Chinvat
Xmas Message 2008:
Dear All,
A happy holiday season to everyone from the world teaching center!
Tests are the spice of life! Without tests life would be dull and therefore we should all pray for these tests.
Over the last seven years the Baha'i world has been tested through the continual and steady projection of the personal identity of the living Branch (Zech. 3:8 KJV) that is the living heir to the throne of David alive and well in the world today. This projection has come simultaneously with the unfurling of the Divine Standard of the genealogy of Baha'u'llah of the throne-line of King David (see UHJ.net and BUPC.org) uniting all the people of the world spiritually and materially in tandem with the 9-11 event, and the ensuing world economic collapse. The date for this event of the coming forth of the promised one of today was prophesied afore time in the Bible as the “7 Times” of Daniel 4:15-19 which is 2520 years taken from the date of September 21, 520 BC given in Haggai of the laying of the foundation stone of the second temple by historical Joshua and Zerubbabel who are the prophetical prototypes of the High Priest – establisher; and that of the king – governor of New Jerusalem or guardian of the true UHJ of Baha'u'llah today. When we add the prophesied 7 Times (7 x 360 = 2520) of 2520 years to this date of the foundation stone (Hag. 1:14, 2:18) we get the year 2001 AD on the exact day of September 21st – which is the time 10 days after the 9-11 event that God ordained to bring forth his “servant the BRANCH” as prophesied in the scriptures (see Jeremiah 23:1-6 Moffat's).
In his monumental epic work “The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message”, D. D. Davidson shows that this same date of the Autumnal Equinox 2001 AD is the terminal date of the 6000 years cycle of Adam, the terminal or final date of the Pyramids Chronological time-scale (Plates XLIIa, XLIIb, p. 219; p. 364, paragraphs 246, and 347, 11 ed.). Thus this date is in both the Bible and the Pyramid – as the Pyramid gives no dates for calamities, but only gives dates for those of the promised ones God has sent to save the people from the calamities. Thus both the Bible and the Pyramid indicate the appearance of a Promised One sent to the world at this appointed and prophesied time in the role of Guardian of the Cause of God seated upon the throne of King David which is to last forever. A Promised One sure and true that Baha'u'llah Himself swears undying fealty that He knew was to appear in this prophesied year of Mustaghath, which is 2001 AD – when all humankind would thereafter shortly invoke the help, aid assistance of God Almighty in understanding and implementing the solution given only and peculiarly in this Divine Cause and no other, Guarded by the one appointed by God from the onslaught of the Covenant-breakers arrayed against it and its embattled loyal supporters through all the world in every nation, and clime and locale.
This current crisis therefore is the inevitable outcome of not only seven years of tyranny due to the majority of the people's failure to recognize the living Promised One of the Day, but in reality of the cumulative sum total of over 160 years of rejection of continual infallible guidance from the time of the proclamation of the Bab on May 23, 1844, throughout the ministries of Baha'u'llah, ‘Abdu'l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi and the establishment of the true UHJ in January 9, 1951 with ‘Abdu'l-Baha's son, grandson and now great grandson as its Davidic president, not to mention the failure to recognize and understand the mission of the establisher, Dr. Leland Jensen which spans the entire time from the ministry of ‘Abdu'l-Baha unto the current presidents inaugural years today.
Thus in rejection of God's practical plan for peace and social economic justice for all people – that is in rejection of this REAL and grounded plan of God for salvation that Jesus promised as Herald and returned himself to establish in our midst – the world stands caught in the trap it has made for itself today.
