Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 14
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Chapter Fourteen
THE WORLD-STAGE IS SET
In this Chapter, six mediating angels prepare the world for the
Advent of Baha'u'llah. These angels may represent Manifestations
of Asia Whose Utterances warned of
the coming of Baha'u'llah at the
Last Day.* But first, those with * See _God Passes By_, pp.
the seal of God are introduced. 94-96. <G #7>
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads.
'Abdu'l-Baha in shown alive on Zion_/1 with those who have the
seal of His Father, Baha', Nine. The archetypal value of 144,000
equals 9. Zion or Sion is symbolic of the theocracy directly
administered by God, the World Order of Baha'u'llah. "Out of
Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills
and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation."
--Baha'u'llah_/2
Baha'u'llah, Who came as the Manifestation of the Father_/3 is
also the spiritual Father of Jesus Christ, Muhammaad, the Bab,
and the other Manifestations of the past. Baha'u'llah reveals,
"In this most mighty Revelation, all the Dispensations of the
past have attained their highest, their final consummation." "He
it is," referring to Himself,"Who in the Old Testament hath been
named Jehovah, Who in the Gospel hath been designated as the
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Spirit of Truth, and in the Qur'an acclaimed the Great
Announcement." "But for Him no Divine Messenger would have been
invested with the robe of propohethood, nor would any of the
sacred scriptures have been revealed." "Be fair, ye peoples of
the world," He thus appeals to mankind, "is it meet or seemly for
you to question the authority of one Whose presence 'He Who
conversed with God' (Moses) hath longed to attain, the beauty of
Whose countenance 'God's Well-beloved' (Muhammad) had yearned to
behold, through the potency of Whose love the "spirit of God'
(Jesus) ascended to heaven, for Whose sake the 'Primal Point'
(the Bab) offered up His life?"_/4
Concerning the relation of Baha'u'llah to future Revelations,
'Abdu'l-Baha explains, "Concerning the Manifestations that will
come down in the future 'in the shadows of the clouds,' know
verily that in so far as their relation to the source of their
inspiration is concerned thay are under the shadow of the Ancient
Beauty (Baha'u'llah). In their relation, however, to the age in
which they appear, each and every one of them 'doeth whatsoever
He willeth."_/5
2 And I ehard a vouce from heaven, as the voice of
many waters, and sa the voice of a great thunder:
and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their
harps:
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the
throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders,
and no man could hear that song but the hundred and
forth and four thousand, which were redeemed from
the earth.
4 These are they which are not defiled with women;
for they are virgins. These are they which follow
the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were
redeemed from among man, being the firstfruits unto
God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no guild: for they
are without fault before the throne of God.
The voice of many waters is the voice of great knowledge,
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Baha'u'llah. The new song_/6 is the new Message, but only those
with the seal of Baha' (9) can understand the Message.
To become defiled by harlots means to become seduced by a
counterfeit of the true Word of God.
In one Age the Lamb is Jesus. In another He is the Bab or
'Abdu'l-Baha. The undefiled will follow Him in every Age. The
firstfruits are the first to follow the new Revelation. Their
mouths will not spread false doctrine.
6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto
them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, and people.
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory
to him; for the hour of his judgement is come: and
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters.
Gospel means glad tidings. The gospel is everlasting because it
is the same in every Age and Dispensation and is given to all
nations and all peoples.
The fountains of waters are the Day-Springs of Divine Revelation.
8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she
made all nations drink of the wind of the wrath of
her fornication.
"Babylon" means literally "Gate of God." The "Holy City
Jerusalem" means literally "The Holy City of Sacred Peace." Thus
they are both sacred names and symbolize the Word of God.
Jerusalem is transformed into Babylon and vice versa as the
Sacred City decays and is renewed in successive Dispensations.
The Word of God, though originally the Holy City, through
corruption, becomes Babylon, the wicked city. "How is the
faithful city become an harlot!"--Isaiah 1:21
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The use of Babylon as a symbol of the corrupted word is based
upon the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:9. It was at
this place that the confusion of words was supposed to have
originated. It requires the addition of only a single letter to
convert the word _Bab-el_, Gatd of God, into _bal-bel_,
confusion.
Baha'u'llah explains* that the *_The Book of Certitude_,
corruption of the Word of God does pp. 84-90.
not mean the literal falsificaton
or forgery of the Sacred Texts, but comes about as a result of
misinterpretation in accordance with idle imaginings and vain
desires.
Old Testament prophecies_/7 fortell that in the last days the
Word will be renewed at Babylon. But the site of old Babylon
will be a ruin as explained by Jeremiah._/8 Baha'u'llah revealed
His mission and renewed the Word in the new Babylon, modern
Baghdad, in 1863 AD. "Baghdad" means literally "Gift of God."
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a
loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in
his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of
God, which is poured out without mixture into the
cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night,
who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever
receiveth the mark of his name.
These verses promise punishment for those who admire the Muslim
State (worship the beast and his image), who willingly pay the
taxes that keep the beast alive (receive the mark in his forehead
or in his hand), or to those who pretend to be Muslim (receive
the mark of his name). Fire and brimstone symbolizes the
unquenchable torment of remoteness from God. "Separa-
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tion from Thee, O Source of everlasting life, hath will nigh
consumed me, and my remoteness from Thy presence hath burned my
soul." "Some have made haste to attain the court of the God of
Mercy, others have fallen down on their faces in the fire of
Hell, while still others are lost in bewilderment." "They hasten
forward to Hell fire, and mistake it for light."--Baha'u'llah_/9
Smoke is a visible sign of spiritual torment. "The moon of idle
fancy hath been cleft, and the heaven hath given out a palpable
smoke." "What smoke more dense and overpowering than the one
which hath now enshrouded all the peoples of the world, which
hath become a torment unto them, and from which they hopelessly
fail to deliver themselves, however much they strive?"
