ONCE upon a time not so long ago a group of people went against Shoghi Effendi in a very offensive way. This was for their own aggrandizement and empowerment. To go against Shoghi Effendi is strictly forbidden by God as written by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha on page 11. To disobey him [Shoghi Effendi] is to disobey God:

“Whoso rebelleth against him [Shoghi Effendi]… hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him [Shoghi Effendi] hath opposed God;… whoso disputeth with him [Shoghi Effendi] hath disputed with God; whoso denieth him [Shoghi Effendi] hath denied God; whoso disbelieveth in him [Shoghi Effendi] hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God.”

Shoghi Effendi, not having a biological son to succeed him, set up a non-biological son successorship in a council in embryonic form that everyone was to turn to upon his passing. This council was an embryonic Universal House of Justice, and was called the first International Baha’i Council. It consisted of two parts: the executive head and the legislative body, in conformity with ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Will and Testament, which is the charter for the World Order of Baha’u'llah. Anything else would not be Baha’u'llah’s Universal House of Justice. He placed ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s adopted son to be its president, setting up the executive branch. All of its nine members were also appointed by Shoghi Effendi, forming the body. This council was to go through four stages to become the Universal House of Justice. It was, with the membership appointed by him, to become a world court on Mt. Carmel in 1963. Later its body (not the head) was to be elected to form the International Tribunal, that was to bring peace to the world, then it would effloresce into the Universal House of Justice.

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No place in Baha’i scriptures or in any of Shoghi Effendi’s writings or discourses are the “Hands” designated to be Shoghi Effendi’s successor or to take over after his passing. In fact the “Hands” ceased to be Hands with the last breath of Shoghi Effendi. They are to function only under the direction of a living guardian, that is, under the direction of Shoghi Effendi. They claimed the authority, that it was them who were to carry out Shoghi Effendi’s plan. Then the defunct “Hands” went against Shoghi Effendi. They took over and prevented the Baha’is from turning to Shoghi Effendi’s successor, the first International Baha’i Council, and set up an administration of their own that is strange to the Baha’i faith, going against each and every one of Shoghi Effendi’s writings for the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. There was not one thing that was spared—a complete violation of everything that Shoghi Effendi stood for.

This is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Entry By Troops by J.T. Lamb

Read on here

This verse from John chapter 1 has many people convinced John is claiming that Jesus is the Word, and therefore God Almighty Himself; in the flesh. As Baha’is, we believe what Baha’u'llah reveals about a “Progressive Revelation” coming from the same One, True, Invisible God. He teaches that God has revealed Himself through 9 different persons throughout the last 6,000 years in what he terms a “Progressive Revelation”. But that none of these ones who bring a revelation are God Himself, but instead are revealing God’s Will.

So which is true? The Apostle John is correct, and of course Baha’u'llah is correct. It’s the interpretation of what John meant that is at odds with reality. Jesus is not God; Jesus is not the Word. The disconnect happens when one (or millions) assumes that the “Word” and Jesus are one and the same. It doesn’t say that. What it says is “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Later in verse 14 it states “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.”. That’s what John said specifically, so let’s not add or take away from this for the sake of accuracy. If you look further down the chapter he continues in verse 17: “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”. So John describes the Word as “grace and truth”; then he states this “came through Jesus Christ”. So the Word “dwelt” in and “came through” Jesus Christ. See? The Word, which is God, dwelt in and was revealed through Jesus Christ which is in accord with Baha’u'llah’s teaching about Progressive Revelations.

Furthermore, in verse 18 John state: “Noone has ever seen God. The only Son…he has made him known”. So Jesus can’t be God, because many saw him, right? But “he has made (God/the Word) known”. This again is exactly what Baha’u'llah teachs. This Progressive Revelation has come through many teachers, for the stated purpose of making God’s will known to the people.

The Greek translation for “the Word” is LOGOS. Logos literally means ‘thoughts expressed in words’. So another way to state what John is saying would be to say that God’s Thoughts came and dwelt with us in Jesus who in turn expressed these Thoughts in words so they could be made known.

I was on the floor laughing over the new South Park episode this week that asked the challenging question: what do bunnies have to do with Easter. They of course made light of the subject, and for entertainment purposes didn’t probe too deeply into the matter. But, it’s a valid question that is rarely if ever even asked. Bunnies, eggs, and chicks just pop up every springtime, and everyone just says “Oh it’s Easter again”. But why doesn’t anyone ever publically say “Wait a minute. What do these symbolize”? It’s a logical question for there is such a large disconnect between the resurrection of Jesus and the symbols of the holiday. The Reverand Alexander Hyslop provides a basis for understanding what one has to do with the other in his “Two Babylons”. The bunny and eggs are symbols of feritility. There annual appearance every spring pre-dates Christ to the ancient pagan festival of Eoster.

Eoster was the goddess of fertility to the ancient Babylonians; also known as Ishtar and Astoreth (the false goddess Solomon bowed down to in the Old Testatment). Symbols of fertility surround her ceremonial practices to which the bunny and egg find there place every spring since ancient Babylonian times.

So what does this have to do with Jesus? Nothing. The bunnies and eggs are residual effects of paganism conquering Christianity. Many believe the opposite happened, when in fact the idea of god incarnating into a man and being worshiped is the same pagan religion that Moses was battling in his time. It has endured 5 millenium and celebrated today.

This video explains how the biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection was a parable, and is not to be taken literally. That he was not god-incarnate physically rising from the dead to prove his divinity. The Gospels don’t support this notion that Jeus is God, or the Trinity, or the physical resurrection. In fact worshipping anything but the one true invisible God is exactly what Jesus and Moses came to warn the people against. Jesus said “Why do you call me good? There is noone good but God alone” (Mark 10:18). Yet we find today the ancient Babylonian religion of worshipping pagan gods and symbols enduring.

If one looks closely at the resurrection parable it is easy to find the truth. At the end of Luke 24 after the “resurrection” Jesus is given some fish and eats it saying “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you” (verse 44). See, Jesus wasn’t there when he said this. His resurrection is a parable which is explained in detail is this youtube video. Bunnies and god-incarnated men are actually closely related and celebrated at Eoster, but neither have anything to do with the truth of the Gospels or the true teachings of Jesus.