Bahá’u’lláh as Michael Archangel

Where I live in Ecuador, there are many statues of Archangel Michael, but no clear understanding of their implications. They merely represent good versus evil. It is like having a Bible in your home, but never opening it up to study. This paper is about how the prophecies are fulfilled! It would be deeply moving to the people, who are, for the most part, not inclined to study religious texts deeply. "But this is the Day of Resurrection..." “Through the broadening spirit of education illiteracy will disappear, and misunderstandings due to ignorance will pass away.” (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 317)     PERSIA The earliest mention of Micha-EL, “One Who is as God,” was during the Exile of Jews in Babylon. Also, scriptures from Judaism, Christianity and Islam all point to a time when Michael will arise, come to Earth, and establish Justice. An indubitable commonality is Persia. Daniel 10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”  The time elapsing until Michael comes out of Persia may be indicated. 7 X 360 =2520 years, the Seven Times of the Gentiles, when the Jews were conquered by various nations.

Daniel 10:21 “But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.”

Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince, who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

This tells us Michael has charge of the Jews, of their coming and going, and appears at the Resurrection. There are only two uses of the word “archangel” in the canon Gospel. One is connected to the name Michael, in  Jude 1:9 “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, ‘The LORD rebuke you.’” [See Zechariah 3:2]

Therefore, Michael is the One Who comes in the reference from 1 Thessalonians4:16 “For the LORD Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

 

 

This prophecy is repeated in the Apocalypse:

Revelation 12:7 “Now war arose in heaven: Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”   

This has been the hope for centuries, that Michael would overcome “evil”. But exactly how is the question before us. The Qur’an also continued the promise, stating in sura 2:98 “Whoever is an enemy of God, His angels, or His apostles, or of Gabriel or Michael, will surely find that God is the enemy of the unbelievers.”

By warning about Michael, the Qur’an implies that His coming is still in the future. In the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the Apocalypse, the details of the Islamic dispensation are given, as well as the time that would elapse until the rise of Promised One, in 1260 AH/1844 CE. The “Two Witnesses” were Muhammad and His chief Apostle ‘Alí, who “died” and “stood up” again, on Ayyam-i-Qiyyamat, the Day of Resurrection, as the Báb and His chief Apostle Quddus, Who faced the enemies of the Shi'ite clergy, as well as the throne.

After 1260 years, (the 2nd half of Seven Times of gentile domination, meaning 2520 years) the second and third Woes appear close together. They are the Twin Trees of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. They appear, as the Qur'an puts it, as "one blast followed by another, it is a single blast. Lo, They are standing on the earth."

 

So, the Three Woes depicted are Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. The Child, about to be born to the Woman in chapter twelve, is the Báb, Who initiated the new Cycle in 1260 AH or 1844 CE. The Woman is the Law of Islam revealed to Muhammad in 622 CE. His daughter was Fatimih, the mother of the Imams. She is the ancestral mother of the Qa'im, the Hashemite Youth who will appear from the line of Muhammad, and bring a new Book, in Persia.

The Three Woes are the last three of seven trumpet blasts. They may be “three cock-crows” as well. The Qur'anic Revelation of the Word, through Gabriel and/or the Holy Spirit, was the first to appear after Jesus. Just like Jesus, it was the personified Word, in eloquent Arabic. 

Then I will set My throne in Elam and destroy out of it king and princes,' declares the LORD. But it will come about in the last days that I will restore the fortunes of Elam,' declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 49:38-39) Elam is the region of Persia where the Bab was born, in the city of Shiraz. Tablets were sent to the kings, warning them of the New Revelation. Needless to say, they were ignored, and the human condition worsened.

Revelation 11:15- And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 

THE SECRET MOST GREAT NAME

Why is this most exalted of angels not called “Michael” now? Although the specific Hebrew term “Michael” (One Who looks like God) does not appear in Baha’i Scripture, the title of the Bab for Bahá’u’lláh was “Man Yuzhiruhu’llah” (Him Whom God shall make manifest, He would possess and reveal a secret Name of great power. Archangel Micha-EL is Bahá’u’lláh, none other than "He Whom God shall make manifest" Who comes with the Greatest Name of Christ, to Rule the hearts, advancing from the Persia in the east, to Israel.

