374 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
374 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
TRIBULATIONS AT THE TURN OF THE AGE
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World Scripture
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TRIBULATIONS AT THE TURN OF THE AGE
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The prelude to the consummation of history and the appearance of the Messiah
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will be a time of tribulation and confusion. Many passages describe how in the
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Last Days wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters will abound and
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civilization will reach its nadir. People will become engrossed in materialism
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and hedonism, and love will grow cold. Buddhist and Hindu texts affirm that
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when the consummation is nigh even the civilizations of the contemporary Kali
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age will plummet to their lowest point.
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In some scriptures, the last tribulation will be the appearance of the Beast,
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the Antichrist, or the Dajjal, who will deny the reality of God and deceive
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millions with a counterfeit truth. Exactly who the Antichrist might be has
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been the subject of much speculation, most of it fruitless: it is always
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possible to view the troubles of one's own time as proof that the tribulations
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have come, and to identify the Antichrist as a church's favorite opponent.
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A number of texts describe the tribulation at the end of the age as primarily
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due to the decline of religion, as the inspiration of the founder is gradually
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forgotten and his teachings are corrupted. We record two passages from major
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religions predicting such a decline, and follow with two passages from new
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religions which describe the confusion at the turn of the age as due to the
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ossified teachings the old religion(s) colliding with the inspiration coming
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with God's new dispensation.
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In the evil age to come, living beings will decrease in good qualities and
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increase in utter arrogance, coveting gain and honors, developing their evil
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qualities, and being far removed from deliverance.
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1. Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 13
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But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For
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men will be lovers of self, lover of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,
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disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable,
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slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen
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with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of
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religion but denying the power of it.
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2. Christianity. 2 Timothy 3.1-5
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Society will be engulfed by ravaging wars, overflowing with havoc and
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devastation. In the beginning the conquerors will feel very happy over their
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successes and booties gathered therein, but it will all have a very sad end. I
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warn you of the wars of the future, you have no idea of the enormity of evil
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which they will carry.
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3. Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 141
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Lotus Sutra 13: Nichiren, Japan's foremost exponent of the Lotus Sutra,
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believed his own time to be the Age of Degeneration of the Law (Jap. Mapp-o,
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Skt. Saddharma-vipralopa), which demands a restoration at its end. Hence many
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have expected the coming of the Maitreya, or restorer, who will inaugurate a
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new age. Some sects of Nichiren Buddhism such as Soka Gakkai and Risshoko
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Sekai identify Nichiren himself as the restorer. A tradition at Daisekiji
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speaks of a preserved tooth of Nichiren (compare the Tooth of Buddha Temple at
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Kandy in Sri Lanka), and the claim is that new flesh has grown around the tooth
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and hence the new age is dawning. 2 Timothy 3.1-5: Cf. Hadith of Tirmidhi, p.
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386.
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With the footprints [heralding] the Messiah, presumption shall increase and
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dearth reach its height; the vine shall yield its fruit but the wine shall be
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costly; and the empire shall fall into heresy and there shall be none to utter
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reproof. The academies shall be given to fornication, and... the wisdom of the
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scribes shall become insipid, and they that shun sin shall be deemed
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contemptible, and truth shall nowhere be found. Children shall shame the
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elders, and the elders shall rise up before the children. The face of this
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generation shall be [brazen] as the face of a dog, and the son will not be put
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to shame by his father. On whom can we stay ourselves? On our Father in
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heaven.
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4. Judaism. Mishnah, Sota 9.15
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The seed that was sown by a couple's fornication under the shade of a tree has
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now reached the season of harvest, and we find youth's immorality prevailing in
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all cities of the world.... [Adam and Eve's] fallen act sowed the seed of evil.
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They did it while they were still teenagers, at a premature stage: thus was the
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seed of evil sown. From this seed, the lineage of evil has come to prevail all
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throughout human society. Consequently, when the last days come, all youth
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throughout the world, like Adam and Eve, destroy the ethics of love. It has
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been forewarned in the Bible that the last days will be Satan's peak years.
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When this time comes, God's judgment will come with the rod of iron.
