Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 16
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Chapter Sixteen
THE END OF THE AGE
This chapter reveals the events that attended the Revelations of
the Bab and Baha'u'llah. The setting is 19th century Persia,
'Iraq and Turkey.
A modern traveler to those regions would find it difficult to
visualize the conditions that prevailed
there only a century ago. Observers* *See, e.g., Lord Curzon,
have described the region as _Persia and the Persian
technologially backward, and often Question_.
with despotic governments and
corrupted priesthoods. Modern progressive leaders have succeeded
in revolutionizing the political, economic and religious life in
those countries, and the conditions alluded to in the following
verses of the Apocalypse no longer prevail.
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying
to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the
vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
The Temple is the Manifestation._/1 The great voice out of the
Temple is that of Baha'u'llah.
2 And the first went, and poured his vial upon the
earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore
upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and
upon them which worshipped his image.
The noisome and grievous sore caused by the first angel is the
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clamor of religious controversy and the sore of spiritual
distress that beset the Muslim world during the earthly
sojourns of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
3 And the second angel poured his vial upon the sea;
and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every
living soul died in the sea.
The second angel pours his vial upon the sea of the spirit.
Baha'u'llah explains that immediately prior to His Advent the
former world passed away: "Consider the hour at which the
supreme Manifestation of God (Baha'u'llah) revealeth Himself unto
men ... at the very moment preceding His Revelation, each and
every created thing shall be made to yield up its soul to God.
This is indeed the Day of which it hath been written: 'Whose
shall be the Kingdom this Day?' And none can be found to
Answer!"_/2 But following His Advent, a new world was formed:
"Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our
irresistable and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called
into being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I
am, verily, the All-bountiful, the Ancient of Days."/3 In a
prayer He says, "Praise be unto Thee, O my God! Thou are He Who
by a word of His mouth hath revolutionized the entire creation,
and by a stroke of His pen hath divided Thy servants one from
another. I bear witness, O my God, that through a word spoken by
Thee in this Revelation all created things were made to expire,
and through yet another word all such as Thou didst wish were, by
Thy grace and boundy, endued with a new life."_/4
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the
rivers and fountains of waters; and they became
blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou are
righteous, O lord, which art, and wast, and shalt
be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink;
for they are worthy.
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7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so,
Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy
judgements.
These verses explain that the mainstreams of spiritual grace and
knowledge (rivers and fountains) will lose their life-giving
power. The corrupted spiritual leaders and divines are
condemned, and they are made to taste the blood of spiritual
death.
* * *
The prophecies of the next seven verses describe the impact of
the Revelations of the Bab and Baha'u'llah upon the lands of
Persia, Turkey, and the region of the Euphrates River./5
* * *
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the
sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with
fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and
blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over
these plagues: and they repented not to give him
glory.
The fourth angel pours his vial upon the land of Persia whose
emblem is the sun. The bigoted and corrupt among the Persians
are made to feel the fire of spiritual torment. The last word of
verse 9 refers to their failure to accept the new name of God,
glory (Baha). (See Chapter 3, verse 12.)
The Babi Revelation was born on May 23, 1844 in Shiraz, Persia
(Iran). The claims of the Bab, the excitement caused in the
Muslim world, and the rapidity with which the new Faith gained
followers, caused the corrupt Muslim clergy to react violently.
The help of the Shah was enlisted in an attempt to destroy the
new Faith. The results were armed attacks upon the followers of
the Bab and popular uprisings in Mazindaran, Mayriz, and
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Zanjan. Mass persecutions, torture, and martyring were involved.
Ultimately, the Bab was martyred in the public square of Tabriz,
on July 9, 1850.
10 And the fifth angel poured his vial upon the seat
of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness;
and they gnawed their tongues for pain.
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their
pains and their sores, and repented not of their
deeds.
The fifth angel pours his vial on Constantinople (Istanbul) in
the land of Turkey, the Capital (seat) of the beast./6 The
kingdom is filled with spiritual darkness and torment.
