Today we toured the Baha'i administrative buildings on Mt. Carmel. Sounds boring but was actually quite interesting. The views of the Baha'i land were stunning.
Below is the Universal House of Justice. Baha'u'llah wrote about this in the mid 1800s. He laid out an entire governmental system. "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders." Isaiah 9:6 Baha'is believe this verse applies to Christ when He returns. Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah is the return of Christ.
Below is Emily with a sweet Baha'i lady. Emily has been a Baha'i for many years and is a good source of information.
This is our little group in front of the Universal House of Justice. The marble for the columns was mined from the same quarry as the marble for the Parthenon. Then it was shipped to Italy in blocks for carving.
We also went inside the Center for the Study of the Texts. We were surprised to learn that only 10% of the Baha'i Writings have been translated. Baha'u'llah wrote many many volumes of Writings. Jesus said "I have much to say to you but you cannot bear it now." John 16:12
Here is a picture we saw of a Samoan king who was a Baha'i.
Here is Queen Marie of Romania who was a Baha'i.
Mike in front of a work of sand art by Native Americans donated to the Baha'is.
A lovely member of our group; our guide Nahjilla; and Rachel from DC.
Then we went to the Visitor's Center, a similar looking building with marble, and saw the following:
There was a room devoted to the Bab. "Bab" means "gate." Baha'is believe that the Bab was similar to John the Baptist in the sense that he heralded one to come. "And the Glory of the Lord came into the house by way of the Gate whose prospect is toward the east." Ezekiel 43:4. "Bab" is Persian for "Gate". "Baha'u'llah" is Persian for "Glory of the Lord."The Bab and Baha'u'llah were both from Persia, east of Jerusalem.
Below is where the Bab was martyred in 1850 in Iran. The guard went to His cell to get Him but He was dictating and said He wasn't ready and that He couldn't be taken until God deemed Him ready. The guard took Him anyway. They strung Him up on a rope and 750 rifles shot at Him in front of 10,000 witnesses. When the smoke cleared, He had disappeared. The guard found the Bab in His cell, dictating. "Now I'm ready," He said. Then the next group of 750 soldiers killed Him. He was about 30 years old.
In the afternoon, we walked down the steps from the Shrine to Ben Gurion Avenue. Emily has gone up 3 times but Beth can only go down because of her heart condition. Here are pictures starting at the top walking down.
I wish to thank Sharon F for giving me this bag. It's been very useful!
Getting closer to the bottom.
Closer still.
One of the gardeners.
Emily runs into a gardener she knows.
The bottom. 465 steps. Mike counted.
We continued walking to the original Pilgrim House at 4 Haparsim St. from the early 1900s.
Here is where the wife of Bahaullah's great-grandson is buried.
These are our British friends, Julia and Hugh. The 5 of us went out to eat together at a little local place off Ben Gurion Avenue.
Below is a picture of the German Templar's (not the Knights of Templar) Colony House on Ben Gurion Street. We had met some Carmelites in the airport. Both these groups, and others, came to Mt. Carmel in Haifa in the mid 1800s because they had ascertained that Christ would return in the mid-1800s to Mt. Carmel. Baha'u'llah had pitched His tent on Mt. Carmel in the mid-1800s and pointed out where the Shrine of the Bab and Universal House of Justice should be. The Baha'i Faith owns a lot of land on Mt. Carmel and is acquiring more.
We snapped this picture of the Shrine of the Bab looking up from Ben Gurion at night. Striking.
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