· Exiles of Bahá'u'lláh from Persia to Israel
- Psalms 50:1
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. - Isaiah 41:2
Who has aroused One from the east, Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before Him, and subdues kings... - Ezekiel 43:2
And behold, the Glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his Glory. - Matthew 24:27
For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
Commentary:
Persia (the homeland of Bahá'u'lláh) is east of 'Iraq and Israel (the lands of His exile). Bahá'u'lláh summoned the rulers of the world (see commentary to Course note #7) while exiled from the east.
Ezekiel 43:2 mentions Bahá'u'lláh's name twice, saying that His teachings are like the sound of many waters. The water of life is the spiritual teachings at the heart of every religion; Bahá'u'lláh's faith teaches the essential unity of all God's religions, thus they are like the sound of many waters.
· Bahá'u'lláh's sojourns in the Zagros Mountains, and on Mt. Carmel:
- Micah 1:3
For behold the LORD is coming forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
· Bahá'u'lláh's exiles to Israel via Assyria and Egypt on the Black Sea and Mediterranean Seas:
- Micah 7:12
It will be a day when He will come to you from (a) Assyria and the cities of Egypt, (b) from Egypt even to the river, even from (c) sea to sea and (d) mountain to mountain.
Commentary:
(a) Bahá'u'lláh's exile to Israel was via Assyria (northern 'Iraq by land). From Adrianople His ship stopped in the cities of Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt before deporting Him in the port city of 'Akká, Israel.
(b) The Kishon River flows NW through Haifa where Bahá'u'lláh pitched His tent at the foot of Mt. Carmel years after arriving in 'Akká via Egypt.
(c) Bahá'u'lláh's exile required that He sail the Black Sea to Adrianople, and then sail the Mediterranean Sea to Israel.
(d) Bahá'u'lláh sojourned alone for a period of 2 years (1854-1856) in the mountains of Kurdistan around and in Sulaymaniyah, and established His Universal House of Justice in the heart of Mt. Carmel, Israel.
· Bahá'u'lláh's arrival in 'Akká by steamship:
- Isaiah 9:1
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphthali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
Commentary:
Bahá'u'lláh's arrival in 'Akká (Achor) - which in Isaiah's time was in Galilee of the Gentiles - was by way of the Mediterranean Sea.
· Bahá'u'lláh's arrival in 'Akká (Achor):
- Hosea 2:15
Then I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came
up from the land of Egypt. - Isaiah 65:10
And Sharon shall be a pasture land for flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.
Commentary:
"Carmel" means "the vineyard of God" and Mt. Carmel is the seat of the world centre of Bahá'u'lláh's Faith. The valley of 'Akká (Achor) lays between Carmel and the Point of Adoration in Bajhi where Bahá'u'lláh is interred. As in the days when Israel came out of Egypt, Bahá'u'lláh's ministry lasted 40 years.
· Bahá'u'lláh's final exile in the vicinity of Carmel and Sharon:
- Isaiah 35:2
It will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmen and Sharon. They will see the Glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. - Micah 7:14
Shepherd Thy people with Thy sceptre, the flock of Thy possession which dwells by itself in the woodland. in the midst of Carmel...
Commentary:
An understanding of Isaiah 35:2 is not dissimilar to Isaiah 65:10 above.
Micah 7:14 is interesting because it clearly indicates the establishment of Bahá'u'lláh's World Centre in the heart of Mt. Carmel. From the World Centre the Universal House of Justice guides (shepherds) the Bahá'í world community with the authority (sceptre) mandated of the LORD of Hosts, Himself.
· Bahá'u'lláh's final exile in 'Akká (Achor):
- Ezekiel 44:4
Then he brought me by the way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the Glory of God filled the house of the LORD, and I fell on my face.
Commentary:
'Akká (Achor) is due north of Jerusalem. Bahá'u'lláh's name means the "Glory of God."
