Archive for March, 2018

Baha’i Sabbath: Baha’ 10, 175 B.E. (3/30/2018)

Friday, March 30th, 2018

Why is it that the majority of those who fight for material control of this world also hold to the religion of the physical resurrection of their flesh?

Obviously one is a delusional belief system, and the other is antisocial behavior (such as war and murder for oil, control and power). It is probably true that thoughts and deeds cycle around each other to perpetuate both wrong thinking and crimes against the dignity of other human beings. Look at South Sudan. Oil was found there. Now instead of those people being rich, and well to do, and having a better world, their lives have been made miserable by the warmongers and oil addicts. Thus at the root of bad words, bad thoughts, and bad deeds–we find bad religion; that which is anti-human and not humane. According to ‘Abdu’l-Baha:

“My name is Abdu’l-Baha… servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion.”

The only “revolution” that is going to solve all the problems of human suffering in this world is “the revolution of the human heart”. Baha’u’llah inaugurated this revolution on April 21, 1863.

This revolution cannot take place–Baha’u’llah tells us–unless we see the truth with our own eyes and not through the eyes of our neighbor. Ah hah! That means we need two things to accept the truth–the intellect to recognize the truth, and a heart that is pure to accept it.

Facts. The pure of heart go by the facts. This is why Jesus said to seek the truth and truth will set you free. We seek the truth when it is the truth that we love. And here Jesus specifically means to seek the truth of God and the truth of the Bible: the truth of the Kingdom of God. Not be fooled by lies, mythologies, and theologies of the clergy class or preistcraft. This is the full “revolution of the human heart”, accompanied by body, mind and soul–to love God above all else with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul. Not blindly hide in a meaningless pile of lies, told to us by others, who also were either so deceived or who knowingly chose to deceive others. No. Someone has to stop the viscous cycle. Someone has to step forth and not go along with the lemmings to the slaughter. The first one to do this in our age is Baha’u’llah, then ‘Abdu’l-Baha, then you and me, and all of us today. Long ago it was Jesus who was the first, and then another dozen apostles, then maybe 500 more, and lastly his establisher Paul. But now there isn’t one single true Christian remaining in all the world who both knows the whole truth and loves the whole truth, and nothing but the whole truth. In order for God to help us–we must have a love for the truth in our own pure heart first and foremost. Therefore Jesus has returned to fix that problem.

Attached is a “Letter to a Member of the Easter Faith.” For those who may not know, “the Easter Faith” isn’t a faith in Jesus, or God or the Kingdom, or of the after-life in the spiritual world to come, but a malignant obsession with the non-Biblical physical resurrection of the flesh of their own body (to re-inhabit this material world). In different forms–resurrection, re-incarnation, metempsychosis, etc– it dates back to Ishtar (Easter) of Babylonia and is a malignant obsession with living in this material world in a material body. It has nothing to do with the spiritual progression of the soul in both this life and the next–through all the innumerable worlds of God. No. Instead it is a deception that derails the majority of people from being able to advance in the Kingdom (which is here and now in both this world and the next) freely and unalloyed. This fulfills what is written in the scripture:

“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (2 Thess. 2: 10-11 NIV).

Baha’u’llah states:

“This ‘oppression’ is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error.” (Iqan, p. 31)

Now that all the Covenants of God have all been broken by the people, and the darkness of error has spread over the minds of all the people deceived by pompous leaders who hijacked God’s original true religions–the time for the “break of the morn of divine guidance” is come–and we could all use just such a break.