D. D. Davidson explains some of what is to transpire and is in fact transpiring now in the time interval – which the Pyramid itself defines as beginning with 2001 AD Epoch, the terminal date of the chronological time scale – of which all people are now enmeshed – characterizing the opening years of the public ministry in which God has brought forth his servant the BRANCH. Davidson writes:
“Few works have aroused more derision or have stirred more antagonisms [than the publication of ‘The Great Pyramid: It's Divine Message' by Davidson] in the second quarter of this cataclysmic century. As a preview of the rapid passing of the security of our Britanno-American way of life, it stood as a challenge to modern thought, academic serenity, and political and economic optimisms…. that Britain and her Commonwealth of Nations would be driven out of the Economic World Order which Britain built up and gave to the world; that Britain should thus set an example to the world as to how gracefully to go bankrupt; that the period of Britain's temporal power passing from prosperity…; that the period of the passing of the U.S.A. from financial hegemony…; and that the breakdown of the Entire World Economic Order... to reduce the Industrial War Machine to impotence [all parallel the time interval begun with the appearance of the Promised One on September 21, 2001 AD]. The Divine purpose,” Davidson writes, “ of this sequence was shown to be that HUMANITY should be SAVED from extinction, to be prepared, under Divine Compulsion, to enter into a new Economic World Order, that of “the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness” on earth. The inception of the above stated sequence [which begins on September 21, 2001 AD with the appearance of the Promised One, the “man whose name is the Branch (Persian: Aghsan)” (Zech. 6:12 KJV) will be found clearly to exist in the present work. D. Davidson, Whitsuntide, 1948, Preface to the Eleventh Edition.”
Now at the foot of the Great Step marking the Vernal Equinox, 1844, March 21, which is the well-known the start of the Babi or Baha'i Calendar, the time scale in the Pyramid changes from each inch being one solar year to each inch on the vertical and horizontal being equal to one month. When Davidson and the Christian theologians took this to be lunar months of the Christian calendar of 30 days each, they were eventually mislead into the erroneous bog of dates pertaining to the aftermath of World War II of 1946, 1948, 1950, 1953, in which as Eisenhower said, the military industrial complex of which we should all “BEWARE” and the Britanno-American Hegemony of the Trilateralists, etc, was in fact solidified, set up at Bretton Woods and the Bilderbergers, and not torn down. In fact, 1953 marks the beginning of another Baha'i Epoch of the start of Shoghi Effendi's ten year plan for the World Crusade in which only 150 people were knighted. By the terminal date of 1963, only two knights remained loyal and firm in the Covenant Drs. Leland Jensen and his wife Opal. By 1991 the UHJ was reestablished with the great grandson of ‘Abdu'l-Baha as its president, and ten years later on September 21, 2001 AD God brought forth the public ministry of the current President as the head of the true UHJ of Baha'u'llah and the sequence prophesied by the Pyramid and announced 40 years hence by Davidson was set into full motion, a motion of the Divine and everlasting Kingdom (Davidic) which Davidson and others loyal to the accurate vision of the Holy Bible and the prophets, longed to see brought to full fruition in their earthly lifetimes, but whose gaze is satisfied from the concourse on high within the upper realms of the Kingdom of Abha.
So has God projected His message through the Baha'i world into the world at large, which Christian, Jew and Muslim stand poised to kill one third of mankind in one hour of thermonuclear war with every American city population 100,000 or more being targeted for destruction – New York City being marked, as we stated explicitly and repeatedly back in 1988 long before Trade Tower I (Feb. 26, 1993), Trade Tower II (the 9-11) and what is about to befall the city with the unleashed desolation of radioactive material the like of which has never before been seen upon American soil – though the Americans have exported this all over the world.
The current economic and social disaster, therefore, is a direct outgrowth of this continual war and its drain on the livelihood of all the peoples of the world including the Americans that are now feeling some of the real cost of this war at home. The greater cost of course is the invasion and destruction of homes and property and the killing and murder of families and friends by foreign invading occupying forces. America has felt a taste of this too, in the Trade Towers, 1993 and the 9-11-01 and will again face this reality in what is to come in the next wave of this series of escalations.
