Read prophecies across traditions and follow the commentaries and events connected with them.
General Buddhism · Complete sutra, from Thus I have heard through the closing End notice
Thus I have heard. At one time the Buddha was in the state of Kushinagara. The Tathagata was to enter nirvana within three months and the bhikshus and Bodhisattvas as well as the great multitude of beings had come to pay homage to the Buddha and to bow in reverence. The World Honored One was tranquil and silent. He spoke not a word and his light did not appear. Worthy Ananda bowed and asked the Buddha,
”0 Bhagavan, heretofore whenever you spoke the Dharma, awesome light would naturally appear. Yet today among this great assembly there is no such radiance. There must be a good cause for this and we wish to hear the Bhagavan’s explanation.”
The Buddha remained silent and did not answer until the request had been repeated three times. He then told Ananda,
”After I enter nirvana, when the Dharma is about to perish, during the evil age of the five turbidities, the way of demons will flourish. Demonic beings will become shramanas; they will pervert and destroy my teachings. Monastics will wear the garb of laypersons and will prefer handsome clothes. Their precept sashes will be made of multi-colored cloth. They will use intoxicants, eat meat, kill other beings and they will indulge in their desire for flavorful food. They will lack compassion and they will bear hatred and exhibit jealousy even among themselves.
”Even then Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Arhats will reverently and diligently cultivate immaculate virtue. They will be respected by all people and their teachings will be fair and egalitarian. These cultivators of the Way will take pity on the poor, they will be mindful of the aged, and they will save and give counsel to those people they find in difficult circumstances. They will at all times exhort others to worship and to protect sutras and images of the Buddha. They will do meritorious deeds, be resolute and kind, and never harm others. They will make physical sacrifices for others’ benefit. They will hold no great regard for themselves but will be patient, yielding, humane, and peaceful.
”As long as such people exist, the hordes of demonic bhikshus will be jealous of them. The demons will harass them, slander and defame them, expel them from their midst and degrade them. They will ostracize the good monks from the monastic community. Thereafter these demons derive no virtue from their practice. Their monastic buildings will be vacant and overgrown with weeds. For want of care and maintenance their Way-places will drift into ruin and oblivion. The demonic bhikshus will increase their greed for wealth and will amass great heaps of goods. They will refuse to distribute any of it or to use it to gain blessings and virtue.
”At this time, the evil monks will buy and sell slaves to till their fields and to slash and burn the mountain forests. They will do harm to living creatures and they will feel not the least bit of compassion. These slaves will themselves become bhikshus and maidservants will become bhikshunis. Totally lacking in Way-virtue, these people will run amok, indulging in licentious behavior. In their turbid confusion they will fail to separate the men from the women in the monastic communities.
From this generation on, the Way will be weakened. Fugitives from the law will seek refuge in my Way, wishing to be shramanas but failing to observe the moral regulations. Monastics will continue to recite the precepts twice a month, but in name alone. Being lazy and lax, no one will want to listen any longer. These evil shramanas will be unwilling to recite the sutras in their entirety and they will make abbreviations at the beginning and at the end of the texts as they please. Soon the practice of reciting sutras will stop altogether. Even if there are people who recite texts, they will be unlettered, unqualified people who will insist, nonetheless, that they are correct. Bumptious, arrogant, and vain, these people will seek fame and glory. They will put on airs in the hope of attracting offerings from other people.
”When the lives of these demonic bhikshus come to an end their essential spirits will fall into the Avichi Hell. Having committed the five evil deeds, they will suffer successive rebirths as hungry ghosts and as animals. They will know all such states of woe as they pass on through eons as numerous as sands on the banks of the Ganges River. When their offenses are accounted for they will be reborn in a border land where the Triple Jewel is unknown.
”When the Dharma is about to disappear, women will become vigorous and will at all times do deeds of virtue. Men will grow lax and will no longer speak the Dharma. Those who are genuine shramanas will be looked upon as dung and no one will have faith in them. When the Dharma is about to perish, all the gods will begin to weep. Rivers will dry up and the five grains will not ripen. Pestilences will frequently take millions of lives. The masses will toil and suffer while the local officials will plot and scheme. No one will adhere to principles. Instead, the human race will multiply, becoming like the sands of the ocean-bed. Good persons will be hard to find; at most there will be one or two. As the eon comes to a close, the revolutions of the sun and the moon will grow short and the lifespan of people will decrease. Their hair will turn white by the time they are forty. Because of excessive licentious behavior they will quickly exhaust their seminal fluids and will die at a young age, usually before sixty years. As the lifespan of males decreases, that of females will increase to seventy, eighty, ninety, or one hundred years.
”The mighty rivers will flood and lose harmony with their natural cycles, yet people will not take notice or feel concern. Extremes of climate will soon be taken for granted. Beings of all races will mix together at random, without regard for the noble and the mean. Their births and rebirths will cause them to sink and float, like feeding aquatic creatures.
”Even then Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Arhats will gather together in an unprecedented assembly because they will all have been harried and pursued by the hordes of demons. They will no longer dwell in the assemblies but the Three Vehicles will retreat to the wilderness. In a tranquil place they will find shelter, happiness, and long life. Gods will protect them and the moon will shine down upon them. The Three Vehicles will have an opportunity to meet together and the Way will flourish. However, within fifty-two years the Shurangama Sutra and the Pratyutpanna [Standing Buddha] Samadhi, will be the first to change and then to disappear. The twelve divisions of the canon will gradually follow until they vanish completely, never to appear again. Its words and texts will be totally unknown ever after. The precept sashes of shramanas will turn white of themselves. When my Dharma disappears it will be just like an oil lamp that flares brightly for an instant just before it goes out. So too, will the Dharma flare and die. After this time it is difficult to speak with certainty of what will follow.
