Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Abdu'l-Bahá predicted the formation of Israel

Abdu'l-Bahá revealed a tablet in 1897 forecasting about formation of Holy Land of Israel.

Perhaps you are familiar with the following Tablet revealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá published on page 5, number 250 of "Bahá'í News", cited December 1951; and it provides a perspective in which to view your [Jewish] heritage from the Bahá'í standpoint.

"You have asked Me a question with regard to the gathering of the children of Israel in Jerusalem, in accordance with prophecy. "Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies, is a revered Temple, a sublime name, for it is the City of God... The gathering of Israel at Jerusalem means, therefore, and prophesies, that Israel as a whole, is gathering beneath the banner of God and will enter the Kingdom of the Ancient of Days. For the celestial Jerusalem, which has as its center the Holy of Holies, is; a City of the Kingdom, a Divine City. The East and West are but a small corner of that City. "Moreover, materially as well (as spiritually), the Israelites will all gather in the Holy Land. This is irrefutable prophecy, for the ignominy which Israel has suffered for wellnigh twenty-five hundred years will now be changed into eternal glory, and in the eyes of all, the Jewish people will become glorified to such an extent as to draw the jealousy of its enemies and the envy of its friends." (Abdu'l-Bahá revealed this tablet in 1897 to a Jewish community in the Orient)
The Jewish people have suffered enormously during centuries of exile, and those who sought to justify their evil actions have at different times victimized them by appeals to religion. We Bahá'ís sympathize deeply with the victims of that suffering.

At the same time, Bahá'ís accept that the Jews were responsible for the fate met by Jesus Christ, because this is what the Writings indicate, and we accept that, as with all people who fail to recognize the Manifestation of God at the appointed hour, their destiny as a people has been shaped by the consequences of their failure to recognize and accept Him. This is hardly a radical view. The drama of the Old Testament is largely the story of the travails and victories of the Israelites as they responded or not to the Covenant of God. We also believe, as stated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the passage quoted above, that Providence is delivering the Jews from their historical abasement and lifting them into a glorious condition.

[References in the Baha'i Writings to Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust]
by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice
1998-09-24