Baha'i Cards

Baha’i Cards

1 Three Promises of Jesus

2 Beginning of Women‟s Liberation

3 Beginning of the Inter-Faith movement

4 Akko – Door of Hope

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The Three Promises of Jesus (Part 1)

Promise Fulfilment & Explanation Notes

Notes on Missionary Deployment Translation of the Bible

From Ethiopia, Christianity began to spread southward in the 12th and into hundreds of

13th centuries. Christian missionary work picked up pace starting in the languages also fulfills this

1500s when missionary priests accompanied sea explorers. prophecy.

Ferdinand Magellan celebrated mass in Limasawa, Philippines in 1521.

Jesuits commenced work in South America in 1533. The Dutch East This prophecy is numerically

vague, and so one must look at it

India Company sent missionaries to the Malaysians early in the 17th based on the history of Christian

cent., and a seminary for the training of missionaries for work among missionary work. To preach

the Native Americans was carried on in New England in the 17th means to proclaim, expound, or

Promise 1 century. The first Catholic missionaries in Canada were Recollects, who deliver an a sermon. Certainly,

And this gospel of worked in the first part of the 17th century. with the widespread Christian

network around the world, one

the kingdom will Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1562-1610) established himself in Peking in 1600. could say that the Christian

be preached In the 1830s missionaries were in Liberia. By the end of the 20th message has been preached in all

throughout the century, Africa became probably the most Christian continent. nations.

whole world, as a

testimony to all Expectation of the Advent or Second Coming As well, Baha‟u‟llah – the

nations; and then In the middle 1830s through 1850s, many scholarly Christians thought founder of the Baha‟I Faith –

the end will come. that the time of the return of Christ was imminent.  William Miller and pitched his tent on the slopes

the Millerites, and Ellen G. White calculated from Ezra and Daniel‟s of Mt. Carmel (Haifa is on the

[Matthew 24: 14]

slopes of Mt. Carmel.)

prophecies that the 1840s marked the date of the Advent.

Baha‟u‟llah had come like

“I am fully convinced that somewhere between March 21st, 1843 and March 21st, 1844, lightning from the east (Persia

according to the Jewish mode of time computation, Christ will come.” William Millter in The is east of Judea and Palestine).

Midnight Cry

see also http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/m10.htmlticsindex/m10.html

Reference:

 On Mt. Carmel Haifa's German Colony was established in 1869 by the www.bartleby.com/65/mi/missi

Templar Society, founded in Germany eight years earlier. This group ons.html

awaited the coming of the Messiah. They became known as the German

Templar Colony.

The Three Promises of Jesus (Part 2a)



Promise Fulfilment & Explanation Notes

The captivity of the Jews started with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. to the

Romans, and did not end until March 21, 1844 when the Sultan of Turkey signed the

The Jewish diaspora saw many Jews

Edict of Toleration which gave the Jews the right to dwell in the Holy Land, including relocated far and wide around the

Jerusalem. The Young Turks: Proclamation for the Ottoman Empire in 1908 again world.

emphasized religious freedom. The State of Israel was formed on May 15, 1948. The kibbutzim movement began in

Promise 2 1844. Jews started to return to their

And Jerusalem Prophecies Concerning the Islamic Dispensation and the Return to the Homeland homeland (not only in Jerusalem)

which was then called Palestine.

will be trampled 42 months = 42x30 = Daniel 7v25, 12v7; Sometimes they were not welcome

by Gentiles until 1260 days time, times and a half (see

the times of the but 1 day = 1 year 1000 + 200 + 50 = 1250 www.eretzyisroel.org/~peters/nation

(Ezekial 4v6, alism.html). Thus began the return of

Gentiles are Numbers 14v34). Rev.12v14 the Jewish to their homeland in their

fulfilled. In the Muslim woman = law of God; desert = Arabia; quest for self-determination. This

calendar, year time, times and a half = 1250 return is called Aliyah.

Luke 21v24

1260 = 1844. This predicts the approximate duration of the Islamic dispensation.



Prophecies Concerning the Control of Jerusalem; A Battle at Megiddo

supplement with:

for it is given unto The city of David (Jerusalem) has been ruled by the Persians, Greeks, Romans,

Arabs, Crusaders, the Turks, and more recently by Great Britain. Israeli forces Now, Jerusalem has Christian

the Gentiles: and holy places (Via Doloroso, nearby

acquired Jerusalem in June, 1967.

the holy city shall Mount of Olives, Mount Moriah,

they tread under The international community was involved in helping secure the Jewish homeland. Golgotha ), a Muslim/Jewish holy

foot forty and two Under General George Allenby, after the Battle at Gaza, eventually enough troops place (the Dome of the Rock),

were made available from Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, along with

months the Arab Army, to allow the resumption of offensive operations in July and August

Muslim holy places (Farah, the

[Revelation 1918. Jerusalem was under Islamic rule continuously from the year 637 until Al Aqsa Mosque) and a Jewish

holy place (the Wailing Wall

11v2] December 9, 1918 when General George Edmund Allenby's British forces occupied

[western wall from Solomon‟s

the city, ending 400 years of Ottoman Turkish governance. The complete domination

Second Temple]).

of Palestine and Syria by the British and international force was the major factor

that caused Turkey to capitulate on 30 October 1918. Britain was granted a Mandate The Arabs prefer East

over Palestine by the League of Nations in 1922. The British left on May 15, 1948. On Jerusalem, the Jewish and

May 28, the Arab Legion took over Jerusalem. Jordan lost control of Jerusalem in June Christian the other parts.

