The “House of the Lord” (Isaiah 2)
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: [2] nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2: 2-4)
Baha’u'llah revealed God’s plan for the “House of the Lord,” which is to be an International Congress elected by all nations. It is referred to as the Universal House of Justice in Baha’u'llah’s Covenant and Abdu’l-Baha’s Will and Testament. Because it is to be elected by only Baha’is, yet representative of the whole world, it cannot be established universally at first. Therefore, Baha’u'llah’s grandson Shoghi Effendi laid out a plan for this institution to evolve in four stages. Initially it would be established only among Baha’is, and after the world goes through many catastrophes and the old world order is rolled up, it can be established in its ideal form. The terms used when referring to these four stages include: The International Baha’i Council, the Baha’i World Court, the International Tribunal, and the Supreme Tribunal.
The document titled “Quotes on The Supreme Tribunal, International Baha’i Council” contains many quotes that describe this institution.