In his book the “Three Billion Dollar War”, Stiglitz – noble prize winning global economist – explains that these wars do not improve the economy but actually hinder it and destroy it. The Great Depression of the 1920's was the direct result of the War costs of World War I. World War II did not pull the people out of this depression as the depression was already being remedied by other pro-social measures. But in fact World War II led to a recession afterward. Vietnam caused the recessions in the 1970's and now this “Terror War” – the Three Billion Dollar War, Stiglitz shows on the bottom line has caused the current collapse, recession and crisis with the worst still to come. The loss of jobs, the bottoming out of the housing markets, the closing of businesses and factories, are the real indicators of the depression economically and not the stock market fluctuations which are irrelevant. It is the layoffs and the effects on the majority population that signify the downturn. The myth that war improves the economy is destroyed in the face of the facts that these wars are the cause of the destruction of the economies all throughout the world. Everyone should read Stiglitz's book on this point.
Thus these ruinous wars must stop, the people must be educated out of warfare and understand the mechanism of Divine Economy announced by Baha'u'llah and ‘Abdu'l-Baha that leads to the common welfare of all. “Welfare not warfare”, Abdu'l-Baha tells us, is the healthful condition of man on this planet.
However the Baha'i peoples have been systematically discouraged from understanding the role of government and economics as given in the explicit texts; and have been thwarted from establishing these principles and methods within their own communities and governments throughout the world.
Today this machination of the Covenant-breakers must end – and the Baha'i peoples must become ACTIVE in the PUBLIC teaching effort of their communities and governments of the world as set forth in the Will and Testament (W&T) of ‘Abdu'l-Baha, which is the Charter of the Kingdom of God on earth.
This economic collapse is due also to what Stiglitz has defined as a “democratic deficiency” of international government – meaning that the world economy for all people's welfare cannot work unless and until there is a world representation of all the people governmentally by all the nations and countries of the world. This of course is stated explicitly in the Baha'i Revelation of which the Baha'is are responsible for informing the general public at large beginning with their friends and neighbors in their own respective local areas. ‘Abdu'l-Baha states that the next social battle for the Baha'is of today to engage is the elimination of economic slavery. This will be the outcome of this current crisis even as slavery was abolished after the American Civil War, women received the right to vote after World War I. Jim Crow was abolished and civil rights established after World War II and now after this crisis, and World War III, economic slavery will be removed and the divine economy of the Kingdom of God on earth will be established. Such is the progressive will of God and nothing can keep this from happening. “Verily He does whatsoever He wishes and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.”
After the Hands violated the Covenant they promoted the false idea that Baha'is were forbidden to participate in social reform of their respective countries and were forbidden to hold public office as public servants. They thus were able to undermine the teaching effort for social and economic reform that the Baha‘is were supposed to be actively engaged in an attempt to dissociate the Cause of God from real world problems of the day and instead created a disconnected and irrelevant “organized religion” for their own empowerment and personal aggrandizement. In order to do this they needed to get rid of the person of the living Guardian to so change and alter the character and identity of the Cause to their own image and bent – and then having poisoned the majority set up a false headless Universal House of Justice without the guardian as its president – so their duped majority view would continue to pass in their false Council against the Covenant of God. Even those who have broken away from the Hands now created further Covenant-breaking sects after what they call the “Haifan Tradition” meaning sans-guardian and against the person of the living Davidic Kingship which is to last for ever (Psalms 89).
In opposition to this is the provisions of the sacred Will and Testament of ‘Abdu'l-Baha which states that the spiritual is to be unorganized and that all the people have a franchise to teach, “Let men of action follow in their footsteps” (W&T, p. 10).
In elaborating the meaning of this type of ACTION Shoghi Effendi explains the role of the active warrior Baha'is twofold crusade – that is the public teaching effort (See below attached).