LETTER TO A MEMBER OF THE EASTER FAITH

Dear Dr. F.,

According to the Greek New Testament, Joseph of Aramathea placed the corpse of Jesus in a tomb north of the city. His body did die and he did not “swoon” as you say. The apostles then took Jesus’s corpse out of the tomb and mummified it during the prescribed 40 days process in the town of Emmaus. As their first Act, in the Acts of the Apostles, they then buried Jesus’s mummified corpse under the wall of the city at the place where the road to Emmaus came into Jerusalem at the wall. This is the exact spot of the current location of the church of the Holy Sepulcher and Jesus mummified corpse remains there to this day. When the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was attacked in the middle ages, the Christian Knights retook the city and preserved the mummified corpse of Jesus in a leaden-lined casket filled with preservatives that they re-interred in the sacred Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Like the Bab’i and Baha’i martyrs (10,000 + 20,000 respectively) true Christian martyrs were willing to sacrifice their lives because they knew that Jesus was the Universal Manifestation of God, the Herald of the Kingdom, and is therefore the universal forerunner (as the “son”) for Baha’u’llah (the glory of the Father), the Davidic King who is seated upon the throne of King David that continues today in the great-great grandson of Baha’u’llah, the current living Davidic King who is the president of Baha’u’llah’s Universal House of Justice (the House of the Lord–prophesied in the Bible). No true Christian ever died for the lie that the fleshy body of Jesus resurrected. Jesus said in John 6:63 that his “flesh” was of no avail–and that his words were “spirit and life”. It was only later after Rome became “Christian”–loyal to one sect only–that this mainstream new majority killed off all the true Christians who refused to go along with the lie of the resurrection of the flesh. The original martyrs of true Christianity all knew the location of Jesus’s mummified corpse, and this is how Helen the mother of Constantine was able to find the location so easily. As a mummified corpse Jesus’s flesh saw “no decay” (as prophesied). In the original Hebrew and Greek saying that a fleshy body would “see no decay” refers only to the mummification process after physical death–seeing “no decay” is only in reference to the corpse of flesh, which was mummified. It was only after the Council of Nicaea and after Charlemagne killed off the rest of the true Christians in Europe, that the anti-Biblical lie of the resurrection of the physical flesh became the entrenched dogma of the people who have been deceived by this non-Biblical teaching, such as yourself. This is why the return of Jesus can destroy antichrist with the “breath of his lips” because the way you get rid of a lie is by speaking the truth–as the lie has no reality-based existence it is then gone.

According to Paul–Jesus did not rise in the flesh–but “according to Scriptures!”

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again [it does not say in the fleshy flesh] the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen [mummified] by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen [mummified] by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen [mummified] by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen [mummified] by me also, as by one born out of due time.  (1 Corinthians 15:3–8)

Don’t you SEE Paul says: “Then last of all He was seen by me [Paul] also, as by one born out of due time.” So the other Apostles showed Paul Jesus’s mummified corpse in Jerusalem at the wall–after Paul had converted. This was long, long after Paul was struck by lightning on the road to Damascus. Long, long after Paul was at the stoning of Stephen. Long, long after, the clergy claims Jesus rose up into heaven [the sky they claim] in the first chapter of Acts, once and for all time, never to be seen by anyone again until the prophesied second coming 2000 years later. If Jesus floated away to never to be seen again, in the first chapter of Acts, then Paul could not have seen him, as he did, therefore the clergy are false. Now I don’t know why you believe this lie, or why anyone else would believe such an anti-scientific, and ridiculous lie as the resurrection of the flesh. But Paul tells us why: “He [that liar] will use every kind of evil deception [the resurrection of the physical flesh] to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth [of Jesus’s mummified corpse] that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies [trinity, easter egg, zombie apocalypse, etc]” (2 Thess. 2: 10-11 NLT).

So we all must have a LOVE for the truth–not a fear of death. This means we must be pure of heart. But that is not enough. We also must use the intellect that God gave us, and the independent investigation of the truth that Baha’u’llah enjoined upon us to get the reality!! Paul says: The resurrection is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:44) not physical. Learn!

According to the Guardian of the Baha’i faith Shoghi Effendi (and confirmed in the Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha):

“People wonder what happened to the body of Christ after the crucifixion. It was buried by the disciples under the wall of Jerusalem to protect it from the Roman legions. It remained buried there for some 290 years. It remained buried under the wall of Jerusalem until the mother of the Emperor Constantine, Helena, who had herself become a Christian, came to Jerusalem and had the Church of the Holy Sepulcher built–at which time the body of Christ was removed from under the wall of the city and was placed under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And that is where it is today. The Baha’is should be aware of this fact when they visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the holiest place in Christendom.” (Shoghi Effendi, April 1957 to the believers).

Jesus is not descended from the throne-line of King David–he is from Mary who is of the tribe of Levi (of the “daughters of Aaron” the “kinswoman of Elizabeth: see Luke 1:5, 36 RSV). Mary is not from the tribe of Judah but of Levi of the daughters of Aaron the kinswoman of Elizabeth. Joseph is not of the throne-line of King of David. Joseph is from David’s son Nathan who was never seated upon the throne (Luke 3:31). Further Jesus’s mummified corpse is buried in Jerusalem in the tomb just like everyone else–which is what the Bible says in the Greek New Testament. The resurrection is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:44) not physical. Jesus came to proclaim the coming of Baha’u’llah who is that great King of Kings seated upon the throne of King David that the whole Bible is talking about. When Christians say that is Jesus they are doing Jesus a dis-service for they make Jesus out to be a usurper–usurping the throne-line from Baha’u’llah, to Jesus who never sat upon the throne of David. Thank God Jesus never claimed to be seated upon the throne of David or he would have been a usurper. No, He said he was the “son” not the “father” (Is. 9:6-7). Jesus denied being the “prince of peace” (Is. 9:6-7) saying he did not “come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34), and Jesus prophesied Baha’u’llah by name (Mk. 8:38) as the one (“the glory of God” the father) who was yet to come!

