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¸¸¸¸¸(¯`'•.¸ The Day & The
Hour ¸.•'´¯)¸¸¸¸¸ Bible Prophecies Fulfilled in
the Baha'i Revelation [Three Signs | False Prophets | Why Name Change | The Place | Why is He Rejected| The Miracles | The Good Shepherd ] Even
though in the Gospel it is clearly written that except the Father no one
knows the exact "Day & Hour" (Mat 24:36)
of Christ's return, many Biblical prophecies clearly predicted that He
will return on the Year 1844; and they can be confirmed in
retrospect with amazing accuracy. Jesus
gave three very extraordinary signs for His second coming and all of these
three prophecies have been fulfilled in the Year 1844. These are the three signs and
their fulfillments. 1.
The First: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole
world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) This
prophecy was fulfilled in 1844 when the missionaries preached the
Bible in the last nations of Central Africa and Tibet in China. Now, if you
go to any nation in this world, you will find at least few Christians with
the "gospel of the kingdom". The following two books confirm to
this assertion: 'Christian
missions began their activities amongst the African people in 1844.' (Year
Book Guide to East Africa; Robert Hale Ltd). 'It
was in 1842 that five treaty-ports in China were opened to commerce and to
missions - advance steps in the opening of all China to the Gospel...' ( Our Day in the Light of Prophecy; Spicer p.21 ). 2.
The second: "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) This
is what is written in Daniel: "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary
and the host to be trodden under foot? And He said unto me, Unto 2300 days;
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. ... Understand, O son of man: for at
the time of the end shall be the vision." (Daniel
8:13-14 ;17) In
order to understand this, we must first understand that one-day means one
year according to the Bible prophecies. Otherwise, if we take this literally,
this prophecy of return would have already come to pass in only 2300 days (or
in about 6 years). But, according to the Bible: "each day for a year . . . " (Numbers 14:34 ) “I have appointed thee each day for a year.” (Ezekiel 4:6)
This
is from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem ...
(Daniel 9:24 ).
The commandment to restore Jerusalem was issued by
the Edict
of King Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. (Ezra 7). Thus: 2300
days = 2300 years ... 457 B.C. + 2300 years = 1844 A.D.!!! (1843 + 1 for
"0" A.D.) Note:
The 2300 "evenings and mornings" prophecy
of Daniel 8:14 refers to exactly 2300 solar years
and begins at the first of the Jewish month of Nissan 457 B.C..
The starting point of this and other prophecies is revealed by Gabriel in Daniel 9:25 : "the
issuing of the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem ... " 3.
The third
is that the Jews shall return to
their land after a long exile: "And they
[the Jews] 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 [non-Jews], until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."(Luke 21:24 ). In
Judaism, it was predicted that after 2,520 years of exile (Leviticus 26:14-33) the Jews would be free.
2,520 years from the captivity of King Manasseh (and the tribe of Judah) in
677 - 676 B.C. by Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria and Babylon was 1844 A.D.
(2,520-676). Note:
On March 21 (which also is the Bahai New Year - called Naw Ruz), 1844, in
Persia, the Turkish government (Turkey then controlled Palestine) signed into
law "The Edict of Toleration". This edict allowed the Jews to
worship freely and return home to the Promised Land (Palestine) after exactly
2,520 prophesied years! After
they rejected Jesus, in or around 70 A.D., the Jews were expelled from the
Holy Land by the Romans. Ever since then, they did not have a country they
could call home. Some
went where there was economic gain, some may have had relatives in other
places, and some just settled where the local population would tolerate them
(or the local population was tolerable). Ever
since then, Israel had a law, but no state; a book, but no home. Israel was
trodden by Gentiles (non-Jews) -- first by the Romans [non-Jews] then,
later, by the 'Arabs [Non-Jews], Persians [non-Jews] and Turks [non-Jews]
just as Jesus had predicted. During
all of medieval history, the Jewish people had to face mutual hostility by
both Christians and Muslims alike; they were caught between the main combatants,
and cut by both swords. It
was only in 1844 that the Ottoman Empire signed an Edict to give the Jews
