The Covenant/The Covenant of God

The Covenant of God

Introduction

There are two general types of religious covenant. Both serve as instruments through which the will of God flows to humanity. Each brings spiritual blessings to us when we arise to do our part. With the help of this divine assistance we can achieve our God given purpose.

The first type of covenant is the Covenant of God.' It concerns the series of divine Educators, the Manifestations of God, that are sent by God with teachings to guide humanity. This lesson will examine the meaning of the Covenant of God as described in the Baha’i Writings.

The second type of covenant is the appointment by the Manifestation of a successor—someone or some institution that serves as a channel for divine guidance until the coming of the next Manifestation. The meaning and origin of Baha’u’llah’s Covenant is covered in lessons 3 and 4.

1 Referred to in different ways in Baha’{ literature, such as the Covenant and Testament of God (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 147), the greater Covenant (The Covenant, intro.), the general Covenant (The World Order of Bahd’ u’ lldh 137), and the Eternal Covenant (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahd 227). There are cases where ‘Abdu’l-Bahé uses the term “Covenant of God” in a general sense when He seems to be referring to what is described in lesson 3 as the Covenant of Bah4’u’llah. For example, see Will and Testament of ‘Abdu'l-Bahd, page 6, and Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahd, page 215.

15 [Page 16]Overview

“Contemplate with thine inward eye the chain of successive Revelations that hath linked the Manifestation of Adam with that of the Bab,” Baha’u’llah writes. “I testify before God that each one of these Manifestations hath been sent down through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose. . . .”

The Manifestations carry forward God’s Covenant with humanity. They are the channels provided by God to insure the flow of divine will (what God wants us to do) to accomplish the divine purpose (what God wants us to achieve). Our part is to recognize God’s Manifestation and obey His teachings.

There have always been Manifestations sent by God. They will continue to be sent in the future. As part of God’s Covenant each Manifestation makes a covenant with His followers to accept the next Manifestation Who will come after Him.

For thousands of years until the coming of the Bab the Manifestations have prepared humanity for a time of fulfillment. That is, They have prepared us for a time when God’s purpose would be realized in the building of the Kingdom of God on earth. This is referred to in the Holy Books as the Everlasting Covenant.

2 Gleanings 74

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[Page 17]Using the example of a school, we can think of the Everlasting Covenant as the promise of graduation after a series of grades.

¢ The Manifestations are like teachers of different grades in one school. The principal gives a fixed assignment to each teacher. The teacher fits the lessons to the grade level and understanding of the children. The students are supposed to obey the teacher and learn what is presented.

God makes a covenant with humanity through each Manifestation.

He gives each of Them a specific mission and a “predestined revelation.”*? The Manifestations limit Their teachings to our ability to understand.* We need to accept the Manifestation and obey His teachings.°

¢ The teacher prepares the children for the next grade and teacher.

The Manifestation of God makes a covenant with His people to accept the next Manifestation.

¢ The aim of the teacher at each level is to do his or her part to prepare the students for graduation. When students leave school they pass from childhood to maturity.

The series of Manifestations up to the Bab has prepared us for a time of fulfillment—the building of the Kingdom of God on earth. Baha’u’llah states: “In this most mighty Revelation all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest and final consummation.”® This represents the coming of age of humanity.

After graduation a person continues to learn. So, also, the Covenant of God continues beyond Baha’u’llah’s Revelation. “It should be borne in mind that, great as is the power manifested by this Revelation and however vast the range of the Dispensation its Author has inaugurated, it emphatically repudiates the claim to be regarded as the final revelation of God’s will and purpose for mankind.”

3 Baha’u’llah, Gleanings 52

4 Baha’u’ll4h, Gleanings 77

5 See lesson 6 for a more information on our responsibility to the Covenant 6 Gleanings 244

7 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahd’u' lldh 115

17 [Page 18]1. “God hath sent down His Messengers to succeed to Moses and Jesus, and He will continue to do so till ‘the end that hath no end’; so that His grace may, from the heaven of Divine bounty, be continually vouchsafed to mankind.”

