On a few occasions I’ve had the opportunity to discuss the Baha’i faith with followers of Baha’ulla and have experienced the interpretive gymnastics needed to make Bible prophecy fit Baha’i writings and Baha’ulla’s claims.  Of the many different faiths I’ve dealt with, I must say Baha’i is the most exasperating of them all.  Most frustrating is the Baha’is ability to ignore any proof you provide and continue a line of thinking even when clear evidence is given that it can’t be true, even to the point of starting a conversation over and completely ignoring what even they have said themselves.  If you ever get into a discussion with a Baha’i you should also be prepared for condescension and an arrogant view of Christians.  It is a common trait throughout the Baha’i community to feel they are more intellectual than other faiths, and indeed study and memorization are a big part of their religion.  This self image of being enlightened while the rest of us are clueless is part of the reason they are so deceived.  Satan has always used pride as an effective tool for making people unable and unwilling to see the error in their ways.  Seeing oneself as far superior intellectually makes it harder to accept facts presented by a supposedly less enlightened Christian.  This article is the first in a series intended to expose you to the line of thinking and the kind of logic you will encounter should you share your faith with a Baha’i.  It also presents some of the inaccuracies in their reinterpretation of Bible prophecy used to support Baha’ulla’s claim to have fulfilled the second coming of Christ.  It is by no means an exhaustive critique, and will be continued in the future. 

ALL RELIGIONS ARE THE SAME  

In an attempt to appeal to Christians Baha’is will say that Baha’i professes an acceptance of the divinity and role of Christ.  However further discussion quickly shows that their belief is based on an attempt to spiritualize and redefine scripture while minimizing the role of Christ in salvation.  They redefine every Christian term, presenting completely unbiblical doctrines on the nature of God, salvation, sin, and the nature of heaven.  In fact heaven is presented as a progressive state open to all, thereby eliminating any need for a savior and relegating Jesus to nothing more than a teacher.   

Just like so many cults in our ecumenical culture, they claim they are tolerant of other faiths and allow for free investigation of truth.  However, the Baha’i beliefs and writings do not bear this out.  In Baha’ism only the Baha’i writings and Baha’ulla can interpret the meanings of biblical scriptures and their symbolic interpretation of scripture must be accepted over the individual’s interpretation or the interpretation of other biblical scholars, historians, or Bible-believing Christians.  They claim to welcome and accept all religions, but these religions are then re-interpreted to conform to the teachings of the Baha’i faith.  In the end they are not the same religions at all.  These religions are completely recreated into the image of Baha’i.  Baha’i literature claims, “we are not a new religion but a renewal of religion”.  They aren’t really presenting a new religion that people must follow, they say, but are correcting the corruption of religions.  This literature will also say that all other religions are obsolete and are no longer a representation of the true teachings of God.  How can this be tolerance?  If all other religions are wrong and only Baha’ulla has corrected the errors, then they are guilty of the same exclusive belief in absolute truth that they ridicule Christians for, and Baha’ism is indeed a separate religion to its own.  How can they make the claim that Baha’i promotes an independent investigation of truth when Baha’ullah taught that Baha’is must obey the Guardian and/or Universal House of Justice because anything they decide is the Will of God?  Baha’is do not read the Bible and interpret it for themselves or find the truth that lies within through their own interpretation.  They are to believe that the interpretation given by Baha’ulla is directly from God and authoritative.   

In arguing that they are tolerant of all religions they will make the claim that all religions are basically the same and based on the same God.  They believe that all religions do appear different on the surface but the basic doctrine of each of them can be reconciled with all the others and in essence they are all leading to the same end.  Anyone who has studied the different religions of this world can see that this can’t be true.  Core doctrines that are at the heart of these religions do not agree and cannot be forced together.  For example, how can Buddha be another messenger pointing to the same God when Buddha didn’t believe in God?  Hinduism believes there is no absolute deity while Muslims believe there is only one very specific deity.  Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and a third person of the Trinity.  Islam believes God could not have a son.  Islam believes that Muhammad was the final Prophet.  Baha’i teaches that he was not and Baha’ulla is the new manifestation for this age.  Logic must be thrown out the window to believe all religions are serving the same purpose and are all equally valid. 

The Bah’is logic is circular and their writings use symbolism to make prophecy and doctrine fit the Baha’i teachings.  They argue that the Christians’ mistake is in taking the Bible too literally.  When the Bible is taken literally, Baha’i is in no way compatible with Christianity and Baha’ulla could not have been the second coming of Christ.  Therefore, they will argue, the problem is not that Baha’ulla is a false prophet, it’s that the reader is not looking at the symbolic meaning of the scriptures.  Following this logic anyone could claim to be the return of Christ by reinterpreting scripture to fit the circumstances. 

