Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 2
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Chapter Two
LETTERS TO ANCIENT FAITHS
The letters that follow are addressed to the Seven Churches of
Asia as they are characterized at the end of the Age of Prophecy.
In contrast to their original purity alluded to in Chapter One,
verse 11, each of the Churches has become corrupted to some
extent. The Author is the Spirit of God speaking through His
Manifestation. Their style suggests an equivalence between the
Manifestation and His Church. The Savior seems to be identical
to the saved._/1 The ambiguity also extends to which
Manifestation is doing the speaking. The intermingling of the
Voices points out their essential unity. Baha'u'llah explains,
"Inasmuch as these Birds of the Celestial Throne are all sent
down from the heaven of the Will of God, and as they all arise to
proclaim His irresistible Faith, they therefore are regarded as
one soul and the same person... They all abide in the same
tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the same
throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim the same Faith..."_/2
The close connection between the Manifestation and His Church is
also made clear by Baha'u'llah: "Nay, all else besides these
Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will, and move and
have their being through the outpourings of their grace."_/3 And
further, "That some are near (to God) and others are far (from
God) is to be ascribed to the Manifestations themselves."_/4
But there is a special role that is played by Baha'u'llah. In
His Tablet, _The Youth of Paradise_, Baha'u'llah identifies
Himself as the Word upon which depended the souls of all the
Prophets of God and His Chosen Ones._/5 It is therefore
necessary to consider Baha'u'llah as the Speaker Who addresses
the letters to the Founders of the Churches.
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1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;
These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars
in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks:
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are
evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are
apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my
name's sake hast laboured and hast not fainted.
This letter is addressed to the Revelator of the Sabaean Faith.
Apostles are trusted messengers. To faint means to grow weary.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because
thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefor from whence thou art fallen, and
repent, and do the first works; or else I will come
unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of
the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will
I give to eat out of the tree of life, which is in
the midst of the paradise of God.
God, speaking through Baha'u'llah, is threatening to remove their
Faith from the earth because they have strayed from their
original teachings.
Nicolaitanes, followers of Nicolas, were Covenant breakers in the
early Christian Church and here symbolize Covenant breakers of
any Divinely revealed Faith. Nicolas may have been originally a
convert from Antioch who is mentioned in Acts 6:5. The doctrine
of Nicholas included the theory that acceptance of Jesus Christ
placed the believer above the laws and morality of
non-Christians, and one's standard of behavior became largely a
matter of personal inclination.
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The promise that God is making is that he who overcomes the false
teachings existing within the Church will receive spiritual life,
light, and sustenance through God's Manifestation, the Tree of
Life, Baha'u'llah. (Compare Genesis 2.)
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;
These things saith the first and the last, which was
dead, and is alive;
9 I know thy works and tribulation, and poverty,
(but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you
into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spjirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh
shall not be hurt of the second death.
This message is addressed to Moses and the Jewish Faith. God
distinguishes between those Jews who are materially poor but
spiritually rich, and those who are materially rich but
spiritually poor. A true Jew is one who loves God and obeys His
laws. The synagogue of Satan is those who exalt themselves
before God and refuse to obey His laws.
The Jews are informed that some of them will be imprisoned by the
devil for a period of 10 days. The prophecy refers to their 10
year tribulation under Hitler and the Nazi regime from 1935 to
1945 AD._/6
In Biblical prophecy, the following time scale conversion must be
used:_/7
BIBLICAL TERM CALENDAR TIME
1 day 1 year
or
1 time (360 years)
or
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1 era (arbitrary period)
1 week 7 years
1 month 30 years
1 time 360 years*
1 year 360 years
1 hour A short time; a part of a year_/7
The length of the year is indicated *Called a "deva" or
by the context. "divine year" in Hindu
chronology. There are 72
The Spirit, through Baha'u'llah, "times" in a Great, i.e.,
promises that the Jews who a Platonic year. See Part
persevere in true Judaism through One, _Astrological
their tribulation will receive Symbolism_.
spiritual salvation and eternal
spiritual life. The Jews will avoid the "second death" by
accepting Baha'u'llah. The "first (spiritual) death" was the
result of their rejection of Jesus Christ.
