Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 6
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Chapter Six
THE BOOK IS OPENED
[The ordering of footnotes is as in the original book.]
After having witnessed the hidden forces of the Upper World that
will become manifest in the Last Day, John is now permitted to
see the hidden forces that will rule the Lower World until the
end of the Prophetic Age. The seven seals will be opened by the
Bab. The openings of the first five of these seals present an
overview of the tribulation of mankind leading up to the
Manifestations of the Bab and Baha'u'llah. The opening of the
sixth seal describes the world-wide cataclysmic events attending
their Manifestations.
In opposition to the four paragons of the Upper World, four
mischiefmakers will dominate the Lower World. The four
Mischiefmakers ride four horses representing the hidden forces of
the Under-World._/1 The four paragons of the invisible zodiac
invite John to "come and see" what is destined to happen as the
zodiacal wheel rolls onward.
The seventh seal, to be opened in Chapter 8, will reveal a
detailed future history of the spiritual life of mankind,
beginning with the coming of Baha'u'llah and the new Jerusalem.
The future will be revealed in seven stages by seven angels. The
relationship between the opening of the seals and the various
angels is shown in figures 12 and 18.
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals,
and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of
the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that
sat on him had a
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|-3----=----2----=----1----=----V----=----1----=----2----=----3-|
FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH FIFTH SIXTH
SEAL SEAL SEAL SEAL SEAL SEAL
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
White Red Black Pale
Horse Horse Horse Horse Martyr- Social
Corrupted Economic Ungod- dom Upheaval
Theology War Injustice liness
|
________________________________|
| |
4 Angels Angel of
of Earth the East
| |
Servants of God
are Sealed
"3" "9"
|
|
SEVENTH
SEAL
|
|
___________________Altar_____Sacrificial
| Angel Fire
|
|
FIRST______First great persecution
ANGEL of Christians 110-238 AD
|
|
SECOND_____Second great persecution
ANGEL of Christians 249-311 AD
|
|
THIRD______Constantine (Wormwood)
ANGEL Embitterment of Christianity
| 325 AD
|
___FOURTH_____Fall of Western Civilization
| ANGEL Beginning of Dark Age
200 | 408-563 AD
years |
|___FIFTH______First Woe____Rise of Bani-Umayya (First Beast)
ANGEL Muhammad Abu-Sufyan (Apollyon) 661-750 AD
| 622 AD
|
___SIXTH______4 Angels of ____Fall of
| ANGEL Euphrates are loosed Constantinople
391 | 1453 AD
years |
| Angel of ___Voices (Thunders)
|Baha'u'llah of 7 Revelators
| |
| |
|_Second Woe
The Bab
1844 AD
PROPHECIES TO THE CHRISTIANS
Chapters 6 to 10
Figure 12
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bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went
forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard
the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red:
and power was given to him that sat thereon to take
peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another: and there was given unto him a great
sword.
The thunder from the opening of the first seal is the noise of
the violation of the Covenant. The white horse_/1 is Corrupted
Theology, disguised with the color of purity but bent upon
conquering the minds of men. Its rider is the Worldly Church,
who holds in his hands the bow of propaganda. The crown given
him is spiritual authority.
The red horse is War and has the color of blood. The rider is
National Greed and he holds in his hand the sword of conquest.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the
third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo
a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four
beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou
hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard
the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his
name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And power was given unto them over the
fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and
with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of
the earth.
The black horse is Economic Injustice and has the color if impure
motive. His rider is Personal Greed. The balance he
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carries is the power to distribute
wealth. The measure* of wheat and *RSV translates the
three measures of barley for a measure as a quart and the
penny are unjustly traded for about penny as a denarius.
one-eighth their fair value.
The victim of the transaction is warned not to consume oil and
wine, the commodities of luxury.
The pale horse is Ungodliness and has the color of indifference.
His rider is Spiritual Death and his followers are those who are
remote from God. Their weapons include the sword of evil
practices, the starvation of spiritual destitution, the death of
unbelief, and ungodly leadership (beasts of the earth).
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the
word of God, and for the testimony which they help:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of
them; and it was said unto them, that thay should
rest yet for a little season, until their follow
servants also and their brethren, that should be
killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
These verses prophesy the future martyrs of Islam, the Babi, and
Baha'i Faiths, numbering in the tens of thousands. It has been
estimated that several thousand martyrs sacrificed their lives to
the Causes of Jesus Christ and Muhammad. About twenty to thirty
thousands more were martyred for the Causes of the Bab and
Baha'u'llah.
