Bahai Viewpoint on Doomsday / 2012 / Armageddon

[PeruanoKiwi]

Hey guys seeing as all these natural disasters are happening i really wanted to know what the general viewpoint on these topics are I know there is mention of a calamty that is going to occur but thats about it

If anyone can point me in the right direction would be great thanks! :bow:

 

[arthra]

Hey guys seeing as all these natural disasters are happening i really wanted to know what the general viewpoint on these topics are I know there is mention of a calamty that is going to occur but thats about it

If anyone can point me in the right direction would be great thanks! :bow:

There's nothing about 2012 in our Writings PeruanoKiwi.. 2012 is an anniversary for a hundred years since Abdul-Baha visited America..nor about "Doomsday"..

Yes the earthquake and tsunami in Japan is tragic and we should pray for the souls of those lost and their families..

Abdul-Baha as you may know was encouraged to ship on the Titanic maiden voyage..but he chose a less expensive alternative in taking the Cedric.

In any event Abdul-Baha addressed the tragic event of the loss of life on the Titanic with these words in 1912:

Furthermore, these events have deeper reasons. Their object and purpose is to teach man certain lessons. We are living in a day of reliance upon material conditions. Men imagine that the great size and strength of a ship, the perfection of machinery or the skill of a navigator will ensure safety, but these disasters sometimes take place that men may know that God is the real Protector. If it be the will of God to protect man, a little ship may escape destruction, whereas the greatest and most perfectly constructed vessel with the best and most skillful navigator may not survive a danger such as was present on the ocean. The purpose is that the people of the world may turn to God, the One Protector; that human souls may rely upon His preservation and know that He is the real safety. These events happen in order that man's faith may be increased and strengthened. Therefore, although we feel sad and disheartened, we must supplicate God to turn our hearts to the Kingdom and pray for these departed souls with faith in His infinite mercy so that, although they have been deprived of this earthly life, they may enjoy a new existence in the supreme mansions of the Heavenly Father.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 47

It may be there is also a message in His words for the tragedy in Japan.

There was a battle of Armageddon fought near Mount Carmel in WWI.. where the Turks were defeated and General Allenby received a medal for it..

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_(1918)

You'll also note a reference to the Baha'is and the role of Abdul-Baha in famine relief at the time.

 

[WorldCitizen]

Was reading this article yesterday

http://bahai-library.com/bsr/bsr09/9B3_lambden_armageddon.htm

In the Advent of Divine Justice (1939) and at the beginning of The Promised Day is Come (1941 and elsewhere, Shoghi Effendi cites various apocalyptic prophecies from miscellaneous tablets of Bahá'u'lláh;

The time for the destruction of the world and its people hath arrived (hangám faná'-yi 'álam va ahl-i án rasíd amad).


The hour is approaching when the most great convulsion (inqiláb-i akbar) will have appeared.


Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.

By Myself! The day is approaching when We will have rolled up the world and all that is therein, and spread out a new Order in its stead.

The day is approaching when its [civilisation's] flame (nár) will devour the cities, when the tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: "The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the All-Praised (al-mulk li-láhí al-azíz al-hamíd)."

Such passages could be greatly multiplied. Among other things, as we shall see, Bahá'ís believe that these texts prophesy the wars of the 20th century and beyond as well as possible apocalyptic upheavals.

 

[WorldCitizen]

Baha'is do acknowledge of calamities to come, but i don't believe it is God's wrath hitting every nation one by one. Because i believe in the harmony of science and religion, science tells us that the earth is trying to come back to a balance, and the effect is these disasters. it has been happeneing all along. the difference is that humanity is much more closer together than we were say in Christs time. look at how many nations have risen to serve and help japan and other countries in crisis. in Lights of Guidance, the Guardian says:

The present calamities are parts of this process of purgation, through them alone will man learn his lesson. They are to teach the nations, that they have to view things internationally, they are to make the individual attribute more importance to his moral than his material welfare.

so instead of spending billions of dollars on millitary equipment, and other unneccessary sciences, man should now focus on helping nations through these trouble times.

 

[WorldCitizen]

In a well-known extract from a Persian tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to Muhammad Ibrahím Khalíl-i Qazvíní dating to around 1878 CE it is stated that,

"The world is in travail and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned toward waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the [Divine] Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody."

notice how these two processes are going concurrently, that is man's lack of spirituality and natural disasters. The Guardian says:

"The materialism, the lack of true religion and the consequent baser forces in human nature which are being released, have brought the whole world to the brink of probably the greatest crisis it has ever faced or will have to face."

i have no idea where im going with this, but it is an interesting topic to discuss.

 

[BruceDLimber]

"Doomsday," aka the "end of the world" is in fact a mistranslation!

The word in the original Greek is "eras," which means "world" or "age."

And the compilers of the KJV Bible chose the wrong meaning: this in fact speaks of the end of the Age, which in the Baha'i view already took place about a century and a half ago!

"Judgement Day" refers to the time when a new Divine Messenger is on earth, and each individual has to choose whether or not to accept the new Message and new religion brought by that Messenger. (This typically happens every 500-1,000 years.)

As to "Armageddon," this comes from the Hebrew "har mediggo," which refers to a plain and mountain not far from Mount Carmel.

IOV this battle already took place near the end of World War I when the British General Allenby defeated the Turks on the Plain of Megiddo, thus fulfiling this prophecy (and in the process preventing the crucifixion of 'Abdu'l-Baha, which was about to take place at the hand of the Turks).

Such is our view of all this.

As to 2012, it's just another year: nothing special.

Peace,

Bruce

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Thank you all.... reminds me to do a bit more reading... do we have any figures regarding bahais effected in japan?

 

[arthra]

We have had no news as yet about the Baha'is in Japan.. It is a fairly small but dynamic community.

Here is a brief history of Baha'is contact with Japan:

Bahá'í Faith in Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia