Baha’is believe that Micah 7:12 is about Baha’u’llah. They believe this verse chronicles the travels of Baha’u’llah from Persia to the Holy Land, as a prisoner of the Persian and Turkish governments.
Here’s a case of Bible verse cherry-picking that may originate with their Hand of the Cause William Sears, who wrote a book, The Half-Inch Prophecy about this one verse. Mr. Sears passed away in 1992 but this book was published in South Africa in 2000.
William Sears was born in 1911 to a Catholic family, and was raised in the area around Duluth, Minnesota, USA. He became a Baha’i in 1940 after marrying his second wife, Margurite Sears, a Baha’i.
Because he was born Catholic, Baha’is considered him a Bible scholar. After all, he was able to write books about Bible propehcies he believed proved the prophet status of Baha’u’llah. These books are The Half-Inch Prophecy, Thief in the Night, The Case of the Missing Millennium, and The Wine of Astonishment.
On May 12, 1998 the research department of the Universal House of Justice (UHJ) answered a letter from an individual about the validity of using the Micah 7:12 prophecy as a proof of the importance of Baha’u’llah. Their reply (on behalf or the UHJ) was that this Bible verse is not mentioned in the official collection of Baha’i writings. See: Biblical Questions, Interpretation of:
Ezekiel 10:19, Jeremiah 49:38 and Micah 7:12, quoted below.
The Research Department has considered the questions raised by Mr. ______ in his email message of 3 April 1998. Mr. ______ cites three passages from the Old Testament, specifically, Ezekiel 10:19, Jeremiah 49:38 and Micah 7:12, and states that these passages have been interpreted in the “work of William Sears and a number of other Bahá’í authors” as “references to the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths”. He further states that he has “studied these passages using the historical-critical method” and “concluded that the traditional Bahá’í interpretations are foreign to the contexts and, in the case of the passage from Micah, based on errors of translation”. As he has not found any authoritative Bahá’í Writings on the passages, Mr. ______ would like to consider the interpretations as “purely personal” and “not binding on Bahá’ís in general”. Finally, Mr. ______ requests any information “that would confirm or invalidate” his conclusion.
The Research Department has not been able to find in the Bahá’í Writings any statements regarding the passages cited by Mr. ______. He is free to arrive at his own conclusions as to the meaning of the passages.
Despite this clear guidance that Micah 7:12 is not officially recognized as a verse pertaining to Baha’u’llah, Baha’is continue to quote it.
For example, on February 20, 2015, a blog called Baha’iTeachings.Org published Prison for the Prophet in a Distant Land by Kenneth E. Bowers, a current member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, and author of God Speaks Again: An Introduction to the Baha’i Faith. He wrote:
Micah had predicted the stages by which Baha’u’llah would arrive in this chosen land: “from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.” – Micah 7:12.
Old habits die hard. Baha’is still cite this cherry-picked verse, ignoring the historical context. This Baha’iTeachings.Org blog post was authored by a man who is the current secretary-general of the National Spiritual Assembly of the USA. See: Kenneth Bowers.
News flash!! This prophecy of Micah 7:12, was fulfilled way back in 445 BC when Artaxerxes, king of Persia, allowed his Judean cupbearer, Nehemiah, to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.
Let’s put it into context, and this won’t be hard. Take a look at the verse in your King James Version of the Holy Bible. Let’s start with the verse directly before the cherry-picked verse 12.
11 – In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 – In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
Verse 11 says this prophecy refers to “the day that thy walls are to be built” – and those days took place long before Baha’u’llah was born.
Micah was a prophet between the years of 742 and 687 BC. One hundred and one years after his death, the people of Jerusalem and Judea were carried into captivity by the Babylonians. This happened in 586. God allowed this because the Judean Israelites were wayward and were not honoring Him.
Babylon was overthrown by King Cyrus of Persia in 539 BC, and that area became part of the Persian empire. King Cyrus sent about 50,000 Jews home to Israel a year later, in 538. They were to rebuild the temple of Solomon that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. (See the book of Ezra in the Old Testament) The temple was rebuilt by 516.