”A period of ten million years will follow before the time when Maitreya is about to appear in the world to become the next Buddha. At that time the planet will be entirely peaceful. Evil vapors will have dissipated, rain will be ample and regular, and crops will grow abundantly. Trees will grow to a great height and people will grow to be eighty feet tall. The average lifespan will extend to 84,000 years. It will be impossible to count all the beings who will be taken across to liberation.”
Worthy Ananda addressed the Buddha, “What should we call this Sutra and how shall we uphold it?”
The Buddha said, “Ananda, this sutra is called The Ultimate Extinction of the Dharma. Tell everyone to propagate it widely; the merit of your actions will be measureless, beyond reckoning.”
When the four-fold assembly of disciples heard this sutra they grieved and wept. Each of them resolved to attain the true path of the Supreme Sage. Then bowing to the Buddha, they withdrew.
End of The Buddha Speaks the Ultimate Extinction of the Dharma Sutra.
Old Norse traditions · Gylfaginning, chapter XVII, section 58, pp. 148–149
Then said Ganglere: Do any gods live then? Is there any earth or heaven? Har answered: The earth rises again from the sea, and is green and fair. The fields unsown produce their harvests. Vidar and Vale live. Neither the sea nor Surfs fire has harmed them, and they dwell on the plains of Ida, where Asgard was before. Thither come also the sons of Thor, Mode and Magne, and they have Mjolner. Then come Balder and Hoder from Hel.
They all sit together and talk about the things that happened aforetime,—about the Midgard-serpent and the Fenris-wolf. They find in the grass those golden tables which the asas once had.
General Islam · Surah 99, all eight verses, with opening invocation
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
WHEN the Earth with her quaking shall quake
And the Earth shall cast forth her burdens,
And man shall say, What aileth her?
On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
Because thy Lord shall have inspired her.
On that day shall men come forward in throngs to behold their works,
And whosoever shall have wrought an atom's weight of good shall behold it,
And whosoever shall have wrought an atom's weight of evil shall behold it.
Tianli (Eight Trigrams) · Juan 38, Jiaqing 18; new English translation
It happened that in the autumn of the sixteenth year a comet appeared in the northwest. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau said that its portent pointed to war, and memorialized to move the intercalary eighth month of the eighteenth year to the second month of the following year. The rebels then fastened on this, taking it as an omen unfavourable to the intercalary eighth month; and because their scripture contained the words “two-eight, mid-autumn, yellow flowers fall to the ground”, they made their teaching all the more marvellous, saying that by the signs of the stars it fell on the fifteenth day of the ninth month at the hour of noon, and that, taking advantage of the emperor’s progress to Mulan, they would at that time seize the capital.
Christian — Bible Student · Complete Revelation7:3 commentary, from Saying, Hurt not the earth through Kingdom glory, pp.126–130
7:3. Saying, Hurt not the earth.—Do not complete the Harvest work too soon, and thus allow the demons to invade the minds of men until the appointed time. (Many writers claim that this has already happened to the ex-Czar of Russia, to Kaiser Wilhelm and to the chief of modern “evangelists.”)
Neither the sea.—I will see to it that the work of Harvest shall hold in check those not under religious restraint until the work of Harvest is finished and the demons are released, when, maddened by the obsession of the evil spirits, there are no lengths to which the godless will not presume to go. All Bible Students, followers of Pastor Russell, know how urgently he has warned for forty years that this deluge of evil spirits is sure to come.
Nor the trees.—See Rev. 8:7. Have you enjoyed this work thus far? Are you convinced it is of the Lord—prepared under His guidance? Have you carefully and prayerfully read the comments on Rev. 7:1? Then brace yourself for the truth that it is evidently God's purpose soon to allow the minds of many of His little ones to become an open battle ground, upon which the fallen angels shall be judged, and the manner in which we meet the tests will prove our worthiness of crowns at the same time that it proves these disobedient spirits unworthy of life on any plane. This is something with which some but not many are yet familiar. Truly, we know the Apostle in writing of this evil day says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked ones in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Truly, we know the Lord Jesus, at the First Advent began His ministry with forty days of conflict with the Adversary, who all that time sought to sway His mind (Matt. 4:1-11). Truly, we have reason to believe He must have had other terrible battles when He spent all night in prayer, and especially when He was so depressed in the garden of Gethsemane. But without actual experience it is quite impossible to conceive of the intensity of such struggles as Eph. 6:12 suggests. The base of the brain is seized as in a vise. Interpretations of Scripture, ingenious, but misleading beyond description, are projected into the mind as water might be projected through a hose. Visions may be tried, wonderful illuminations of the mind as by a soft but glorious greenish or yellowish haze. Seductive suggestions may be made, based on circumstances of the environment. Offers of inspiration may be made. The privilege of sleep may be taken away for days at a stretch. All this is with the object of forcing the unfortunate into at least temporary insanity so as to destroy his influence and, if possible, his faith in God. Failing in all other attempts, the mind may be flooded with thoughts that are vile beyond description. THEN REMEMBER THE VOW.