BAHA’U’LLAH IS JEWISH: A DESCENDANT OF KING DAVID FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

“The purpose of the descendant of King David being the President (Head of the Government, the Executive Branch) of Baha’u’llah’s Universal House of Justice is so we can recognize the true UHJ from fakes, frauds, and imitations.” UHJ.net

“This House of Justice enacteth the laws and the government [Davidic King] enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive [David King], the executive [Davidic King] must aid and assist the legislative body so that through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.” (W&T, p. 15)

“To Him Isaiah, the greatest of the Jewish prophets, had alluded as the “Glory of the Lord,” the “Everlasting Father,” the “Prince of Peace,” the “Wonderful,” the “Counselor,” the “Rod come forth out of the stem of Jesse” and the “Branch grown out of His roots,” Who “shall be established upon the throne of David…” (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 94)

“By the violent beating of my heart I knew that we were soon to see the Blessed face of the Prince of the House of David, (‘Abdu’l-Baha) the King of the whole world.” (Lua Getsinger, cf. “Persia” by Asaac Adams, pp. 478-484).

Shoghi Effendi writes:

“Regarding your question concerning the Jesse from whom Baha’u’llah is descended: The Master says in Some Answered Questions, referring to Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, that these verses apply “Word for word to Baha’u’llah.” He then identifies this Jesse as the father of David in the following words: “…for Joseph was of the descendants of Jesse the father of David…” thus identifying the Jesse of Isaiah, chapter 11, with being the father of David. Baha’u’llah is thus the descendant of Jesse, the father of David

“The Guardian hopes that this will clarify the matter for you. It is a tremendous and fascinating theme, Baha’u’llah’s connection with the Faith of Judaism, and one which possesses great interest to Jew and Christian alike.” (Shoghi Effendi, 11 July 1942)

Also, from the mainstream perspective, the research of Dr. Grover Gonzales, a Baha’i in the mainstream fold, has published research on Baha’u’llah’s genealogy entitled “the genealogy of Shoghi Effendi” which traces the male throne-line of King David that Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha inherited through their Jewish lineage back to the exilarch Bostanai. The “exilarchs” are the exiled Jewish Kings of David – thus exiled monarchs = exil-arch: Exilarch. This is the Jewish origins of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha of the Jewish Kings that were brought into exile originally by Nebuchadnezzar and later into Persia by Cyrus the Great into what became Muslim lands.

According to Dr. Gonzales himself, he “was commissioned by Shoghi Effendi to do this research and [Shoghi Effendi] approved it for publication.” Dr. Gonzales “received the bulk of his work on Baha’u’llah’s family from Mirza Abu-Fazl who received it directly from Baha’u’llah Himself.” Gonzales’s chart showing the genealogy of Baha’u’llah back to the exilarch Bostanai and through him to King David is attached. You can see the names of Baha’u’llah, Bostanai, Exilarchs, and King David circled in red. Dr. Gonzales’s work on the Jewish (Davidic) origins of the genealogy of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha is published on-line at the Baha’i Academic Resource Library, the premiere on-line website for all academic studies of the Baha’i Faith: http://bahai-library.com/gonzales_genealogy_shoghieffendi

Another mainstream resource that gives this lineage and history of the Jewish origins of the family of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha is the Iqlim-i-Nur, by eminent Baha’i historian, Malik Khusravi. The second edition, the longer extended version, gives this same lineage back to the marriage of Bostanai to Dara (Izdundad) the daughter of Yazdigird III, the last Sassanian monarch. Thus Baha’u’llah is a descendant of Zoroaster (which means literally “seed of the woman”) through Yazdigird’s daughter Dara, and from the male throne-line from the Jewish origin of Bostanai the Exilarch. You may request a copy of the longer version of the Iqlim-i-Nur from Haifa where it is under lock and key. The guardian has told me that the shorter version is uploaded onto H-Net for the general public to have.

Aside from those works, we also have in our possession a manuscript copy of Baha’u’llah’s Book of Kings, which elucidates this entire theme completely. Again the main source of original Baha’i literature is the central documents and tablets of the Covenant. Beyond this core body of literature, the Jewish origins are a pervasive theme throughout the entirety of the Baha’i holy writ and literature. The reason for this is that the Baha’i scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ is the “Herald of the Kingdom.” He is the herald by proclaiming the meaning of the title Christ that is the key to the promised Kingdom of God.