citizenship in the Holy Land. Then, 100 years later, in 1948, the British
(who were colonizing Israel) gave them their own nation. Now the Jews have a
country in this world where they could call home. This
is a historical fact that no impartial reader could ignore or deny. Now,
let's go back to the numbers: 1844
is also equal to 1260 of Hejira(Islamic
Calendar). It
was also prophesied that the "Gentiles"
(that's non-Jews) "shall ...tread [Jerusalem] under
foot forty and two months" (Revelation 11:2), which is equal to 1260. It is
also historical fact that the Palestinians (that's non-Jews) tread Jerusalem
until 1260 Hejira Islamic Calendar (or 1844 European Calendar). “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath
a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and threescore days [1260]” (Revelation 12:6). Hejira
means fleeing in Arabic. Thus from the time Mohamed's Hejira from Mecca to
Medina, that is, from the revelation of Islam, to the time of the next
revelation is 1260 years. In
fact, the number 1260 (42 months = 3.5 x 12 months) appears in a number of
times in the Revelation of St. John (11:2; 11:9; 11:11; 12:6; 12:14; 13:5) Daniel
also had predicted the fulfillment of the prophecy on the same year: "a time, times and half a time " (Daniel
7:25; Daniel 12:7) As
you can see, this 1260 day time period is referred to 8 times in the Bible's
prophecies: Based
on the 30-day calendar used by the Jews, these time periods are all the same
amount of time: 3 1/2 years = 42 months = 1,260 days. Since
the Muhammadan year invariably begins with the
Heliacal rising of the moon or her first observed appearance on
the Western horizon, shortly after the sunset, following the new moon, 1 year
is 354 days, and of 355 in leap years. 1 extra day is added every 30 years to
the last month 11 times in a cycle of 30 years. Therefore, 30 years are equal
to (354 x 30 + 11 =) 10,631 days and the mean length of the year is 354 days.
1
year of Hijra = 0.970223 of a Gregorian year; and conversely, 1
Gregorian year = 1.03069 years of the Hijra.
Search
inside this book with "1.03069": The Indian Calendar: With Tables for the Conversion of
Hindu and Muhammadan Thus,
to convert a date in the Christian solar calendar to its equal Muslim lunar
equivalent, we need to recall that the Hijira occurred in 622 AD. Thus, 1844
AD is (1844-622) x (1.03069) = 1259.5 AH. These train of
calculations brings us, finally, to the Year 1844 (or 1260)
and 1844 is the exact Year that the Bahai Faith started. There
is no heavier proof than mathematical proof! Jesus
then warns against false prophets Jesus
has clearly warned His followers repeatedly not to listen to anyone who comes
in *Christ's* Name when they see these signs fulfilled. First,
He said, in His second coming, He doubts if there would be any faith left on
earth: ". . .Nevertheless when
the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold"
( Matthew 24:12) Then,
in His ominous warnings, He says: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Matthew 7:15) "Behold, I have told you before. "For false Christs and false prophets will appear
and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were
possible." ( Matthew 24:24) Read
carefully and you will understand. Jesus is warning against false prophets
that will come in His Name. The
term prophet means someone who predicts the future. How often have we heard
false prophets whose predictions have not come to pass? Haven't we heard many
false prophets in Jesus' Name predicting that the world was going to end in
the year 2000? Has the world ended in the year 2000? This becomes even more
clear, specially, when seen in the mirror of what had happened in Uganda by Cult leader Joseph Kibwetere ,Jim
Jones cult in Guyana , David
Koresh' in Waco, Texas , and many others that have misled and are
still misleading many Christian communities all in *Christ's* name.
Has
not Jesus warned? "At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the
Christ!' or, `Look, there He is!' do not believe it. Jesus
has repeatedly warned us that, in spite of the glorious way of divine
salvation, only few will find it and many Christians will be lost. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14). . .
"Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And He said
unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you,
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" (Luke 13:23-24). "So the last shall be
first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen" (Matt.
20:16). . . "I tell you, He
will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find
faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). . .
