Imam Mahdi’s (PBUH) Birth, Ascension and Rise, and the Revelation of John

Part 3

In statement 19:11 of the same book of revelation is reported that John, after seeing the opening of heaven, then saw: “a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”

So the crowned man on white horse, other than Jesus, shall conquer and in righteousness he will judge and make war

19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron …

19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, …

Here, another interesting point to pay attention is that while Qur’an does verify that Hadrat ‘Eesa -Jesus- (PBUH) is a Word (Kalemah) of Allah (Qur’an 4:171; …), but most surely he is not the only Kalemah of Allah; the Prophet Mohammad and his AhlulBayt (PBUT) are the most Perfect Words, the Taammah Kalemaat (plural of Kalemah), of Allah.

Let us look at a few verses of Qur’an:

In Qur’an 2:37 it is stated that Hadrat Aadam (PBUH) was shown “Kalemaat (Words)” through whom Allah turned to him mercifully, and the Hadiths verify that the “Words” were the Lights of Mohammad, Ali, Fatemah, Hasan and Hosain (PBUT). (Tafsir Qommi; …)

Imam Saadeq (PBUH) -in regard to Qur’an 6”115 which states: And the “Kalemah (Word)” of your Lord is perfected truly and justly; there is none who can change His “Kalemaat (Words)”, and he is the Hearing, the Knowing- has said that Infallible Imams are aware and can hear while within their mothers, and as they are born an angel writes on their bodies: “And the “Kalemah (Word)” of your Lord is perfected truly and justly; there is none who can change His “Kalemaat (Words)”, and he is the Hearing, the Knowing.”. (Tafsir Saafi; …)

Hadrat Mohammad (PBUH&HP) was asked in regard to Qur’an 43:28 which states: And He made it a remaining “Kalemah (Word)” in his posterity …; the Prophet (PBUH&HP) said that Imamat will remain in Hosain’s posterity from whom nine Imams including Mahdi of this Ommah (Nation) will come. (Behaar-al-Anwaar, vol. 25, p. 253; …)

And so on …

Even christians scholars have noticed that the “Word” of God mentioned in the gospel of John is different from the “Word” of God mentioned in the book of revelation; what they have not either realized or have not wished to realize is that these two are two different persons. For instance, in a book called Revelation by Ben Witherington III, p. 32, the author, while preassuming that “the Word of God” in the book of Revelation of Bible is also Jesus, states that: “In the Gospel of John and in Revelation, Jesus is referred to as "the Word of God", although the context in Revelation is very different from Gospel of John. The Word in Rev 19:13 is involved in judgement but in John 1:1, the image is used to speak of a role in redemption … .” I.e. In the gospels Jesus (PBUH) is not depicted as a warrior and a ruler making judgments.

There are more proofs in the bible indicating that two different people are spoken of in regard to the Last Days:

While in certain places in the bible it appears that “Son of man” is referred to Jesus (PBUH), but in other places Jesus (PBUH) has referred to “Son of man” as “he”, i.e. another person but himself; and in some statements it is obvious that Jesus (PBUH) himself was anticipating the “Son of man”. Let us as a sample look at gospel of Matthew 16:27-28 in which Jesus is narrated to have said:

16:27 For the Son of man shall come … and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

16:28 Verily I [Jesus] say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

(A) as we see in statement 27 Jesus (PBUH) is saying that when the Son of man comes, “he” shall reward “every man” according to his works; while christians, as the direct result of distortions, wish to insist that all sins are forgiven simply by accepting that Jesus is God and Son of God, and that he died on the cross to pay for the sins of humankind!!! SOBHAANALLAH! And if christians wish to say that the judgment will be for unbelievers of this belief only, we invite them to pay attention to the words “every man”.

And (B) in statement 28 Jesus (PBUH) was giving the news to his disciples that some one would remain alive and see the Son of man in his kingdom. In this regard christians insist that Jesus supposedly died and then the disciples saw him after he resurrected; but we invite christians to pay careful attention that (1) in statement 27 it is stated that when the Son of man comes “he shall reward every man according to his works”, and surely Jesus -when, based on the belief of Christians, was seen after his so called resurrection- did not “reward every man according to his works”; and (2) statement 28 is not talking about just seeing the Son of man, rather it is talking about “the Son of man coming in his kingdom”, i.e. the KING OF KINGS who shall conquer and will be involved in wars and shall establish his Kingdom and will rule all nations with a rod of iron … .

THUS, AS IT IS MENTIONED IN MATT. 16:28 THERE WAS SOME TO REMAIN ALIVE TILL THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN; THAT PERSON, AMONG THOSE STANDING THERE, WHO IS STILL ALIVE IS THE PROPHET JESUS HIMSELF AND HE, TOGETHER WITH OTHERS WHO, BY THE WILL OF ALLAH, HAVE REMAINED ALIVE SUCH AS HADRAT KHEZR AND …, SHALL SEE HADRAT MAHDI (PBUT) IN HIS KINGDOM.

