In the Old Testament book of Daniel there is an "Abomination of Desolation" prophecy. This enigmatic prophecy was referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24 as one of the signs of the time of the return of the 'parousia' or Presence of God.
Matthew 24:3 And as he (Jesus) 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 (original Greek: PAROUSIA = Presence), and of the end of the world? (original Greek: AION = age or dispensation)
NOTE: The oldest New Testament texts
are written in Greek. The original Greek text of Matthew 24 refers to the return of the 'PAROUSIA' (pear' oh zee uh). The Greek word 'parousia' means 'Presence'.
The King James Bible translates PAROUSIA in this passage as "what shall be the
sign of thy coming".
The King James Bible also translates AION as "world". The Greek word for
world is KOSMOS. The Greek word AION more correctly should be translated as
"age" or "dispensation".
In other words, Jesus was telling His
followers how to know the time of the return of the Divine 'Presence' of God
at the end of the current age or dispensation.
The 'Abomination of Desolation' prophecy found in Daniel is one of the most important keys that allow us to unlock the mystery of the time when the Divine 'Presence of God' will once again appear on earth in human form.
One of the overall themes of the Old Testament book of Daniel regard the abominable actions of the Jewish people which led to the conquest of Israel by a succession of foreign, non-Jewish empires. And then, even more specifically, Daniel's 'Abomination of Desolation' prophecy pinpoints the time when this centuries long era of the subjugation of Israel will end when the Divine 'Presence of God' will once again appear on earth in human form. In other words, Daniel's prophecy pinpoints the time when God will again speak to humanity through His chosen Manifestation or Prophet.
To understand these prophecies, we need to start at the beginning.
The nation of Israel was re-created by the great Hebrew Prophet Moses. Moses gave his followers a code of laws and a code of ethics which became the unifying force and the generating impulse which culminated in the re-vitalizing of the nation of Israel.
In the Old Testament book of Leviticus we find the story of how Moses gave this law to his people. Then, in Leviticus chapter 26, Moses warns that if the Jews fall away from God's laws they will be conquered and scattered among the nations. Moses warned
if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments... I will chastise you seven times for your sins... I will make your cities waste... I will scatter you among the heathen. - Leviticus 26
Moses' 'seven times' prophecy took effect for the first time about 676 BC when the evil Hebrew king Manasseh tried to lead the Jewish people away from the religion of Moses by endorsing local pagan cults. Manasseh allowed these pagan cults to erect altars inside the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem where idols were worshipped, sacrifices were offered to pagan gods and, among other abominations, Manasseh was also said to have allowed ritual prostitution to be practiced inside the Holy Temple.
It wasn't long before Moses' prophecy took effect. The Assyrian Empire swept down from the north, conquered Jerusalem, the Jewish people were hauled off as slaves and King Manasseh himself was carried off in chains. This was the beginning of the seven times era of subjugation foretold by Moses.
After the Assyrians, Israel was conquered by other foreign empires. They were conquered successively by the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire and the Greek empire. In his book the Prophet Daniel refers to these foreign empires as "beasts".
The Apostle John, writing in the New Testament era, also refers to these same beasts. In chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation John speaks of the beast who 'was', the beast who 'is' and the beast who was still 'yet to arise'.
The beast who 'was' were the empires who had conquered Jerusalem before the time that John was writing --- in the latter part of the first century.
The beast who 'is' was the Roman Empire that had arisen after the first four beasts to also conquer Jerusalem. In John's time this Roman beast still controlled Jerusalem.
Continuing on, still in this same passage, John next refers to yet another beast who was still 'yet to arise'. That is to say, there still was another empire yet to arise who would also conquer Jerusalem. Who was this last beast? Ask yourself, who was the only empire to arise after the Romans to conquer and control Jerusalem? There was only one... the Islamic Empire which was led for most of its existence by the Umayyad family and later by the Abbasid family.
The conquest of Jerusalem by these foreign, non-Jewish empires which lasted for more than 2500 years was the 'Abomination of Desolation'... the desolating abomination which was referred to by both Daniel and Jesus.
The key to understanding what these prophecies were saying lies in their numbers. For example, in Daniel 8:13 it asks how long will this 'abomination of desolation' process last. Daniel answered that it would last for 2300 days.