"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the
days of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:26)
As
we shall see in retrospect, Jesus has told us that He will come with a
different name, namely, "Glory of His Father"
(Matthew 16:27), that is to say, 'Glory of God' or in Arabic 'Baha'u'llah'. Baha
means Glory and Allah means God. From these Scriptures, any unbiased observer
can see that the false prophets will come in Jesus' Name and Jesus will come
in the Name of the Glory of God or Baha'u'llah. First,
let's go back when Jesus came the first time: When
Christ was born, His parents named him Jesus. But, the Jewish prophecy foretold
the coming of one called, "Emmanuel" (Isaiah
7:14). Joseph, not bound by a literal understanding of that
prophecy, called His son, "Jesus" and not Emmanuel! Why then do
many Christians demand the Name "Jesus" upon His return? Now,
as mentioned above, according to the Bible, Jesus has said that He shall come
in Glory of His Father : "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." ( Matthew 16:27) Baha'u'llah
means Glory of God in Arabic as well as in Aramaic. In fact,
Baha'u'llah was mentioned by Name when the Bible was translated into an
Arabic language for the Arab speaking Christians before the coming of
Bahaullah. But, it was retranslated again after the coming of Bahaullah. In
any case, according to Wikipedia, Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus and His disciples. In
Aramaic, Elah means God and Elahi means 'my God' and Glory of God
is Beha-Elah. In fact, Jesus'
last word before He died at the cross was "Elahi
Elahi, lama sabachthani?" (Mark 15:34)
If
the language of Jesus and His disciples was Aramaic, it is not only in the
above mentioned verse that Bahaullah is mentioned by name, we can also see "Beha-Elah" mentioned by Name in the
following verses as well: 1. John 11:40 2. Acts 7:55 3. Romans 3:23 4. Romans 5:2 5. 1 Corinthians 10:31 6. 2 Corinthians 1:20 7. 2 Corinthians 4:6 8. 2 Corinthians 4:15 9. Philippians 2:11 10. Revelation 15:8 11. Revelation 21:11 12. Revelation 21:23 In
the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah had also predicted that He will come
with a new name: 'and thou shalt be called by a
new name.' (62:2) If
the Messiah is going to come with a new name, therefore His followers must
also be called with a new name: "The Lord God shall . . . call His servants by another
name." (Isaiah 65:15) That
Isaiah is speaking of the time of the end and not of the time of Christ's
first coming, is confirmed by the New Testament, Book of Revelation, where a
new name is, once again, promised for the followers of Christ in the Day of
His return: 1. "To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written , which no man knoweth save he
that receiveth it." (Rev. 2:17) 2. "I will write upon him (that overcometh) My new
name." (Rev.3:12) 3. "I will
confess his (new) name before my Father..." (Rev.3:5). 4. "I will not blot out his (new) name out of the book of
life..." (Rev.3:5) 5. "These things
saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that
openeth and no man shutteth...I have set before thee an open door, and
no man can shut it: for thou...hast not denied my name." (Rev. 3:7). John
then repeatedly writes: "He that hath an
ear, let him hear..." (2:7;2:11;2:17;2:29,3:6;3:13;3:22) Bahaullah
came from Elam, Persia, and His resting place is now on Bahji, Israel and
the shrine of His forerunner, the Bab, is in Mount Carmel. For Baha'is
the two most holy spots on Earth are Bahji and Mount Carmel. The
Bible has many prophesies regarding Elam (today Iran, according the Encarta Encyclopedia) and
Mount
Carmel of Israel. ""I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king
and officials," declares the Lord." ( Jeremiah 49:38 ) "that I was at Shu '-shan in the palace, which is in the
province of Elam; and I saw in a vision . . ." ( Daniel 8:2 ) Regarding
the mountain of the Lord, Isaiah has predicted: "it will burst into bloom; it
will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to
it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the *
glory of the Lord*, the splendor of our God. " ( Isaiah 35:2 ) Moreover,
predicting the future "splendor of Mount Carmel" ,
Isaiah has written: It
is a historical fact that Israel was arid desert until Baha'u'llah came to
it. After Bahá’u’lláh came, however, it has burst
into bloom. This
is what was prophesied: "In that day also He shall come even to thee from
Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the
river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain." (Micah 7:12) And
this is what happened: ... He shall come even to thee from Assyria, -That is Persia which is The
birthplace of Baha'u'llah ... and from the fortified cities, - Baha'u'llah was exiled first to Constantinople and
then to Akka in Israel - both are fortified cities. ... and from the fortress even to the river, Baha'u'llah went from the prison where He was held for two
years in Akka, Israel, to an island in a river called Na'mayn ... and from sea to sea - On the way to Constantinople, Baha'u'llah made
the last part of His journey by way of the Black Sea . And on His way to Akka,
Baha'u'llah made the last part of that journey by way of the
Mediterranean Sea. ... and from mountain to mountain. -Baha'u'llah withdrew prior to beginning His public
mission (just as Jesus did) to commune with God in the Kurdistani mountains