In the Book of Enoch, 69:14. it says "And this one told the Holy Michael that he should show him the secret name so that they might mention it in the oath, so that those, who showed the sons of men everything that is secret, trembled before that name and oath. 15. And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath, Akae, in the charge of the Holy Michael… 25. And this oath is strong over them and through it they are kept safe and their courses are not disturbed. 26. And they had great joy and they blessed, praised, and exalted, because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed to them. 27. And he sat on the Throne of His Glory and the whole judgment was given to the Son of Man and he will cause the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from the face of the Earth."

…therefore when He replaced His Name 'the Most Exalted' [i.e. The Bab] by 'the Most Glorious' [i.e. Bahá’u’lláh] their eyes were dimmed. They have failed to recognize Him in these days and are reckoned with those that perish. Indeed, had they known Him through His own Self or by virtue of that which He hath revealed, they would not have repudiated Him when He appeared in this glorious and incomparable Name, which God hath ordained to be the Sword of His Revelation between heaven and earth, and through which truth is separated from error, even from now until the Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.  Bahá'u'lláh, p. 185)

As a Bahá’í, a lover of Bahá’u’lláh, I know that the promised return of Christ and Michael is fulfilled inBahá’u’lláh, Whose Name means “the Glory of God”, “the Glory of the Father,” or “the Glory of the LORD”. He comes with Christ, or as Christ, as promised in Mark 8:36 “…when he cometh in the Glory of his Father with the holy angels.” “Bahá’u’lláh” is Christ’s New Name promised in Revelation 2:17 & 3:12.

“Thou art He, by Whose name the Hidden Secret was divulged, and the Well-Guarded Name was revealed, and the seals of the sealed-up Goblet were opened, shedding thereby its fragrance over all creation, whether of the past, or of the future. He who was athirst, O my Lord, hath hasted to attain the living waters of Thy grace, and the wretched creature hath yearned to immerse himself beneath the ocean of Thy riches.”(Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, CL)

SINAI

 “Every single hair of Mine head calleth out that which the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai…”(Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh to Napoleon III, Summons of the Lord of Hosts #142)

It is believed by the Jews and others that Archangel Michael was the Angel of the LORD that spoke from the Bush on Sinai (Exodus 3:2). That Baha’u’llah was this pre-existent “Angel of the LORD” is confirmed by Him numerous times. If Michael could come in a Bush, He could come as a Man, and as the “Commander of the Hosts of the Lord”, who appeared to Joshua (5:13-15), as the Sar (Prince), who “has charge” of the Jewish people. He has always been the Reckoner of their failures and successes, oppression by gentiles for 2520 years, their exiles and regathering.

 “The people of the world are now hearing that which Moses did hear, but they understand not.” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh)

Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tihran, Persia, near the ancient town of Rayy, or Rhages, which is mentioned in the Book of Tobit as the place where treasure and healing would be found for the Jews. Many shrines to Michael archangel were associated with healing waters. Tihran is the place of the appearance of the King of Kings, who would journey, from the east, to the Holy [See Ez. 36:33, 39:7-8 & 43:1-5] His coming would be the Day of Reckoning for the whole world and all religions. At that time, the Jews would be regathered in their Land. This did not happen during the Christian or Islamic Dispensations. They were exiled by the Romans in about 70 CE.

 

CARMEL

Micah 7:14 announced He will come to "the midst of Carmel" (The Vineyard of God) and  gives more details of the 40 year journey of Bahá’u’lláh to Carmel, in the Holy Land, outwardly as an Exile, but inwardly as the spiritual Conqueror of the hearts of humanity.

Isaiah saith [2:10-11]: "The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day." Concerning the greatness of the Revelation He saith: "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty." And in another connection [35:2] He saith: "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the splendor of our God." These passages stand in need of no commentary. They are shining and manifest as the sun, and glowing and luminous as light itself. Every fair-minded person is led, by the fragrance of these words, unto the garden of understanding, and attaineth unto that from which most men are veiled and debarred. (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 146)

On Mount Carmel, Bahá’u’lláh pointed out the Spot for the Shrine of the Báb, and His teachings have been spread to all countries of the world.