The word “Christ” comes from the Greek word Christos, and literally means “anointed one” like to christen a ship. The Hebrew word for anointed one is “messiah.” But anointed one of what? The full title was “messiah ben David,” that is the anointed male-sperm descendant of King David. In order for Jesus and Baha’u’llah to be the Christ they must be of the male-sperm descendants of King David. If Baha’u’llah was not of this male-sperm throne-line of King David he couldn’t fulfill prophecy for the second coming of Christ in the potency of the “everlasting Father “ seated upon the “throne of King David” that is to last forever. However this is exactly what His claim is. This is backed up by history as well as all the Baha’i holy literature including especially Baha’u’llah’s Book of the Covenant and the sacred Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Some of the Iranian Baha’is who occupied positions of power and seats of control in the Baha’i world had a problem with these Jewish roots–Jewish origins–of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. This may have been a strong motive in their hijacking of the Faith away from ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s son Mason Remey to do away with the continuation of the Jewish line of Kings that is reserved for the president and executive branch of the Universal House of Justice of Baha’u’llah, now entitled the guardianship of the Baha’i Faith (see Will and Testament, page 14 and 15 for more).

The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE

 

 

Baha’i Sabbath: Baha’ 3, 175 B.E. (3/23/2018)

Friday, March 23rd, 2018

BY Him Who is the Great Announcement! The All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sovereignty. The Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell on earth have been gathered together. The Trumpet hath been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up with terror, and the hearts of all who are in the heavens and on the earth have trembled, except them whom the breath of the verses of God hath quickened, and who have detached themselves from all things.

This is the Day whereon the earth shall tell out her tidings. The workers of iniquity are her burdens, could ye but perceive it. The moon of idle fancy hath been cleft, and the heaven hath given out a palpable smoke. We see the people laid low, awed with the dread of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Most Powerful. The Crier hath cried out, and men have been torn away, so great hath been the fury of His wrath. The people of the left hand sigh and bemoan. The people of the right abide in noble habitations: they quaff the Wine that is life indeed, from the hands of the All-Merciful, and are, verily, the blissful.

The earth hath been shaken, and the mountains have passed away, and the angels have appeared, rank on rank, before Us. Most of the people are bewildered in their drunkenness and wear on their faces the evidences of anger. Thus have We gathered together the workers of iniquity. We see them rushing on towards their idol. Say: None shall be secure this Day from the decree of God. This indeed is a grievous Day. We point out to them those that led them astray. They see them, and yet recognize them not. Their eyes are drunken; they are indeed a blind people. Their proofs are the calumnies they uttered; condemned are their calumnies by God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. The Evil One hath stirred up mischief in their hearts, and they are afflicted with a torment that none can avert. They hasten to the wicked, bearing the register of the workers of iniquity. Such are their doings.

Say: The heavens have been folded together, and the earth is held within His grasp, and the corrupt doers have been held by their forelock, and still they understand not. They drink of the tainted water, and know it not. Say: The shout hath been raised, and the people have come forth from their graves, and arising, are gazing around them. Some have made haste to attain the court of the God of Mercy, others have fallen down on their faces in the fire of Hell, while still others are lost in bewilderment. The verses of God have been revealed, and yet they have turned away from them. His proof hath been manifested, and yet they are unaware of it. And when they behold the face of the All-Merciful, their own faces are saddened, while they are disporting themselves. They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light. Far from God be what they fondly imagine! Say: Whether ye rejoice or whether ye burst for fury, the heavens are cleft asunder, and God hath come down, invested with radiant sovereignty. All created things are heard exclaiming: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

Know thou, moreover, that We have been cast into an afflictive Prison, and are encompassed with the hosts of tyranny, as a result of what the hands of the infidels have wrought. Such is the gladness, however, which the Youth hath tasted that no earthly joy can compare unto it. By God! The harm He suffereth at the hands of the oppressor can never grieve His heart, nor can He be saddened by the ascendancy of such as have repudiated His truth.

Say: Tribulation is a horizon unto My Revelation. The daystar of grace shineth above it, and sheddeth a light which neither the clouds of men’s idle fancy nor the vain imaginations of the aggressor can obscure.

Follow thou the footsteps of thy Lord, and remember His servants even as He doth remember thee, undeterred by either the clamor of the heedless ones or the sword of the enemy.… Spread abroad the sweet savors of thy Lord, and hesitate not, though it be for less than a moment, in the service of His Cause. The day is approaching when the victory of thy Lord, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful, will be proclaimed.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings XVII

The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE

Holy Day: Naw-Ruz, 175 B.E. (Baha’ 1, 175 B.E.) (Sunset 3/19/2018-Sunset 3/21/2018)

Tuesday, March 20th, 2018

Naw-Rúz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March. Bahá’u’lláh explains: “The Festival of Naw-Rúz falleth on the day that the sun entereth the sign of Aries, [The vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere] even should this occur no more than one minute before sunset.”

