Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 12
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Chapter Twelve
THE TRAVAIL OF THE WORD
In the verses that follow <12#1>, John discovers the fate of the
Law of God during the Dispensation of Muhammad. The Law is
likened to a Bride. Her unborn child is the Bab, Who is destined
to renew the Law.
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her
feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in
birth, and pained to be delivered.
The Bride is clothed with the emblem of Persia (the sun) and has
the emblem of Turkey (the moon) beneath her feet. Her crown of
twelve stars represents the twelve Holy Imams of Islam.
(The Shi'ah position is that the
Twelve Imams* were the rightful *See Genesis 17:20.
leaders of Islam, beginning with Muhammad and the Twelve
'Ali. All of the Imams are known Imams were descended from
to have been martyred except the Abraham through Ishmael.
last, Who mysteriously disappeared (Reference 12, p. 117.)
while still a child in the year 260
AH.)
3 And there appared another wonder in heaven; and
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and
ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of
heaven, and did
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cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before
the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to
devour her child as soon as it was born.
The red dragon represents the devil with the color of war,
manifested as the Bani-Umayyad
dynasty. The seven heads* are the *A "head" is that upon
dominions that were ruled by the which a crown is placed.
Bani-Umayya. The ten hornsÅ are
the names of the Bani-Umayyad ÅCompare Daniel 7:24.
rulers [see below]. The tail of
the dragon is the last ruler of the Bani-Umayya, Marwan II, who
destroyed one-third of the saintly lineage (stars) of Muhammad.
The Bani-Umayya were ever watchful to prevent the recurrence of
the Law of God.
The seven countries and dominions over which the Bani-Umayya had
power were (1) the Romans (Byzantine) dominion around Damascus
(Syria, Palestine), (2) the dominion of Persia (Sasanid dominion:
Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria), (3) the dominion of Egypt, (4) the
dominion of Africa (Tunis, Morocco, Algeria), (5) the dominion of
Arabia, (6) the dominion of Andalusia (Spain), and (7) the
dominion of Turkestan-Transoxania (Sogdiana).
There were fifteen commanders and chiefs of the Bani-Umayya,
beginning with Abu-Sufyan and ending with Marwan II. They were:
Abu-Sufyan, Mu'awiya I, Yazid I, Mu'awiya II, Marwan I, 'Abd
al-Malik, al-Walid I, Sulayman, 'Umar II, Yazid II, Hisham,
al-Walid II, Yazid III, Ibrahim, and Marwan II. But several of
these names were repeated. There were Mu'awiya, Yazid, Marwan,
and al-Walid. Thus there were only ten names of rulers.
Draco the Dragon is the name of a constellation near the north
celestial pole. Another constellation, Hydra the Water Snake or
Leviathan, is near Leo the Lion. (figure 19)
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was
caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the
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[Diagrams of Hydra and Draco constellations omitted.]
WONDERS IN HEAVEN
Figure 19
woman fled unto the wilderness, where she hath a
place prepared of God, that they should feed her
there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Verse 5 prophesies that the Bride's man-child, the Bab, is
destined to have spiritual dominion over all nations. <G #6> It
also reveals that the Bab will be martyred (caught up unto God).
(The youthful Bab was also the Qa'im, that is, the "Return" of
the Twelfth Iman. In fulfilment of various prophecies, the Qa'im
appeared exactly 1000 lunar years after the disappearance of the
Twelfth Imam while still a child. Thus the Twelfth Imam was
"caught up unto God" in 260 AH, later to "return" in 1260 AH.
The Bab was also destined to be "caught up unto God" from the
public square of Tabriz. _The Dawn-Breakers_, pp. xxx, lii.)
In verse 6, the Bride, the Law of God, flees into the vast
desert_/1 of Hijaz and the Arabian Peninsula (the wilderness),
where the Law of God will be kept safe for 1260 years. (The
period of the Bride's gestation has an archetypal value of 9.)
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
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fought and his angels.
8 And prevailed not, neither was the place found any
more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser
of our brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night.
These verses tell of the spiritual struggle between the
diabolical forces of the dragon_/2 (the Devil) and the Divine
forces of the Spirit of Baha'u'llah (_Michael_). "Michael"_/3
means "One like god," a synonym for Baha'u'llah. "Devil"
(_Diabolos_) means the "Deceiver" or "accuser," with the
implication of a false accuser or slanderer.