It is also noteworthy to mention that one of the Qur’anic titles of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) is “Al-Ensaan” or “the man”: where in the first verses of the Surah A-Rrahmaan (55) it is mentioned that Allah taught Qur’an and its Divine Clarification to Al-Ensaan, and of course there is no doubt what so ever that Allah taught Qur’an to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP); i.e. Al-Ensaan is obviously the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP):

In the Name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful

A-Rrahmaan (the Compassionate Allah) taught the Qur’an (to whom) He created Al-Ensaan (the Prophet Mohammad -PBUH&HP-); (He) taught him (the Prophet) the Bayaan (the Clarification and Interpretation).

It is also very important to pay careful attention that the verse 19 of Surah Qiyaamat (75) clearly reemphasizes that the Bayaan -the Clarification and Interpretation of Qur’an- is only from Allah; and thus humankind can not guess and actually create interpretations on his own:

Then certainly upon Us (is) the Bayaan (Clarification and Interpretation) of It (Qur’an).

In addition , in verse 44 of Surah Nahl (16) it is clearly Said that the Tabyeen -stating the Bayaan, the Divine Clarification and Interpretation- of Qur’an to the people is the responsibility of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP); who (PBUH&HP) in the first place, by Command of Allah, taught the entire Qur’an and Bayaan to Hadrat Ali (PBUH), his Allah Appointed Successor:

And We have revealed to you (Mohammad) The Dhekr (The Reminder) that you Tobayyen (Tabyeen, state the Bayaan) to people …

It is also important to keep in mind that Hadrat ‘Eesa -Eisa, Jesus- (PBUH) said:

Matt 23:39 For I [Jesus] say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Let us pay attention that Jesus (PBUH) was letting his followers know that they were not going to see him again until the time when his followers would say: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”. The Christians have been calling the Lord God, either father or son or holy spirit (3 gods in one, or one god with three parts … SOBHAANALLAH) while all of these three, i.e. father, son and spirit are titles and not names; in other words the Christians have not really called the Lord God by His Name! But Hadrat Mohammad (PBUH&HP) -the Comforter (Paraclete) whom Jesus had given glad tidings regarding his coming (refer to the article “Mohammad, the Promise of Enjil (Gospel)”)- came in the Name of the Lord God; every Surah of his Allah-Bestowed Qur’an begins with the Name of the Lord God: “In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful”. And when finally Christians will realize that and say: “Blessed is Mohammad who came in the name of the Lord Allah” that will be when the Prophet Jesus will descend and stand behind Hadrat Mahdi -Son of man- (PBUT) together with his followers … . (we also refer you to the article “Two Messiahs” in this site)

And therefore Mahdi -being the descendant of Fatemah, and thus the Son of Al-Ensaan, Mohammad, (PBUT)- IS THE ANTICIPATED “SON OF MAN”.

So, the crowned man on horse -the Son of man, who is some one other than Jesus, (PBUT)- is called The Perfect WORD OF GOD, the Taammah KALEMAH OF ALLAH, and some oppressors shall stand against him but at the end he shall prevail over the stubborn rulers -those insisting on violating the Benevolent Laws of Allah and the Allah-Bestowed human rights- and shall rule all nations with Power and he shall be the KING OF KINGS and the LORD OF LORDS; and he (PBUH) shall finally expand True Justice and Monotheism under the peaceful Law and Love of Allah all over.

Fourthly, to further support the fact that the Prophet Muhammad and his AhlulBayt -Hadrat Fatemah and the twelve Infallible Imams- (PBUT) were the focus of the chapter 12 of the book of Revelation, let us also pay attention to statements 12:7 to 9, in which it is clearly stated that Satan (Shaytaan) and his army would be cast down to the Earth, and neither would their place be found any more in heaven; while Islamic Hadiths verify that Eblis (Shaytaan) was cast out of certain places in heaven when Hadrat ‘Eesa (PBUH) was born, but Eblis was completely cast out of heaven and down to earth when Hadrat Mohammad (PBUH&HP) was born:

Imam Saadeq (PBUH) has said:

Eblis (Shaytaan) used to go up to all seven skies, and when Hadrat ‘Eesa (PBUH) was born, he was forbidden of three skies and use to go to four skies, when the Rasool of Allah, Hadrat Mohammad (PBUH&HP) was born he was prevented from all seven skies … .