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5. Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 3-30-90
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As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately,
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saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming
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and of the close of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one
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leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,'
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and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars;
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see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
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For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there
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will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the
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beginning of the birth pangs.
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"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you
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will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away,
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and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will
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arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's
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love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this
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gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a
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testimony to all nations; and then the end will come....
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"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and
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puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all
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these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates."
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6. Christianity. Matthew 24.3-14, 32-33
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There will come a time, brethren, when... immoral courses of action will
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flourish excessively; there will be no word for moral among humans-far less any
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moral agent. Among such humans, homage and praise will be given to them who
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lack filial and religious piety, and show no respect to the head of the clan;
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just as today homage and praise are given to the filial-minded, to the pious
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and to them who respect the heads of their clans.
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Among such humans, there will be no such thoughts of reverence as are a bar to
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intermarriage with mother, or mother's sister, or teacher's wife, or father's
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sister-in-law. The world will fall into promiscuity, like goats and sheep,
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fowls and swine, dogs and jackals.
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Among such humans, keen mutual enmity will become the rule, keen ill will, keen
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animosity, passionate thoughts even of killing, in a mother towards her child,
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in a child towards its mother, in a father towards his child and a child
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towards its father, in brother to brother, in brother to sister, in sister to
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brother. Just as a sportsman feels towards game that he sees, so will they
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feel.
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7. Buddhism. Digha Nikaya iii.71-72, Chakkavatti sihanada Suttantabe
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Matthew 24.3-14, 32-33: Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5.2-6, pp. 638f.
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Wealth and piety will decrease day by day, until the world will be totally
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depraved. Then property alone will confer rank; wealth will be the only source
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of devotion; passion will be the sole bond of union between the sexes;
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falsehood will be the only means of success in litigation; and women will be
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objects merely of sensual gratification. Earth will be venerated but for its
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mineral treasures; the Brahmanical thread will constitute a brahmin; external
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types will be the only distinction of the several orders of life; dishonesty
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will be the universal means of subsistence; weakness will be the cause of
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dependence; menace and presumption will be substituted for learning; liberality
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will be devotion; simple ablutions will be purification; mutual assent will be
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marriage; fine clothes will be dignity; and water afar off will be esteemed a
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holy spring. Amidst all castes he who is the strongest will reign over a
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principality, thus vitiated by many faults. The people, unable to bear the
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heavy burdens imposed upon them by their avaricious sovereigns, will take
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refuge amongst the valleys of the mountains, and will be glad to feed upon wild
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honey, herbs, roots, fruits, flowers, and leaves: their only covering will be
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the bark of trees, and they will be exposed to the cold and wind and sun and
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rain. No man's life will exceed three and twenty years. Thus in the Kali age
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shall decay constantly proceed, until the human race approaches its
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annihilation.
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8. Hinduism. Vishnu Purana 4.24
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And when the Word is fulfilled against the unjust, We shall produce from the
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earth a Beast to face them: he will speak to them, because that mankind did not
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believe with assurance in Our signs.
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9. Islam. Qur'an 27.82
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Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the
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rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of
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perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object
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of worship.... The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be
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with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked
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deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth
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and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them
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believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the
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truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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10. Christianity. 2 Thessalonians 2.3-12
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Digha Nikaya iii.71-72: The sutra faults the failures of early kings to
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establish the Dhamma as the root cause of humanity's decline; it goes on to
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state that this decline will be followed by a renewal and new golden age, see
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Digha Nikaya iii.74-75, p. 949, and the appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, see
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Digha Nikaya iii.76, p. 943. Vishnu Purana 4.24: Cf. Laws of Manu 1.81-86, p.
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377; Bhagavad Gita 8.17-21, p. 112.
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There is no prophet who has not warned his people about the one-eyed liar [the
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Antichrist]. I tell you that he is one-eyed, but your Lord is not one-eyed. On
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his forehead are the letters k, f, r (infidelity).
