study covenant part 1

Covenant Part 1 Outline

• 1. Two Covenants

     1. a. Greater: coming of Manifestations and Promised Ones to educate humanity

     2. b. Lessor: what the Manifestation leaves so that the people can receive guidance on whom to turn to after the Manifestation has left this earth.

  2. Conflict

• • 1. a. the clergy have polluted the covenant of God.

    2. b. a clergy arose and took over the Cause of God, This was in 1957 when the Hands took over the faith after Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian, death

    3. c. the true leadership of the faithful is to be in a Universal House of Justice comprised of an executive branch and a legislative branch.

    4. d. The clergy, Hands of the Cause, threw out the executive and concentrated power unto themselves.

    5. e. The Covenant will protect the cause from usurpation. The ultimate purpose of God's Covenant is that it is God's plan t insure that we will never again be separated from the truth of His Message and that we will all be united under this truth.

    6. f. This Covenant is the connection or bridge; the bond between God and humanity. There is no connection between God and man except throug the Manifestation and there is no connection between mankind and the Manifestation except thorugh the Manifestations Covenant. It is necessary to know the Covenant in order to be in the true Bahai Faith.

• 3. Covenant of Abraham

• • 1. a. The Covenant is the same as God gave to Abraham, Genesis ch 17:

    2. Behold my Coenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. I will make nations of you and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their genrations for an everlasting Covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

    3. b. Two parts to Covenant: Israel- descendants of Jacob from Joseph, the multitude of nations, Ephraim which passes down to Jesus [grafting in of Gentiles]; Judah – descendants from Judah, the Davidic line. In the new Testament the Covenant is called the new Covenant.

    4. 4. Covenant of Jesus

    5. a. Jesus received the birthright, the Covenant to Ephraim concerning the multitude of nations.

    6. b. provides for a new type of heir, non-genetic successors.

    7. c. the gentiles were the people who were not genetically descended from Abraham but were adopted in through faith, see Galatians.

    8. d. removal of sin, Romans: “And this will be my Covenant with them when I take away their sins”. The image of God isn't a physical image, it's the spirituality, the spiritual qualities and attributes, the perceptions of love, mercy, harmony, generosity, fidelity, etc., an infinite number of spiritual qualities and attribures. Humanity is to take these on and this would be through this Covenant, but this Covenant for the conquest of sin was not fulfilled in Christianity, Its fulfillment is only in the Baha'i Faith, in the Baha'i Covenant.

    9. 5. Baha'i Covenant

    10. a. Two Texts: Kitab-i `Ahd and the Will and Testament (Wasiyat) of `Abdu'l-Baha'.

    11. b. Baha'u'llah is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant as spoken of in Psalms 89:3,4,27-37.

    12. c. Baha'u'llah brings something new to the world, the Universal House of Justice, which is comprised of the two part Abrahamic covenant the line of Judah and the multitude of nations.

    13. d. once you come under this covenant your past errors (sins) are forgiven. You achieve an angelic station.

    14. e. If the body of believers don't have the Covenant, the body will be dead. Those who have faith in this Covenant who have spiritual life, those who have faith in the Covenant are true Baha'is.

    15. 6. Covenant as Healing

    16. a. the purpose of religion is to create love and unity

    17. b. don't fight over religion:

    18. “Do not make it [religion] the cause of enmity and discord. All that is regarded by men of insight and the people of the most lofty outlook as a means of safeguarding and effecting the peace and tranquillity of man, has flowed from the Supreme Pen.” Kitab-i Ahd

    19. c. the covenant breakers will never establish universal peace for humanity because they threw out what Baha'u'llah provided.

    20. 7. Davidic Kingship, Executive of the Universal House of Justice

    21. a. Baha'u'llah provides for the continuation of Kingship:

    22. “Although a republican form of government profit all the peoples of the world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not with that the countries of the world would remain deprived thereof. If the sagacious combine the two form into one, great will be their reward in the presence of God.” Glad Tidings XV

    23. b. Abdu'l-Baha' said:

    24. “That the stateis, moreover, based upon two potent forces, the legislative and the executive. The focal center of the executive power is the government. While that of the legislative is the learned.” Secret of Divine Civilization

    25. c. the decree of God that is preserved from annulment is the Covenant itself: the UHJ with the Davidic King as its president, this is preserved from annulment, this isn't going to come to an end, it is not subject to Bada'. [Theologically it is part of God's Command `Amr which is not subject to change]

    26. d. the legislative members of the UHJ are charged with the affairs of the people, they are the trustees of God and have authority. Turn to them for clarification of interpretations of the teachings of the Manifestations.

    27. e. Inheritance, conferred infallibility, was passed from Baha'u'llah to `Abdu'l-Baha' to Shoghi Effendi this means the heir to the covenant after Shoghi Effendi is the UHJ and the infallibility and divine guidance conferred through that Covenant rests with the UHJ with the Davidic King alone.

    28. f. to turn away from Abdu'l-Baha, his Will and Testament, is to turn away from God.

    29. 7. Infallibility

    30. a. infallibility is the immunity to the spiritual disease of sin.

    31. b. Two types of infallibility:

        1. 1) innate infallibility, only the Manifestations have this

        2. 2) acquired infallibility, gaining knowledge and mastery over a subject which also has two sub-types:

           1. a. learned-- like a doctor in medicine

           2. b. conferred-- this means protection and guidance and this is given by the Manifestion through His Covenant.

    32. 8. Grafting

    33. a. Shoghi Effendi was not descended from Baha'u'llah from the male side of his family but through his mother, he was descended from the Bab on his Fathers side of his family. Shoghi was given conferred infallibility, but he did not sit on the Throne of David.

    34. b. Mason Remey was grafted into the family of Abdu'l-Baha by adoption of him by Adbu'l-Baha

    35. c. the successor to Shoghi Effendi is the UHJ with the Davidic King.

    36. d. Gen 49:10

    37. e. Rev 21, The rod of iron and the rod of wood are symbols of the two parts of this Covenant. The rod of wood symbolizes the covenant of the Davidic kings. The rod of iron symbolizes the covenant of the multitude of nations. These are two covenants referring to two family lineage's. The wood is the tribe of Judah with the Davidic kingship and the Davidic Kings descending all the way down t Baha'u'llah. The rod of iron, the part that went to Joseph and Ephraim it concerns the multitude of nations and then this was passed to Jesus. In the second Psalm it says that Jesus has the rod of iron and Abdu'l-Baha explain that Muhammad after Jesus has the rod of iron and he also explains that the Bab had the rod of iron. Shoghi Effendi is the first rod of Gold, the second shall be the Universal House of Justice with the Guardian.