Satan, the devil, and similar epithets symbolize the evil
principle and do not refer to an actual being. In this case, the
devil refers to the evil principle manifested in Hitler and the
Nazi regime.
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write:
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword
with two edges;
13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even
where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my
name, and hast not denied by faith, even in those
days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was
slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
These words are addressed to Krishna and the Hindu Faith. "Where
Satan dwells" and "Satan's seat" refer to a degraded spiritual
condition. Antipas ANTîIãAä_/8 means literally "against all" and
refers to the great Reformer of the ancient Hindu world, Lord
Buddha. The martyrdom of Antipas in the place where Satan dwells
symbolizes the end of resistance to spiritual decay.
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The true Hindus are cited for maintaining the name of God
(Brahma) even during their period of spiritual decay.
14 But I have a few things against thee, because
thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block
before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of
the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon and the
wife of Ahab, king of Israel, introduced the idolatrous doctrine
of Balaam into Israel in the ninth century BC. The story is
recounted in Chronicles and II Kings. Idol worship is equivalent
in the doctrine of materialism.
To eat things sacrificed to idols means to accept idolatrous
teachings. Similarly, the consuming of the bread and the wine of
the Eucharist symbolizes the acceptance of Jesus Christ's
teachings and His blood sacrifice._/10
In the symbolism of Revelations, to commit fornication means to
accept false doctrine.
16 Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly,
and will fight against them with the sword of my
mouth.
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; 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 saving he that receiveth it.
Hidden manna refers to Divine Revelation; that is, spiritual
sustenance from heaven, the Word of God and reality, hidden until
revealed by Baha'u'llah._/11 "... That which is preeminent
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above all other gifts, is incorruptible in nature, and pertaineth
to God Himself, is the gift of Divine Revelation... It is, in
its essence, and will ever remain, the Bread which cometh down
from Heaven."--Baha'u'llah <2:17><G#4> The hidden manna is
promised to those who overcome the false teachings within the
Hindu Faith.
In antiquity, it was a custom to present invited guests with
small mosaics or stones engraved with names or other suitable
inscriptions. These stones were called tesserae._/13 They were
roughly equivalent to mondern engraved invitations or passports.
The color white symbolizes purity and perfection, the stone
symbolized truth; hence white stone symbolizes perfect wisdom and
understanding.
Tesserae were also used to perpetuate a friendship and to render
a union more sacred. The prevelege of friendship could be
extended to others carrying the tessera. The tessera was usually
constructed of a small piece of bone, ivory, or stone. It was
broken into equal parts, and each party wrote his own name or
other suitable inscription on his piece. Mutual pledges and an
exchange were made, and, to prevent imposture, the pledge was
kept secret and no one knew the name inscribed on his piece
except the posessor. Tesserae were probably carried by the early
Christians during their travels to introduce them to fellow
Christians.
The Bab presented His followers and Baha'u'llah with a scroll
often called the "White Stone" on which He inscribed a pentacle
(five-pointed star) with 360 derivitives of the word "Baha."_/14
This scroll represented a revelation of the name of the new
Manifestation to follow Him. Only those who accept the Baha'i
Revelation will understand the meaning of the new name._/15
New name KáIçoç oçoæá has a literal value of 432 and an archetypal
value of 9, the number of Baha.
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira
write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath
his eyes
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like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like
fine brass;
19 I know thy works, and charity, and swervice, and
faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last
to be more than the first.