BAHA’ULLA’S CLAIMS 

In the mid nineteenth century Baha’ulla claimed - with power and authority_to the Christians of the world that He fulfills the Bible’s sacred promises concerning the Return of Christ: “Jesus, the Spirit of God hath once more, in my person, been made manifest unto you.”(He Cometh with Clouds: A Baha’i View of Christ’s Return by Matthews)  In many of Baha’ulla’s writings he boldly proclaims that he has fulfilled the second coming of Christ, even making these astounding assertions in a letter written to Pope Pius IX. 

Not only did Baha’ulla claim to be the second coming of Christ, but also the Mahdi or twelfth Imam of Islam, the ninth Avatar of Vishnu of the Hindus, the Maitraya Buddha of Mahayana Buddhists, Shah Bahram of the Zoroastrians, and “the Prophet” of Moses.  In essence, Jesus is reduced to a manifestation or mirror image of God, and only one of many.  Even more offensive to believers in Christ as Lord, Baha’is believe that Baha’ulla is the latest and most correct of all the Manifestations in God’s continuing revelation.  Most Baha’is, using their circular logic will argue this is not true and all the manifestations are equally God.  However, they will claim that Jesus was the manifestation only for that time and Baha’ulla is the messenger for this time.  In other words the message of Baha’ulla is more correct for us than the message of Christ.  Jesus message has been replaced.   

Of course the Baha’i will then claim that they still revere the Bible and read it regularly.  However if you get in a discussion with a Baha’i and present biblical supports for your beliefs, they will quote the writings of Baha’ulla and his symbolic interpretation of the promises, prophecies, and message of the Bible.  Rather than looking to the Bible for answers they look to the interpretation given by Baha’ulla.  Clearly they do not view the Bible as the infallible word of God, nor do they base any of their beliefs solely on the Bible.  Therefore, using the Bible to show them the error in their false religion proves to be an endless circle of reinterpretations.  If the Bible clearly shows Baha’ulla to be a false prophet, you can be sure he created an interpretation that fits his purposes, usually by using symbolism and tortured rewording. 

A SYMBOLIC SECOND COMING 

You might be wondering how the Baha’i can claim that a man born to ordinary parents, originally a Muslim, could be the second coming of Christ.  The Bible clearly says that Christ will return the same way he left us.  We are given several description of Christ returning with the saints on the clouds.  The mount of olives will be split in two when he stands on it, the battle of armagedon will unfold, Satan will be bound, and countless other prophecies regarding end time events will be fulfilled.  These prophecies definitely weren’t fulfilled in 1844 with the Bab’s arrival.  Pick any one of the end-times scriptures however, and the Baha’i will provide from the Baha’i writings a symbolic interpretation that conveniently fits into the Baha’i beliefs.  If the scripture you choose has no reinterpretation provided for in their writings, that’s no problem either.  They can always fall back on the claim that the Bible has been corrupted.  One particular Baha’i, when presented with scripture regarding the darkening of the sun and the stars falling from heavens before Christ’s glorious appearing (Matthew 24:27-31), answered by saying that “when Baha’ulla was born there were some shooting stars and a meteor shower”.   The rest of the verse she explained symbolically.  For example Jesus returning on the clouds the same way he left us is reinterpreted to mean it will be dark days when He returns.  And of course they argue our world was dark and troubled when Baha’ulla returned.  When you look at these symbolic explanations for scripture closely even their twisted version of prophecy has serious flaws.   

PROBLEMS WITH THE 1844 ASSERTION 

Daniel 8:13-14

“Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, ‘How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled – the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?’  He said to me, ‘It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.’” 

The Baha’i will point to Daniel and make the claim that the prophecies in this book reveal a timeline in prophetic years instead of days as the scripture says.  They claim that this timeline in Daniel 8 began with the edict given by King Artaxerxes in Ezra (7:12-26) and the 2,300 year period ended in 1844 when the Bab (the forerunner to Baha’ulla) made his declaration to the world that he was a manifestation of God. 

This prophecy was given to Daniel by the Angel Gabriel.  The first obvious problem with this being a prophecy of the exact time of Christ’s return is that the Bible is clear we will not know the day or the hour of His return.  Even the angels in heaven do not know the time, but only the father.  The Angel Gabriel could not have given a specific date for Christ’s return as he did not know the time. 