This year the sun enters the constellation of Aries at 12:15 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

The Fast period ends at the begining of the Baha’i day at sunset, Ala’ 18, 174 B.E./Sunday, March 19, 2018.

The Baha’i Holy Day of Naw-Ruz is celebrated from sunset U.S. Eastern Time on March 19, 2018 until sunset on March 21, 2018 corresponding to the Baha’i dates of Ala’ 19, 174 B.E. through Baha’ 1, 175 B.E.

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THE Pen of Revelation exclaimeth: “On this Day the Kingdom is God’s!” The Tongue of Power is calling: “On this Day all sovereignty is, in very deed, with God!” The Phoenix of the realms above crieth out from the immortal Branch: “The glory of all greatness belongeth to God, the Incomparable, the All-Compelling!” The Mystic Dove proclaimeth from its blissful bower, in the everlasting Paradise: “The source of all bounty is derived, in this Day, from God, the One, the Forgiving!” The Bird of the Throne warbleth its melody in its retreats of holiness: “Supreme ascendancy is to be attributed, this Day, to none except God, Him Who hath no peer nor equal, Who is the Most Powerful, the All-Subduing!” The inmost essence of all things voiceth in all things the testimony: “All forgiveness floweth, in this Day, from God, Him to Whom none can compare, with Whom no partners can be joined, the Sovereign Protector of all men, and the Concealer of their sins!” The Quintessence of Glory hath lifted up its voice above My head, and crieth from such heights as neither pen nor tongue can in any degree describe: “God is my witness! He, the Ancient of everlasting days is come, girded with majesty and power. There is none other God but Him, the All-Glorious, the Almighty, the All-Highest, the All-Wise, the All-Glorious, the Almighty, the All-Highest, the All-Wise, the All-Pervading, the All-Seeing, the All-Informed, the Sovereign Protector, the Source of eternal light!”

O My servant, who hast sought the good-pleasure of God and clung to His love on the Day when all except a few who were endued with insight have broken away from Him! May God, through His grace, recompense thee with a generous, an incorruptible and everlasting reward, inasmuch as thou hast sought Him on the Day when eyes were blinded. Know thou that if We reveal to thee but a sprinkling of the showers which, through God’s decree, and at the hands of the envious and the malicious, have rained upon Us, thou wouldst weep with a great weeping, and wouldst bewail day and night Our plight. Oh, would that a discerning and fair-minded soul could be found who would recognize the wonders of this Revelation—wonders that proclaim the sovereignty of God and the greatness of its power. Would that such a man might arise and, wholly for the sake of God, admonish, privately and openly, the people, that haply they may bestir themselves and aid this wronged One Whom the workers of iniquity have so sorely afflicted.

Methinks that I hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit calling from behind Me saying: Vary Thou Thy theme, and alter Thy tone, lest the heart of him who hath fixed his gaze upon Thy face be saddened. Say: I have through the grace of God and His might besought the help of no one in the past, neither will I seek the help of anyone in the future. He it is Who aided Me, through the power of truth, during the days of My banishment in ‘Iráq. He it is Who overshadowed Me with His protection at a time when the kindreds of the earth were contending with Me. He it is Who enabled Me to depart out of the city, clothed with such majesty as none, except the denier and the malicious, can fail to admit.

Say: My army is My reliance on God; My people, the force of My confidence in Him. My love is My standard, and My companion the remembrance of God, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Unconditioned.

Arise, O wayfarer in the path of the Love of God, and aid thou His Cause. Say: Barter not away this Youth, O people, for the vanities of this world or the delights of heaven. By the righteousness of the one true God! One hair of Him excelleth all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. Beware, O men, lest ye be tempted to part with Him in exchange for the gold and silver ye possess. Let His love be a storehouse of treasure for your souls, on the Day when naught else but Him shall profit you, the Day when every pillar shall tremble, when the very skins of men shall creep, when all eyes shall stare up with terror. Say: O people! Fear ye God, and turn not away disdainfully from His Revelation. Fall prostrate on your faces before God, and celebrate His praise in the daytime and in the night season.

Let thy soul glow with the flame of this undying Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its ardor. Make, then, mention of thy Lord, that haply the heedless among Our servants may be admonished through thy words, and the hearts of the righteous be gladdened.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings XV

Prayer For Naw-Ruz

Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Rúz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee. Grant, O my Lord, that the fire of Thy love and the heat produced by the fast enjoined by Thee may inflame them in Thy Cause, and make them to be occupied with Thy praise and with remembrance of Thee.