—Baha’u’ll4h, quoted in The World Order of Bahd'u'lléh 116

2. “[There is a] general Covenant which, as inculcated by the Baha’ teaching, God Himself invariably establishes with mankind when He inaugurates a new Dispensation.”

—Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahd'u'lléh 137

3. “Be ye assured, moreover, that the works and acts of each and every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever pertaineth unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Whoso maketh the slightest possible difference between their persons, their words, their messages, their acts and manners, hath indeed disbelieved in God, hath repudiated His signs, and betrayed the Cause of His Messengers.” —Bahé’u’lléh, Gleanings 59-60

4. “The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and attain His Presence.... Whoso hath recognized the Day Spring of Divine guidance and entered His holy court hath drawn nigh unto God and attained His Presence, a Presence which is the real Paradise, and of which the loftiest mansions of heaven are but a symbol. . .. Whoso hath failed to recognize Him will have condemned himself to the misery of remoteness, a remoteness which is naught but utter nothingness and the essence of the nethermost fire. Such will be his fate, though to outward seeming he may occupy the earth’s loftiest seats and be established upon its most exalted throne.” | —Bah4’u’lléh, Gleanings 70-71

5. “God’s purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.” —Baha’v’llsh, Gleanings 79-80

6. “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.” | —Bahé’u’llah, Gleanings 5

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The Succession of Manifestations

vouchsafed: granted; given

inculcated: taught or impressed by urging forcefully or repeating frequently

invariably: in an unchanging way

inaugurates: makes a formal beginning of

pertains: refers or relates to

ordained: decreed, given orders for; destined by fate or Providence

repudiated: refused to accept as binding or having authority; rejected

betrayed: failed to be true or faithful to

essence: highest or final nature of a thing

nethermost: lowest

liberate: free

tranquillity: peacefulness; calmness

empyrean: true and highest heavenly paradise

pervade: to spread throughout [Page 19]7. “This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of the spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.” —Banhé’v’lish, introduction, The Hidden Words 3

8. “Recite ye the verses of God every morning and evening. Whoso reciteth them not hath truly failed to fulfill his pledge to the Covenant of God and His Testament and whoso in this day turneth away therefrom, hath indeed turned away from God since time immemorial.” —Bahé’v’llah, Spiritual Foundations 1

9. “O army of God! Through the protection and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty .. . ye must conduct yourselves in such manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and lovingkindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: ‘This man is unquestionably a Baha’i, for his manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the Baha’is.’ Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God. For He hath, through irrefutable Texts, entered into a binding Covenant with us all, requiring us to act in accordance with His sacred instructions and counsels.” —Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bah4 71

10. “O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart except the unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God hath revealed. Follow not, therefore, your earthly desires, and violate not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him. With firm determination, with the whole affection of your heart, and with the full force of your words, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the ways of the foolish. The world is but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing, bearing the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it. Break not the bond that uniteth you with your Creator, and be not of those that have erred and strayed from His ways.” —Bahé’u’llah, Gleanings 328

Obedience and the Covenant of God

descended: came down; came from a higher to a lower level

realm: kingdom; area of one’s rule or authority

brevity: shortness; much meaning put into few words

immemorial: extending beyond the reach of memory or records

fidelity: faithfulness, loyalty

disposition: mood or attitude; tendency to behave in a certain way

irrefutable: not subject to argument or challenge

violate: break; do harm to something sacred, desecrate

vain: having no real value; useless

semblance: outward

appearance; false or deceptive image

19 [Page 20]11. “The Lord of the universe hath never raised up a prophet nor hath He sent down a Book unless He hath established His covenant with all men, calling for their acceptance of the next Revelation and of the next Book; inasmuch as the outpourings of His bounty are ceaseless and without limit.” —Selections from the Writings of the Bab 87

