Mr. .... Dear Bahá'í Friend,
Your
email of 8 May 1996 regarding questions raised about the fulfilment of
the Biblical prophecy of Daniel concerning 1,335 days, as well as
modifications made to "Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era", was referred to us
for response. In answer to earlier, similar questions on these subjects,
memoranda were prepared by the Research Department of the Universal
House of Justice. Copies of these are enclosed.
It is our hope that these will be helpful to you in responding to the questions which have been raised.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
Enclosures (appended)
M E M O R A N D U M
To: The Universal House of Justice
Date: 13 December 1990 From: Research Department
DANIEL'S PROPHECIES Revised February 1996
From
time to time, questions are raised by the Bahá'ís about the
interpretation of the Biblical prophecies contained in the following
verses in Daniel 12:11-12:
And from the time that the
daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh
desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
To
assist the friends in their study of this subject, the Research
Department has prepared a summary of the elucidations contained in the
Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá and the letters written by or on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi on this theme. Three main issues are addressed: the
interpretation of 1,290 days; the interpretation of 1,335 days; and the
date of the commencement of the "hundred lunar years", which, as
mentioned by Shoghi Effendi in "God Passes By" (Wilmette: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust, 1987), page 151, will precede the consummation of the
1,335 days. 1. 1,290 Days
In "Some Answered Questions"
(Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1984), pages 43-44, Abdu'l-Bahá
interprets the prophecy concerning the 1,290 days in the following
terms:
The beginning of this lunar reckoning is
from the day of the proclamation of the prophethood of Muhammad in the
country of Hijaz; and that was three years after His mission, because in
the beginning the prophethood of Muhammad was kept secret, and no one
knew it save Khadijah and Ibn Nawfal. After three years it was
announced. And Bahá'u'lláh, in the year 1290 from the proclamation of
the mission of Muhammad, caused His manifestation to be known.
Note
that the Master indicates that, in this instance, time is measured by
the "lunar" calendar. Since the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad
took place ten years prior to the Hegira, i.e., His flight from Mecca to
Medina, from which date the Muslim calendar begins, the year 1290 from
the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad was the year 1280 of the
Hegira, or 1863-64 A.D. There are references to 1,290 days in "God
Passes By", on pages 110 and 151. In these passages, Shoghi Effendi
confirms that the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, which occurred
in 1863 (1280 A.H.), represents the fulfilment of the 1,290 days.
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 2
2. 1,335 Days Two Tablets revealed by `Abdu'l-Bahá which are published in
"The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá" (Haifa: 1922), by Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi, provide interpretations of the 1,335 days referred to by Daniel:
Now
concerning the verse in Daniel, the interpretation whereof thou didst
ask, namely, "Blessed is he who cometh unto the thousand three hundred
and thirty five days". These days must be reckoned as solar and not
lunar years. For according to this calculation a century will have
elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth, then will the teachings of
God be firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shall
flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this day,
will the faithful rejoice! (p. 31) O servant of God! The afore
mentioned a thousand three hundred and thirty-five years must be
reckoned from the day of the flight of His Holiness Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, (Hegira) salutations and blessings rest upon Him, at the
close of which time the signs of the rise, the glory, the exaltation,
the spread of the Word of God throughout the East and the West shall
appear. (p. 31)
From these Tablets it appears that:
- The spread of the Faith throughout the world will signal the fulfilment of this prophecy. - The "days must be reckoned as solar and not lunar years".
-
The Tablets suggest that the prophecy is fulfilled by two different
dates. The first derives from the centenary of the Declaration of
Bahá'u'lláh; the second is calculated from 622 A.D. -- hence, 1963 and
1957.
Shoghi Effendi associated Daniel's
reference to the 1,335 days and Abdu'l-Bahá's statements about this
prophecy with the centenary of the formal assumption of Bahá'u'lláh's
prophetic office and the worldwide triumph of the Bahá'í Cause. He
stressed that the prophecy refers to occurrences within the Bahá'í
community, rather than to events in the outside world, e.g., the
establishment of peace. While the Guardian clearly allied the triumph of
the Faith with the successful termination of the third Teaching Plan
undertaken by the believers, in his letters and those written on his
behalf, three specific dates are mentioned as marking the fulfilment of
Daniel's prophecy. 2.1 1960 -- A lunar reckoning
Concerning the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, Shoghi Effendi, in "God Passes By", page 151, wrote:
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 3
The
"hundred lunar years", destined to immediately precede that blissful
consummation (1,335 days), announced by Daniel ... had commenced.