Mark 13:32  “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  (Also Matt 24:36, 42-44, 25:13) 

In Acts 1:6 Jesus tells the disciples that it is not for them to know the times or seasons that are put in the Father’s authority.  Why would Jesus tell his disciples this when the angel Gabriel had already given the exact year of his return?  Daniel 8:13 cannot be referring to an exact timeline and date for the second coming. 

An example of Baha’ulla’s tortured reinterpretation of scripture to fit his needs is Baha’i apologist Michael Sours response to the Mark 13:32 argument.  According to Sours, Baha’ulla said that by angels it is meant individuals who ‘reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings.’  Abdul-Baha stated further that if we ‘array ourselves in the perfection of the divine virtues’, we will ‘become the angels of the heaven whom Christ promised would appear in this day..’.  So they reinvent angels as “on fire” believers here on earth, ignoring the many Bible verses that clearly describe angels as exalted beings in heaven.  Therefore, since the angels are redefined, Gabriel could have given the date of Christ’s return in Daniel 8.  Of course this still doesn’t explain why Mark 13:32 says that ONLY the Father will know the day or hour of Christ’s return, not to mention the fact that the verse itself says the angels are in heaven. 

Sours also argues that the verse is telling us it is wrong not to believe Christ returned in 1844 because we can not know the time.  Since we don’t know, how can we say 1844 isn’t the right date.  This ignores the fact that the basis for the claim is based on faulty information.  The people making this claim used information from an angel who didn’t know the time of Christ’s return.  Since Gabriel didn’t know when the second coming would happen the 2,300 days and evenings must be referring to something else.  In addition, the 2,300 days and evenings are not to be translated into prophetic years.  The text uses the Hebrew words EREB and BOQER meaning “evening or night” and “morning”.  Nowhere in the Bible do “evenings and mornings” mean prophetic years. 

In prophecy there is often a double fulfillment of scripture.  This is the case with Daniel 8:13.  This prophecy was historically and literally fulfilled before the time of Jesus.  Gabriel is asked by Daniel, “How long will the vision be concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”.  Gabriel answers 2,300 evenings and mornings then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.  Russ Williams in his article Some Observations on the Baha’i World Faith explains this first fulfillment of Daniel 8:13 this way: 

The “he-goat which is the king of Greece,” according to Daniel 8:21, was Alexander III called the Great.  When he died in 323 BC his kingdom was divided into four portions.  One of these divisions became the Seleucid Empire.  It eventually took control of Palestine and Jerusalem under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“the Glorious One” or “God made Manifest”) in 171 BC.  He set up Jason as his own high priest.  Antiochus immediately caused all sacrifice and worship of the Jewish God to be stopped and killed many thousand Jews.  This prohibition lasted 2,300 days, from 171 – 165 BC.  Accordingly the Temple in Jerusalem was converted into a sanctuary of Jupiter the Olympian…On the fifteenth day of Chislev 168, a statue of the god was set up on the altar, the image of the ‘lord of heaven,’ which the pious Jews spoke of as ‘the abominable thing causing horror’; on the twenty-fifth day of the month heathen sacrifices were offered on what had been the altar of God…swine’s blood was poured upon the altar.

For precisely 2,300 very literal evenings and mornings there were no sacrifices offered and the sanctuary was trodden underfoot by the gentiles, until Judah Maccabeus overcame the Greek army and recaptured the temple for the Hebrew people.  The rededication of the regained temple is still celebrated by Jews annually as Hanukkah. 

In addition to these points, Daniel 8 does not speak of the Messiah anywhere.  This comes later in chapter 9 which doesn’t even mention 2,300 days. 

Now regarding the double fulfillment of this prophecy.  Gabriel told Daniel that this prophecy was also for the end times and may have been referring to the events that Jesus tells the apostles to watch for in Matthew 24:15. 

TRIBULATION OR JUST OPPRESSION? 

One of the first things many of you might bring up to a Baha’i when discussing the return of Christ is to ask them how they can believe Christ has already returned when so many end times prophecies have not yet been fulfilled?  What about the tribulation and the seven year reign of antichrist.   

In Matthew 24:21-22 Jesus is describing what the end times will be like before His return.  He describes a “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no nor ever shall be.  And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”  This “great and terrible time of the Lord” is also described in Revelation and many places in the Old and New Testaments.  You might be thinking, this obviously hasn’t happened yet so where do the Baha’i get of saying the end times happened without us knowing it?  According to Jesus own words the end will be worse than anything that has happened before; worse than the great flood, worse than any war, worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.  Of course, since the Baha’i don’t take the Bible literally they explain this problem by redefining words and meanings and using symbolism. 