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The Dajjal will come forth having with him water and fire, and what mankind see
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as water will be fire which burns and what they see as fire will be cold, sweet
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water. Any of you who live till that time must fall into what they see as
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fire, for it is sweet, fresh water.
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11. Islam. Hadiths of Bukhari and Muslim
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And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with
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ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. And the
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beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth
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was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and great
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authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal
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wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. Men
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worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and the
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worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against
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it?"
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And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it
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was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; it opened its mouth to
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utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is,
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those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and
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to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and
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tongue and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose
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name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of
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life of the Lamb that was slain....
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Also it caused all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and
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slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy
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or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of
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its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the
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number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and
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sixty-six.
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12. Christianity. Revelation 13.1-8, 16-18
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The time is near in which nothing will remain of Islam but its name, and of the
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Qur'an but its mere appearance, and the mosques of Muslims will be destitute of
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knowledge and worship; and the learned men will be the worst people under the
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heavens; and contention and strife will issue from them, and it will return
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upon themselves.
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13. Islam. Hadith
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[Before the coming of the Maitreya, the holy religion will decline.] How will
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it occur? After my decease, first will occur the five disappearances. And what
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are the five disappearances? The disappearance of the attainments, the
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disappearance of the method, the disappearance of learning, the disappearance
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of the symbols, the disappearance of the relics. These are the five
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disappearances that are to occur.
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The attainments: Only for a thousand years from the time the Blessed One passes
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into Nirvana will the priests be able to acquire the analytical sciences. Then
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as time goes on my disciples will attain only to never-returning, to once
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returning, to conversion. As long as such exist the disappearance of the
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attainments will not yet have occurred. But with the death of the last disciple
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that has attained to conversion, the attainments will have disappeared. This,
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O Shariputta, is the disappearance of the attainments.
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Disappearance of the method: My disciples being unable to realize the trances,
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the insights, the Paths, and the Fruits, will keep only the four purities of
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conduct. Then as time goes on they will keep only the commandments forbidding
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the four deadly sins. As long as there are a hundred or a thousand priests who
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keep the commandments forbidding the four deadly sins, the disappearance of the
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method will not have occurred.
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But when the last priest shall break the precepts, or shall die, the method
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will have disappeared. This, O Shariputta, is the disappearance of the method.
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Disappearance of learning: As long as the text of the Three Baskets, which is
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the word of the Buddha, and as long as their commentaries are extant, the
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disappearance of learning will not have occurred. But as time goes on there
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will be irreligious kings of base extraction, and the courtiers and others in
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authority will be irreligious, and then the country people throughout the
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kingdom will be irreligious. On account of their irreligion the god will not
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rain in due season, and the crops will not flourish properly. And when the
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crops do not flourish, those who are wont to give the reliances to the
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congregation of the priests will be unable to do so any more. And the priests,
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not receiving the reliances, will not teach the novices, and as time goes on
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learning will disappear.... [and likewise with the disappearance of the
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symbols and the relics.]
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14. Buddhism. Anagata-vamsa
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Revelation 13.1-18: The Beast represents human pretension to universal power,
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and imperial powers in every age have been identified as fulfilling this
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prophecy. Originally as written, the beast referred specifically to the Roman
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Empire. The pretensions of the Roman emperor to be a human god, whom all the
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world worshipped, were seen as a parody of Christ's true kingship. The 'seven
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heads' probably represent Rome with its seven hills; other features of the
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Beast: the ten horns, parts like a leopard, a bear, and a lion, resemble the
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four separate beasts in Daniel 7.2-7. Some scholars identify the miraculous
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healing of the wounded head to a legend which grew up around Emperor Nero, that
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he miraculously reappeared after his suicide in 68 a.d. The number 666 is the
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total numerical value of the letters "Nero Caesar" in the Aramaic language.
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Unbelievers and lapsed Christians worshipped the emperor; thus they were marked
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with the number of the Beast.
