Baha'i Apocalypticism: The Concept of Progressive Revelation
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Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
filosofie licentiat degree

Department of History of Religion at the Faculty of Theology Lund
University

Bahá'í Apocalypticism: The Concept of
Progressive Revelation Copyright © 1996 by Zaid Lundberg

Readers are authorized to reproduce this thesis freely, in whole or in
part, provided that 1) duplication is for an educational purpose in a
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citation of the source.

Through their appearance the Revelation of God is made
manifest, and by their countenance the Beauty of God is revealed. Thus it
is that the accents of God Himself have been uttered by these
Manifestations of God [. . .] Know of a certainty that in every
Dispensation the light of Divine Revelation hath been vouchsafed unto men
in direct proportion to their spiritual capacity. -
Bahá'u'lláh (1862) 

If the religions are true it is because each time it is God who has
spoken, and if they are different it is because God has spoken in
different "languages" in conformity with the receptacles. Finally, if they
are absolute and exclusive, it is because in each of them God has said
"I". - Frithjof Schuon (1963) 

Revelation . . . is a Divine communication shaped to the interests and
values of a particular society at a particular time . . . Divine
communication might not be perfectly received and understood . . . either
by the original recipient or by others who transmit and interpret it
later. Bearing these two features in mind, one might think that God will
communicate different things to different peoples, and will in all
probability be able to communicate more of the ultimate Divine purpose to
some people than to others. - Keith Ward (1995) 

Contents

Preface

I. Introduction

II. Background.
          1. The religious context
          2. The philosophical context

III. Literature Review

IV. Methodology
          1. Research-questions and hypotheses.
          2. Methodological problems
                    A. The Material.
                    B. The Method

V. Apocalypticism and Dimensions of Revelation
          1. Problems of definition
          2. A structural approach to revelation
          3. Dimensions of revelation
          4. Apocalypticism and revelation operationalized.

VI. Bahá'í Apocalypticism
          1. Theology - the source of revelation.
          2. Cosmology - the instrument of revelation 
          3. Universal and Specific Revelation - two means of revelation
                    A. Universal Revelation.
                    B. Specific Revelation
          4. Prophetology - the mediation of revelation 
                    A. The Prophets, Messengers, or Manifestations of God.
                    B. The nature of the Manifestation of God.
                    C. The Manifestation of God between God and man
                    D. The Manifestation of God as Educators and Physicians

VII. The Concept of Progressive Revelation
          1. Texts of Identification - the esoteric dimension.
                    A. Identification with previous Manifestations of God
                    B. Identification with God
                    C. The Identity of the Manifestations of God
          2. Texts of Elaboration - the exoteric dimension
                    A. The rise and fall of a religion
                    B. The continuity and succession of religions
                    C. The differences between the Manifestations of God 
                              and the concept of progress
                    D. The cyclical scheme .
                    E. The Bahá'í Cycle and the concept of progress.

VIII. Summary and Conclusions.

IX. Discussion
 
Appendices.

          I. Bahá'í Apocalypticism - The Vertical Axis
          II. Progressive Revelation  - The Horizontal Axis
          III. Progress or decline?

Abbreviations of Sources

Bibliography.

Preface

The present study is purely a structural and ahistorical approach
to Bahá'í-apocalypticism and the concept of progressive
revelation, but I am fully aware of the importance of studying the
possible origins and influences (religious and philosophical) pertinent to
this field. However, it was necessary to limit the scope of this master's
thesis (licentiats uppsats), and since my research in this area is
still incomplete, I have decided to more fully examine this vital section
in my Ph.D. dissertation. Consequently, the forthcoming Ph.D. dissertation
will complement this structural approach with a general historical
criticism. I will then make a preliminary investigation of the possible
historical influences on the concept of progressive revelation from
various religious (e.g., the concepts of revelation and prophetology in
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Mandeism, Manichaeism,
Islám, and Bábism) and philosophical traditions and contexts
(especially the
 idea of progress in Europe during the 18-19th centuries).
-- Baha'i Apocalypticism: The Concept of Progressive Revelation (Used by permission of the curator)