Apocalypse Unsealed: appendix H
[This appendix is not part of _The Apocalypse Unsealed_, but is
the appendix of another work by Robert Riggs, _I, Daniel_.
It discusses updates to this book, and is therefore included
here.]
----------------------------------------------Start of page A-1--
Appendix H
_THE APOCALYPSE UNSEALED_
LATE CHANGES AND ERRATA
'ABDU'L-BAHA's EXPLANATION OF THE 1335 DAYS
From reference 20, p. 51ff:
'Abdu'l-Baha explains that the 1335 years are counted in solar
rather than lunar years, because a _century_ must elapse between
the Proclamation of Baha'u'llah and the firm establishment of
"the teachings of God . . . upon the earth." Apparently,
'Abdu'l-Baha was referring to some prophecy in sacred writings.
Also, Shoghi Effendi explains that the 1335 years end at the year
1963 AD, the date of the Foundation of the Universal House of
Justice. Unfortunately, neither 'Abdu'l-Baha nor Shoghi Effendi
shed enough light in their brief explanations for this writer to
determine the exact method of computation. In _The Apocalypse
Unsealed_, Appendix B, it was suggested that the beginning point
for the 1335 years could be the Truce of al-Hudaybiyyah in 628
AD. This would result in the year 1963 AD as the end date of the
1335 solar years.
It is interesting that different methods of reckoning have little
effect on the result. Regardless of what assumptions are made,
it is certainly true that the man would be happy who waited and
lived to see the completion of one thousand three hundred and
thirty-five days.
THE TWO LAMBS OF THE BAHA'I DISPENSATION
In _The Apocalypse Unsealed_, (ref. 1) chapter 5, this writer
named the two Lambs of the Baha'i Dispensation as the Bab and
'Abdu'l-Baha. At that time, Volume Three of Adib Taherzadeh's
magnificent work, _The Revelation of Baha'u'llah_, was not
available. It is now clear that Baha'u'llah considered Mirza
Mihdi, The Purest Branch, to be a Lamb of the Baha'i
Dispensation. This can be inferred by referring to Taherzadeh's
book (ref. 19), chapter 10, in which we read that the "death of
the Purest Branch must be viewed as Baha'u'llah's own sacrifice,
a sacrifice on the same level as the crucifixion of Christ and
the martyrdom of the Bab."
Since Baha'u'llah's Dispensation has two Lambs instead of the
usual one, this writer has now concluded that the two Lambs are
probably Mirza Mihdi and 'Abdu'l-Baha. The Bab would then be the
Lamb of His own Dispensation.
----------------------------------------------Start of page A-2--
THE BEAST THAT WAS, IS NOT, YET IS
In chapter 17 of the Apocalypse, there is a riddle concerning a
"beast that was, is not, yet is." In _The Apocalypse Unsealed_,
this writer gave the answer to the riddle as the empire of
Alexander, since it seemed to come into existence a second time
under the Umayyad dynasty.
In researching for _I, Daniel_, this writer studied some of the
work of great historian Arnold J. Toynbee. Professor Toynbee
points out that the empire of Alexander did not produce a
permanent change in the civilization introduced to the region
under the Persian empire. When Islam reconquered the region, the
civilization introduced under Islam more closely resembled the
former Persian civilization rather than the more recent
Hellenistic civilization.
That being so, the answer to the riddle is probably as follows:
The beast that was: the Medeo-Persian empire;
is not: the empire of Alexander;
yet is: the Umayyad dynasty.
THE ONE WHO STANDS AT THE DOOR AND KNOCKS
Riggs originally stated that this Personage, in Revelation 3:20,
referred to Baha'u'llah. He now indicates that this verse most
probably refers to Muhammad, as this is His letter to the Muslim
Faith.