1967. Israel began in 1948 but did obtain Jerusalem until June 7,1967.

The Three Promises of Jesus (Part 2b)





Promise Fulfilment & Explanation Notes

Victory of those Sympathetic to the New Covenant: Thus, the prophesied battle for a

The Battle at Megiddo Jewish homeland is already a part

of history. In the Battle at

The Turkish front-line was destroyed at Megiddo Megiddo in 1918, General George

And they (Armageddon) on 19-21 September 1918, and Allenby's Allenby defeated the Ottoman

forces pursued the Turkish troops and prevented any re- Turks and Germans. General

gathered them

organisation. Allenby, using Thutmose III's 15th

together to the

Interestingly, of the many empires of Europe and English, century BC campaign as his model,

place which in the British monarch has reigned without interruption for a swept up the pass by way of

Hebrew is called long time, and its spread of English throughout its Megiddo to outflank the Ottoman

Har-Magedon.. commonwealth has certainly helped world peace. Queen Turks and Germans to seal a

[Revelation Victoria was the only monarch who acknowledged British victory. Afterward the

16v16] Baha‟u‟llah‟s letter addressed to her and other leading Kings victorious general was called "Lord

and Monarchs of that time period. Allenby of Megiddo.“ His forces

included international troops from

several countries, probably many of

whom were Christian.

The Three Promises of Jesus (Part 3)

Promise Fulfilment & Explanation Date Fulfilled

Promise 3 Again, the reference is to foreign

Matthew 24: The mathematics tallies

15: "So when you see occupation of Jerusalem. The

correctly with the third

the desolating number 2300 days must indicate

sacrilege spoken of by decree.

the prophet Daniel, 2300 years.

standing in the holy -457 + 2300 + 1 day (no

place (let the reader Foreign Four Decrees to

Year zero year) = 1844

understand)… Rulers Rebuild Jerusalem



Cyrus Thus, again, the

1st decree 536 BC

cross-reference with (Ez. 1:1-4) prophecies point to the

Daniel 8

13: Then I heard a holy one

Darius 2nd decree 519 BC year 1844.

(Ez. 6:1-12)

speaking; and another holy

one said to the one that

spoke, "For how long is the

Artaxerxes

(see Ezra 7 and

3rd decree 457 BC

On May 23rd, 1844 in

vision concerning the

continual burnt offering, the

Nehemiah 2) 4th decree 444 BC

Shiraz, Iran, the Bab

transgression that makes The first decree was unfulfilled. declared His mission as

desolate, and the giving over

of the sanctuary and host to The second was also unfulfilled – the Gate to a New

be trampled under foot?"

14: And he said to him, "For only the Temple was rebuilt. The Revelation, and thus the

two thousand and

third was fulfilled. The fourth is Babi/Baha‟i era began.

three hundred

evenings and mornings; an extension of the third decree. This marked the end of

then the sanctuary the Age of Prophecy,

shall be restored to

its rightful state." “What hath God wrought?” and the transition to

-- Samuel F.B. Morse

The first telegraph message ever sent (May 24, 1844)

the Age of Fulfillment.

Akko’s Ancient History



Hot Sands of Akka, and the Glass Industry

http://www.middleeastwire.com/palestine/business/stories/20020127_2_meno.shtml

Akka is a Palestinian city according to the division scheme of 1947 and was occupied in 1948 by Israel.

Akka has been a predominantly Arab, Muslim city. The city was not included in the Israeli state, which

devoured most of the coastline, with the exception of Gaza and Jaffa. In fact, none of the seven division

schemes proposed for the land of Palestine awarded Akka to Israel. In 1945, 87% of the city's land

belonged to Arabs, 10% was categorized public property, and only 3% belonged to Jews. Palestinians made

up 96% of the city's population. See www. palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre for more about Akko and

Palestine.

The city had been established in the third millennium BC at the hands of a Canaanite tribe that made the

city an important trade center, naming it Akko (hot sand.) Roman historian Yelni has noted that the tribe

invented the glass industry by chance when they placed potassium nitrates on the soft sand and ignited it

for cooking. The potassium nitrates mixed with the sand and interacted with it under high heat, producing

the first form of glass. Bet She„arim south-east of Mt. Carmel is a site where a huge 4th century glass

slab was found, validating the importance of glass making in this area [see

http://www.cmog.org/page.cfm?page=277]



Napoleon and Akka "Akka made me forget my greatness." The statement was uttered by French

general Napoleon as he fled the city in defeat - the small coastal city managed to defeat one of the

world's strongest armies in a war in 1799.