"Son of God"_/16 and "god" are epithets for "one unto whom the
Word of God came." Jesus makes this clear in John 10:30-36 where
He quotes from Psalm 82:6-8 in answer to certain Jews who accused
Jesus of blasphemy. The subject is further elucidated in Romans
1:3-4 and Hebrews 1:4-6. The Bible contains other clear
references to Manifestations, prophets, and believers with the
epithet "Son of God" or "son of God." For examples see:
I Chronicles 28:6, 22:10, 17:11-14 (Solomon)
Psalm 2:6-8 (David)
Hebrews 6:20, 7:1-3, 7:15 (Melchisedec)
Luke 3:38 (Adam)
Galatians 3:23-28, 4:3ff (Christians)
John 1:12 (Christians)
I John 3:2 (Christians)
Revelations 21:7 (Citizens of the New Jerusalem)
Job 38:7 (Various)
Malachi 2:10 (Various)
Romans 8:14 (Various)
Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1 (Israel)
The term "son of God" is applied to primal men in Genesis
6:2-4.
Adam, a Son of God,_/17 was a Prophet and the first Manifestation
of the Adamic Cycle. Baha'u'llah is the first Manifestation of
the Baha'i Cycle and is the Son of God referred to in verse
18._/18
In the above verses, the Zoroastrians are admonished for putting
everything else before the Law and the love of God.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee,
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because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce
my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her
fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them that
commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all
the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth
the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every
one of you according to your works.
Bed means the bed of heedlessness, misery and shame. Adultery
means to share false doctrine. The Zoroastrians are warned to
avoid the practice of idolatry. The idolatrous followers of the
teachings of Jezebel will receive spiritual death and will be
rewarded in accordance with their deeds.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in
Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and
which have not known the depths of Satan, as they
speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have alrady hold fast till I
come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto
the end, to him I will give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the
vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit
saith unto the churches.
The Bab, the forerunner of Baha'u'llah, was manifested in that
part of Iran where the Zoroastrian Faith is centered. The Bab as
the Herald of a new Day of God is likened to the morning star.
His Advent resulted in great upheavals in Iran (Persia) and
neighboring countries. The verses present a prophecy of the
final
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dissolution of all the nations of the world and their spiritual
domination by the faithful who accept the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
The rod of iron is a symbol of spiritual domination; it is not a
sword of conquest. "... though the revelations of My grace and
bounty have permeated every atom of the universe, yet the rod
with which I chastise the wicked is grievous..."--Baha'u'llah_/19
concerning the rod of iron, 'Abdu'l-Baha explains, "... certain
souls guided (people) with a rod of the plant, that is, a reed
where with he shepherded the sheep, like unto the rod of Moses;
others trained (the people) with a rod of iron and drove them, as
in the time of Muhammad..."--<21:10-17 #1>
Notes to Chapter Two
1. The Son of Man by redeeming man, consummates Himself. This
style was also used by Gnostic writers. See Reference 3, p. 78f.
2. _The World Order of Baha'u'llah_, p. 115.
3. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 179.
4. Ibid., p. 185
5. Reference 21, p. 213.
6. The conscious reliance of Hitler and the Nazi leadership upon
satanic forces is strongly indicated by the evidence presented by
Trevor Ravenscroft in Reference 27. The "imprisonment" began
with the "Nurnberg laws on citizenship and race," 15 September
1935, and ended with the destruction of the Third Reich in May
1945, a period of ten lunar years.
7. The time scale is based in part upon Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel
4:6 in which it is explained that a day of the Lord is equal to a
year. It is also probably based in analogy upon the ancient
Egyptian civil calendar containing 12 months each of 30 days
duration. The use of the 360-day calendar in biblical allegory
can be inferred by comparing Genesis 7:11, 24, 8:4. Concerning
the "Hour," see <11:13>.
8. There were at least three known attempts to murder Lord Buddha
by a jealous cousin named Devadatta and his henchman Ajatasatru,
a decadent monk and follower of Devadatta. Tradition tells us
that all attempts to murder Buddha were failures. However,
tradition also records that Lord Buddha was accidentally killed
by a meal of poisoned mushrooms in the home of Cunda, a smith.