Daniel 8:13: How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression (abomination) of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (King James Bible)
Before this '2300 day' prophecy can be understood we first must consider an important principle. In Bible prophecy days can equal years. We find this principle stated in Ezekiel 4 and Numbers 14 where it says I have appointed you each day for a year.
Ezekiel 4:6: "thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." (King James Bible)
Numbers 14:34: "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years..." (King James Bible)
One example of how this 'day for a year' principle works can be found in Daniel 9:24 where Daniel says that 70 weeks are appointed from the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem then shall Messiah be cut off.
To understand what this prophecy is saying we first need to calculate how many 'days' there are in '70 weeks'. Do the math... 70 weeks times seven days in a week equals 490 days. Considering the statements from Ezekiel and Numbers that days can equal years in prophecy this means that 490 days can actually equal 490 years.
Next, let's check the history. Daniel says that 70 weeks are appointed from the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem then shall Messiah be cut off. When was the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem?
The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given by a Persian king named Artaxerxes in 457 BC.
So, what was Daniel saying in his '70 week' prophecy? There are 490 days in 70 weeks. If the 490 days of this prophecy actually are 490 years... and if you add 490 years to 457 BC, you get the cutting off of the Messiah somewhere around 33 or 34 AD. This means that Daniel's '70 week' prophecy foretold the death of Jesus the Messiah several hundred years before it actually happened. This also proves that days indeed can equal years in prophecy.
How does this relate to Daniel's 2300 days 'Abomination of Desolation' prophecy? If we consider that the '70 week' prophecy and the '2300 day' prophecy are both found in the same context... we can see that they are just two different stages of the same prophecy.
So, if we use the same starting point of 457 BC that we used in the '70 week' prophecy and, if this time we count forward 2300 years. . . we get both the year of the end of the 'Abomination of Desolation' and we get the year of the return of Christ's PAROUSIA -- the return of his Presence. Once again, do the math. 457 BC plus 2300 years equals 1844 AD.
Keeping this in mind, let's take another look at Moses' prophecy found in Leviticus 26. Here Moses warned
if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments... I will chastise you seven times for your sins... I will make your cities waste... I will scatter you among the heathen.According to Moses, this 'Abomination' and 'scattering among the Gentiles' time period would last for 'seven times'. Seven times or seven years of 360 days per year equals 2520 days or 2500 years.
Moses' 'seven times' prophecy first took effect in 676 BC when the Assyrians conquered Jerusalem and King Manasseh was taken
to their capital city in chains. If we start at 676 BC and count forward 2520 years
we get the exact same year foretold in Daniel's 2300 day/year prophecy.
Moses' "seven times" prophecy also indicates the year 1844 AD.
Returning to the Book of Revelation again. . . in the 11th, 12th and 13th chapters, we are told seven separate times that the last beast referred to by John will control Jerusalem for 1260 years. In the Book of Revelation we read:
11:2: the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months...
11:3: I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (1260)...
11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half (3 1/2 cycles)
11:11 And after three days and an half (3 1/2 cycles) the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (1260)
12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (3 1/2 times)...
13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 13:5 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.
The prophecies found in the 11th, 12th and 13th chapters of the Book of Revelation twice refer to 1260 days. Three other times they refer to 3 1/2 years, 3 1/2 times or 3 1/2 days. And in two separate places they refer to 42 months.
Consider that if you multiply 3 1/2 years x 12 months = 42 months. And if you multiply 42 months x 30 days in a month = 1260 days. There are 1260 days in 42 months and there are 42 months in 3 1/2 years. Using the 'day for a year' principle we can see that these prophecies are all referring to a 1260 year period of time.
How can we be certain that when the prophecies refer to 'times' they truly do mean years? Jesus clearly shows us that 1260 days
actually do equal 3 1/2 times. First, in Revelation 12: 6, he says that the
woman and her child would be protected for 1260 days..
And second, just seven verses later in Revelation
12:14 /span>
Jesus says that the woman and her child will be nourished
for 3 1/2 times. Clearly, according to Jesus, 1260 days equals 3 1/2 times... and 3 1/2 times equals 1260
days.