“Admonish men to fear God. By God! This fear is the chief commander of the army of thy Lord. Its hosts are a praiseworthy character and goodly deeds. Through it have the cities of men’s hearts been opened throughout the ages and centuries, and the standards of ascendancy and triumph raised above all other standards.” (Tablets of Baha’u’llah)

In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, translated by Charles, it says “…and I will give thee…the great Captain Michael, for thy writings and for the writings of thy fathers…and I shall not require them till the last age…” In the Book of Elijah it says “The angel Michael after showing Elijah the regions of heaven, reveals to him on Mount Carmel, the time of the end”. (See Messianic Speculation in Israel, A. H. Silver, 1927, p.42

The following passage, contemporaneous with Christ, indicates Michael will come to “Zion” Israel, the ancient homeland of the Jews, and announce their long-awaited return. Bahá’u’lláh came to Acre, the valley of Achor, and to Mount Carmel, and brought the “Bride,” the New Jerusalem. After World War II, great numbers of Jews came in ships, to Mount Carmel, and they unwittingly made “aliyah” to ‘Alí, the Báb, Whose Shrine overlooks the port of Haifa.  

The War Scroll from Qumran 1QM says  "This is the Day appointed by Him for the defeat and overthrow of the prince of the kingdom of wickedness, and He will send eternal succor to the company of His redeemed by the might of the princely Angel of the Kingdom of Michael. With everlasting Light He will enlighten with joy [the children] of Israel; peace and blessing shall be with the company of God. He will raise up the Kingdom of Michael in the midst of all the gods, and the realm of Israel in the midst of all flesh. Righteousness shall rejoice on high, and the children of His truth shall jubilate in eternal knowledge. And you, the sons of His Covenant, be strong in the ordeal of God! His mysteries shall uphold you until He moves His hand for His trials to come to an end."

Bahá’u’lláh said: 'The Light hath shone forth from the horizon of Revelation, and the whole earth hath been illumined at the coming of Him Who is the Lord of the Day of the Covenant!' (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 133)

In the Tablet of Carmel, Bahá’u’lláh chanted “Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels”.

 

The DRAGON

Revelation 12:7 says that Michael will overthrow the “Dragon,” which began as the Sufyani caliphate of the Umayyads, that had poisoned and oppressed the Imams, and became joined with the Ottoman Sultanate.  'Abdu'l-Bahá, in Some Answered Questions, interprets the first six verses of Revelation 12, but leaves it to us to deduce how Bahá’u’lláh, as Michael, threw down the Dragon and bound him. The beast-like Umayyad Dynasty, portrayed as the Dragon, threatened the true “islam”, killing the Hashemite Imams and seeking to consume the Qa’im, “He Who would arise” from the House of Muhammad, portrayed as the Child the Woman is expecting in 1260 AH or 1844 CE. In His Lawh-i-Rais, Bahá’u’lláh warns " ...it is certain that the sighs of these children and the cries of these wronged ones will have their due consequence."

In Kitab-i-Aqdas Note 120, it states: Constantinople was the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 until 1922. During Baha’u’llah’s sojourn in this city, the tyrannical Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Aziz occupied the throne. The Ottoman Sultans were also the Caliphs, the leaders of Sunni Islam. Bahá’u’lláh anticipated the fall of the Caliphate, which was abolished in 1924.   

Bahá’u’lláh states in His Lawh-i-Burhan “O concourse of Muslim divines! By your deeds the exalted station of the people hath been abased, the standard of Islam hath been reversed, and its mighty throne hath fallen.”

With this verse, the fall of the Ottoman caliphate was assured, and the land could be re-inhabited by the Jews, and the Bahá’í World Centre would develop, protected from invasion by benighted Islamic nations, because the Ark of Safety had reappeared, as promised by Christ in Matthew 24:37.

One of the things associated with Michael is Justice. In art, He is often depicted with a balance scales in his hand. This is the “best beloved of all things” in the sight of Baha’u’llah, because He has established the Universal House of Justice, and the local Houses of Justice, which will encompass the Earth.