As a consequence of the martyrdom of the Bab and the severe
persecutions inflicted on the Babis, on August 15, 1852, two
obscure and demented Baha'is made a despairing and futile attempt
on the life of the Shah. The results were renewed persecutions
and the imprisonment of leading Babis, including Baha'u'llah. It
was during this imprisonment 1852-1853 that Baha'u'llah received
the Holy Spirit and became the Promised One of All Ages.
On His release from the Black Pit of Teheran, He was exiled to
Baghdad, 'Iraq_/7, where He arrived 8 April 1853. 'Iraq was then
a Turkish province. Shortly thereafter, the Sultan of Turkey and
his ministers, as well as the sunni sacerdotal order, joined
hands with the Shah and the Shi'ah clerics of Persia and 'Iraq in
an endeavor to stamp out, once and for all, the Faith and all it
stood for. The result was a further wave of repressive measures.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the
great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was
dried up, that the way of the kings of the east
might be prepared.
The sixth angel pours his vial on the region of the Euphrates
River, 'Iraq and the surrounding regions. The water of
spirituality is dried up and the way is made clear for the kings
of the East.
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Following His exile to Baghdad, 'Iraq, in the region of the
Euphrates River, the Babi Faith lost its spirituality. Because
of internal conflicts and bickering, Baha'u'llah left the Babi
community and spent exactly two lunar years, the 12th of Rajab
1270 AH (April 10, 1854) until the 12th of Rajab 1272 AH (March
19, 1856) wandering in the mountain wilderness of Kurdistan. The
way was being prepared for the kings of the East, Baha'u'llah and
His Successors.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come
out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth
of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working
miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle
of that great day of God Almighty.
Unclean spirits like frogs are evil principles and false
teachings.
Although several would-be "Prophets" arose to proclaim themselves
to the One foretold by the Bab, "the One Whom God will make
manifest," the most notorious was the nominal head of the Babi
Faith, Mirza Yahya (Subh-i-Azal). Through the influence and
intrigues of the crafty and diabolical Siyyid
Muhammad-i-Isfahani, Mirza Yahya succeeded in causing a serious
breach in the ranks of the Babis-in-exile and prevented many of
the very elect from recognizing the new Manifestation,
Baha'u'llah. Reminiscent of the Surih of Joseph as interpreted
by the Bab, Mirza Yahya was a half-brother of Baha'u'llah, and,
as prophesied, the plots of Mirza Yahya and Muhammad-i-Isfahani
ended in ignominious failure.
The Great Day of God Almighty is the Day of God, the Dispensation
of Baha'u'llah. Miracles are wonders; here they are not of
Divine origin.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that
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watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame.
In this verse, the Declaration of Baha'u'llah is announced. He
comes as a "thief," entering and departing "unseen." Blessed is
he who watches, and wears garments of purity and righteousness in
order that he not be spiritually naked. (See Revelations 3:17.)
The Babi community left behind in Baghdad continued to decline in
spirituality and prestige. Finally, at the pleading of the
Babis, Baha'u'llah was induced to return. Following His return
from the wilderness of Kurdistan, Baha'u'llah was able to renew
the Faith of God through His teachings and spiritual power.
Hatred, fear, and jealousy of the renewed vigor of the Babi
community by the corrupt Muslim clergy resulted in forther
persecutions and banishments of Baha'u'llah, first to
Constantinople, thence to Adrianople, and finally to 'Akka, near
Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land, thereby fulfilling many
prophecies._/8 ("Carmel" means literally "Vineyard of God.")
However, before Baha'u'llah began the arduous journey to
Constantinople, He revealed His Mission as the "One Whom God will
make manifest," prophesied by the Bab. His Declaration took
place at the Festival of Ridvan (Paradise) April 21 to May 2,
1863 AD.
It is an interesting fact that He departed from the "land of the
Euphrates" immediately thereafter, going into exile and virtual
invisibility. Even His incredibly direct and powerful Tablets to
the kings and rulers of the earth revealing His Mission went
unnoticed. Truly Baha'u'llah, the Glory of God, like a thief,
entered and departed unseen.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called
in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The unclean spirits (evil principles and false teachings) are to
be the cause of the final conflict in the place called
"Armageddon."