In his book, the Jewish Prophet Daniel also refers to the 3 1/2 'times of the beast'.
Daniel 7:23 The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break
it in pieces. 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and
shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:
and they shall be given into his hand until a time
and times and the dividing of time. (3 1/2 times) Daniel 12:6 How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 12:7 And I
heard the man clothed in linen... sware by him that liveth for ever that it
shall be for a time, times, and an half
(3 1/2 times); and when he shall have accomplished
to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
The number 1260 is also repeatedly referred to
in the Islamic religion as the time when the messiah will appear.
Muhammad's 'grandson', the Imam Sadiq, when asked when the messiah will appear,
replied verily
Another collection of Islamic prophecies states that
The year 1260 AH of the Islamic calendar is the exact same year 1844 AD of the Christian calendar.
In other words, these Islamic prophecies agree with the prophecies found in Daniel and in the Book of Revelation. They all foretold the appearance of the messiah in the exact same year.
What is truly amazing about these prophecies is that
three separate and distinct middle eastern religions, encompassing several countries, spanning a period of almost four thousand
years, each speaking different languages, each with their own different Prophet Founder, each with their own Holy Books containing their own separate prophecies
all foretold the exact same event in the exact same year.
To summarize briefly, that's a dozen separate prophecies indicating the year
1260 as the time when God will again speak to humanity through a Promised One -
a Manifestation of God or Prophet of God. These prophecies all state that this beast will control Jerusalem for 1260
years. Who is this beast? It is the only empire which arose after the Romans
to conquer and control Jerusalem . . . the pseudo-Islamic empire first under the
Umayyad dynasty and later under the Abbasid dynasty.
The year 1260 AH of the Islamic calendar just happens to also be
Can you see what this means? The
'7-times' prophecy of Moses, the '2300 day/year' 'Abomination of Desolation'
prophecy of Daniel and the thirteen '1260 day/year' prophecies all indicate the
exact same year ... the year 1844 AD. That's fifteen separate prophecies which
pinpoint 1844.
The 'Abomination of Desolation' prophecy indicates 1844
... the exact year when the Baha'i Faith began
On May 23rd, 1844 the young 'Bab' (the
forerunner of Baha'u'llah) announced to his first disciple that he was the
Promised One whose coming had been foretold in the prophecies. The Christ presence had returned as a
'thief in the night' with a 'new name' just as foretold in the New Testament writings.
Religious history tells us that from age to age God sends Manifestations or
Prophets to the world. From age to age the presence of God returns and is
manifested to a Chosen One. Jesus identified himself with the Manifestations
of God, also known as Prophets, who had appeared before his time. So did all the other Prophets. Each and every one of these
Manifestations were motivated by the same Spirit of the same One true God. Jesus clearly identified himself as part of this process and he repeatedly announced that there was still more to come.
In Matthew 24 the Apostles asked Jesus how to recognize the time
of the return of the 'Presence'. Jesus warned that his will be a time when
false teachers will have led people away from the true path. And he warned
that when the Presence again appears in human form ... when God again sends
another Prophet, many people will not recognize Him and will oppose him.
Once again, as it has so many times in the past, this cycle of 'the return'
has repeated itself. It happened again in Israel, in the mid 1800s... right at
the exact time pinpointed in the number prophecies of the Bible.
This Promised
One appeared just as promised by Jesus. He came both as a 'thief in the night'
and as a 'bridegroom' who came at an unexpected time and in an unexpected way
and found his bride misdirected, asleep and unprepared.
(see Matthew 25:1) As Jesus promised,
the Christ "presence" has once again returned with a "new name". His
new name is Baha'u'llah.
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith wrote:
The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself from its glory.
Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize
and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts. This is a Revelation,
under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood, myriads of
oceans will be his recompense. Take heed, O friends, that ye forfeit not so
inestimable a benefit, or disregard its transcendent station. Consider the
multitude of lives that have been, and are still being, sacrificed in a
world deluded by a mere phantom which the vain imaginations of its peoples
have conceived. Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as ye have attained unto
your heart's Desire, and been united to Him Who is the Promise of all nations. Guard ye, with the aid of the one true God - exalted be His glory - the integrity of the station which ye have attained, and cleave to that which shall promote His Cause. He, verily, enjoineth on you what is right and conducive to the exaltation of man's station. Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Revealer of this wondrous Tablet. -Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pages 5-6
STUDY CIRCLE QUESTIONS: 1- In Matthew 24 Jesus was asked when the time of the return
of the 'Parousia' would be. What does the Greek word 'Parousia' mean in
English? Does Matthew foretell the end of the world or the end of the age? 2- The Old Testament Prophet Daniel and the New Testament writer John
both referred to "beasts", that is to say foreign empires who had conquered and
subjugated the nation of Israel. Which empires had successively arisen to
conquer Israel? Answer: the A------- empire, 3- Statements in the Bible state that days can equal years in prophecy. (Fill
in the blanks.) Ezekiel 4:6 states: "thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty
days: I have appointed thee each --- --- - ----."
(King James Bible) Numbers 14:34 says: "After the number of the days in which ye searched the
land, even forty days, each --- --- - ----, shall ye bear your iniquities, even
----- years... (King James Bible) 4- Daniel 9:24 says that
in the year '60 (1260)
His cause shall be revealed and his name shall be noised abroad.
in
Ghars the tree of divine guidance shall
be planted. And again in the year Ghars
the earth shall be illumined by His light.
As you may know, in the Arabic language, words and letters all have corresponding
numerical values. The word Ghars is an Arabic word
meaning "the planting" and it has a numeric value of
1260. And these are just a couple of examples of Islamic prophecies. There are even more Islamic prophecies
that refer to the year 1260 as the time when the Islamic messiah will appear.
the exact same
year 1844 AD of the Christian calendar.
Please ask your local Baha'i community about how you may attend
Ruhi Study Circle
classes, Devotional
meetings and Youth & Children's classes in your area.
70 weeks times 7 days in a week equals how many days?
Remembering the statements from Ezekiel and Numbers that days can equal years in prophecy this means that 490 days can actually equal 490 years.
5- Daniel 9:24 says that 70 weeks are appointed from the
date of the decree
to rebuild Jerusalem then shall Messiah (Jesus) be cut off.
When was the decree to rebuild Jerusalem given?
Who gave it?
6-
What was the name of the Messiah who was "cut off" or killed about 33 or 34
AD?
7- In Daniel 8:13 it asks
Daniel 8:13: How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and
the transgression (abomination) of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and
the host to be trodden under foot? 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
(King James Bible)
You already know that before this '2300 day' prophecy can be understood we
first must remember an important principle.
If we use the same starting date of 457 BC that we used in
the '70 week' prophecy and, if this time we count forward 2300 years. . . we
get both the year of the end of the 'Abomination of Desolation' and we get the
year of the return of Christ's PAROUSIA or Presence.
Once again, do the math. 457 BC plus 2300 years equals (what year?).
8- What other prophecies refer to the year 1844?
9- What happened in 1844?
On May 23rd, 1844 the young 'Bab' announced to his first disciple that
10- What was the Bab's relationship to Baha'u'llah?
11- Fill in the
blanks. Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith wrote:
he was
the Promised One whose coming had been foretold in the prophecies.The R--------- which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as
the P------ and P------ of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His M---------,
hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His
irresistible bidding, been r------ unto men. The advent of such a Revelation
hath been h------- in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself from its
glory.
Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly
r-------- and k--- Him, and o------ befittingly His precepts. This is a
Revelation, under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood,
myriads of oceans will be his recompense. Take heed, O friends, that ye
f------ not so inestimable a b------, or d-------- its transcendent s------.
Consider the multitude of lives that have been, and are still being,
sacrificed in a world deluded by a mere phantom which the vain imaginations
of its peoples have conceived. R----- t----- unto God, inasmuch as ye have
a------- unto your heart's Desire, and been u----- to Him Who is the P------
of all n------. Guard ye, with the a-- of the one true God - exalted be His
glory - the i-------- of the s------ which ye have a-------, and c----- to
that which shall p------ His C----. He, verily, e------- on you what is
r---- and c-------- to the e------- of man's station. Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Revealer of this wondrous Tablet.
- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pages 5-6
someone else
could benefit from hearing you recite it from
memory?