Second Coming

:This article refers to the religious usage of the term. For other usages, see Second Coming (disambiguation).

Bahá'í Faith

Followers of the Bahá'í Faith believe that the second coming of Jesus, as well as the prophecies of the 5th Buddha and many other religious prophecies of a second coming, were fulfilled in Bahá'u'lláh. They commonly compare Baha'u'llah's fulfillment of Christian prophecies to Jesus' fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, where in both cases people were expecting the literal fulfillment of apocalyptic statements.

Related Topics:
Bahá'í Faith - Jesus - Bahá'u'lláh

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Given the natural debate that arises from the claims of the Baha'i Faith, many books have been published on the issues of prophecies and fulfillment. The following are commonly referenced arguments defending the Baha'i view of the second coming.

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:When asked, Jesus told his followers about signs of his second coming.

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:#"And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness ..... then shall the end come." (Matthew 24: 14)

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:#"Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.... And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21: 24,27)

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:#"The disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming? ".....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)." (Matthew 24: 3,15)

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:1) The early part of the nineteenth century saw the foundation of missionary societies which translated the Bible into many languages and began a huge operation to spread the news of Jesus into every remaining country. In 1842 missionaries reached China, and organised efforts to proclaim the Gospel in Central Africa began in 1844.

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:2) The Jewish revolt against Roman rule ended in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem fell to the Roman armies, and the Temple was destroyed. This was the start of the abomination of desolation, in which the Temple was "trodden down by the Gentiles". The Jews were expelled from Palestine, and this situation lasted up until A.D. 1844. In that year, the Turkish Empire proclaimed the Edict of Toleration, which allowed the Jews to live in their original homeland.

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:3) This refers to chapters 8 to 12 of the Book of Daniel where prophecies can be found which appear to give the dates for the first and second coming of Christ. Biblical scholars believe that every "day" referred to in these texts should be understood as meaning a year. One point of reference given by Daniel concerns the rebuilding of Jerusalem, long before the Romans again destroyed it. From 457 B.C., when the decree to rebuild Jerusalem went out, Daniel prophesies 70 weeks (490 days) until the "cutting off" (crucifixion) of the Messiah. The exact birth date of Jesus is unknown, but it is believed that he was crucified in about 33 A.D., which would be 490 years after the decree.

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:Daniel also prophesies 2300 "days" until the sanctuary is cleansed, and the abomination of desolation - the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem - is ended. From 457 B.C., this arrives at A.D. 1844.

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:All these prophecies point to the year 1844, which is the year that the Báb first declared his mission, regarded to Baha'is as the year that their religion began.

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:In the vision which contained these prophecies, Daniel saw himself as being in the land of Elam, later called Persia. The prophet Jeremiah also states: "And I will set my throne in Elam (Persia) .... saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 49:38). Baha'u'llah came from Persia, and was exiled Westward towards Palestine.

Related Topics:
Persia - Palestine

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