The fact that Jehovah intends some unique experiences for the antitypical Isaac may be judged from the fact that between Isaac's conception (Gen. 17:19 and 18:10) and his birth (Gen. 21:1) occurred the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 18:16 to end of 19th Chap.) and Abraham's denial of Sarah (Gen. 20). But reading the latter account, the child of God is comforted with God's care of His little ones (Gen. 20:3) with the assurance that none of Satan's plans can mature (Gen. 20:18) without the Lord's permission. Isaac was a type of the complete Christ; and if now The Christ is complete, as we believe, and ready to be born into the Kingdom, we should not be surprised at anything that might look like our repudiation at the Father's hands. If He pours the cup, it will only be because He knows that we can drink it, and because He wishes to prove to angels and to men that we are worthy of the honors He is to give us.—Lu. 22:42, 43; 1 Tim. 1:16.
Till we.—You “four angels,” Harvest workers in the flesh, and Myself, the Lord of the Harvest.
Have sealed the servants of our God.—See Rev. 19:20; 14:1. Satan is a diligent student of time prophecy (Luke 12:39); but not having the Holy Spirit he is unable to reach accurate conclusions. Seeing a definite Plan, and a definite time for every important feature of that Plan, his aim has ever been to thwart the purposes of the Almighty. This attempt to destroy the Seed began with the death of Abel and still continues. No doubt Satan believed the Millennial Kingdom was due to be set up in 1915; and no doubt, also, he knew that seven years prior to the time of the setting up of that kingdom the restraints upon the evil spirits would be lifted. Be that as it may, there is evidence that the establishment of the Kingdom in Palestine will probably be in 1925, ten years later than we once calculated. The 70 jubilees, reckoned as 50 years each, expire October, 1925. (B. 186.) Gen. 15:1-16:3, read connectedly, indicates that Abraham's vision as to when he would receive the Kingdom was not granted until ten years after the Covenant was made, or 2035 B. C. The ages of the animals offered aggregated eleven years, which, applied prophetically, on the scale of a year for a day, equal 3960 years, the length of time from the date of the visions to A. D. 1925 (Z. '07-79). It seems conclusive that the hour of Nominal Zion's travail is fixed for the Passover of 1918. (See Rev. 3:14.) That will be 7 years prior to 1925. At that time there is every reason to believe the fallen angels will invade the minds of many of the Nominal Church people, driving them to exceedingly unwise conduct and leading to their destruction at the hands of the enraged masses, who will later be dragged to the same fate. The great war now raging is most certainly the work of evil spirits, and the Kaiser is not the only clever ruler who has been deceived by evil spirits, as history will sometime show.—Lu. 12:56.
If our reasoning is correct, we inquire whether there was any indication of a move on Satan's part 7 years prior to 1915, showing that he expected the restraints to be removed from the evil spirits at that time; and we answer that there was something very definite indicated at that time. In the Vow, advised by Pastor Russell in that year, and in the experiences of many, for and against it, it is plain that the Enemy then attempted to come in like a flood, but was held back—restrained until the sealing work is done. (Matt. 10:25; Luke 22:42-44; Heb. 12:4; Isa. 63:3.) After the demons have been turned loose on the swine class, we shall see what happens. (Matt. 7:6; 8:31-34.) Those now fearful that they might learn something will be terror-stricken then for a different reason.
In their foreheads.—“The storm is held in check until the faithful servants of God are ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (Exod. 13:9; 28:36, 38. Deut. 6:8; Ezek. 9:4-6; Rev. 14:1), i. e., until such are given an intellectual appreciation which will not only comfort them, and shield them, but also be a mark, seal or evidence of their sonship, as indicated by our Lord when He promised that the Holy Spirit should show to the faithful ‘things to come.’ (John 16:13.)” (B. 169.) When the demon test comes, those who have the mark of sonship (Ezek. 9:2-4) will know it and will stand the test, while all others will surely fail. A letter from one of the Bethel workers, written shortly after Pastor Russell's death, says: “About three months ago I asked several questions at the table, the last one being as follows, ‘Since I now see that the Jewish Time of Trouble did not end until the year 73 A. D., as I fully proved to myself by consulting the historians, what then are we to expect in the parallel year 1918?’ Brother Russell put the question to three prominent brethren, all of whom replied that they did not know, but were willing to wait and see. When he called upon me I said, ‘Since the year 73 A. D. saw the complete overthrow of nominal Natural Israel in Palestine, so in the parallel year 1918, I infer we should look for the complete overthrow of nominal Spiritual Israel; i. e., the fall of Babylon. (Rev. 18.)’ Brother Russell replied: ‘Exactly. That is exactly the inference to draw.’ ” The conclusion of the Church's career comes first. (Rev. 3:14.)
“If you see the ‘door’ of opportunity for sacrifice and service open before you, enter in. But enter quickly; for the night of darkness and of intense opposition to the truth will ere long be upon us and will hinder you from engaging in the service. ‘The morning cometh, and also the night.’ ‘The night cometh in which no man can work.’ When that is true, you may know that ‘the door is shut.’ that all the wise virgins have entered in, that all have been proved, and that all vacancies have been acceptably filled. All the special ‘servants of God’ having by that time been ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (given an intellectual appreciation of God's Plan), the four winds will be loosed and will produce the great ‘whirlwind’ of trouble in the midst of which the remnant of the Elijah class will be ‘changed,’ and exalted to Kingdom glory.”—C. 225.
General Latter-day Saint · Doctrine and Covenants 29:1–50; complete section
1 Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins;
2 Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer.
3 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.
4 Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump.
5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.
6 And, as it is written—Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.
7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;
8 Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.
9 For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth;
10 For the hour is nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled; for as they spoke so shall it come to pass;
11 For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.
12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.
13 For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.
14 But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath;
15 And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men;
16 And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth.
17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.
18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;
19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;
20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.
21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.