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Poison was one method that Devadatta and Ajatasatru had attempted
to use against Buddha. The wording of 2:13 suggests that Lord
Buddha's death may not, in fact, have been accidental. Even if
His death was truly accidental, Lord Buddha may be considered a
martyr in a symbolic sense, since His teachings were first
perverted, then rejected in the land of His birth. The episodes
and machinations of Devadatta and Ajatasatru are remarkably
similar to those perpetrated against Baha'u'llah by
Muhammad-i-Isfahani and Mirza Yahya. (See _God Passes By_.)
9. See Exodus 32:23.
10. See _Some Answered Questions_, Chapter XXI and John 6:33.
For early Christians living in urban areas there arose the
controversy over whether they might eat meat that had first been
sacrificed to idols and later offered for sale in the public
stalls. (Ref. 14, p. 59.) Literally "Eucharist" means a
thanksgiving.
11. Philo gave the allegorical interpretation of manna as
signifying the Reason of God. (Ref. 4, p. 41, n. 16.)
12. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 195. See
also John 1:1-2, 3:34, 6:33ff, 6:50-51, 12:49, Wisdom of Solomon
9:17.
13. Ref. 12, p. 148. See Euripedes, _Medea_, v. 613, and
Plautus, _Paenulus_, act v, sc. 2, ver. 85.
14. _The Dawn-Breakers_, p. 505; _Baha'i World Faith_, p. 221.
Note that the number 360 has an archetypal value of 9 and equals
the number of years in a "time." The number 360 is also the
product of 9 and 40, and is, therefore, a coupling of the number
of Baha (9) with another sacred number 40. The number 40, the
decadal successor of 4, figures prominently in the Bible, e.g.,
Exodus 24:18; Genesis 7:12, 8:6, 50:3; Numbers 13:25, 14:33;
Deuteronomy 9:18-25; I Kings 19:8; Ezekiel 4:6; Jonah 3:4; I
Samuel 17:16; Matthew 4:2; Acts 1:3; Psalm 95:10. Its symbolic
significance is not clearly understood (Ref. 12, p. 112), but
Micah 7:15 (KJV) prophesies that the Latter Day Redeemer will be
shown "marvelous things" for 40 years. This was the period of
Baha'u'llah's Ministry from His Revelation in 1269 AH until His
Ascension in 1309 AH (Ref 28, p. 127). The number 360 is the
product of 3x4x5x6. See also, Chapter 14, Note 16.
15. See also I Thessalonians 4:16 (cf. Ephesians 2:5-7); Luke
13:35; Matthew 17:10-13, 25:31-33, 23:39, 16:27; Isaiah 62:2.
16. "Son of God" and "Savior" were titles current in the
pre-Christian Gentile world meaning "Redeemer" (Ref. 20, p. 176).
Deification of emporors was a part of the Roman Imperial cult,
beginning with
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Augustus (63 BC-14 AD), who received the title Divi Filius (Son
of God) by decree of the Senate. The term Messiah was a Jewish
regal title. Conjoining the titles Messiah and Son of God
implied that the Messiah was not inferior in dignity to Caesar.
However, it was possible among the Jews to use the title Son of
God without implying deification. The deification of Jesus
probably resulted from the early controversy between the
Messianists (Christians) and the Gnostic-Christians. The
Gnostics maintained that Jesus was actually a god Who only seemed
to have "come in the flesh." A belief in two Gods would have
been the logical outcome of such a doctrine. Monotheism was
saved by the esoteric three-in-one doctrine of the Trinity. (See
Part One, Note 15; Chapter 11, Notes 10, 15; Ref. 52, Part Two,
Chapter 1; Ref. 11, p. 37; Ref. 12, p. 88; Galatians 3:20 (RSV).)
A son is a "mirror" of his father. The likening of Jesus to a
Mirror can be found in Colossians 1:15 and Hebrews 1:3.
17. According to the Bible, neither Adam nor Melchisedec had
human parents. The meaning of this statement is that their
priesthoods were not inherited as were the priesthoods of the
surrounding peoples and the later Aaronic priesthood under Moses.