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,
and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs,
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when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is
rolled together, and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men,
and the righ men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man,
hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
mountains.
16 And said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on
us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who
shall be able to stand?
These verses contain several symbols used by the prophets:_/8
Earthquake--Disturbance of the worldly order._/2
(Heaven quake--Disturbance of the heavenly order.)
Sun, moon, stars--The hierarchy of prophets, church leaders,
saints, priests, elders, etc._/3
Sun becomes black, etc.--Fall of the hierarchy.
Heavens rolled up like a scroll--Removal of the heavenly
order._/4
Mountains, valleys--Peoples, nations, religions,
institutions.5
Dens, islands, rocks--Strongholds, places of safety._/6
When the divines of a former Dispensation accept the new
Manifestation, they will become illunined; otherwise they will
become "darkened," and their teachings will turn from water into
blood. In _The Book of Certitude_, Baha'u'llah reveals, "In
another sense, by the terms 'sun,' 'moon,' and 'stars' are meant
such laws and teachings as ahve been established in every
Dispensation, such as the laws of prayer and fasting... Hence,
it is clear and manifest that by the words 'the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from
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heaven' is intended the waywardness of the divines, and the
annulment of laws firmly established by divine Revelation..."_/7
Verses 12-17 reveal that after the Bab and Baha'u'llah are
manifested, the world hierarchy of church potentates, leaders,
and clergy will lose their power. Nations, religions, and
institutions will disappear. "Speed out of your sepulchers. How
long will ye sleep? ... The earth has quaked with a great
quaking, and cast forth her burdens ... the mountains have become
like flocks of wool ... the people are sore vexed at the awful
majesty of the Cause of God. Witness how their houses are empty
ruins, and they themselves a drowned host... The All-Mercivul
hath come down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest
sovereignty... The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and
the earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the
angels of God are seen descending... The mountains have passed
away, and the heavens have been folded together, and thw ehole
earth is help with in His grasp..."--Baha'u'llah
Notes to Chapter Six
1. Hades-Pluto, the Graeco-Roman god of the Underworld, also
drive four horses. Thye horses also appear in Zechariah 6:2-3
where they appear benevolent and may correspond to the four winds
of prophecy (Revelations 7:1).
2. E.g., Psalm 114:7; I Chronicles 16:29-34; Joel 3:16; Amos
8:8; Isaiah 13:13, 14:16; Haggai 2:6-7; Hebrews 12:26-27.
3. E.g., Amos 8:9; Isaiah 13:10, 60:19-20, 14:12; Ezekiel 32:7-8;
Job 38:7; Numbers 24:17; Joel 2:31, 3:15; Acts 2:20; Jude 1:13;
Matthew 24:29; Obadiah 1:4. See also Genesis 37:9-10. An
important Tablet of the Bab, the _Quayyum-i-Asma_ [_The Book of
Names_], reveals that the story of Joseph is a prophecy of the
coming of Baha'u'llah, His imprisonments, treachery by relatives,
etc..
4. E.g., Isaiah 34:4.
5. E.g., Psalm 114:4; Isaiah 14:25-26, 2:2-3, 40:4, 65:23-5;
Jeremiah 48:8; Micah 1:3-4; Luke 23:30, 3:4-5; Daniel 2. Ancient
Sumerian literature states that the "divine laws" were revealed
on the 7 holy mountains of the Zagros Range. (Ref 12, p. 32.)
In the more recent traditions
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of the MIddle East, certain mountains remain associated with a
Faith, e.g., Sinai and Zion with Judaism, Calvary and Olivet with
Christianity, Paran and Hira with Islam, Mah-ku and Carmel with
Babi, Sar-Galu and Carmel with Baha'i. See John 2:21.
6. E.g., Psalm 18:2.
7. _The Book of Certitude_, pp. 33-34, 36, 37, 38, 41.
8. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, pp. 44-45. The
opening of the six seals in Chapter Six may have other meanings.
for instance, the six plagues may represent in microcosm the
disasters that accompanied the six centuries of the Christian
Dispensation, the six years of the Bab's Ministry, etc..
The events earthquake, darkening of the sun and moon, and falling
of the stars are in the same order as the prophecy of Jesus in
Matthew 24:29-30. See Chapter 4, Note 8.