The Baha’i explain that the tribulation is likely referring to the Christian era and is a time of oppression rather than tribulation.  It is a time when there is spiritual confusion; when people can find no guidance.  Baha’ulla lessened the severity of the tribulation, and changed the definition to a “time of spiritual confusion”, thereby allowing him to claim that these prophecies were fulfilled when he returned.  A time of spiritual confusion, however does not sound like a time when people will flee from their homes or when no flesh would be saved except that God shortened the time for the elect.   

A LITERAL TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM 

Another unfulfilled prophecy that must happen prior to Christ’s return is the rebuilding of the Jewish temple.  Since there is obviously no Jewish Temple standing on the Temple Mount, the Baha’i interpret this as a symbolic sanctuary.  However, the first fulfillment of this prophecy was literal and we have no reason to believe the fulfillment in the end times will not be the same.  The temple was not standing when Daniel made this prophecy in Daniel 8.  In Daniel’s time the temple was rebuilt and trampled underfoot 2,300 days before being cleansed.  If this prophecy is also for the end-times as Daniel tells us, we can expect the temple to be rebuilt.  We also know from scripture that a literal temple will be defiled by antichrist before it is cleansed.  Baha’ulla never cleansed a latter day temple and 100 years after his death there is still no temple on the Temple Mount.  If the temple is symbolic of the body of Christ as the Baha’i claim, how was it trampled underfoot for 2,300 days?  Matthew 24:15 says “So when you see standing in the holy place the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ spoken of through Daniel the prophet…”.  It’s obvious this can not be referring to the body of Christ and is referring to a literal, physical holy place. 

REVELATION 11:2  - 3 ½ DAYS OR 1260 YEARS? 

Revelation 11:2 says “the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it has been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall be tread underfoot for forty and two months.”   

Baha’ulla explains this prophecy this way: 

“In the beginning of the seventh century after Christ, when Jerusalem was conquered, the Holy of Holies was outwardly preserved; but outside the Holy of Holies the outer court was taken and given to the Gentiles.  And the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months – that is to say, the Gentiles shall govern and control Jerusalem forty and two months, signifying 1260 years, which is the duration of the Qur’an.  This prophesies the duration of the Dispensation of Islam.  Jerusalem was trodden underfood but the Holy of Holies was preserved until 1260 years later.” 

First, the Arabs conquered Jerusalem in 638 AD.  If we add the 1260 years until the end of Islam’s dispensation to the 638 years we get 1898, not 1844.  Not to mention there is a problem with the 638 date they use here.  Jerusalem and the temple had been trodden underfoot and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, just as was prophesied by Jesus in Luke 19:44. 

Baha’ulla gets around the fact that the holy of holies was destroyed with the temple in 70 AD and therefore was not preserved by using symbolism.  He states that what is meant by the Holy of Holies is a spiritual law which will never be modified and the Holy City is material law that will be abrogated and trodden underfoot.  So in order to come up with the 1260 years he needs to prove the date of his return was prophesied, he accepts the Holy City as being a literal place (Jerusalem) where the gentiles (Muslims) tread the holy city underfoot.  However, since there is no literal Holy of Holies left standing, he then spiritualizes it to be material law and spiritual law.  Which is it? 

You might be wondering how they back up their claim that Jerusalem was trodden underfoot for 1260 years by Muslims when historically this is not accurate?  This is explained by saying that the ERA of these gentiles lasted 1260 years.  When the actual city was not trodden underfoot the spiritual city still was.  Sours explains that at the end of this era of 1260 years when Christ would return the land would be restored to the Jews.  Of course we know this happened in 1948 when the nation of Israel was formed, not in 1844 as the Baha’i claim. 

To bolster their claim, they point to the year 1260 on the Muslim calendar.  This year coincides with the year 1844 on the Christian calendar, the year the Bab pronounced he was a manifestation.  In examining this claim we should first look at the problems with the 1260 year claim. 

There is no valid reason for assuming a day for year conversion in Revelation 11:2.  In order to arrive at their 1260 years they convert days to years in verse 2, so should we then convert days to years in verses 9 and 11.  In that case the bodies of the two witnesses who are killed will lay in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 ½ years instead of days.  The Baha’i would say that that is exactly the case.  All you have to do is spiritualize it.  The bodies of the witnesses means the religion of God and the street means a public view.  It is describing when the religion of God first disappeared and a body without spirit remained.  Once it’s spiritualized and symbolism is applied this means that for 1260 years the religion of God would be like a body without spirit. 

