How do people of the Bahai faith view Jesus? (Christian, Christ)

[Steinninn]

I'm new to the Baha'i faith, so I'm quriouse, how do baha'i see Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter Day Saint movement?

[BruceDLimber]

Hi, Steinninn, and welcome to the neighborhood! :-)

Briefly, Jehovah Witnesses are one of the many branches of Christianity, and Baha'is recognize them as such.

LDS (aka Mormons) are another Christian group but have a number of very different teachings, especially the fact that they are polytheistic in that they believe that anyone can "become a god" and rule over a universe. The Baha'i view is based on a statement of Shoghi Effendi which said that Joseph Smith is neither a Divine Messenger (Manifestation) of God nor a prophet, though he might be a seer (further definition of this not supplied, but it's meant to indicate someone of lesser status than a prophet).

I hope this helps!

Best regards, :-)

Bruce

[arthra]

Originally Posted by Steinninn

I'm new to the Baha'i faith, so I'm quriouse, how do baha'i see Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter Day Saint movement?

Thanks for the post Steinninn and welcome to the Baha'i Forum!

I think most Baha'is would see the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints and Jehovahs Witnesses as part of a movement within Christianity that had expectations of the Return of Christ ...similar in some respects to the Millerites and Adventists. They all it seems to me were built on some expectation of a new age of fulfillment and completion of prophecies.

It's our belief that these prophetic expectations were fulfilled in the Baha'i Faith with the Declaration of the Bab in 1844 and with the Declaration of Baha'u'llah in the Ridwan Garden in 1863.

Historically you can line up the events of say the Millerites, the Mormons and you see some intereseting dovetails with the Baha'i Faith.

- Art

[Steinninn]

I've heart some profesies that when Jesus returns that he will set foot on a mountain. I think I've heard many different names for this mountain. Can anyone remember?

[arthra]

Well I think there are traditional understandings of this and I think it relates to a prophecy in Zacharia when Jesus is suppose to return.

Zech 14:3-9 ‘Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south… Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.’

as you probably know we Baha'is think this already occurred and usually we take prophecies symbolically and spiritually..

"The purpose of the coming of the Manifestation of the Mount is the unification of the world of humanity."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v2, p. 353)


- Art

[Steinninn]

Yea, I've read some propecies about Mount Carmel. And then when I heard there was another mountain, Mountain of Olives, it kind of struck me. What significance dose that mountain have to the bahá'í faith?

[arthra]

I think it would be viewed as a symbol used in the prophecy of Zechariah to denote the place of a Manifestation of God's Power.. and since this is a prophecy all the other references to say Jerusalem and the references to forming a great valley are also symbolic.

Jesus was according to the Gospel on the Mount of Olives and Abdul-Baha comments:

In Matthew, chapter 24, verse 3, Christ clearly says that what Daniel meant by this prophecy was the date of the manifestation, and this is the verse: "As He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" One of the explanations He gave them in reply was this (v. 15): "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)." In this answer He referred them to the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, saying that everyone who reads it will understand that it is this time that is spoken of. Consider how clearly the manifestation of the Báb is spoken of in the Old Testament and in the Gospel.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, pp. 42-43

In the Surih of Ra'is revealed by Baha'u'llah it says:

O Chief! We revealed Ourself unto thee at one time upon Mount Tíná, and at another time upon Mount Zaytá and yet again in this hallowed Spot.

When you check the footnote for Mount Zayta it says:

Literally, ``the Mount of Figs'' and ``the Mount of Olives'', cf. Qur'án 95:1.

Now check Qur'an 95:1

By the Fig and the Olive,

In the Bible it says:

14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

(King James Bible, Hosea)

So this would be a reference to Baha'u'llah as fulfillment of the prophecy..Baha'u'llah is revealing that He was Jesus on the Mount of Olives and also fulfilled prophecy in my view.

In the Book of Revelation it says:

11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

(King James Bible, Revelation)

Abdul-Baha identifies the two witnesses as Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali..

All these are Manifestations of God's Power..in my view.

- Art

[arthra]

People may forget that the Olive had many uses in the ancient world inlcuding cooking and fuel for lamps..thus it was a source of light and symbolic of illumination:

Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive (Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with lilacs, jasmine and ash trees), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Asia Minor and spread from there as far as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China.[1] It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps.

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings! :-)

Originally Posted by Steinninn

Yea, I've read some propecies about Mount Carmel.... What significance dose that mountain have to the bahá'í faith?

It's significant both because Baha'u'llah, our Founder, was there several times and because, at His direction, the Shrine of the Bab (the Divine Messenger Who immediately preceded and foretold Baha'u'llah) was buried on the side of the mountain.

The area near it has since become the Baha'i World Center, and our world-level administrative buildings are beside the shrine.

We also own a property farther along the mountain (about a mile away) where a Baha'i temple will someday be built (there are currently seven of these--one per continent--, with an eighth currently under construction).

There's also a famous portion of the Baha'i scriptures titled the Tablet of Carmel that speaks glowingly of Carmel. You can see this at:

• www.bahai-library.org or
• www.reference.bahai.org

Best regards, :-)

Bruce

[Steinninn]

Originally Posted by BruceDLimber

Greetings! :-)

Hi Bruce, you seem to have taken my post out of context. I know a lot about Mount Carmel, I sure know that the Bahá'í world center is there among many other things. What I was refering to was Mountain of Olives.

Originally Posted by Steinninn

Yea, I've read some propecies about Mount Carmel. And then when I heard there was another mountain, Mountain of Olives, it kind of struck me. What significance dose that mountain have to the bahá'í faith?