Years later, when Artaxerxes was King of Persia, Nehemiah, his Jewish cupbearer, asked to be able to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Artaxerxes agreed to this and sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 445. The wall was completed in only 52 days because of Nehemiah’s wise leadership.
So… in the day that the walls were to be built… “he shall come to thee” (note, not “He” but “he”) “from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.” This describes the journey of Nehemiah and the returning Judean captives he led home to Jerusalem.
He traveled from Susa, the Persian capitol, along the Euphrates River, from what was then called the Erythraean Sea*, to the Mediterranean Sea, from the mountains of southern Persia to the mountains of Israel. He and the Israelites who accompanied him on this journey fulfilled every bit of this prophecy “in the day that the walls are to be built.”
* Note: “To the ancient geographers, the “Erythraean Sea” was defined in a wide variety of ways which often broadly included the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.” – found here
Like Kenneth Bowers, I was a Baha’i taught to believe the prophecy interpretations of Hand of the Cause William Sears. I witnessed William Sears’ persuasive and convincing speaking skills first hand, talked to him, and shook his hand. Like most Baha’is at that time, I revered him, respected him, and lapped up everything he said and wrote. I had no reason not to believe his Bible interpretations, and when he wrote that Micah 7:12 was about Baha’u’llah, I believed it 100%.
I had a shock coming to me, however, when I compared Bible versions. The translations of this verse varied, and not all of them fit with what William Sears taught us about Micah 7:12. Here are some examples.
Holman Christian Standard Version:
11 – A day will come for rebuilding your walls; on that day your boundary will be extended.
12 – On that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates River and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.”International Standard Version:
11 – When the time comes for rebuilding your walls, that time will surely be extended.
12 – At that time armies will invade you from Assyria, from Egyptian cities to the Euphrates River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.American Standard Version
11 – A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 – In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.Young’s Literal Translation
11 – The day to build thy walls! That day — removed is the limit.
12 – That day — even unto thee it doth come in, From Asshur and the cities of the fortress, And from the fortress even unto the river, And from sea to sea, and mount to mount.Wycliffe’s Bible
11 – Day shall come, that thy walls be builded; in that day law shall be made afar. (The day shall come, when thy walls shall be rebuilt; on that day, thy borders shall be enlarged.)
12 – In that day, and Assur shall come till to thee, and till to strong cities, and from strong cities till to [the] flood; and to sea from sea, and to hill from hill. (On that day, they shall come to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, yea, from the fortified cities unto the Euphrates River; and from every sea, and from every hill, or from every mountain.)Amplified Bible
11 – In the day that your walls are to be built [a day for building], in that day shall the boundary [of Israel] be far extended and the decree [against her] be far removed.
12 – In that day they will come to you from Assyria and from the cities of Matzor [Egypt] and from Egypt even to the river [Euphrates], from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.New International Version
11 – The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.Darby Translation
11 – In the day when thy walls shall be built, on that day shall the established limit recede.
12 – In that day they shall come to thee from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
Obviously, there’s more to this verse than what William Sears taught the Baha’is.
Some translations mention “the cities of Matzor [Egypt]” and some do not.
Most translations say “they” will come to you, not “he.”
I’ve done some research on the word “matzor” (translated in some versions as ‘Egypt’ – it means siege). Here’s what I found:
An article in the Jewish Bible Quarterly states:
matzor
could mean “distress” (Deut. 28:53), “siege” (Ez. 4:2, 7), “a mound raised by besiegers” (Deut. 20:20, Mic. 4:14), “bulwark” or “citadel” (II Chr. 32:10). The etymology of matzor is unclear, though the word appears to have military connotations in the biblical literature. Source
From a commentary:
Jesré Matzor, in the Hebrew: . . . which is there translated, the rivers of besieged places: such as were of use to defend cities against a siege. But Bochart . . . translates it the river of Egypt, and shews that the word Matzor denotes Egypt sometimes, and may be fitly translated so in both these places of Isaiah, and likewise in Micah vii. 12. which place our translation renders very obscurely, thus, In that day he shall come unto thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even unto the river: but supposing Matzor to signify Egypt, the word runs plainly thus, They shall come unto thee from Assyria to the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the river [Euphrates], which was the boundary of Assyria: and the sense is, that the Jews shall return from their several dispersions whither they were scattered; which is often expressed in the prophets by their return from Assyria and Egypt, as hath been observed in the notes….