One hundred years, by a "lunar reckoning", after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh coincides with 1960. 2.2 1963 -- A solar reckoning
When
the world-embracing Spiritual Crusade was announced in October 1952,
Shoghi Effendi linked the completion of this decade-long enterprise with
the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy:
LET THEM AS
THEY ENTER IT VOW ONE VOICE ONE HEART ONE SOUL NEVER TURN BACK ENTIRE
COURSE FATEFUL DECADE AHEAD UNTIL EACH EVERY ONE WILL HAVE CONTRIBUTED
SHARE LAYING ON WORLD-WIDE SCALE AN UNASSAILABLE ADMINISTRATIVE
FOUNDATION FOR BAHA'U'LLAH'S CHRIST-PROMISED KINGDOM ON EARTH SWELLING
THEREBY CHORUS UNIVERSAL JUBILATION WHEREIN EARTH HEAVEN WILL JOIN AS
PROPHESIED DANIEL ECHOED `ABDU'L-BAHA ON THAT DAY WILL FAITHFUL REJOICE
WITH EXCEEDING GLADNESS.
("Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957" (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), p. 44)
Thereafter,
the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy concerning the 1,335 days is
associated with the end of the Ten Year Crusade. For example, in a
letter dated 9 February 1953 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a group of
Bahá'ís, his secretary wrote:
The purpose of the Conferences1
will be the world-wide propagation of the Faith. They will lay the
foundations of the service of the Bahá'ís of the world for the great Ten
Year Crusade ahead -- which, God willing, will be consummated in the
fulfilment of the prophecies of Daniel, and the achievement of the
initial goals set by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan,
whereby the world will be flooded with the Glory of the Lord.
And,
in a letter dated 11 May 1956 written on behalf of the Guardian to an
individual believer, we find the following statement:
...when
we fulfil the Ten Year Crusade, we will have brought into fulfilment
Daniel's great prophecy of "Blessed is he who waits and comes to the
1335 days".
------------------------
1. International Conferences scheduled to take place during 1953.
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 4
2.3 1957 There
are several references in letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi
which give 1957 as the date of the fulfilment of the prophecy. For
example:
It is far too early to make any
predictions about peace of any sort, judging by the ebullitions of the
world's affairs these days! `Abdu'l-Bahá, in His Tablets, connects the
prophecy of Daniel -- 1957 -- with the proclamation and spread of the
Cause. (31 July 1946 to an individual believer)
It
is interesting to note that, when a National Spiritual Assembly sought
clarification from the beloved Guardian about whether the 1,335 days
culminate in 1957 or in 1963, Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated 30 June
1952 written on his behalf indicated:
Regarding the
prophecy of Daniel: ... this prophecy refers to the hundredth
anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridvan,
Baghdad. Reference to this can be found in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá"
in quotations from two of His Tablets. (30 June 1952)
2.4 The Calculation of the Date A
number of believers requested guidance from Shoghi Effendi about how to
calculate the date that will coincide with the fulfilment of the 1,335
days. We provide two responses written on behalf of the Guardian:
The
1335 days referred to by Daniel will be fulfilled in 1963. The date of
the Hijra is 622 A.D. The 1335 days is figured according to the solar
calendar, but in adjusting the 1335 days, one must take into
consideration the time at which the prophecies were given and change
them into solar time, which would bring the date to 1963. There is
one thing of importance for the Bahá'ís to understand; and that is, that
this prophecy refers to happenings within the Faith, not occurrences
outside the Faith. It refers specifically to the spread of the Faith
over the face of the earth. This will be accomplished when the Bahá'í
Faith is firmly established in all of the virgin areas outlined in the
Ten Year Crusade, and the other goals of the Crusade are completed. Thus
it behoves us to work day and night in order to accomplish this
glorious goal.
(18 December 1953 to an individual believer)
As
regards your question concerning the date 1335: The reckoning of this
date does not bring it to the exact date of 1963, but a few more years.
Nevertheless, there is no conflict in this,
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 5
because
`Abdu'l-Bahá says that it will be the beginning of the diffusion of the
Light of the Faith in the east and the west. This will already have
begun to come about before 1963, which is the fulfilment of the 100
years from Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration.