Here for the first time we are now publishing these writings from ‘Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, which empower the individual people to not only hold firesides in their own homes but be ACTIVE in the most difficult task of their respective communities and governments and public offices throughout the world, locally, nationally and internationally. Baha'is are not to join a political party, but may hold office as Baha'is or unaffiliated – the reason for this ‘Abdu'l-Baha explains is that the Baha'is already belong to the “Party of the Covenant” and therefore are not to join other parties, and further are to shun “political movements which lead to sedition” like the “plague”
The vice-president of the Council has recently written: “It is always assumed that Baha'is are not to be involved with politics, so they do not participate in the political process and so the Baha'i ideals and teachings are never offered to the present body politic in the form of representation. But Abdu'l-Baha tells us that the Baha'is need to do this to the best of their ability so the Baha'i message may be included in the political debate.”
Xmas Message, 2008.
In service,
Neal,
Guardian.
‘Abdu'l-Baha's writing:
TALKS ABDU'L-BAHÁ DELIVERED IN BOSTON23 July 1912
Talk at Hotel Victoria
Boston, Massachusetts
Notes by Edna McKinneyThe Bahá'ís must not engage in political movements which lead to sedition. They must interest themselves in movements which conduce to law and order. In Persia at the present time the Bahá'ís have no part in the revolutionary upheavals which have terminated in lawlessness and rebellion. Nevertheless, a Bahá'í may hold a political office and be interested in politics of the right type. Ministers, state officials and governor-generals in Persia are Bahá'ís, and there are many other Bahá'ís holding governmental positions; but nowhere throughout the world should the followers of Bahá'u'lláh be engaged in seditious movements. For example, if there should be an uprising here in America having for its purpose the establishment of a despotic government, the Bahá'ís should not be connected with it.
The Bahá'í Cause covers all economic and social questions under the heading and ruling of its laws. The essence of the Bahá'í spirit is that, in order to establish a better social order and economic condition, there must be allegiance to the laws and principles of government. Under the laws which are to govern the world, the socialists may justly demand human rights but without resort to force and violence. The governments will enact these laws, establishing just legislation and economics in order that all humanity may enjoy a full measure of welfare and privilege; but this will always be according to legal protection and procedure. Without legislative administration, rights and demands fail, and the welfare of the commonwealth cannot be realized. Today the method of demand is the strike and resort to force, which is manifestly wrong and destructive of human foundations. Rightful privilege and demand must be set forth in laws and regulations.
While thousands are considering these questions, we have more essential purposes. The fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are associated with the world of the heart and spirit. This is fully explained in the Bahá'í teaching, and without knowledge of its principles no improvement in the economic state can be realized. The Bahá'ís will bring about this improvement 239 and betterment but not through sedition and appeal to physical force -- not through warfare, but welfare. Hearts must be so cemented together, love must become so dominant that the rich shall most willingly extend assistance to the poor and take steps to establish these economic adjustments permanently. If it is accomplished in this way, it will be most praiseworthy because then it will be for the sake of God and in the pathway of His service. For example, it will be as if the rich inhabitants of a city should say, "It is neither just nor lawful that we should possess great wealth while there is abject poverty in this community," and then willingly give their wealth to the poor, retaining only as much as will enable them to live comfortably.
Strive, therefore, to create love in the hearts in order that they may become glowing and radiant. When that love is shining, it will permeate other hearts even as this electric light illumines its surroundings. When the love of God is established, everything else will be realized. This is the true foundation of all economics. Reflect upon it. Endeavor to become the cause of the attraction of souls rather than to enforce minds. Manifest true economics to the people. Show what love is, what kindness is, what true severance is and generosity. This is the important thing for you to do. Act in accordance with the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. All His Books will be translated. Now is the time for you to live in accordance with His words. Let your deeds be the real translation of their meaning. Economic questions will not attract hearts. The love of God alone will attract them. Economic questions are most interesting; but the power which moves, controls and attracts the hearts of men is the love of God.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 237)From Shoghi Effendi:
TWOFOLD CRUSADE OF THE VALLIANT WARRIOR-BAHA'ISDearly beloved friends! A rectitude of conduct which, in all its manifestations, offers a striking contrast to the deceitfulness and corruption that characterize the political life of the nation and of the parties and factions that compose it; a holiness and chastity that are diametrically opposed to the moral laxity and licentiousness which defile the character of a not inconsiderable proportion of its citizens; an interracial fellowship completely purged from the curse of racial prejudice which stigmatizes the vast majority of its people — these are the weapons which the American believers can and must wield in their double crusade, first to regenerate the inward life of their own community, and next to assail the long-standing evils that have entrenched themselves in the life of their nation. The perfection of such weapons, the wise and effective utilization of every one of them, more than the furtherance of any particular plan, or the devising of any special scheme, or the accumulation of any amount of material resources, can prepare them for the time when the Hand of Destiny will have directed them to assist in creating and in bringing into operation that World Order which is now incubating within the worldwide administrative institutions of their Faith.