near Baghdad. (This was His first place of exile). When He returned to
Baghdad, He announced His mission publicly to the people. The second mountain
was Mount Carmel in Israel near Haifa, where He journeyed to and where the
seat of Bahai world center is located - Universal House of Justice. Bahais
live in more than 100,000 localities and they come from every race, nation,
ethnic group, religious background, culture, profession, and social or
economic background. They all come together to worship at the Holy Land, just
as it was predicted: And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from
the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. (Luke 13:29)
It
has also been predicted that He will come from the way of the East : "... the glory of
the God [Baha'u'llah] of Israel came
from the way of the east. (Ezekiel 43:2) Baha'u'llah came
to Israel from Persia, which is located East of Israel. The Lord's coming
from the East is also mentioned in many places of the New and Old Testament ( Matthew 24:27 , Revelation 7:2 , Revelation 16:12 , Ezekiel 10:19 , Isaiah 46:11 ) Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called Him to His foot, gave the nations before Him,
and made Him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to His sword, and as
driven stubble to His bow. ( Isaiah 41:2 ) Why
didn't many people accept Baha'u'llah then? Today,
people claim that the Scriptures are only fiction; thus, they are busy and
obsessed with materialism and do not care at all regarding the
"return" and they are busy eating, drinking, buying, selling,
building, exchanging marriages; while, at the same time, complaining for God
failing to intervene. In Luke
17:25-30, when Jesus was speaking of about His second coming, He
had predicted that He will suffer many things and will be rejected by this
generation: 25. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this
generation. Jesus
has said that He will come “like a thief in the
night”(1 Thessalonians 5:2) "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known
at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and
would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
(Matthew
24:43-44) "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known
at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken
into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an
hour when you do not expect him." (Luke
12:39-40) Many
Christian scholars and clergymen confidently predicted that Jesus would
physically return between 1843 and 1844. When Jesus did not physically return
from the physical heaven, many historians dubbed this period in Christian
history the time of "The Great Disappointment." William
Miller, a Baptist preacher, organized an Adventist group known as the Millerites
in anticipation of Christ's return in 1843/1844. Today's Seventh Day
Adventist Church and other Adventist churches as well trace their origins to
William Miller and His teachings. In
the middle of the 19th century, a Christian Adventist group known as The
Templars moved thousands of miles from their homeland in Germany to the foot
of Mount Carmel in Palestine to await the return of the physical Jesus. Their
descendants still live there! Why then the world did not end? (Matthew 24:3). Note:*
"End of the World" ... The first Christian Bibles were written in Greek.
The original Greek word used for "world" was "aion" -
which means "age" or "Messianic period" - and did not
suggest the end of the "physical" world as some Christians who
espouse a literal reading of the Bible (in its translated English versions)
assert. The Greek word for the literal, physical world would have been
"kosmos," but was never used in the Bible regarding the end times. The
only reason they did not accept Baha'u'llah (the Glory of God) was
because He did not come from heaven. Even in Christ's first coming, even
though He was born form His mother's womb, He said that He came down from
heaven. "And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know? how is it then that
He saith, I came down from heaven?" (John 6:42)
Moreover,
in the Old Testament, it was predicted that Elijah will come before the
Messiah: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that
great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. (Malachi 4:5) But, when His disciples asked Christ why Elijah did not come
first, Jesus replied To be sure, Elijah comes
and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and
they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In
the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the
disciples understood that He was talking to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:11-13) Now, the Jews knew that Elijah did not die; because according
the Old Testament, He was physically taken into the physical heaven: As they were walking along and talking together,
suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two
of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11) Therefore,
the Jews were waiting for Elijah to return from the physical heaven. But
Jesus said John the Baptist is the return of Elijah. Then,
we read,
They asked him [John the Baptist], Then who are you? Are you
Elijah? He said, I am not. (John 1:19-21) This
appears to be a contradiction. Jesus says John the Baptist is Elijah and John
the Baptist says I am not Elijah. Which one of them is telling the truth? The
answer is very simple. John the Baptist is the spiritual return of Elijah.