Angels are the spiritual leaders and forces involved in the
struggle. The prophecy says that the forces of truth will
eventually triumph over the forces of deception, and the Kingdom
of God will prevail. To be cast out of heaven means to lose
heavenly virtues.
Hercules the Kneeler is a constellation with his right foot on
the head of Draco the Dragon. Another constellation,
Ophiucus-Serpens, is a man in conflict with a serpent (figure
20).
When the Great Pyramid was built about 2500 BC, Thuban in Draco
was the north star. Now, two astrological ages later, the
Precession of the Poles had caused Draco to lose its eminence in
the northern sky to be replaced by Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved
not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell
in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and the
sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a
short time.
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[Diagrams of Hercules and
Ophiucus-Serpens constellations omitted.]
WAR IN HEAVEN
Figure 20
The Deceiver is to be overcome through the Sacrifice of the Bab,
and by the testimony and martyrdom of His followers. Because the
Deceiver has but a short time to prevail, his wrath will be
great. The inhabitants of the earth are warned.
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the
earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth
the man child.
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into
her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the
serpent.
After the digression of the past several verses, it is again
explained that the honored Bride of verse 5 will be persecuted
and driven into the wilderness, where she will be kept safe for
1260 years (three times and half a
time)*_/4, the period of her *A "time" is 360 years.
pregnancy. (See verse 4.) See Table, Chapter 2.
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The two wings_/5 are 'Ali and Fatima, the progenitors of the
Imams, Fatima was the daughter of Muhammad; 'Ali was His
son-in-law. The Great Eagle is, of course, Muhammad.
The constellation Virgo the Virgin or Maiden of the Harvest is
usually depicted with wings and holding in her left hand a head
of wheat. (figure 21)
[Diagram of the Virgo constellation omitted.]
THE WOMAN IN HEAVEN
Figure 21
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a
flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be
carried away by the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which
the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went
to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
The Bani-Umayya as the Deceiver pours out a flood of words
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(tainted water) in an attempt to destroy the Bride. But the vast
desert and its hardy peoples prevent the Law of God from being
destroyed. The Bani-Umayya then attempt to destroy the righteous
descendents of Muhammad who keep the commandments of God and
testify to the Reality of Jesus Christ.
A true Muslim believes in God and His Prophets. In Surah 5 of
the Qur'an God says, "And when I revealed unto the Apostles (of
Jesus), 'Believe on Me and my Sent One (Jesus),' they said, 'We
believe; and bear thou witness that we are Muslims."
In astrological terms, Virgo was on "dry land" during the age of
Aries. The Precession threatened to cause her to descend to the
"waters below." However, she safely became the pillar at the
Fall equinox during the Age of Pisces.
Notes to Chapter 12
1. In the symbolism of the _Zohar_ "wilderness" (Hebrew _Midbar_)
is given a special meaning through its etymolotical connection
with _Dabar_, the "word" that comes to life in the wilderness.
(Reference 4, p. 109).
2. The equation dragon = serpent = Devil = Satan identifies all
of these concepts as being in essence the same. The dragon of
Isaiah 51:9 is probably the Leviathan of Isaiah 27:1. The
serpent is introduced in Genesis 3:1. "Satan" is from the Hebrew
word for Adversary, and evolved from an abstract principle into a
personification. (Compare I Chronicles 21:1 and II Samuel 24:1.
See also Job 1:6ff and Zechariah 3:1ff.)
The dragon may have been introduced in Revelations 12:3 to
amplify the meaning of an old Canaanite myth of the tyrant
Leviathan, a sea-dragon with seven heads. (Reference 35.) In
the Second Labor of Hercules, Hercules was forced to give battle
with the seven-headed Hydra of Lerna while the crab pinched his
heels. The constellation Hydra, figure 19, requires about seven
hours to cross the meridian.
The serpent has been used symbolically to convey several
meanings: sin, (Genesis 3), wisdom and cunning (Matthew 10:16),
healing (Numbers 21:9), eternal life (John 3:14-15). Also, it
has been
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used to symbolize kingship, majesty, and domination (Reference
12, Chapter 6). Its symbolism as the Deceiver probably derives
from the fact that it maneuvers cunningly among the grass
(humanity) and trees (spiritual leaders).
3. See Exodus 23:20-21; Daniel 12:1-4. "My angel" equals
"Michael" by temurah. According to Jewish mysticism, Michael was
the archangel of _Hod_ (Glory, Reverberation), one of the primary
Emations from God.
4. Compare Daniel 12:7.
5. See Exodus 19:4-6.