22 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season;
23 And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.
24 For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;
25 And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.
26 But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth—yea, even all.
27 And the righteous shall be gathered on my right hand unto eternal life; and the wicked on my left hand will I be ashamed to own before the Father;
28 Wherefore I will say unto them—Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
29 And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I declared from mine own mouth that they should return, for where I am they cannot come, for they have no power.
30 But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit.
31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal—
32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work—
33 Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed.
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.
35 Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.
36 And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;
37 And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels;
38 And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell.
39 And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet—
40 Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.
41 Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed.
42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son.
43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;
44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not;
45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;
48 For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.
49 And, again, I say unto you, that whoso having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent?
50 And he that hath no understanding, it remaineth in me to do according as it is written. And now I declare no more unto you at this time. Amen.
General Latter-day Saint · Articles of Faith 1:10
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
Hindu — Śākta · Canto XCI, verses 34–49, printed pages 517–518: offer of a boon, gods' request and complete prophetic reply
The goddess spoke:
I am ready to bestow a boon. O ye hosts of gods, choose whatever boon ye desire in your mind; I grant it as a thing that benefits the worlds.
The gods spoke:
O queen of all, complete thou thus indeed the pacification of every trouble of the three worlds, and the destruction of our enemies.
The goddess spoke:
When the twenty-eighth age has arrived, in the Vaivasvata Manv-antara, two other great Asuras shall be born, S'umbha and Niśumbha. Then born as the offspring of Yaśodá's womb in the cowherd Nanda's house, and dwelling on the Vindhya mountains, I will destroy them both. And again becoming incarnate in a very terrible form on the face of the earth, I will slay the Vaiprac'itta Dánavas; and when I devour those fierce and great Vaiprac'itta Asuras, my teeth shall become red like the flowers of the pomegranate. Hence the gods in Svarga and men in the world of mortals praising me shall always talk of me as “Red-toothed.”
And again after a period of a hundred years during which rain and water shall fail, praised by the munis I shall be born, but not womb-begotten, on the earth. Then because I shall behold the munis with a hundred eyes, mankind shall therefore celebrate me as “Hundred-eyed.”
Next, O ye gods, I shall support the whole world with the life-sustaining vegetables, which shall grow out of my own body, during a period of heavy rain. I shall gain fame on the earth then as S'ákambharí; and in that very period I shall slay the great Asura named Durgama.
And again when taking a terrible form on mount Himavat I shall destroy Rákshasas for the sake of delivering the munis, all the munis bowing their bodies reverently shall laud me then; hence my name “The terrible goddess” shall become celebrated.
When Arunáksha shall work great trouble in the three worlds, I shall take a bee-like form, the form of innumerable bees, and shall slay the great Asura for the welfare of the three worlds, and folk shall then extol me everyone as Bhrámarí.
Thus whenever trouble shall arise caused by the Dánavas, at each such time I shall become incarnate and accomplish the foes' destruction.
Hindu — Śākta · Book 10, chapter 5, verses 1–18: complete hymn with narrative introduction and closing description of the gods bowing
1-5. Sūta said :-- Then the Devas, on arriving at Vaikuṇṭha, saw the Lord of Lakṣmī, the Deva of the Devas, the World-Teacher, with his eyes beautiful like Padmā Palāsa (lotus-leaves), shining with brilliance and began to praise Him in a voice choked with intense feelings of devotion, thus :-- “Victory to Viṣṇu! O Lord of Ramā! Thou art prior to the Virāṭ Puruṣa.
O Enemy of the Daityas! O Thou, the Generator of desires in all and the Bestower of the fruits of those desires to all! O Gobinda! Thou art the Great Boar and Thou art of the nature of Great Sacrifices! O Mahā Viṣṇu! O Lord of Dharma! Thou art the Cause of the origin of this world! Thou didst support the earth in Thy Fish Incarnation for the deliverance of the Vedas! O Thou Satyavrata of the form of a Fish! We bow down to Thee.
O Thou! The Enemy of the Daityas! The Ocean of mercy! Thou dost do the actions of the Devas out of mercy. O Thou! the Tortoise Incarnation! That grantest Mukti to others! Obeisance to Thee!
6-18. O Thou! That didst assume the form of a Boar for the destruction of the Daityas Jaya and others and for raising the earth from the waters! Obeisance to Thee! Thou didst assume that form - Half man and half Lion of the Nrisimha Mūrti and tore asunder Hiraṇya Kaśipu, proud of his boons, by Thy nails. We bow down to Thee! Obeisance to Thee! That in Thy Dwarf Incarnation, didst deceive Bali, whose head got crazed by the acquisition of the kingdom over the three Lokas. We bow down to Thee, that in Thy Paraśu Rāma Incarnation, didst slay Kārta Vīryāryuna, the thousand handed, and the other wicked Kṣattriyas! Obeisance to Thee! That wert born of the womb of Reṇukā as the son of Jamadagni.
Obeisance to Thee, of great prowess and valour, that in Thy Rāma Incarnation as the son of Daśaratha, didst cut off the heads of the wicked Rākṣasa, the son of Pulastya! We bow down again and again to Thee, the Great Lord, that in Thy Kṛṣṇa incarnation, didst deliver this earth from the clutches of the wicked King Duryodhana, Kaṃṣa and others and didst establish the religion by removing the then prevailing vicious ideas and doctrines.
We bow down to Thy Buddha Incarnation, that Great Deva who didst come down here to put a stop to the slaughtering of the innocent animals and to the performance of the wicked sacrificial ceremonies! Obeisance to the Deva! When almost all the persons in this world will turn out in future as Mleccas and when the wicked Kings will oppress them, right and left, Thou wilt then incarnate Thyself again as Kalki and redress all the grievances! We bow down to Thy Kalki Form! O Deva! These are Thy Ten Incarnations, for the preservation of Thy devotees, for the killing of the wicked Daityas.
