Apocalypse Unsealed: appendix B
----------------------------------------------Start of page 263--
Appendix B
Correlation of Some Dates in the Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is, of course another Sacred Text that may be
as difficult to interpret as the Apocalypse. However, His
Holiness 'Abdu'l-Baha (_Some Answered Questions_, Chapter X) has
left us several clues that should eventually permit the complete
decoding of the book and its correlation with the Apocalypse.
In Daniel 9:24-25, seventy weeks are given from the decree to
rebuild Jerusalem to the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. Since each
"week" is 7 years (see Table, Chapter 2 of this book), 70 "weeks"
are 490 years. There were four decrees to rebuild Jerusalem.
These were:
1. The decree of Cyrus in 534 BC, recorded in the first
chapter of Ezra [1:1-4]. This decree was unfilfilled.
2. The decree of Darius in 519 BC, recorded in the sixth
Chapter of Ezra [6:1-12]. This decree was also unfulfilled.
3. The decree of Artaxerxes in 457 BC [Ezra 7:1-28].
This decree was fulfilled by the fourth decree.
4. The decree of the same Artaxerxes in 444 BC, a
continuation of the third decree, recorded in the second Chapter
of Nehemiah [2:1-8].
The 70 weeks or 490 years begins at the third degree in 457 BC.
Remember that since the Birth date of Jesus is taken at 1 AD
instead of Zero, there is one year missing in the Christian
calendar. Consequently, the prophecy places the date of the
Crucifixion at:
490 - 457 + 1 = 34 AD
In 9:25, Daniel gives a second way of reckoning the martyrdom of
Jesus as 7 weeks and 62 weeks. The explanation of this date is
given in 9:26 in which it is indicated that the second
----------------------------------------------Start of page 264--
date begins after the termination of the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
The 7 weeks (49 years) are the duration of the rebuilding of
Jerusalem. The additional 62 weeks (434 years) brings us to the
year 27 AD, and it was during the last week "after 62 weeks"
(28-34 AD) that Jesus, the Messiah, was martyred.
The daily sacrifice was taken away during the Dispensation of
Muhammad. (See <5:6 #1>.) The end of "the abomination that
makes desolate" is given in 8:14 as 2300 days. Using the same
origin as for the calculation of the Crucifixion (457 BC), the
result is:
2300 - 457 + 1 = 1844 AD
This was, of course, the date of the Edict of Toleration that
permitted the Jews to resettle the Holy Land. The same date
concides with the Declaration of the Bab and the Birth of
'Abdu'l-Baha. Jesus gives the end of the abomination as the date
immediately preceding the remanifestation of the Son of Man
(Matthew 24:15, 29-30).
The date of the Manifestation of Baha'u'llah is calculated as
follows:
In Daniel 12:7, the "time, times, and half a time" is 1260 lunar
years, dated from the Hegira. This date coincides with 1844 AD
and the Declaration of the Bab. However, in 12:11, Daniel gives
another method of calculation as 1290 days. The origin of this
date is the first public Declaration of Muhammad of His
Prophethood in Hijaz. This even was 10 lunar years before the
Hegira. The 1290 days thus becomes 1280 AH or 1863-1864 AD, the
date of the first public Declaration of Baha'u'llah in the Garden
of Ridvan (Paradise).
Later in 12:12, we read, "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh
to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." This is
the period in solar (Baha'i) years from the firm foundation of
the Faith of Muhammad until the firm foundation of the Baha'i
Faith.
----------------------------------------------Start of page 265--
(The Baha'i Writings indicate that the firm foundation of the
Baha'i Faith was fulfilled by the completion of the Ten Year
Crusade and the foundation of the Universal House of Justice in
1963 AD. It can be inferred, therefore, that the 1335 "days"
must be counted from 628 AD. It was in that year that Muhammad
concluded the Truce of al-Hudaybiyyah with the idolaters of
Mecca. History has shown that this Truce had profound
consequences for the future success of Islam, establishing the
legitimacy of Islam and resulting in many important converts to
the Faith. The interested reader may consult the Qur'an 48:19;
Ref. 37, Chapter 12; Ref. 41, p. 250; _God Passes By_, p. 151;
and the following issues of _Baha'i News_: No. 202, p. 3; No
261, p. 4; No. 313, p. 7.)
(The prophecy in Daniel 4:13-23 concerning the "7 times" probably
dates from 604-602 BC when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem.
"Seven times" is 7 x 360 or 2520 years. In the lunar calendar of
'Iraq, this is the span of time between 602 BC and 1844 AD. See
Reference 28, p. 27.)