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Abstract: Early draft of the later book Apocalypse - An Exegesis. Notes: See the updated version of this book, Apocalypse: An Exegesis. See also a review. Also available in RTF. |
The Bahá'í Faith grew out of the Babi Faith which was founded in 1844 by the Bab, Mirza 'Ali Muhammad of Shiraz, Persia. The Babi teachings emphasized the forthcoming appearance of "The One Whom God will Make Manifest," a new Prophet or Manifestation of God. The Babi Faith stemmed from Shiah Islam which taught the forthcoming return of the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad's Successor, Who would renew religion and guide the faithful. "This messianic view was the basis of the teachings of the Shaykhi sect, so named after Shakyh Ahmad." [Firuz Khazemzadeh, "The Bahá'í Faith," World Order, Spring 1974, p. 10.] The teachings of this sect gave allegorical interpretations to doctrines such as the resurrection, the Last Judgement, and the return of the Twelfth Imam.
When the Bab announced in 1844 that He was the channel through which grace from someone as yet veiled from men was to flow, it caused considerable excitement among His fellow Persians. Many people became followers of the Bab, but the Persian government and clergy were opposed to His new doctrines and eventually the Bab was executed and with Him a large number of His followers, the Babis.
Among His followers was a man of wealthy background Who was incarcerated in Tehran for allegedly attempting to kill the Shah of Persia. It was while this man was in prison that He learned from God of His unique station. His name was Bahá'u'lláh, the Glory of God, and He was the Messenger God had chosen to carry His Message for this Era to all mankind. Long years of exile saw Bahá'u'lláh banished from Persia and sent throughout the Ottoman Empire until, at last, He was sent to the prison fortress at 'Akka. Notwithstanding the attempts of governments, clergy, and individuals to halt His teaching, Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed to the people of the world God's Message for this time. By His death, in 1892, the Bahá'í Faith had spread "beyond Persia and the Ottoman Empire to the Caucasus, Turkestan, India, Burma, Egypt, and the Sudan." [Kazemzadeh, p. 11]
To preserve the unity of the Bahá'í community after His passing, Bahá'u'lláh appointed His son 'Abdu'l-Bahá as leader of the community and authorized Interpreter of His writings. This appointment, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's subsequent appointment of Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, His grandson, as sole Interpreter of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and Guardian of the Cause, ensured that the writings of the Faith and, indeed, the Faith itself would be free from the dangerous schisms and taints of personality that had harmed the Faiths of previous Manifestations of God. Clearly, Bahá'u'lláh intended to secure for His followers single, unquestioned interpretation of His words and teachings.
In His writings, Bahá'u'lláh has unsealed the meanings of the Books of the Bible which were sealed in the time of Jesus Christ until man should be of sufficient spiritual maturity to understand what is in them. In the case of The Revelation of St. John the Divine, a book that has been interpreted by numerous worthy scholars, Bahá'u'lláh's interpretation is deeply symbolic but clear and concise within the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith.
Using the words of Bahá'u'lláh and the interpretations of His teachings as a base, the writer has carefully gone through each verse and revealed the meaning that lies richly within, waiting to illumine the eyes of mankind and fulfill the promises made to him by God through His Manifestations.
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Melissa Tansik
10 November 1975 AD
8 Qudrat 132 BE
[See also the updated version of this book.]
CONTENTS
Preface VII
Acknowledgements XV
Part One
Introduction
The Sources 3
The Allegorical Method 6
Gematria 11
Number Symbolism 13
Astrological Symbolism 20
Geometric Symbolism 28
Further Literary Devices 30
The Time and Space of the Apocalypse 30
Future Scholarship 31
The Notes 34
Part Two
The Revelation of Saint John the Divine
Chapter One The Greatest Name 43
Two Letters to Ancient Faiths 65
Three Letters to Recent Faiths 79
Four The Invisible Zodiac 87
Five The Book of Seven Seals 99
Six The Book is Opened 107
Seven God's Servants are Sealed 115
Eight The Fate of the Early Church 129
Nine The Fall of Christendom 135
Ten Interlude 143
Eleven The Course of Islam 147
Twelve The Travail of the Word 157
Thirteen The Rise of the Caliphate 165
Fourteen The World-Stage is Set 177
Fifteen His Name Revealed 187
Sixteen The End of the Age 197
Seventeen Mysteries Revealed 207
Eighteen Encomium of Victory 213
Nineteen The Triumph of Bahá'u'lláh 219
Twenty Satan Bound 225
Twenty-one The Holy City 231
Twenty-two Epilogue
Appendix A The Number of Baha' in the Apocalypse 261
B Correlation of Some Dates in the
Book of Daniel 263
C Origins of Gematriot and
Number Symbolism 267
D The Hebrew and Arabic Gematriot 271
E Glossary of Symbols 273
F Chronological Table 289
G Some Bahá'í Apocalyptic Writings 295
References 307
H Late Errata and Changes
(copied from _I, Daniel_) A-1
Indexes
Index of biblical verses cited
Subject index
ILLUSTRATIONS
The world of the First Century II
The Time and Space of the Apocalypse XII
Figure 1 The T'ai-Chi, or Yang-Yin Sombol of
China
The All-Seeing Eye of Brahma 15
2 The Sacred Tetraktys of Pythagoras 17
3 The Ancient Cosmos 21
4 The Precession of the Equinoxes 25
5 Examples of the Quadratura Circuit 29
6 Hierarchy of Revelations 54
7 The Greatest Name 56
8 The Sicle Formed by the Seven Churches 61
9 The Four Pillare of the Age of Aquarius 91
10 The Invisible Zodiac or HIdden Mandala 94
11 Aries the Ram or Lamb 101
12 Prophecies to the Christians 108
13 The Golden Triangle 123
14 Harmonic Patterns Using the
Golden Triangle 124
15 Pentagon, Dodecahedron, Pentagram 125
16 Future, Present, Past 128
17 Sagittarius-Scorpio 137
18 Prophecies to Islam 148
19 Wonders in Heaven 159
20 War in Heaven 161
21 The Woman in Heaven 162
22 666, The Magic Square of the Sun 173
23 The Horse in Heaven 183
24 A Mystic Triangle 195
25 Geometry of the Holy City, New
Jerusalem 236
26 Geometry of the Bahá'í
Mashriqu'l-Adkhar 239
27 Decagon, Decagram 247
28 Neter, Arm, Cubit 248
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