Therefore Thou art called as the Great Reliever of all our troubles. O Thou! Victory to Thee! The Deva Who assumest the forms of women and water for destroying the ailings of the devotees! Who else can be so kind! O Thou, the Ocean of mercy!” O Ṛṣis! Thus praising the yellow robed Viṣṇu, the Lord of all the Devas, the whole host of the Devas bowed down to Him and made Shāsṭāmgas.
Islam — Twelver Shiʿa · Chapter 16, report 5
Ali ibn Ahmad related to us, from Ubayd Allah ibn Musa al-Alawi, from Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qalanisi, from Muhammad ibn Ali, from Abu Jamila, from Abu Bakr al-Hadrami, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah say, “We do not appoint a time for this matter.”
Islam — Twelver Shiʿa · Al-Kafi1/4/80, reports2–11 and19
2ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عِيسَى بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ أَخِيهِ مُوسَى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيْهما السَّلام) قَالَ إِذَا فُقِدَ الْخَامِسُ مِنْ وُلْدِ السَّابِعِ فَالله الله فِي أَدْيَانِكُمْ لا يُزِيلُكُمْ عَنْهَا أَحَدٌ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنَّهُ لا بُدَّ لِصَاحِبِ هَذَا الامْرِ مِنْ غَيْبَةٍ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ عَنْ هَذَا الامْرِ مَنْ كَانَ يَقُولُ بِهِ إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِحْنَةٌ مِنَ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ امْتَحَنَ بِهَا خَلْقَهُ لَوْ عَلِمَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَجْدَادُكُمْ دِيناً أَصَحَّ مِنْ هَذَا لاتَّبَعُوهُ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ يَا سَيِّدِي مَنِ الْخَامِسُ مِنْ وُلْدِ السَّابِعِ فَقَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ عُقُولُكُمْ تَصْغُرُ عَنْ هَذَا وَأَحْلامُكُمْ تَضِيقُ عَنْ حَمْلِهِ وَلَكِنْ إِنْ تَعِيشُوا فَسَوْفَ تُدْرِكُونَهُ.
3ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي نَجْرَانَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُسَاوِرِ عَنِ الْمُفَضَّلِ بْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ إِيَّاكُمْ وَالتَّنْوِيهَ أَمَا وَالله لَيَغِيبَنَّ إِمَامُكُمْ سِنِيناً مِنْ دَهْرِكُمْ وَلَتُمَحَّصُنَّ حَتَّى يُقَالَ مَاتَ قُتِلَ هَلَكَ بِأَيِّ وَادٍ سَلَكَ وَلَتَدْمَعَنَّ عَلَيْهِ عُيُونُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَتُكْفَؤُنَّ كَمَا تُكْفَأُ السُّفُنُ فِي أَمْوَاجِ الْبَحْرِ فَلا يَنْجُو إِلا مَنْ أَخَذَ الله مِيثَاقَهُ وَكَتَبَ فِي قَلْبِهِ الايمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ وَلَتُرْفَعَنَّ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ رَايَةً مُشْتَبِهَةً لا يُدْرَى أَيٌّ مِنْ أَيٍّ قَالَ فَبَكَيْتُ ثُمَّ قُلْتُ فَكَيْفَ نَصْنَعُ قَالَ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى شَمْسٍ دَاخِلَةٍ فِي الصُّفَّةِ فَقَالَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الله تَرَى هَذِهِ الشَّمْسَ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ فَقَالَ وَالله لامْرُنَا أَبْيَنُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّمْسِ.
4ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي نَجْرَانَ عَنْ فَضَالَةَ بْنِ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ سَدِيرٍ الصَّيْرَفِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ إِنَّ فِي صَاحِبِ هَذَا الامْرِ شَبَهاً مِنْ يُوسُفَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ قُلْتُ لَهُ كَأَنَّكَ تَذْكُرُهُ حَيَاتَهُ أَوْ غَيْبَتَهُ قَالَ فَقَالَ لِي وَمَا يُنْكَرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ هَذِهِ الامَّةُ أَشْبَاهُ الْخَنَازِيرِ إِنَّ إِخْوَةَ يُوسُفَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) كَانُوا أَسْبَاطاً أَوْلادَ الانْبِيَاءِ تَاجَرُوا يُوسُفَ وَبَايَعُوهُ وَخَاطَبُوهُ وَهُمْ إِخْوَتُهُ وَهُوَ أَخُوهُمْ فَلَمْ يَعْرِفُوهُ حَتَّى قَالَ أَنَا يُوسُفُ وَهَذَا أَخِي فَمَا تُنْكِرُ هَذِهِ الامَّةُ الْمَلْعُونَةُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِحُجَّتِهِ فِي وَقْتٍ مِنَ الاوْقَاتِ كَمَا فَعَلَ بِيُوسُفَ إِنَّ يُوسُفَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) كَانَ إِلَيْهِ مُلْكُ مِصْرَ وَكَانَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ وَالِدِهِ مَسِيرَةُ ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ يَوْماً فَلَوْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُعْلِمَهُ لَقَدَرَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ لَقَدْ سَارَ يَعْقُوبُ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) وَوُلْدُهُ عِنْدَ الْبِشَارَةِ تِسْعَةَ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ بَدْوِهِمْ إِلَى مِصْرَ فَمَا تُنْكِرُ هَذِهِ الامَّةُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ الله جَلَّ وَعَزَّ بِحُجَّتِهِ كَمَا فَعَلَ بِيُوسُفَ أَنْ يَمْشِيَ فِي أَسْوَاقِهِمْ وَيَطَأَ بُسُطَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْذَنَ الله فِي ذَلِكَ لَهُ كَمَا أَذِنَ لِيُوسُفَ قَالُوا أَ إِنَّكَ لانْتَ يُوسُفُ قالَ أَنَا يُوسُفُ.
5ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مُوسَى الْخَشَّابِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ مُوسَى عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ إِنَّ لِلْغُلامِ غَيْبَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقُومَ قَالَ قُلْتُ وَلِمَ قَالَ يَخَافُ وَأَوْمَأَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى بَطْنِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا زُرَارَةُ وَهُوَ الْمُنْتَظَرُ وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُشَكُّ فِي وِلادَتِهِ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ مَاتَ أَبُوهُ بِلا خَلَفٍ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ حَمْلٌ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ إِنَّهُ وُلِدَ قَبْلَ مَوْتِ أَبِيهِ بِسَنَتَيْنِ وَهُوَ الْمُنْتَظَرُ غَيْرَ أَنَّ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَمْتَحِنَ الشِّيعَةَ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَرْتَابُ الْمُبْطِلُونَ يَا زُرَارَةُ قَالَ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ إِنْ أَدْرَكْتُ ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانَ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ أَعْمَلُ قَالَ يَا زُرَارَةُ إِذَا أَدْرَكْتَ هَذَا الزَّمَانَ فَادْعُ بِهَذَا الدُّعَاءِ اللهمَّ عَرِّفْنِي نَفْسَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي نَفْسَكَ لَمْ أَعْرِفْ نَبِيَّكَ اللهمَّ عَرِّفْنِي رَسُولَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي رَسُولَكَ لَمْ أَعْرِفْ حُجَّتَكَ اللهمَّ عَرِّفْنِي حُجَّتَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي حُجَّتَكَ ضَلَلْتُ عَنْ دِينِي ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا زُرَارَةُ لا بُدَّ مِنْ قَتْلِ غُلامٍ بِالْمَدِينَةِ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ أَ لَيْسَ يَقْتُلُهُ جَيْشُ السُّفْيَانِيِّ قَالَ لا وَلَكِنْ يَقْتُلُهُ جَيْشُ آلِ بَنِي فُلانٍ يَجِيءُ حَتَّى يَدْخُلَ الْمَدِينَةَ فَيَأْخُذُ الْغُلامَ فَيَقْتُلُهُ فَإِذَا قَتَلَهُ بَغْياً وَعُدْوَاناً وَظُلْماً لا يُمْهَلُونَ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ تَوَقُّعُ الْفَرَجِ إِنْ شَاءَ الله.
6ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ الْمُثَنَّى عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ يَفْقِدُ النَّاسُ إِمَامَهُمْ يَشْهَدُ الْمَوْسِمَ فَيَرَاهُمْ وَلا يَرَوْنَهُ.
7ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُنْذِرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ قَابُوسَ عَنْ مَنْصُورِ بْنِ السِّنْدِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي دَاوُدَ الْمُسْتَرِقِّ عَنْ ثَعْلَبَةَ بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ عَنْ مَالِكٍ الْجُهَنِيِّ عَنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ عَنِ الاصْبَغِ بْنِ نُبَاتَةَ قَالَ أَتَيْتُ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) فَوَجَدْتُهُ مُتَفَكِّراً يَنْكُتُ فِي الارْضِ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَا لِي أَرَاكَ مُتَفَكِّراً تَنْكُتُ فِي الارْضِ أَ رَغْبَةً مِنْكَ فِيهَا فَقَالَ لا وَالله مَا رَغِبْتُ فِيهَا وَلا فِي الدُّنْيَا يَوْماً قَطُّ وَلَكِنِّي فَكَّرْتُ فِي مَوْلُودٍ يَكُونُ مِنْ ظَهْرِي الْحَادِيَ عَشَرَ مِنْ وُلْدِي هُوَ الْمَهْدِيُّ الَّذِي يَمْلا الارْضَ عَدْلاً وَقِسْطاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْراً وَظُلْماً تَكُونُ لَهُ غَيْبَةٌ وَحَيْرَةٌ يَضِلُّ فِيهَا أَقْوَامٌ وَيَهْتَدِي فِيهَا آخَرُونَ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَكَمْ تَكُونُ الْحَيْرَةُ وَالْغَيْبَةُ قَالَ سِتَّةَ أَيَّامٍ أَوْ سِتَّةَ أَشْهُرٍ أَوْ سِتَّ سِنِينَ فَقُلْتُ وَإِنَّ هَذَا لَكَائِنٌ فَقَالَ نَعَمْ كَمَا أَنَّهُ مَخْلُوقٌ وَأَنَّى لَكَ بِهَذَا الامْرِ يَا أَصْبَغُ أُولَئِكَ خِيَارُ هَذِهِ الامَّةِ مَعَ خِيَارِ أَبْرَارِ هَذِهِ الْعِتْرَةِ فَقُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَا يَكُونُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ ثُمَّ يَفْعَلُ الله مَا يَشَاءُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ بَدَاءَاتٍ وَإِرَادَاتٍ وَغَايَاتٍ وَنِهَايَاتِ.
8ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَنَانِ بْنِ سَدِيرٍ عَنْ مَعْرُوفِ بْنِ خَرَّبُوذَ عَنْ ابي جعفر (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ كَنُجُومِ السَّمَاءِ كُلَّمَا غَابَ نَجْمٌ طَلَعَ نَجْمٌ حَتَّى إِذَا أَشَرْتُمْ بِأَصَابِعِكُمْ وَمِلْتُمْ بِأَعْنَاقِكُمْ غَيَّبَ الله عَنْكُمْ نَجْمَكُمْ فَاسْتَوَتْ بَنُو عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ فَلَمْ يُعْرَفْ أَيٌّ مِنْ أَيٍّ فَإِذَا طَلَعَ نَجْمُكُمْ فَاحْمَدُوا رَبَّكُمْ.
9ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ جَبَلَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ إِنَّ لِلْقَائِمِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) غَيْبَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقُومَ قُلْتُ وَلِمَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَخَافُ وَأَوْمَأَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى بَطْنِهِ يَعْنِي الْقَتْلَ.
10ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الْخَزَّازِ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ إِنْ بَلَغَكُمْ عَنْ صَاحِبِ هَذَا الامْرِ غَيْبَةٌ فَلا تُنْكِرُوهَا.
11ـ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ جَبَلَةَ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ خَلَفِ بْنِ عَبَّادٍ الانْمَاطِيِّ عَنْ مُفَضَّلِ بْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ كُنْتُ عِنْدَ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) وَعِنْدَهُ فِي الْبَيْتِ أُنَاسٌ فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا أَرَادَ بِذَلِكَ غَيْرِي فَقَالَ أَمَا وَالله لَيَغِيبَنَّ عَنْكُمْ صَاحِبُ هَذَا الامْرِ وَلَيَخْمِلَنَّ هَذَا حَتَّى يُقَالَ مَاتَ هَلَكَ فِي أَيِّ وَادٍ سَلَكَ وَلَتُكْفَؤُنَّ كَمَا تُكْفَأُ السَّفِينَةُ فِي أَمْوَاجِ الْبَحْرِ لا يَنْجُو إِلا مَنْ أَخَذَ الله مِيثَاقَهُ وَكَتَبَ الايمَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ وَلَتُرْفَعَنَّ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ رَايَةً مُشْتَبِهَةً لا يُدْرَى أَيٌّ مِنْ أَيٍّ قَالَ فَبَكَيْتُ فَقَالَ مَا يُبْكِيكَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الله فَقُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ كَيْفَ لا أَبْكِي وَأَنْتَ تَقُولُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ رَايَةً مُشْتَبِهَةً لا يُدْرَى أَيٌّ مِنْ أَيٍّ قَالَ وَفِي مَجْلِسِهِ كَوَّةٌ تَدْخُلُ فِيهَا الشَّمْسُ فَقَالَ أَ بَيِّنَةٌ هَذِهِ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ قَالَ أَمْرُنَا أَبْيَنُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّمْسِ.
19ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) لِلْقَائِمِ غَيْبَتَانِ إِحْدَاهُمَا قَصِيرَةٌ وَالاخْرَى طَوِيلَةٌ الْغَيْبَةُ الاولَى لا يَعْلَمُ بِمَكَانِهِ فِيهَا إِلا خَاصَّةُ شِيعَتِهِ وَالاخْرَى لا يَعْلَمُ بِمَكَانِهِ فِيهَا إِلا خَاصَّةُ مَوَالِيهِ.
Tianli (Eight Trigrams) · Juan shou, imperial essay, first protection of Heaven; new English translation
The rebel chief Lin Qing lived at Songjiazhuang in Wanping county. He secretly practised the Eight Trigrams teaching, which was also called the White Yang teaching and was then renamed the Society of Heavenly Principle. He drew bandits into league and spread through Qi and Yu, and then, with Li Wencheng and Feng Keshan of Hua county, Xu Anguo of Dongming and others, swore an alliance and plotted rebellion. In the summer of the sixteenth year of Jiaqing they agreed on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the eighteenth year, when I would be holding the great autumn hunt on my progress to Mulan, to gather their followers and storm straight into the Forbidden City, brazenly plotting treason.
General Sikhism · The Origin, complete translated stanzas 56–62
Nand Lal, listen to this truth:
I will establish the Raj (Sovereignty). (56)
The four categories will become one category,
I will recite Vahiguru (Awe-Wisdom) recitation. (57)
[They will] mount horses and fly hawks,
The Turks (empire) will flee seeing them. (58)
I will make one fight a hundred and twenty-five thousand.
I will free those Singhs (warriors) who ascend (die). (59)
The spears will wave and the elephants will be caparisoned,
The nine-instruments will resound from gate to gate. (60)
When a hundred and twenty-five thousand guns will discharge,
Then the Khalsa will be victorious from wherever the sun shines and sets. (61)
The Khalsa will rule and no one will be a dissenter,
All will unite after exhaustion, those who take refuge will survive. (62)
General Sikhism · Paragraph explaining the Puratan Sau Sakhi account
The Raja of the Khalsa will be referred to as 96 Crori.
Islam — Twelver Shiʿa · Kitab al-Ghayba, report 443; Thaqalayn chapter 51, report 21
English translation — Rainbow Watch
And from him, from Sayf ibn Umayra, from Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Azdi, from Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, who said: “The emergence of the three—the Khurasani, the Sufyani and the Yamani—will be in one year, in one month, on one day. Among them there is no banner more rightly guiding than the banner of the Yamani; he guides to the truth.”
Arabic source text
443- وعنه، عن سيف بن عميرة، عن بكر بن محمد الأزدي، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: خروج الثلاثة: الخراساني والسفياني واليماني في سنة واحدة في شهر واحد في يوم واحد، وليس فيها راية بأهدى من راية اليماني يهدي إلى الحق.