 

The BALANCE

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book) the following hath been revealed: "Say: O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the unerring Balance established amongst men. In this most perfect Balance whatsoever the peoples and kindreds possess must be weighed, while the measure of its weight should be tested according to its own standard, did ye but know it.”... Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth.  (Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, #99 & #183)

 “By Him Who is the Great Announcement! The All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sovereignty. The Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell on earth have been gathered together. The Trumpet hath been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up with terror, and the hearts of all who are in the heavens and on the earth have trembled, except them whom the breath of the verses of God hath quickened, and who have detached themselves from all things.” (Bahá’u’lláh, GWB XVII) “Set before thine eyes God’s unerring Balance and, as one standing in His Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every moment of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a reckoning, on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear of God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to tremble.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Súriy-i-Mulúk, #69)

 “A series of internal convulsions, each more devastating than the previous one, had already been unchained, destined to bring in their wake one of the most catastrophic occurrences of modern times. The murder of that arrogant despot in the year 1876; the Russo-Turkish conflict that soon followed in its wake; the wars of liberation which succeeded it; the rise of the Young Turk movement; the Turkish Revolution of 1909 that precipitated the downfall of ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd; the Balkan wars with their calamitous consequences; the liberation of Palestine enshrining within its bosom the cities of ‘Akká and Haifa, the world center of an emancipated Faith; the further dismemberment decreed by the Treaty of Versailles; the abolition of the Sultanate and the downfall of the House of Uthmán; the extinction of the Caliphate; the disestablishment of the State Religion; the annulment of the Sharí’ah Law and the promulgation of a universal Civil Code; the suppression of various orders, beliefs, traditions and ceremonials believed to be inextricably interwoven with the fabric of the Muslim Faith—these followed with an ease and swiftness that no man had dared envisage. In these devastating blows, administered by friend and foe alike, by Christian nations and professing Muslims, every follower of the persecuted Faith of Bahá’u’lláh recognized evidences of the directing Hand of the departed Founder of his religion, Who, from the invisible Realm, was unloosing a flood of well-deserved calamities upon a rebellious religion and nation”. (Shoghi Effendi, The Collapse of Islam, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)

The passage above,  from Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, directly connects the collapse of the “Dragon aspect” of Islam with the rejection of Bahá’u’lláh by its leaders, and the protection of the “Woman aspect” –the Hashemite Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh, Who was none other than Malik-i-Yomud Din (Ruler of the Day of Reckoning), Whom they had been hoping and praying for, five times a day, for centuries, to “come down! These Twin "trumpet-blasts", or Manifestations of God, the Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh, are truly one Spirit of Truth.

“Soon will He seize you in His wrathful anger, sedition will be stirred up in your midst, and your dominions will be disrupted. Then will ye wail and lament, and will find none to help or succour you… Be expectant, however, for the wrath of God is ready to overtake you. Erelong will ye behold that which hath been sent down from the Pen of My command. Have ye fondly imagined your glory to be imperishable and your dominion to be everlasting? Nay, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! Neither will your glory last, nor will Mine abasement endure.” (Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Ra’is, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts 3.7-3.10)

This is the prayer which the Báb Himself quotes in the "Dalia'il-i-Sab'ih" (Book of Seven Proofs) as His supplication during the months of His captivity in the castle of Mah-Ku: “O my God! Grant to Him, to His descendants, to His family, to His friends, to His subjects, to His relatives and all the inhabitants of the earth the light which will clarify their vision and facilitate their task; grant that they may partake of the noblest works here and hereafter! In truth, nothing is impossible to Thee. O my God! Give Him the power to bring about a revival of Thy religion and give life by Him to what Thou hast changed in Thy Book. Manifest through Him Thy new commandments so that through Him Thy religion may blossom again! Put into His hands a new Book, pure and holy, that this Book may be free from all doubt and uncertainty and that no one may be able to alter or destroy it.

O my God! Dispel through Thy Splendor all darkness and through His evident power do away with the antiquated laws. By His preeminence ruin those who have not followed the ways of God. Through Him destroy all tyrants, put an end, through His sword, to all discord; annihilate, through His justice, all forms of oppression; render the rulers obedient to His commandments; subordinate all the empires of the world to His empire! O my God! Humble everyone who desires to humble Him; destroy all His enemies; deny anyone who denies Him and confuse anyone who spurns the truth, resists His orders, endeavors to darken His light and blot His Name!"

The Báb then adds these words: "Repeat these benedictions often and, if time to recite them all be lacking, do not fail to say at least the last. Be awake on the day of the apparition of Him whom God will manifest because this prayer has come down from heaven for Him.." ("Le Livre des Sept Preuves," translation of A. L. M. Nicolas, pp. 64-65)(Translation of French Foot-Notes of The Dawn-Breakers, p. 35, by Emily McBride Perigord, approved by Shoghi Effendi)