(Amaali of Shaikh Sadooq, p. 285; …)

Fifthly, there are other statements in chapter twelve of revelation which deserve attention. But we need to emphasize on the vital fact that due to proven distortions, certainly not all statements word by word can be regarded, rather based on Islamically proven facts, a logical interpretation is deduced from the biblical statements. Keeping this in mind, rev. 12:4&6 refer to a period of 1260 days of private nourishment after the birth of the child, for Shaytaan was ready to destroy the child. According to Islamic Hadiths Hadrat Mahdi (PBUH) was born in the 15^th of Sha’baan of either 255 or 256 A.H. Counting the days between midSha’baan of 256 and the 8^th of Rabi al Thaani of 260 when Imam Hasan Askari (PBUH), his father, was martyred, is about 1260 days; the period in which because of the dangers threatening Hadrat Mahdi’s life, only a few trusted Shi’ah were allowed to see the child; and then Hadrat Mahdi, by Allah’s command, started his Occultation after his father’s martyrdom. It is also noteworthy to mention that in Rev. 12:14 the 1260 days is mentioned as “a time, and times, and half a time”, which in Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic texts “times” is clearly mentioned as “2 times”; keeping in mind that the English language does not have the capacity to distinguish between 2 or 3 or more times, and in all cases it is stated “times” whereas in Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic a different word is used for 2 times. Thus “a time, and 2 times, and half a time” is a total of three and a half times or three and a half years.

One may also wonder if the mention of wilderness in rev. 12:6 -where it says: And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God …- could be a reference to Hadrat Haajar (Hagar), the foremother of Hadrat Mohammad and his AhlulBayt (PBUT), who was taken to the wilderness of Paran, next to the location of Ka’bah, so that Ismael the forefather of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) would be safe (please refer to “Mohammad, the Promise of Torah” in this site), because, in Rev. 12:10 it is mentioned: And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven Now is come salvation ...: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down ... . Shaytaan and his followers are they who accused Ismael the brethren of Ishaaq, father of Israel, to a point that the entire text of the bible has been distorted to be against Ismael and his children; as a sample let us look at statements genesis 16:11 & 12 in which Hadrat Haajar is given the news about the birth of her son Hadrat Ismael (PBUT):

Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shall call his name, Ishmael (Ismael); because the Lord hath heard thy affliction [Ismael means “God hears”].

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

This is how statement genesis 16:12 reads in the NIV, New International Version of the bible:

And he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers.

All these baseless and insulting accusations are while the Prophet Moosa -Moses- (PBUH), as stated in the book of Deuteronomy 18:18, had prophesied that the Prophet from the brethren of Bani Israel would come, i.e. Hadrat Mohammad of children of Ismael (PBUT)! For further information in this regard, we cordially invite you to read: “What the Bible says about Muhammad” in this site.

Another point: in revelation 12:17 a very interesting phrase is mentioned: “remnant of her seed”; Remnant is Baqiyah. Surely the Infallible Imams and last but not least of them, Mahdi, (PBUT) have been the Baqiyah of her seed, and the object of Shaytaan’s and his human and jinn followers’ enmity.

12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed …

Yes the Prophet Jesus (PBUH), a Kalemah of Allah came to this world while never ruled over any nation, and he -who had given many glad tidings to the coming of Mohammad and his AhlulBayt (PBUT) (please refer to “Mohammad, the Promise of Enjil (Gospel)” and “Glad Tidings regarding the AhlulBayt in the True Enjil of 'Eesa (True Gospel of Jesus)” in this site)- was lifted alive up to heaven and he is now anticipating the Appearance of Hadrat Mahdi -the Perfect Kalemah of Allah- so that he may return and assist him in the task of establishing the Kingdom of Allah over the entire earth. Following the Second comings of Hadrats Mahdi and ‘Eesa (PBUT) most people will realize the Truthfulness and Rightfulness of Allah’s representatives and will delightfully submit and rejoice; but certain stubborn enemies of Allah will stand against this celestial task and Hadrat Mahdi and his armies will inevitably go to war with them and in about eight months, Hadrat Mahdi (PBUH) and his companions will prevail over all. (Behaar al Anwaar; …)

It would be quite interesting to see what the original wording and order of the statements in the book of revelation were; Allah Knows best. When Hadrat Mahdi (PBUH) shall Appear, he will divulge the real Torah of Moosa and the real Gospel of ‘Eesa -Eisa, Jesus-(PBUT; whether he will disclose secondary books such as the book of Revelation or not, Allah Knows, but he (PBUH) shall certainly manifest “All Truth”, as it has been narrated in John 16:13that Jesus had predicted the manifestation of “All Truth” through the coming of Muhammad (PBUH&HP).

O’ the Most Compassionate and Merciful Allah! We implore You in the beautiful and meaningful Name of Fatemah, to hasten the glorious returns of Mahdi of Fatemah and ‘Eesa of Maryam (PBUT) …

Aameen …