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Armageddon is composed of the two Hebrew words _har_ (mountain)
and _Magedon_. Magedon is a poetic adaptation of the vale of
Megiddo or Megidon._/9 This valley was the scene of great
suffering by the Hebrews during the reign of Josiah. Hence,
"mountain-of-Megiddo" means a piling up of sorrow like that which
befell the Hebrews in the valley of Megiddo.
The conflict of Armageddon is symbolic of the world-wide distress
that will result from false teachings and evil principles. The
conflict follows the Declaration,
the "hour"* of Baha'u'llah and the *See <11:13 @2>
third woe. <16:16>
Since His Declaration in 1863 AD, the world has indeed witnessed
a great piling up of sorrow. Among the more notable sorrows have
been imperialism and economic exploitation, two world wars of
unprecedented ferocity and suffering, numerous smaller but deadly
wars, the Great Depression, the rise of communism and the
suffering brought by class struggle, racial struggle, genocide on
a massive scale, and world-wide pollution of the air, soil, and
the oceans. These sorrows are by no means finished and the
testimony of the righteous is not yet complete.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into
the air; and there came a great voice out of the
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is
done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such
as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty
an earthquake, and so great.
The seventh angel pours his vial into the air, meaning that the
afflictions to follow will not be localized but will be
world-wide. There follow the voices of those who fall into
trials and temptations, the thunder of the violation of the
Covenant, and the lightning of the anger and wrath of God. There
will be a great earthquake_/10 of doubts and disturbances in the
world of man.
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19 And the great city was divided into three parts,
and the cities of the nations fell: and great
Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his
wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains
were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the
hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
The great city is the civilization of the corrupted Word of God,
that is, Babylon. It will be divided into three parts
personified as the "three false gods," Nationalism, Racialism,
and Communism. (_The Promised Day is Come_, p. 117) Cities are
institutions; islands are places of refuge, that is, churches;
mountains are the great religions of the world. "So blind hath
become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city,
nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving
of the earth, can shake off its torpor."--Baha'u'llah_/11
The great hail is a rain of spiritual tests. Talent comes form
the Greek _talanton_--a balance, or a thing to be weighed. Hence
it is a symbol of testing._/12 Man will be tested by the Book of
God revealed by the Balance, the new Manifestation of God: "In
this most perfect balance (the Book of God) whatsoever the
peoples and kindreds of the earth posess must be weighed." "The
All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sovereignty. The
Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell on earth
have been gathered together." "Say: This is the infallible
Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in
the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their
fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this
truth."--Baha'u'llah_/13
Notes to Chapter Sixteen
1. See Revelations 15:5.
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2. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 151.
3. Ibid., p. 29.
4. _Prayers and Meditations of Baha'u'llah_, p. 42; The Qur'an
39:65-70.
5. A detailed history of these events can be found in _God Passes
By_.
6. The caliphate and sultanate were both located at
Constantinople.
7. See Chapter 5, Note 6.
8. See, e.g., Isaiah 35:2, 41:2, 65:9-10; Micah 7:12 (KJV);
Matthew 24:27; Jeremiah 49:38; Ezekiel 42:2, 4; Hosea 2:15. In
these prophecies, Assyria included old Babylonia, etc.; Elam was
a region now in modern Iran. "Achor" literally means "trouble,"
a hidden name for modern 'Akka.
9. See II Kings 23:29; Zechariah 12:11.
10. The "earthquake" can, of course, be accompanied by a physical
earthquake as it was in Revelations 11:13.
11. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 39.
12. See Matthew 25:14-30.
13. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, pp. 198, 40,
136.