Since their priesthoods were not inherited from their parents,
their priesthoods were bestowed upon them directly by God and
would not dissolve upon their deaths. The early Christians made
this same claim for Jesus Christ (Ref. 12, p. 64).
The expression "Only-Begotten" often applied to Jesus as the
Only-Begotten Son of god, seems to contradict the frequent use of
Son of God as an epithet among the ancients. With the recent
researches into Gnostic literature, and particularly as a result
of the discovery of the Gnostic library at Nag-Hammadi, it is
possible that the original meaning of the term as used in the
early Christian centuries may now be discernable. In the ancient
Gnostic writings, the term "Begotten" meant an Emanation from the
Divine Essence. In the various Gnostic systems of thought the
heavenly hierarchy of these Emanations (collectively called the
"Pleroma") was varied, but the primary or direct Emanation was
referred to as the "Only-Begotten." The remaining Emanations, up
to thirty in some systems, were secondary Emanations of a lower
rank. Thus, for example, in the system of Valentinus, the Divine
Essence was sometimes called the "Fore-Father," while the
"Father" was the "Only-Begotten." Secondary Emanations included
the "Word,"
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the "Holy Spririt," the "Christos," etc.. Jesus was considered
to be the joint offspring of the Pleroma and had a strictly human
mission.
Another Gnostic system described in the Apocryphon of John more
closely resembled the orthodox Christian view. In this system,
"Man" was elevated to the rank of the Image of the First-God (as
in Genesis 1:26) while the Son of Man was considered to be the
Only-Begotten. As explained in Chapter 1, Note 30, the Son of
Man (Redeemer) was sent periodically into the world of man to
reveal the "Light," etc..
The theory of Emanations is also found in Jewish mystical
writings. (See Reference 3, pp. 179-181, 199-200, 202-203;
Reference 4, pp. 79ff, 100ff, 108.) The term Only-Begotten was
applied to Israel in the Apocalypse of Ezra, 6:55.
In modern terms, the "Only-Begotten" was roughly equivalent to
the highest spiritual rank beneath the Divine Essence, but the
term did not imply that the Only-Begotten would not be a
remanifested in successive Ages. To the contrary, Gnostic,
Jewish and Christian systems all included the theory that the
Redeemer would be remanifested.
While the term "Only-Begotten" is applied to Jesus in the King
James Version of the Holy Bible, the term "Begotten" is dropped
in the RSV and other modern translations. (Compare KJV and RSV
versions of John 1:18.)
Rank implies autonomy. Autonomy or self-life is ascribed to
Jesus in John 5:26-27.
Hebrews 7:3, 13:8 explains that the priesthood of a Manifestation
continues "forever," but Matthew 28:20 implies that the term
"forever" is áIêNOä, that is, limited to an Age, "generation," or
"world," (Compare KJV and RSV versions of Matthew 28:20. See
also I Peter 1:5, 20, 4:7; Jude 18; I Corinthians 10:11.)
18. In a Tablet addressed to the Jewish people, Baha'u'llah
reveals that it is He Who "ruleth upon the throne of David."
(_The Promised Day is Come_, pp. 78-79; _God Passes By_, p. 230.)
Compare with the prophecy of II Samuel 7:12-16. See also Isaiah
9:6-7, 56:8; Matthew 10:34; John 10:16; Ephesians 4:4-6; Ezeklel
37:24; Malachi 2:10; Zephaniah 3:9.
19. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 325. See
also Isaiah 11:4. The sword, a "rod of iron," was used by the
followers of the Bab to defend themselves against
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Muslim attacks during the blood stained days of the Bab's
Ministry. Although Baha'u'llah gave encouragement, by His visit,
to the heroic defenders of Fort Shaykh Tabarsi, 1848-49 AD,
during His own Ministry 1952-92 AD, Baha'u'llah forbade the sword
in favor of the pen.