In the conduct of this twofold crusade the valiant warriors struggling in the name and for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh must, of necessity, encounter stiff resistance, and suffer many a setback. Their own instincts, no less than the fury of conservative forces, the opposition of vested interests, and the objections of a corrupt and pleasure-seeking generation, must be reckoned with, resolutely resisted, and completely overcome. As their defensive measures for the impending struggle are organized and extended, storms of abuse and ridicule, and campaigns of condemnation and misrepresentation, may be unloosed against them. Their Faith, they may soon find, has been assaulted, their motives misconstrued, their aims defamed, their aspirations derided, their institutions scorned, their influence belittled, their authority undermined, and their Cause, at times, deserted by a few who will either be incapable of appreciating the nature of their ideals, or unwilling to bear the brunt of the mounting criticisms which such a contest is sure to involve. “Because of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá,” the beloved Master has prophesied, “many a test will be visited upon you. Troubles will befall you, and suffering afflict you.”
Let not, however, the invincible army of Bahá'u'lláh, who in the West, and at one of its potential storm centers is to fight, in His name and for His sake, one of its fiercest and most glorious battles, be afraid of any criticism that might be directed against it. Let it not be deterred by any condemnation with which the tongue of the slanderer may seek to debase its motives. Let it not recoil before the threatening advance of the forces of fanaticism, of orthodoxy, of corruption, and of prejudice that may be leagued against it. The voice of criticism is a voice that indirectly reinforces the proclamation of its Cause. Unpopularity but serves to throw into greater relief the contrast between it and its adversaries, while ostracism is itself the magnetic power that must eventually win over to its camp the most vociferous and inveterate amongst its foes. Already in the land where the greatest battles of the Faith have been fought, and its most rapacious enemies have lived, the march of events, the slow yet steady infiltration of its ideals, and the fulfillment of its prophecies, have resulted not only in disarming and in transforming the character of some of its most redoubtable enemies, but also in securing their firm and unreserved allegiance to its Founders. So complete a transformation, so startling a reversal of attitude, can only be effected if that chosen vehicle which is designed to carry the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to the 43 hungry, the restless, and un-shepherded multitudes is itself thoroughly cleansed from the defilements which it seeks to remove.
It is upon you, therefore, my best-beloved friends, that I wish to impress not only the urgency and imperative necessity of your holy task, but also the limitless possibilities which it possesses of raising to such an exalted level not only the life and activities of your own community, but the motives and standards that govern the relationships existing among the people to which you belong. Undismayed by the formidable nature of this task, you will, I am confident, meet as befits you the challenge of these times, so fraught with peril, so full of corruption, and yet so pregnant with the promise of a future so bright that no previous age in the annals of mankind can rival its glory….
Reflections such as these should steel the resolve of the entire Baha'i community, should dissipate their forebodings, and arouse them to REDEDICATE themselves to every single provision of that Divine Charter [the sacred Will and Testament of ‘Abdu'l-Baha] whose outline has been delineated for them by the pen of Abdu'l-Baha.
(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 40, 73)