Since Thou hast adorned them, O my Lord, with the ornament of the fast prescribed by Thee, do Thou adorn them also with the ornament of Thine acceptance, through Thy grace and bountiful favor. For the doings of men are all dependent upon Thy good pleasure, and are conditioned by Thy behest. Shouldst Thou regard him who hath broken the fast as one who hath observed it, such a man would be reckoned among them who from eternity had been keeping the fast. And shouldst Thou decree that he who hath observed the fast hath broken it, that person would be numbered with such as have caused the Robe of Thy Revelation to be stained with dust, and been far removed from the crystal waters of this living Fountain.

Thou art He through Whom the ensign “Praiseworthy art Thou in Thy works” hath been lifted up, and the standard “Obeyed art Thou in Thy behest” hath been unfurled. Make known this Thy station, O my God, unto Thy servants, that they may be made aware that the excellence of all things is dependent upon Thy bidding and Thy word, and the virtue of every act is conditioned by Thy leave and the good pleasure of Thy will, and may recognize that the reins of men’s doings are within the grasp of Thine acceptance and Thy commandment. Make this known unto them, that nothing whatsoever may shut them out from Thy Beauty, in these days whereon the Christ exclaimeth: “All dominion is Thine, O Thou the Begetter of the Spirit (Jesus)”; and Thy Friend (Muḥammad) crieth out: “Glory be to Thee, O Thou the Best-Beloved, for that Thou hast uncovered Thy Beauty, and written down for Thy chosen ones what will cause them to attain unto the seat of the revelation of Thy Most Great Name, through which all the peoples have lamented except such as have detached themselves from all else except Thee, and set themselves towards Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself and the Manifestation of Thine attributes.”

He Who is Thy Branch and all Thy company, O my Lord, have broken this day their fast, after having observed it within the precincts of Thy court, and in their eagerness to please Thee. Do Thou ordain for Him, and for them, and for all such as have entered Thy presence in those days all the good Thou didst destine in Thy Book. Supply them, then, with that which will profit them, in both this life and in the life beyond.

Thou, in truth, art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Baha’u’llah

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The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE

Holy Day: Naw-Ruz, 175 B.E. (Sunset 3/19/2018-Sunset 3/21/2018)

Tuesday, March 20th, 2018

Naw-Rúz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March. Bahá’u’lláh explains: “The Festival of Naw-Rúz falleth on the day that the sun entereth the sign of Aries, [The vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere] even should this occur no more than one minute before sunset.”

This year the sun enters the constellation of Aries at 12:15 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

The Fast period ends at the begining of the Baha’i day at sunset, Ala’ 18, 174 B.E./Sunday, March 19, 2018.

The Baha’i Holy Day of Naw-Ruz is celebrated from sunset U.S. Eastern Time on March 19, 2018 until sunset on March 21, 2018 corresponding to the Baha’i dates of Ala’ 19, 174 B.E. through Baha’ 1, 175 B.E.

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THE Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new. Speak, and hold not thy peace. The daystar of blissfulness shineth above the horizon of Our name, the Blissful, inasmuch as the kingdom of the name of God hath been adorned with the ornament of the name of thy Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Arise before the nations of the earth, and arm thyself with the power of this Most Great Name, and be not of those who tarry.

Methinks that thou hast halted and movest not upon My Tablet. Could the brightness of the Divine Countenance have bewildered thee, or the idle talk of the froward filled thee with grief and paralyzed thy movement? Take heed lest anything deter thee from extolling the greatness of this Day—the Day whereon the Finger of majesty and power hath opened the seal of the Wine of Reunion, and called all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth. Preferrest thou to tarry when the breeze announcing the Day of God hath already breathed over thee, or art thou of them that are shut out as by a veil from Him?

No veil whatever have I allowed, O Lord of all names and Creator of the heavens, to shut me from the recognition of the glories of Thy Day—the Day which is the lamp of guidance unto the whole world, and the sign of the Ancient of Days unto all them that dwell therein. My silence is by reason of the veils that have blinded Thy creatures’ eyes to Thee, and my muteness is because of the impediments that have hindered Thy people from recognizing Thy truth. Thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is in Thee. Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. By Thy name that excelleth all other names! If Thy overruling and all-compelling behest should ever reach me, it would empower me to revive the souls of all men, through Thy most exalted Word, which I have heard uttered by Thy Tongue of power in Thy Kingdom of glory. It would enable me to announce the revelation of Thy effulgent countenance wherethrough that which lay hidden from the eyes of men hath been manifested in Thy name, the Perspicuous, the sovereign Protector, the Self-Subsisting.