12. “As for the reference in The Hidden Words regarding the Covenant entered into on Mount Paran, this signifieth that in the sight of God the past, the present and the future are all one and the same. ... And it is a basic principle of the Law of God that in every Prophetic Mission, He entereth into a Covenant with all believers—a Covenant that endureth until the end of that Mission, until the promised day when the Personage stipulated at the outset of the Mission is made manifest. Consider Moses. ... Verily upon Mount Sinai, Moses entered into a Covenant regarding the Messiah, with all those that would live in the Day of the Messiah. And those souls, although they appeared many centuries after Moses, were nevertheless—so far as the Covenant, which is outside time, was concerned —present there with Moses.” —selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’ l-Bahdé 207

13. “The Greater Covenant into which, as affirmed in His [the Bab’s] writings, God had, from time immemorial, entered, through the Prophets of all ages, with the whole of mankind, regarding the newborn Revelation, had already been fulfilled. It had now to be supplemented by a Lesser Covenant which He felt bound to make with the entire body of His followers concerning the One Whose advent He characterized as the fruit and ultimate purpose of His Dispensation. Such a Covenant had invariably been the feature of every previous religion. It had existed, under various forms, with varying degrees of emphasis, had always been couched in veiled language, and had been alluded to in cryptic prophecies, in abstruse allegories, in unauthenticated traditions, and in the fragmentary and obscure passages of the sacred Scriptures. In the Babi Dispensation, however, it was destined to be established in clear and unequivocal language... .” —Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 27-28

14. “‘I am not apprehensive for My own self... My fears are for Him [the next Manifestation] Who will be sent down unto you after Me—Him Who will be invested with great sovereignty and mighty dominion.’ ... ‘By those words which I have revealed, Myself is not intended, but rather He Who will come after Me. .. .”” —Bahé’u’lléh, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Bahd'u'lldh 117

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The Promise of a New Manifestation

ceaseless: unending

Mount Paran: mountain in

Arabia; reference to the Islamic dispensation

signifies: means

endures: remains firm under difficulty; lasts

personage: person of importance

stipulated: specified as part of an agreement

Mount Sinai: mountain where God spoke to Moses

supplemented: completed or added to something

couched: put into words alluded: referred indirectly

cryptic: hidden, secret; puzzling, mysterious

abstruse: hard to understand; unclear

allegories: stories that have a symbolic meaning

unauthenticated: not established as valid or genuine

fragmentary: incomplete or broken condition

obscure: not readily understood or not clearly expressed

unequivocal: unmistakably clear as to meaning

apprehensive: worried; uncertain of the future [Page 21]15. “This is the Day, O my Lord, which Thou didst announce unto all mankind as the Day whereon Thou wouldst reveal Thy Self... . Thou hast, moreover, entered into a covenant with them, in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Scrolls, and Thy Tablets, concerning Him Who is the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation, and hast appointed the Bayan to be the Herald of this Most Great and allglorious Manifestation. . . .” —Bahé’u’lldh, Prayers and Meditations 275

16. “The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. .. .” —Bahd’v’lldh, Gleanings 5

17. “The progress of the Cause of God gathers increasing momentum and we may with confidence look forward to the day when this Community, in God’s good time, shall have traversed the stages predicted for it by its Guardian, and shall have raised on this tormented planet the fair mansions of God’s Own Kingdom wherein humanity may find surcease from its self-induced confusion and chaos and ruin, and the hatreds and violence of this time shall be transmuted into an abiding sense of world brotherhood and peace. All this shall be accomplished within the Covenant of the everlasting Father, the Covenant of Baha’u’llah.”

—Messages from the Universal House of Justice 119-120

18. “Then [when the Baha’ Commonwealth is established] will the coming of age of the entire human race be proclaimed and celebrated by all the peoples and nations of the earth. Then will the banner of the Most Great Peace be hoisted. Then will the world-wide sovereignty of Baha’u’ll4h—the Establisher of the Kingdom of the Father foretold by the Son, and anticipated by the Prophets of God before Him and after Him—be recognized, acclaimed, and firmly established. Then will a world civilization be born, flourish, and perpetuate itself, a civilization with a fullness of life such as the world has never seen nor can as yet conceive. Then will the Everlasting Covenant be fulfilled in its completeness. Then will the promise enshrined in all the Books of God be redeemed, and all the prophecies uttered by the Prophets of old come to pass, and the vision of seers and poets be realized. Then will the planet... be... capable of fulfilling that ineffable destiny fixed for it, from time immemorial, by the love and wisdom of its Creator.”

—Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come 123-24

The Everlasting Covenant

Day-Spring: the place where the sun rises; a symbol of the Manifestation of God

Bayan (buy-awn): one of the central books of the Bab; title given by the Bab to His Revelation, particularly His books

irresistible: too strong to be resisted

stages: see Messages to the Baha'i World 155 and The Advent of Divine Justice 15

tormented: to have suffered extreme pain

surcease: end

self-induced: caused by oneself

trasmuted: changed from one form, substance, nature, or class to another

consummation: finish, completion

Most Great Peace: second of two major stages by which peace is established; peace resulting from the spiritualization of the world and union of its peoples

perpetuate: to prolong the existence of; to make lasting

ineffable: unspeakable, too sacred for utterance

For more quotations on topics raised in this lesson see the index, page 81.

al [Page 22]Jeitvud ety me yaneny

Select one of the passages from the “Readings” section.

What does the passage mean What are the implications of to you? the passage for your life?

List any unanswered questions about the lesson you may want to explore in more depth. Use the index on page 81 and additional reading below to help you find answers to your questions.

1.

2.

Gleanings, by Baha’u’ lah, 46-136 Passages on God and His Manifestations.

All Things Made New, by John Ferraby, Chapter XIV Commentary, with quotations, on different types of Covenant, including the Eternal Covenant.

The Eternal Covenant, by Lowell Johnson Includes an appendix that traces the concept of Covenant from the time of Adam using Baha’, biblical, and Qur’dnic quotes.

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Personal Reflection

Remaining Questions

Additional Reading [Page 23]1. Describe the two parts of the Covenant of God:

2. (Circle all that apply.) The Covenant of God:

a. involves humanity’s acceptance of and obedience to each Manifestation

b. reaches a time of fulfillment with Baha’u’llah’s Revelation

c. includes the Covenant each Manifestation makes with His followers to accept the next Manifestation

d. will continue beyond Baha’u’ll4h’s Revelation

3. List (based on the references) four things that happen when we recognize the Manifestation of God:

4. (Circle all that apply.) Fulfillment of the Everlasting Covenant:

a. has been accomplished with Baha’u’lla4h’s coming b. will be accomplished in this Revelation

c. will be accomplished by the next Manifestation

d. is God’s purpose for humanity

23 [Page 24]Answers

The following are suggested answers. Depending on your understanding of the quotes, you may have different answers. Consider the suggested answers a Starting point for thought and discussion.

1. One part of the Covenant of God concerns the “newborn Revelation” entered into by God through all the Prophets from time immemorial. The second part of God’s Covenant concerns the agreement between the Manifestation and His followers to accept the next Manifestation. See quote #13, page 20.

2. a, b, c, and d. For “a,” see #5 and #6, page 18, and page 19; for “b,” see the quotations on page 21; for “c,” see the quotations on page 20; and for “d,” see #1, page 18 and #14, page 20.

3. We attain the presence of God (#4, page 18); we are no longer remote from God (#4, page 18); we must obey His commands (#6, page 18); we are bound to accept the next Manifestation (#11, page 20); we are guided to true understanding (#5, page 18); and we gain the means to create peace (#5, page 18).

4. band d. See the quotations on page 21. The purpose of God for society, as explained in the last lesson, is the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth—the peace and unity of all humanity. Regarding “a,” see #18, page 21 for the time of fulfillment.

Discussion

Explain your understanding of the Covenant of God— including the nature of humanity and its relationship to God’s will and purpose. What is the role of the Manifestations in the Covenant of God? (Support your view, when you can, with quotations.)

What is the role of obedience in the Covenant of God? Why has someone failed to remain faithful to the Covenant because they have not recited the verses of God, or because they are not distinguished from their fellow human beings? (Refer to page 19.) How do you think God’s justice and mercy relate to our obligation to be obedient to His teachings?

In what way is Baha’u’llah’s Revelation the “Purpose” of the Prophets? In what way is it the “Promise?” (Refer to #16, page 21.)

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