It would not make sense for a traveler in those days to go from Assyria to Egypt and then back to the Euphrates River before going to Israel, so I believe that the Hebrew word matzor is more likely referring to a besieged city (as Jerusalem was, just prior to its fall) or a city with a citadel (Susa, the Persian capitol contained a citadel called Apadana) or a distressed city (the Jews in captivity were distressed).
Another note: Some versions use “they” instead of “he” – such as the American Standard Version: “In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria…”. It is likely this verse refers to an entire group of people, such as the Jews returning to Judea and Jerusalem after their exile in captivity under the Babylonians. This makes more sense than saying it refers to an individual, especially because the Bible often refers to an entire group by the name of one of the patriarchs of the clan. For example, Benjamin was a man, and his descendants can collectively be called Benjamin.
In any case, the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt by Nehemiah, not by Baha’u’llah, and there’s no evidence that this verse is about Baha’u’llah or anything pertaining to the Baha’i Faith.
I'm a former Baha'i; now a Christian.
Christian Ex-Baha'i 
so some Baha’is interpret it a certain way, not all of them do as your title suggests
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I didn’t say “all” – but most do believe that Micah 7:12 is about Baha’u’llah because a “Hand of the Cause,” William Sears, wrote a book about that.
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This is an old thread that I just came across browsing the internet, so I may not get answer to this, but it would be nice if you would answer. I am a Bahá’í and interested like you in Bible prophecy. I had also seen what Mr. Sears wrote but couldn’t find his interpretation validated in any authoritative Bahá’í sources. Even though Mr. Sears was a Hand of the Cause of God, a wonderful human being, it doesn’t mean that he couldn’t make a mistake. I wrote to the Bahá’i World Center and asked about this prophecy some time ago, as I had not been able to find this in any authoritative sources (Mr. Sears, even though he was a Hand of the Cause, was not an authoritative source, only the Writings are). I got the same answer as you quote at the beginning, that there is nothing in the sacred Writings confirming that this prophecy is about the Exile of Bahá’u’lláh. The Research Department doesn’t interpret the passage, it only tells you that there is nothing in the Writings about this. Therefore, even though Mr. Sears interpreted this chapter the way he did it does in no way discredit Bahá’u’lláh. It is quite possible that Mr. Sears was wrong about this, that he misunderstood this prophecy, after all he was just a fallible human being, not a Messenger of God. As you point out “it says in verse 11: “the day that thy walls are to be built” – and those days took place long before Baha’u’llah was born.” You may be right, perhaps this prophecy does not refer to Bahá’u’lláh. In any case I am not going to use this prophecy to prove that Bahá’u’lláh is the Promised Manifestation of God, there are many other prophecies and standards in the Bible that can accomplish this. At first glance, you seem to have a good case for refuting that this refers to Bahá’u’lláh. However, can you explain why it says: “in that day shall the decree be far removed.” If the prophecy refers to Nehemiah, then this part of the sentence doesn’t make much sense, does it? And how do you explain the sentence “Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel…” This sounds like a Messenger of God leading the people, the flock, and as you know the Bahá’í World Centre is on Mount Carmel, in the heart of that mountain. Did the Jews at the time of Nehemiah dwell solitarily in the wood in the midst of Carmel? I don’t think so. So, what does this refer to, if not Bahá’u’lláh? Also, the next sentence “According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.” How do you understand this? How can this refer to Nehemiah and his trip back to Israel? We know that Bahá’u’lláh received revelations throughout His ministry, which lasted for 40 years, from 1852 to 1892, the same time it took the Jews to return to the Holy Land. You mention that in some translation the word “they” instead of “he” is used. I noticed this even in the new King James version. But, interestingly it says in the footnote: In the original it is he. So why do the translators use “they”. Because they interpret the Bible! As they think this must mean the Jews returning to the Holy Land they change the words of the Holy Bible from “he” to “they” just like that. Sad. But for now, I am not going to use this prophecy to prove Who Bahá’u’lláh is, especially as the interpretation the Mr. Sears and others have arrived is not supported in the Writings, but I would not rule it out that this in fact refers to the exile of Bahá’u’lláh, unless you can explain away the other points I raised as well. But, I will continue to search for the answer as I also hope you will, and leave it at that for the time being.