The Jews were expecting the physical Elijah to come down from the physical
heaven as He has gone up. However, in the Gospel according to Luke, John the
Baptist did not come down from the physical heaven. In fact, He was the son
of Elizabeth and Zachariah. (Luke 1:13). Even though Elijah and John the
Baptist are different physically, they are one the in Spirit. Therefore, it
is clear, just as John the Baptist is the Spiritual return of Elajah,
Baha'u'llah is also the Spiritual return of Jesus Christ. Therefore,
Baha'u'llah and Jesus are one in the Spirit. How
about the rolling up of the heavens, the darkening of the sun and the moon, and
the rebuilding of the New Jerusalem? The
Holy Scriptures could have many meanings and, at the same time, they all
could be true interpretations. Briefly these are some of the symbolic terms
used in the Holy Scriptures. Among the biggest signs of the Day
of the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth prophesied by all three greatest
Middle Eastern religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are: Let's
say, for example, there were some cannibals in some remote islands. Let's
say, those first Christian missionaries that went there to preach the Gospel
of Christ were all cannibalized.
On the second attempt, the second group of evangelist were able to convert
the cannibals to accept Jesus Christ. The
questions is, who will be resurrected on the Day of the resurrection? The
cannibals or the evangelists that were eaten by the cannibals? Therefore,
the resurrection of the dead doesn't mean the physical resurrection of the
dead body. There are compelling evidences in the Bible that support to the
spiritual meaning of the resurrection. Thus, whenever Jesus says
"dead", He only meant "spiritual death", not
"physical death". For example, we read in the gospel: "...another of His disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer
me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me;
and let the dead bury their dead." (Matt. 8:21-2)
This
verse does not mean physically dead people burying another dead man. It only
means spiritually dead people bury their physically and spiritually dead man.
Moreover, in John, we read the following words: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Now,
is Jesus talking physical blood and physical flesh or spiritual? This
obviously does not mean that the disciples were eating Jesus' flesh and
drinking His blood. With these explanations, the meaning of "The
dead shall arise from their tombs" is the spiritually dead people
arising from their tombs of heedlessness. Moreover, St. Paul has written: “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel”
(2 Tim. 1:10) Even
though in this verse it says that Jesus "hath
abolished death" with the light of the gospel, all Christians
have been dying ever since the beginning of Christianity. Therefore, there is a big difference
between a spiritual death and a physical death. Then
again, we read:
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes
in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25). Moreover,
while hanging on the cross, Jesus told to one of the thieves: "Today you will be with me in Paradise" ( Luke 23:43 )
How
is that possible to enter into Paradise before the second coming of Christ? All
these verses indicate that if we believe in Jesus Christ, we will never die
(spiritually). Therefore,
the meaning of resurrection is the raising of spiritually dead people and
giving them a spiritual life. The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has united all
religions, races, nationalities, creeds and classes that have sought its
shadow, and have pledged solid allegiance to its cause. It has changed the
hearts of its believers, burned away their prejudices, stilled their
passions, exalted their conceptions, ennobled their motives, coordinated
their efforts, and transformed their outlook. How about the Darkening of the Sun and the Moon? On Mathew 24, as the signs of His return, Jesus had
predicted the rolling up of the heavens, darkening of the sun and the moon,
and the falling of the stars. These
prophecies are symbolic. For example, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life." (John 8:12) From
the above verses, we can see that Jesus is a spiritual light. These
prophecies about the sun, moon and the stars should also be symbolic.
Therefore, when Jesus says the sun will be darkened, He is not speaking about
turning the physical sun into complete darkness. The sun shall be darkened
means the truth will disappear. Now that we have over 40,000 Christian sects and denominations each
claiming to interpret the truth, this prophecy has been fulfilled. Similarly,
these prophecies about the heavens, the moon and the stars should be
symbolic. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling
together; and a little child shall lead them." ( Isaiah 11:6 ) By
their nature since these animals cannot mingle and associate with each other
in kindness and love, therefore, this prophecy symbolizes unity and agreement
of races, nations, and peoples. It means the agreement of races, nations and
peoples who will come together in attitudes and intelligence, illumination
and spirituality. It means ferocious and contending religions, hostile
creeds and divergent beliefs will reconcile and associate overcoming their former
hatred and antagonisms.