Accepting the days for years conversion, which makes no sense, there are still many problems.  When you go through the conversion process that Baha’ulla presents you see how much creativity is really needed.  Starting with 3 ½ days and accepting that as meaning 3 ½ years, you convert the years to 42 months and then that to 1,260 days.  Now here’s where Baha’ulla gets creative.  He takes the 1260 days and converts them once again to years.  Nowhere in scripture is a day converted to years twice in order to arrive at a period of years.  It isn’t even logical.  For what reason would you convert days to years and then break it back down into days again and then reassign those days as years?  We know the reason; to rewrite the prophecies to fit the way you need it to.  Notice they didn’t do this with the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14.  The result of 828,000 years wouldn’t have supported their claims.  Even accepting the 1260 years, the years don’t add up to give us 1844 as the end of that era.  So the Baha’i conveniently switch calendars as needed to arrive at their date.  Yet, even if we accept this illogical argument and arrive at the 1844 date for the fulfillment of this prophecy, it would be a false prophecy.  The Jews still did not control Jerusalem in 1844.  It wasn’t recaptured for the Jewish nation until 1968 and even now the gentiles still control the Temple Mount.  So Baha’i apologists take the date of Mohammad’s flight from Mecca, which is 622 AD, and use that as their starting point.  So they start with the year 622 from the Western calendar and then switch to the Islamic calendar which uses a 360 day year.  After switching calendars and adding 1260 years they switch back to the western calendar to arrive at their date.  So, not only do they have to find a different starting date with no logical explanation for it, but they have to switch calendars twice to get the date they want.   

THE 2 WITNESSES 

Revelation 12:3

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 

In order to support their belief that the 1260 days are referring to 1260 years of an Islamic era, Baha’i will claim that the two witnesses refer to the Quran and the Hadith, the two books of scripture in Islam.  So, how can a book be killed as in Rev. 11:7?  How can books’ dead bodies lie in the street?  How many books are refused burial in a grave?  Did these books ascend into heaven when God told them to “come up here”?  The greek word Martus, translated witness, is a person, not a book. 

If you bring this point up with a Baha’i they may quote Baha’ulla who claimed the two witnesses refer to Muhammad and Ali.  Why would Jesus tell his followers that when they see a couple Arab guys in 600 years starting up a new religion, they should follow it?  Muhammad wasn’t martyred for the Islamic faith either.  He died after his wife poisoned him.  His dead body didn’t lie in the street for 3 ½ days or 3 ½ years.  And, he wasn’t refused burial in a grave. 

Times of the Gentiles 

The Baha’i claim that the “times of the Gentiles” ended in 1844 when the Bab declared who he was.  They base this on the Edict of Toleration when the Muslims put to an end the strict exclusion of the Jews from their land.  As Russ Williams explains in his article, the Edict of Toleration is not found in over 40 encyclopedias or any Jewish and Ottoman texts.  The only Edict he found in his research was the Edict of Toleration of 1782 for Vienna and Austria. 

Further, after this supposed Edict, the Holy Lands were still under the control of the gentiles.  The control of the land of Israel did not end until May 14, 1948 and the Jews did not regain control of the city of Jerusalem until June 7, 1967.  The time of the gentiles could not be ended until these things happened, and they had obviously not happened in 1844. 

New Name 

While discussing “manifestations” with a Baha’i, one asked me what I thought the “new name” of Revelation 3:12 was if not the coming of a new manifestation with a new name such as Baha’ulla?  Revelation 3:12 reads, “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my god.  Never again will he leave it.  I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the name Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.”   If you read further one of Jesus’ new names in Rev. 3:14 is “Lord of Lords and King of Kings”.  Other new names in Revelation 19 are The Lamb; Faithful and True, the Word of God, and a name which no one knows but He Himself.  Nowhere among these names is Jesus called the “Glory of God”, Baha’ulla’s title.  The new name that is not mentioned is one that only Jesus knows.  “Glory of God” is found throughout scripture and is no secret.   

Most importantly, it does NOT say that He will come bearing a new name!  It says those people who overcome and die without losing faith will be given several new names.  Baha’is are not known as any of the names that are given.  It’s also worth pointing out that the new Jerusalem will come out of heaven at the time the followers are named.   

Jesus Christ will return again just as he left us and it won’t be with a new name known to Baha’ulla, it will be with a new name known only to Him.  This new name won’t be given to Baha’ulla it will be given to the followers of Christ who were not deceived by a false Christ with a new gospel that is really no gospel at all. 

To Be Continued

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