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Ingi, the word translated “Carmel” in the KJV is “karmel” meaning “fertile land, fruitful land, orchard, plantation, plentiful field” and in many translations the name “Carmel” is not mentioned, in Micah 7:14. See the comparisons: http://biblehub.com/micah/7-14.htm … Example: NIV – “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago.”
By the way, do you know how Bashan and Gilead have any relation to the Baha’i Faith? I don’t… and I really believe this chapter of the Bible has nothing whatsoever to do with Baha’u’llah. Why would you take half a cherry-picked verse and think it is about Baha’i and then ignore the other half of the verse? I used to wonder about that, back when I was a Baha’i. It made no sense to me to make a big deal out of half a verse then ignore the rest of it because it didn’t fit the Baha’i scenario.
Also the idea that verse 15 refers to 40 years of Baha’u’llah’s ministry is just another Baha’i construct that has no relation to the actual verse. It says, “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.” … this refers to the Jews returning to their promised land from captivity… it happened when Moses led them out of Egypt. And it happened again when Nehemiah led them out of Babylon.
I don’t know if you’ve read the entire Bible, but if not, please consider doing that… because relying on some cherry-picked verses to try to “prove” Baha’u’llah is who Baha’is believe he is… doesn’t work very well. The Old Testament points to Jesus, not to Baha’u’llah. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who was crucified on Passover, bringing to an end the time of the Jewish laws of sacrifice. The Old Testament traces the heredity of Jesus, not of Baha’u’llah.
About “in that day shall the decree be far removed” … the decree of captivity was removed from the repentant Jews, at the time when the wall was to be rebuilt by Nehemiah. To understand the captivity of Jews, try reading Judges … in it the Jews are repeatedly being put into captivity, and by reading the book, you will understand why.
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I was just now reading your answer to my comments from long ago, and I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about this issue. As I mentioned earlier, I do agree with you that the sentence “In the day that thy walls are to be built” is difficult to fit Bahá’u’lláh. However, as it is quite clear that in the original the word “he” is used not “they” unless you don’t trust King James Version of the Bible, which is considered by most as one of the most reliable Bible translations. I also take issue with Bible translations that translate the name “Carmel”. If that name should not be given as a place name, then why are the other names Bashan and Gilead not translated? Carmel is a well-known place name for a famous Mountain in the same region as Bashan and Gilead, northern Israel. You mention that the Old Testament refers to Jesus not Bahá’u’lláh. Couldn’t it be referring to both of Them? I certainly believe, as all Bahá’ís do as you know, that the Old Testament predicts the coming of Christ, but it also seems to be pointing to Bahá’u’lláh as well. The Bahá’í Writings explain that every prophet had a separate Covenant with the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, as His Day is the fulfilment of the hopes of all the prophets. Another major point I feel why this chapter is not about Nehemiah is the fact that at the beginning of the chapter his enemies are mocking Micah and saying: Where is your God? and his answer is “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” Then he says that his enemies will be laid low and then he starts talking about him who will come from Assyria…etc. So, he appears to be talking about the coming of a Christ figure, isn’t he? I am inclined to think that the chapter is about Bahá’u’lláh, but as it isn’t verified in the Bahá’í Holy Scriptures I can’t state so categorically. In any case, I find it difficult to see that this remarkable prophecy refers to a minor figure, Nehmiah. What do you think?
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