The
rebuilding of the New Jerusalem in Daniel (and the "Holy
city and the New Jerusalem" repeated by the Revelation
of John) does not mean to rebuild a city with bricks and stones.
It only means a New Law of God and a New Revelation. Let's ask ourselves.
Which one is better? To rebuild a city with water and clay or to renew and
restore the Laws of God for this troubled day and age that is fast declining
unto chaos and confusion? Having explained these symbolic
prophecies, we all can now see that science and religion are not necessarily
contradictory. In fact, science and religion are like the two wings of one
bird. They both are neither static nor exclusive. Both are progressive and
universal. It is just the misinterpretation of what the prophecies mean with
our limited understanding of them that they seem contradictory. If religion
is without science, it becomes superstition and if science is without
religion it becomes materialism. “I am the good shepherd.” Says Jesus Christ, “The good
shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a
shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees
because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-18) Obviously, the hired hands are the priests and the
preachers. After Jesus left, they were the custodians and the guardians of
His church. However, unfortunately, instead of protecting the Church of God
from division, they have divided it. Indeed, Christianity has been divided
and scattered into 40,000 separate sects
and denominations. But,
Jesus Christ has promised that He will gather all His Sheep that the wolves have
scattered and His Sheep will recognize him by His voice: I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring
them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and
one Shepherd (John 10:16)
As
you can see, Jesus has said that He has believers that are not from
the Christian fold. He will also bring them and
there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. Just
as many rivers join to the sea, Bahaullah has united all of the following
religions and made them one. The
first 7 religions are mentioned in the Revelation of John as “the seven churches which are in Asia” that Jesus
will come and unite them in His second coming (Rev.
1:4+,Rev.
1:11). The
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has united all religions, races, nationalities, creeds and
classes that have sought its shadow, and have pledged solid allegiance to its
cause. It has changed the hearts of its believers, burned away their
prejudices, stilled their passions, exalted their conceptions, ennobled their
motives, coordinated their efforts, and transformed their outlook. The
Bahai Faith is a nonviolent movement. During the time of Bahaullah, over
20,000 Bahais were killed in Iran. The Bahais simply sacrificed their
life without resorting to violence. The
older the religion, the more they believe in status, idols, and they are more
superstitious. When they become Bahais, they must leave their
superstitions. The
Bahai Temple has 9 doors, 9 fountain pools, and 9 gardens. It is built to
serve all 9 religions. Any
Christian who has read the Words of Christ, when reading this prayer he or
she will immediately recognize the voice of Jesus: O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and
reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide
in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to
serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the
light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art
their Helper and their Lord. ~Baha’u’llah All
these commutative evidences are indicating that the appointed hour has at
last struck and God has, once again, spoken through His Prophet, Baha’u’llah. Bahaullah's
message could be summarized with the following principles: •
The oneness of God If
we follow His teachings and commandments, we will have a fulfilled life,
worthy of man and acceptable to God. If people had listened and lived as He
instructed, had turned away from evil, had practiced love instead of hate,
justice instead of oppression, most of the evil and most of the suffering
would be removed from the world. On
the Day, when His sheep become 'one flock with
one shepherd'(Jn 10:11-18),
that will be the Day when 'the earth shall
be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' (Isa 11:9).
That will be the Day when the earth will be transformed into paradise, and
the daily prayer of the Christians that the 'Kingdome
of God on earth' (Mat. 6:10)
will be fulfilled; that will be the Day when “tears are turned in to
laughter, hate to love, war to peace, and everyone to everyone's neighbour,
misery and suffering would be forgotten forever.” In that Kingdom
of God, nations ' shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.' (Isa 2:4) END
NOTES
Barnabas
Araya Yohannes.
P.S.
All thanks is due to http://BibleGateway.com
and http://biblehub.com for making the
entire Holy Bible available for the public on the Internet. Questions,
critics, and/or feedbacks are always welcome. Email me at yohannesb@hotmail.com |