(31 January 1955 to an individual believer)
It
is noteworthy that insufficient information is provided in the first
extract to permit a precise calculation, while in the second, the
Guardian's secretary indicates that a calculation would not give "the
exact date of 1963, but a few more years". The Research Department has
not been able to locate any additional authoritative texts which contain
detailed instructions concerning how to make the calculation. 3. The "Hundred Lunar Years"
In
"God Passes By", page 151, Shoghi Effendi allies the "hundred lunar "
years after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh with the fulfilment of the
1,335 days of Daniel's prophecy. The only other reference to one hundred
"lunar" years that the Research Department has, so far, been able to
find, is contained in a letter dated 31 October 1947 written on behalf
of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual Assembly. This letter
clarifies the mistaken assumption that the year 1335 relates to the
centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's mystic experience in the Siyah-Chal (i.e.,
1952-1953):
He wishes me to point out that this is
inaccurate as on page 151 of "God Passes By", in the references to His
Declaration, the Guardian clearly states that with this Declaration the
"hundred lunar years" ... had commenced'. The mystic experience of
Bahá'u'lláh was in the Siyah- Chal and has nothing to do with Daniel's
prophecy. This statement of the Guardian is itself based on extracts
from two of the Master's Tablets which are published in "The Passing of
Abdu'l-Bahá".
In addition, a believer asked
Shoghi Effendi about the relationship between the establishment of peace
and the fulfilment of the prophecy about the 1,335 days and requested
the source of, a reference to, and the starting date of, a prophecy
concerning the "one hundred years after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh"
referred to in a pilgrim's notes. The Guardian in a letter dated 1 April
1946 written on his behalf made the following response:
`Abdu'l-Bahá's
interpretation of the prophecy of Daniel does not definitely connect it
with either the Lesser or the Most Great Peace, but rather with a great
step forward on the part of humanity and the Bahá'í Faith. All we know
is that the Lesser and the Most Great Peace will come -- their exact
dates we do not know. The 100 years is from 1853; the Master explains this in some of His Tablets, and is quoted in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá".
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 6
Both
of the letters cited above base their conclusions on the same two
Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá, which are quoted in section 2 of this
memorandum. Since the beloved Guardian rules out a relationship between
Daniel's prophecy and the intimation of the coming of revelation to
Bahá'u'lláh, it is evident that some other explanation must be found for
the significance of the one- hundred-year period that begins in 1853. 4. Concluding Remarks
While
it is clear that the prophecy concerning the 1,335 days is associated
with the spread of the Bahá'í Faith throughout the world, several
different dates are given in our authoritative texts for the actual
fulfilment of this prophecy. As mentioned earlier, the two Tablets of
the Master which are cited in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá", page 31,
suggest different dates for the fulfilment of the prophecy of the 1,335
days: 1963 and 1957. Further, in the letters written by or on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian indicates that these same Tablets form the
basis for his interpretation of the date of the fulfilment of the 1,335
days referred to in Daniel. Three different dates are either given by
the Guardian or can be inferred from these same Tablets -- 1957, 1960,
and 1963.
In addition, these same Tablets are also given as the reference for the one-hundred-year period that began in 1853.
In light of the foregoing, it is, therefore, suggested that:
-
The prophecy of Daniel about the 1,335 days is not fulfilled by just
one single date. Its fulfilment is, rather, a process that extends over a
period of time. - The fulfilment of the prophecy coincides with the
period of the Ten Year Crusade, 1953-1963, a span of time that includes
1953 (the end of the hundred years whose significance is unclear), 1957,
1960, and 1963.
It is interesting to note that
Shoghi Effendi described the Ten Year Crusade as the "ninth part" of
that "majestic process, set in motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle"
by means of which the "light" of God's Revelation will be diffused
in
both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, through the operation of a
decade-long world spiritual crusade whose termination will, God willing,
coincide with the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the Centenary of the
Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad.
(30 April 1953 to the All-America Intercontinental Teaching
Conference, published in "Messages to the Bahá'í World
1950-1957" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), p. 155)
Daniel's Prophecies Revised February 1996 Page 7
Furthermore, the Guardian in a letter dated 7 March 1955 written on his behalf to an individual believer states:
Thus
in the Ten Year Crusade, we are actually fulfilling the prophecy of
Daniel, because with the completion of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963 we
will have established the Faith in every part of the globe. What a
great privilege it is that individuals such as we are, have an
opportunity to not only spread the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, but in this
period of the Ten Year Crusade, are actually engaged in the fulfilment
of prophecy.