Canst thou discover anyone but Me, O Pen, in this Day? What hath become of the creation and the manifestations thereof? What of the names and their kingdom? Whither are gone all created things, whether seen or unseen? What of the hidden secrets of the universe and its revelations? Lo, the entire creation hath passed away! Nothing remaineth except My Face, the Ever-Abiding, the Resplendent, the All-Glorious.

This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the splendors of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful. Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I am, verily, the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.

This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out: “Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne.” The realm of glory exclaimeth: “Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He Who is the Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty upon thee, through the power of His Name that hath been promised unto all things, whether of the past or of the future.” This is the Day whereon every sweet smelling thing hath derived its fragrance from the smell of My garment—a garment that hath shed its perfume upon the whole of creation. This is the Day whereon the rushing waters of everlasting life have gushed out of the Will of the All-Merciful. Haste ye, with your hearts and souls, and quaff your fill, O Concourse of the realms above!

Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him Who is the Unknowable, the Invisible of the Invisibles, could ye but perceive it. He it is Who hath laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem, were ye to seek it. He it is Who is the one Beloved of all things, whether of the past or of the future. Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon Him!

We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?

The inebriation of Thy presence, O Well-Beloved of all worlds, hath seized and possessed me.

Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He Who is the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Riḍván and entered it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all mankind.

Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of utterance hath imprinted the testimony: “He that was hidden from the eyes of men is revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!” This is the Paradise, the rustling of whose leaves proclaims: “O ye that inhabit the heavens and the earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now come.” From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there cometh the cry: “He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made manifest. The Kingdom is God’s,” while from its streaming waters can be heard the murmur: “All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.”

Within this Paradise, and from the heights of its loftiest chambers, the Maids of Heaven have cried out and shouted: “Rejoice, ye dwellers of the realms above, for the fingers of Him Who is the Ancient of Days are ringing, in the name of the All-Glorious, the Most Great Bell, in the midmost heart of the heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the cup of everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy relish, O ye that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments of vehement desire!”

This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: “Put away the cups of Paradise and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá have entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the wine of reunion, from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High.”

Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou towards the face of thy Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world with the ornament of the favors of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days. For We perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is the Desire of all nations hath shed upon the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendor of the light of His most excellent names, and enveloped them with the radiance of the luminaries of His most gracious favors—favors which none can reckon except Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector of the entire creation.

Look not upon the creatures of God except with the eye of kindliness and of mercy, for Our loving providence hath pervaded all created things, and Our grace encompassed the earth and the heavens. This is the Day whereon the true servants of God partake of the life-giving waters of reunion, the Day whereon those that are nigh unto Him are able to drink of the soft-flowing river of immortality, and they who believe in His unity, the wine of His Presence, through their recognition of Him Who is the Highest and Last End of all, in Whom the Tongue of Majesty and Glory voiceth the call: “The Kingdom is Mine. I, Myself, am, of Mine own right, its Ruler.”

Attract the hearts of men, through the call of Him, the one alone Beloved. Say: This is the Voice of God, if ye do but hearken. This is the Dayspring of the Revelation of God, did ye but know it. This is the Dawning-Place of the Cause of God, were ye to recognize it. This is the Source of the commandment of God, did ye but judge it fairly. This is the manifest and hidden Secret; would that ye might perceive it. O peoples of the world! Cast away, in My name that transcendeth all other names, the things ye possess, and immerse yourselves in this Ocean in whose depths lay hidden the pearls of wisdom and of utterance, an ocean that surgeth in My name, the All-Merciful. Thus instructeth you He with Whom is the Mother Book.

The Best-Beloved is come. In His right hand is the sealed Wine of His name. Happy is the man that turneth unto Him, and drinketh his fill, and exclaimeth: “Praise be to Thee, O Revealer of the signs of God!” By the righteousness of the Almighty! Every hidden thing hath been manifested through the power of truth. All the favors of God have been sent down, as a token of His grace. The waters of everlasting life have, in their fullness, been proffered unto men. Every single cup hath been borne round by the hand of the Well-Beloved. Draw near, and tarry not, though it be for one short moment.

Blessed are they that have soared on the wings of detachment and attained the station which, as ordained by God, overshadoweth the entire creation, whom neither the vain imaginations of the learned, nor the multitude of the hosts of the earth have succeeded in deflecting from His Cause. Who is there among you, O people, who will renounce the world, and draw nigh unto God, the Lord of all names? Where is he to be found who, through the power of My name that transcendeth all created things, will cast away the things that men possess, and cling, with all his might, to the things which God, the Knower of the unseen and of the seen, hath bidden him observe? Thus hath His bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled, and His proof shone forth above the Horizon of mercy. Rich is the prize that shall be won by him who hath believed and exclaimed: “Lauded art Thou, O Beloved of all worlds! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every understanding heart!”

Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá, as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Such is the inebriating effect of the words of God upon Him Who is the Revealer of His undoubted proofs, that His Pen can move no longer. With these words He concludeth His Tablet: “No God is there but Me, the Most Exalted, the Most Powerful, the Most Excellent, the All-Knowing.”

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings XIV

The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE

Baha’i Sabbath: Ala’ 15, 174 B.E. (3/16/2018)

Friday, March 16th, 2018

SAY: O men! This is a matchless Day. Matchless must, likewise, be the tongue that celebrateth the praise of the Desire of all nations, and matchless the deed that aspireth to be acceptable in His sight. The whole human race hath longed for this Day, that perchance it may fulfill that which well beseemeth its station, and is worthy of its destiny. Blessed is the man whom the affairs of the world have failed to deter from recognizing Him Who is the Lord of all things.

So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving of the earth, can shake off its torpor. The allusions made in the Scriptures have been unfolded, and the signs recorded therein have been revealed, and the prophetic cry is continually being raised. And yet all, except such as God was pleased to guide, are bewildered in the drunkenness of their heedlessness!

Witness how the world is being afflicted with a fresh calamity every day. Its tribulation is continually deepening. From the moment the Súriy-i-Ra’ís (Tablet to Ra’ís) was revealed until the present day, neither hath the world been tranquillized, nor have the hearts of its peoples been at rest. At one time it hath been agitated by contentions and disputes, at another it hath been convulsed by wars, and fallen a victim to inveterate diseases. Its sickness is approaching the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the true Physician is debarred from administering the remedy, whilst unskilled practitioners are regarded with favor, and are accorded full freedom to act.… The dust of sedition hath clouded the hearts of men, and blinded their eyes. Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their hands have wrought in the Day of God. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Informed, as bidden by One Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings XVI

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The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE

Baha’i Sabbath: ‘Ala’/Loftiness 8, 174 B.E. (3/9/2018)

Friday, March 9th, 2018

Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord, my God! How can I make mention of Thee, assured as I am that no tongue, however deep its wisdom, can befittingly magnify Thy name, nor can the bird of the human heart, however great its longing, ever hope to ascend into the heaven of Thy majesty and knowledge.

If I describe Thee, O my God, as Him Who is the All-Perceiving, I find myself compelled to admit that They Who are the highest Embodiments of perception have been created by virtue of Thy behest. And if I extol Thee as Him Who is the All-Wise, I, likewise, am forced to recognize that the Well Springs of wisdom have themselves been generated through the operation of Thy Will. And if I proclaim Thee as the Incomparable One, I soon discover that they Who are the inmost essence of oneness have been sent down by Thee and are but the evidences of Thine handiwork. And if I acclaim Thee as the Knower of all things, I must confess that they Who are the Quintessence of knowledge are but the creation and instruments of Thy Purpose.

Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the strivings of mortal man to unravel Thy mystery, to describe Thy glory, or even to hint at the nature of Thine Essence. For whatever such strivings may accomplish, they never can hope to transcend the limitations imposed upon Thy creatures, inasmuch as these efforts are actuated by Thy decree, and are begotten of Thine invention. The loftiest sentiments which the holiest of saints can express in praise of Thee, and the deepest wisdom which the most learned of men can utter in their attempts to comprehend Thy nature, all revolve around that Center Which is wholly subjected to Thy sovereignty, Which adoreth Thy Beauty, and is propelled through the movement of Thy Pen.

Nay, forbid it, O my God, that I should have uttered such words as must of necessity imply the existence of any direct relationship between the Pen of Thy Revelation and the essence of all created things. Far, far are They Who are related to Thee above the conception of such relationship! All comparisons and likenesses fail to do justice to the Tree of Thy Revelation, and every way is barred to the comprehension of the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day Spring of Thy Beauty.

Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee, or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.

No one else besides Thee hath, at any time, been able to fathom Thy mystery, or befittingly to extol Thy greatness. Unsearchable and high above the praise of men wilt Thou remain for ever. There is none other God but Thee, the Inaccessible, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the Holy of Holies.

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The beginning of all things is the knowledge of God, and the end of all things is strict observance of whatsoever hath been sent down from the empyrean of the Divine Will that pervadeth all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth.

Baha’u’llah, Gleanings #1, #2

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The 12 Fruits Of God’s Covenant – God’s 12-Point Moral Compass For Humanity – Directing All To The Axis Of LOVE