--Baha'u'llah_/10
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are
they that keep the commandments of God, and the
faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord
from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labours; and their works do
follow them.
These verses explain that the martyrs of the last days will be
instrumental in bringing forth the Revelation of Baha'u'llah.
"To die in the Lord" also means to die from self in order to live
in God. This is the final stage of man's journey "from the abode
of dust to the heavenly homeland." Baha'u'llah explains, "He who
hath attained this station is snactified from all that pertaineth
to the world... This is the plane whereon the vestiges of all
things are destroyed in the traveler, and on the horizon of
eternity the Divine Face riseth out of the darkness, and the
meaning of 'All on the earth shall pass away, but the face of the
Lord...' is made manifest."_/11
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon
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the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having
on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp
sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud,
Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is
come for thee to reap: for the harvest of the earth
is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle
on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is
in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which
had the power over fire; and cried with a loud cry
to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in
thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the
vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thruse in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast
it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
The One like unto the Son of Man is Baha'u'llah, Who is shown
coming on a cloud of glory. <G #5> His crown symbolizes
spiritual dominion. The sickle symbolizes His power to reap the
harvest of the Ages. Mankind is likened to a vineyard as in the
parable of Jesus Christ._/12 In the harvesting, Baha'u'llah, the
Lord of the Vineyard, is assisted by the forces of heaven. The
first angel may represent Muhammad; the angel with the sickle
represents the Bab <21:15 #1>, and the altar angel may represent
Jesus Christ._/13
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,
and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the
horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs.
A horse's bridle is 7 spans_/14 (about 60 inches) high. A
furlong_/15 is an earthly measure.
1600* has an archetypal value of 7. *1600 is "40-times-40."
The See Note 16.
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riddle says that the earth outside the Holy City of the Law of
God will be the scene of great tests, trials, and torments "for a
space of 7-times-7."_/16
The prophecy can have two meanings. Remembering that 7 is the
number of trial and punishment, the prophecy can be considered sa
emphasizing the great spiritual turmoil that will beset the world
s a consequence of the Advents of the Bab and Baha'u'llah. but
the prophecy also specifically predicts the duration of the
period of Divine Revelation, beginning with the Declaration of
the Bab in the year 1260 AH and ending with the Ascension of
Baha'u'llah in the year 1309 AH, a space of 7-times-7, or 49
lunar years._/16
Pegasus the Flying Horse is a constellation near Aquarius (figure
23). Early star maps show only half of the horse and that upside
down. There are about 7 spaces or spans of stars between its
hoof and its jaw.
[Diagram of constellation omitted.]
THE HORSE IN HEAVEN
Figure 23
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Notes to Chapter Fourteen
1. See John 4:21; Isaiah 2:3-4, 59:19-21; Zechariah 2:10-11.
2. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 13.
3. See Luke 9:26, Matthew 16:27. One meaning of "glory" is
"manifestation." See Chapter 15, Note 8.
4. _The World Order of Baha'u'llah_, pp. 103-107.
5. _The World Order of Baha'u'llah_, pp. 111.
6. See Isaiah 42:10, 43:19.
7. See Micah 4:10; Ezekiel 1:1, 28, 43:1-4; Zechariah 4. In
these prophecies, the river Chebar or Kabar empties into the
Euphrates at Babylon. "Zerubbabel" means Begotten, Scattered,
Banished, or Stranger in Babylon. See Chapter 5, Note 5. (cf.
Ezra 5:2 and Zecariah 4:9.)
8. See Jeremiah 51, e.g., verses 58, 64. Also see Isaiah 47 in
which the daughter of Babylon becomes the harlot and is overcome
by the Lord of Hosts.
9. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, pp. 14, 41-42.
10. Ibid., p. 40; _The Book of Certitude_ pp. 76-77.
11. _The Seven Valleys_, pp. 4, 36-37.
12. Matthew 21:33-41. In the parable, Jesus is the Son of verse
37; Baha'u'llah is the Lord of the vineyard, verse 40. See also
Mark 12:1-9; Luke 20:9-16.
13. See Revelations 8:5.
14. The span (from Greek _εγáN_, "to draw out") was an ancient
measure equal to half a cubit, aproximately 9 inches. As a scale
for measuring a horse it has been largely superseded by the hand
of 4 inches.
15. Translated as "stadia" in RSV. The stadium was also a unit
of earth measure widely used in the classical world.
16. "7-times-7" years is also a period of time specified in
Leviticus 25:8-12. The span of time from the Declaration of the
Bab until the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha was "70-and-7" solar
(Baha'i) years, the period of history styled as the Heroic Age of
the Baha'i Faith by Shoghi Effendi. See _God Passes By_ pp.
xiii, 309; Reference 45, p. 439; Matthew 18:21-22.
The earthly dimension of "40-times-40" or 1600 furlongs, may
signify extreme trials of the flesh, or extreme testing of the
spirit by
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the flesh as a process of purification. See Ref 12, p.
112; Chapter 2, Note 14. Forty lunar years was the period of the
Ministry of Baha'u'llah.