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Concerning His words--"The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give
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light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" [Matthew 24.29]... is intended the
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divines of the former Dispensation, who live in the days of the subsequent
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Revelations, and who hold the reins of religion in their grasp. If these
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divines be illuminated by the light of the latter Revelation they will be
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acceptable to God, and will shine with a light everlasting. Otherwise, they
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will be declared as darkened, even though to outward seeming they be leaders of
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men, inasmuch as belief and unbelief, guidance and error, felicity and misery,
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light and darkness, are all dependent upon the sanction of Him who is the
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Day-star of Truth....
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In another sense, by the terms "sun," "moon," and "stars" are meant such laws
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and teachings as have been established and proclaimed in every Dispensation,
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such as the laws of prayer and fasting. These have, according to the law of
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the Qur'an, been regarded, when the beauty of the Prophet Muhammad had passed
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beyond the veil, as the most fundamental and binding laws of His
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dispensation....
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Hence, it is clear and manifest that by the words "the sun shall be darkened,
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and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" is
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intended the waywardness of the divines, and the annulment of laws firmly
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established by [prior] divine Revelation, all of which, in symbolic language,
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have been foreshadowed by the Manifestation of God....
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It is unquestionable that in every succeeding Revelation the "sun" and "moon"
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of the teachings, laws, commandments, and prohibitions which have been
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established in the preceding Dispensation, and which have overshadowed the
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people of that age, become darkened, that is, are exhausted, and cease to exert
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their influence.
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15. Baha'i Faith. Book of Certitude, 33-41
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
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Anagata-vamsa: The Anagata-vamsa, or History of Future Events, is a
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post-canonical text of Theravada Buddhism, written in Pali. Book of Certitude,
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33-41: In the Baha'i Faith, the Last Judgment is interpreted as the end of the
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old dispensations of religion and the beginning of the new dispensation
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centered on God's messenger Baha'u'llah. This is a typical understanding of
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many new religions--see also the following passage from the Unification
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Church--for which the last days are fulfilled not in cosmic cataclysm but in
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the coming of a new age, new truth, and new Messiah. This passage's teaching
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on the dimming of the authorities and teachings of the previous religions also
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parallels texts about traditional founders of religion as revealers of truth
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surpassing previous truths, such as Udana 73, p. 552, and 2 Corinthians 3.7-16,
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552. Cf. Matthew 24.29-31, p. 940.
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The providence of the new age does not start after the complete liquidation of
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the old age, but is born and grows in the circumstances of the period of
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consummation of the old age, always appearing to be in conflict with that age.
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Accordingly, this providence is not easily understood by those who are
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accustomed to the conventions of the old age. This is why the sages of history
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who came in charge of the providence of a new age all became victims of the old
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age. We can give the example of Jesus, who, coming at the close of the Old
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Testament Age as the center of the new providence of the New Testament Age,
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appeared to the believers of the Mosaic Law to be a heretic whom they could not
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understand. Finally, he was rejected because of their disbelief of him, and
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was crucified. This is why Jesus said, "New wine must be put into fresh wine
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skins" (Luke 5.38).
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Christ will come again at the close of the New Testament Age as the center of
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the new providence to establish the new heaven and earth, and will give us new
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words for the building of the new age (Revelation 21.1-7). Therefore, he is
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apt to be rejected and persecuted by Christians at the time of the Second
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Advent just as Jesus was persecuted and derided by the Jews, who said he was
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possessed by Beelzebul, the Prince of Demons (Matthew 12.24). Therefore, Jesus
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predicted that first the Lord must suffer many things and be rejected by the
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generation at the time of the Second Advent (Luke 17.25). Therefore those who,
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in the transitional period of history, are tenaciously attached to the
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environment of the old age and comfortably entrenched in it will be judged
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along with the old age.
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16. Unification Church. Divine Principle I.3.5.2
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Divine Principle I.3.5.2: On the rejection of Christ at the First Advent, see
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John 1.9-11, p. 521; Mark 6.1-4, p. 521, and related passages. For similar
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sentiments warning people about confusion surrounding the advent of the
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Messiah, see Hadith of Muslim, p. 941; Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed after
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the Kitab-i-Aqdas, 231-32, p. 944. On the Lord's suffering, see God's
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Preparation for Our Church, and Its Early Days, pp. 528f.
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