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Since many people are unfamiliar with much of the Bible, the Baha'i Faith, and the technical language of religious scholarship, the commentary has been kept as simple as possible. Some of the more basic, as well as the more technical, information has been deferred to the footnotes and appendices. However, the amount of information contained in this book about the Baha'i Faith, its history and general teachings is very limited, and those wishing to know more are encouraged to refer to other sources. (12:1) This commentary, as with all commentaries, is interpretive, and such interpretation applies not only to the understanding of the prophecies themselves but also to the difficult process of determining what material should be selected for inclusion. The amount of Christian literature available on the subject of prophecy is vast and often very difficult to sort through, particularly the numerous nineteenth-century works, some of which contain much that is obscure to the modern reader. Moreover, some portions of the commentary are the writer's own personal speculations. Consequently, this book is not an 'official' Baha'i commentary on chapter 24 of Matthew or on Christian millennial beliefs, but an attempt to share the results of the author's own investigation of this complex yet fascinating subject. (12:2) For access to much of the literature required for this project I would like to express my gratitude to the Dallas Theological Seminary's Mosher Library, Dallas, Texas; the United States Library of Congress; and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. I would also like to thank the British Museum Library for providing the facsimile reproduction of Matthew, chapter 24, from Kirsopp Lake's Codex Sinaiticus Petroplitanus, the Bodleian Library for providing the facsimile reproduction of the title pages from Joseph Mede's Clavis Apocalyptica and Sir Isaac Newton's Dissertation on the Prophecies, and the Audio-Visual Department of the Baha'i World Centre for providing photographs of the prison of 'Akka, the Baha'i Temple of North America and the Seat of the Universal House of Justice.
(12:3)
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