Truthseeker
Non-debating member when I can help myself
Let me quote from a Baha'i author. I will add some explanations of my own.And what about verses Revelation 13:5-18)?
"THE END DATE OF BEASTLY POWER:
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months . -Rev 13:4-5
A 'prophetic month' is 30 years. Therefore forty-two 'months' is 1260 years."
The year 1260 is when the Bab arose, ending the Islamic dispensation.
"The oecumene will admire the caliphate, whose power seems to rest upon an alliance with the Devil. The military prowess of the caliphate will be leopard-like, resembling that of Alexander the Great. Although the office of the caliphate will be occupied by several dynasties, the fraud initiated by the Umayyah will continue for the entire Dispensation of Muhammad, until 1260 AH.
The impression made by the caliphate upon the rest of the World was profound and sometimes baleful. Dark Age Christendom initiated a series of countermeasures in an attempt to overtake the technology and military power of Islamdom. In the shadowy recesses of the council chambers of that era, it is difficult to see what actually transpired, but the elimination of the 'human spirit' as a third part of Man has already been alluded to. Some historians see an abrupt shift away from spirituality in the West and towards a more materialistic society. Other historians discern the seeds of material progress in the 9th century that would flower in the 11th.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. -Rev 13:6-8
The Umayyah were noted for their hypocrisy, economic and social injustice, and their luxurious lives dedicated to the pleasures of the flesh. They suppressed the descendants of Muhammad and the Holy Imams, and dominated a vast array of peoples covering most of the oecumene. Their military power was supreme.
The "Lamb" represents the principle of Sacrifice that has existed since the beginning of time, necessary for the renewal of the Ages and the manifestation of a higher reality. Regardless of which CONSTELLATION appears at the Spring equinox, it is said that Spring always appears under the SIGN of Aries. Thus, symbolically, the Lamb has always been 'slain' to permit a new Age to commence.
In the Baha'i Dispensation, the names in the Book of Life are written by the Center of the Covenant, 'Abdu'l-Baha, the 'Most Great Branch' from the 'pre-existent root.' {4}"
While of course the Umayyads didn't literally rule the world, they presided over all of Islam and Islam at that time was the religion of the latest Dispensation which laid claim to the allegiance all of the peoples of the Earth.
(To be continued)