The writings of founding members of the
Bahá'í Faith include prophetic statements of future events, some of which are viewed by Bahá'ís as having been fulfilled. According to Bahá'í belief, there have been individuals throughout history who were
Manifestations of God, who founded major world religions and had certain supernatural powers, such as the ability to
prophesy
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divi ...
. The belief in fulfilled prophecies is presented by Bahá'í authors to demonstrate the validity of
Bahá'u'lláh's claim to divinity.
Prominent among Bahá'í predictions of the future is a coming
golden age of mankind, and the future appearance of another Manifestation of God. Among the predictions that Bahá'ís regard as fulfilled,
Peter Smith summarizes: "the downfall of various world leaders; the loss of Ottoman territory; political revolution and popular rule in Iran; the twice-repeated sufferings of Germany; and what is interpreted as a reference to nuclear power. 'Abdu'l-Bahá also predicted the outbreak of World War I (originating in a Balkan conflict), and of a further global conflict in the future; the rise of communism; and racial conflict in the United States."
Most Bahá'í statements regarded as prophecies can be found in Bahá'u'lláh's
tablets to the kings and rulers of the world and in the ''
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' () is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the content deals with other ...
''.
See also
*
Bible prophecy
*
New world order (Baháʼí)
*
Progressive revelation (Baháʼí)
Progressive revelation is a core teaching in the Baháʼí Faith that suggests that religious truth is revealed by God progressively and cyclically over time through a series of divine Messengers, and that the teachings are tailored to suit the ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Prophecies
Prophecies
Prophecy