June 30. On this date in 1952,
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "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."
June 2. On this date in 1996, the Universal House of Justice
to an individual who had written "regarding questions raised about the
fulfilment of the Biblical prophecy of Daniel concerning 1,335 days, as
well as
"...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."
we will have brought into fulfillment Daniel's great prophecy of
'Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1335 days.' What could be more
wonderful than taking part in the fulfillment of religious prophecy of
over 3,000 years!"
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.
