel.
In this particuar thread, it is appropriate to look at passages from our Book, which give ground to our belief in the new Revelation.

And the knowledge of the King of everlasting days can in no wise be attained save by recognizing Him Who is the Bearer of the Most Great Name. He is, in truth, the Speaker on Sinai Who is now seated upon the throne of Revelation…Attainment unto the Divine Presence can be realized solely by attaining His presence…True belief in God and recognition of Him cannot be complete save by acceptance of that which He hath revealed and by observance of whatsoever hath been decreed by Him and set down in the Book by the Pen of Glory. ~Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Tajalliyat, p. 50
 
Revelation didn’t end with Moss as Jews say, nor with Jesus as Christians say, nor with Muhammad as Muslims say. Baha’i say other Messengers will come after Baha’u’llah, yet under His aegis as Unifier.
**The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself from its glory. **(Bahá’u’lláh, GWB, p. 5)
 
Revelation from God can never be ended. Contention about it shouldn’t be the intention of someone who sincerely believes in God.

**By the terms “life” and “death,” spoken of in the scriptures, is intended the life of faith and the death of unbelief. **~Bahá’u’lláh
 
Revelation from God can never be ended. Contention about it shouldn’t be the intention of someone who sincerely believes in God.

**By the terms “life” and “death,” spoken of in the scriptures, is intended the life of faith and the death of unbelief. **~Bahá’u’lláh
There is no need for further revelation from God as God came Himself, Christ, to show us the way.

Jesus was not just a prophet, He was and is God, the second part of the Trinity, after his coming there is no further need of prophets.
 
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