Akko in the Old Testament (1) “And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley

of Achor [now called Akko] a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have

sought me". (Isaiah 65:10)

(2) There I will give her back her [Israel] vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (now

called Akko) a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day

she came up out of Egypt. [i.e. when Moses was with them]" (Hosea 2:15)

Map of Akko and Her Recent Religious History









Baha’u’llah and Akko Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha‟I Faith, fulfilled prophecies written

thousands of years ago. Two separate governments imprisoned Baha'u'llah in precisely the same city (Achor) as

predicted in the two passages above where Hosea and Isaiah both say God will feed his flocks. Baha'u'llah was

imprisoned for forty years in the city of Achor. The Kitab-i-Aqdas [The Book of Laws] was revealed in that city as

well as the vast majority of Baha'u'llah's revelation. Towards the end of Baha'u'llah's life, He was permitted to leave

the walled city of Achor and to sojourn in the surrounding countryside. Baha'u'llah did not come to Achor by His own

free will, but as a prisoner and an exile, under the edicts of two separate governments (Persia and the Ottoman

empire). (adapted from Danny J. Blubaugh's newsgroup letter) [from www .connect.net/georgen/Bible.htm]

Just over 150 years ago Baha‟is came to Akko to visit Baha‟u‟llah during His incarceration in the Turkish prison and

also during His house arrest days when He stayed at nearby Bahji, His final resting place. Since that time, there has

been a high degree of tolerance between Muslims, Christians, and Baha‟is. See http://www.ilmuseums.com/icu/plan1.asp

for current tolerance activities. Akko’s sister city, Haifa, has formally inaugurated a policy of tolerance between the religions

(see http://www.haifa.gov.il/beit-hagefen/meetings.html).

Beginning of the InterFaith Movement

Kublai Khan‟s rulers were in search of a faith, and under Kublai Khan‟s

instructions convened a great conference of Muslims, Christians, Hindus

1269 and Buddhists in Peking in 1269. Kublai requested from the Pope that 100

learned Christians attend the conference. (see Amaury de Riencourt The

Soul of China p.137)

World Parliament of Religions as part of the Columbian World Exposition

in Chicago



1893 see Seager, Richard Hughes, Ed. (1993). The Dawn of Religious Pluralism:

Voices from the World's Parliament of Religions, 1893. La Salle, IL: Open

Court.

The InterFaith Movement (Part 2)

[p.90]

“…If all history were a steady progression, there might be a certain logic to ignoring the past. By

definition, every past situation would in its approach to truth be inferior to the present. One would

concern approach to truth be inferior to the present. One would concern oneself with the past, if at all,

simply for self-satisfied edication, in about the same mood as that of some earlhy ethnologists‟ studies

of “savages.” But if, on the other hand, each age is seen in its “immediacy to God,” each age must be

careflly looked at for whatever signals of transcedence might be uniquely its own. To return to an

earlier example, the theologian must concern himself with history because there is at least the

Peter L. possibility of his finding out about that one, never-to-be-repeated flash of truth which was the secret

possession of a cabal of Aztec priests – and which might, who knows, provide the solution to his own

Berger most pressing problem.”

A Rumor “By the same logic, this confrontation with the past cannot be limited to any one tradition, however

much an individual may be personally attached to it. Theologizing today must take place in an ecumenical

of consciousness. In our present, pluralistic situation, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay

Angels religiously entre nous. All religious groups are constantly confronted by the massive presence of a

secularized world view in its multiform manifestations and, on top of that, keep bumping into each other.

Christian bumps into Jew, Catholic into Protestant, while the intra-Protestant bumping process has

attained almost orgiastic intensity. With a little bit of luck one may even bump into the latest jet-

propelled guru, fresh from the East with religious luggage of appropriately light weight for convenient

air travel. Today everyone is forced into a permanent conversation with everyone else, which is mostly

carried on in a very polite manner. It is funny, but, I daresay, it is also salutary. It is healthy for nuns

to have to deal with rabbis, and vice versa, and it won‟t hurt either group to come up against a few Hindu

holy men. In any case it is very difficult to ignore ecumenical consciousness, even if one desires to.”

Recognition of Women’s Equality

1847 Seneca Falls Conference, New York

Taiping Rebellion, Nanking & South China

The Taiping leaders under Hong Xiuquan adopted many policies which would later become the

marks of modernization in China: prohibition of opium-smoking, gambling, the use of tobacco

and wine, polygamy, the sale of slaves, and prostitution. They promoted the equality of the

1851- sexes: they abolished foot-binding and appointed women as administrators and officers in

1864 the Taiping army. They also tried to abolish the private ownership of land and property, and

they developed a program for the its equal distribution. Although women did not initiate

these changes, they nevertheless do indicate a change of mind towards women and reflect

that thinking in new legislation.

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/taiping.html

http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/modern2.html





1847 Conference of Badasht, Persia

Tahirih‟s momentous unveiling caused disbelief among some of the traditional Muslims.





Hints of New Mode of Thought in Women’s

Literature, UK and USA

Virginia Woolf Orlando





Trung Sisters, Vietnam