Buddhist — Mahāyāna · Chapter XXII, Ancient Devotion of Bhaishagyarâga; closing unit from “Great will be the pious merit” to the chapter end
Great will be the pious merit, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, to be produced by a young man of good family or a young lady striving to reach the goal in the Bodhisattva-vehicle, who shall keep this chapter of the Ancient Devotion of Bhaishagyarâga, who shall read and learn it. And, Nakshatrarâga, should a female, after hearing this Dharmaparyâya, grasp and keep it, then this existence will be her last existence as a woman.
Any female, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, who in the last five hundred years of the millennium shall hear and penetrate this chapter of the Ancient Devotion of Bhaishagyarâga, will after disappearing from earth be (re)born in the world Sukhâvatî, where the Lord Amitâyus, the Tathâgata, &c., dwells, exists, lives surrounded by a host of Bodhisattvas.
There will he (who formerly was a female) appear seated on a throne consisting of the interior of a lotus; no affection, no hatred, no infatuation, no pride, no envy, no wrath, no malignity will vex him. With his birth he will also receive the five transcendent faculties, as well as the acquiescence in the eternal law, and, once in possession thereof, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, he as a Bodhisattva Mahâsattva will see Tathâgatas equal to the sands of seventy-two rivers Ganges.
So perfect will be his organ of sight that by means thereof he shall see those Lords Buddhas, which Lords Buddhas will applaud him (and say): Well done, well done, young man of good family, that after hearing this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law which has been promulgated by the spiritual proclamation of the Lord Sakyamuni, the Tathâgata, &c., thou hast studied, meditated, examined, minded it, and expounded it to other beings, other persons.
This accumulation of thy pious merit, young man of good family, cannot be burnt by fire, nor swept away by water. Even a thousand Buddhas would not be able to determine this accumulation of thy pious merit, young man of good family. Thou hast subdued the opposition of the Evil One, young man of good family. Thou, young man of good family, hast victoriously emerged from the battle of mundane existence, hast crushed the enemies annoying thee.
Thou, young man of good family, hast been superintended by thousands of Buddhas; thine equal, young man of good family, is not to be found in the world, including the gods, with the only exception of the Tathâgata; there is no other, be he disciple, Pratyekabuddba, or Bodhisattva, able to surpass thee in pious merit, knowledge, wisdom or meditation. Such a power of knowledge, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, will be acquired by that Bodhisattva.
Any one, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, who on hearing this chapter of the ancient devotion of Bhaishagyarâga approves it, will emit from his mouth a breath sweet as of the lotus, and from his limbs a fragrance as of sandal-wood. Such temporal advantages as I have just now indicated will belong to him who approves this Dharmaparyâya.
On that account then, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, I transmit to thee this chapter of the Ancient Devotion of the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, that at the end of time, the last period, in the latter half of the millennium it may have course here in Gambudvipa and not be lost; that neither Mâra the Fiend, nor the celestial beings called Mârakâyikas, Nâgas, goblins, imps may find the opportunity of hurting it.
Therefore, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, I bequeath this Dharmaparyâya; it is to be like a medicament for sick and suffering creatures in Gambudvîpa. No sickness shall overpower him who has heard this Dharmaparyâya, no decrepitude, no untimely death.
Whenever a person striving to reach the goal in the vehicle of Bodhisattvas happens to see such a monk as keeps this Sûtrânta, then he should strew him with sandalpowder and blue lotuses, and reflect thus: This young man of good family is going to reach the terrace of enlightenment; he will spread the bundle of grass on the terrace of enlightenment; he will put to flight the party of Mâra, blow the conch trumpet of the law, beat the drum of the law, cross the ocean of existence.
Thus, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña, should a young man of good family, striving to reach the goal in the vehicle of Bodhisattva, reflect when seeing a monk who keeps this Sûtra, and he will acquire such advantages as have been indicated by the Tathâgata.
While this chapter of the Ancient Devotion of Bhaishagyarâga was being expounded, eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas attained the spell connected with skill in all sounds. And the Lord Prabhûtaratna, the Tathâgata, &c., intimated his approval (by saying): Well done, well done, Nakshatrararâgasankusumitâbhigña; thou hast done well in thus questioning the Tathâgata, who is endowed with such inconceivable qualities and properties.
General Judaism · Isaiah2:1–5
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many peoples 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.
4 And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; 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.
Latter-day Saint — Strangite · Revelation given to James J. Strang, 1 September 1845; Voree Herald, January 1846 pp. 3–4; PDF pages 3–4
The Angel of the Lord came unto me James, on the first day of September, in the year eighteen hundred and forty five, and the light shined about him above the brightness of the sun, and he showed unto me the plates of the sealed record and he gave into my hands the Urim and Thummim.—And out of the light came the voice of the Lord saying:—“My Servant James, in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thee because I have tried thee and found thee faithful. Behold my servant James I am about to bless thee with a great blessing which shall be to those who love me, an immutable testimony; to those who know me not a stumbling block; but to those who have known me and have turned their hearts from me a rock of offence. Yea let them beware, for shame and destruction walk in their tracks and their time abideth, but not long.
A work shall come forth and the secrets of the past shalt thou reveal. Yea by little and little shalt thou reveal it, according to the ability and faithfulness of my Church and of my servant whom I have placed above them. Behold the record which was sealed from my servant Joseph. Unto thee it is reserved. Take heed that thou count it not a light thing nor exalt thyself lest thou be stricken, for by myself I swear that as thou servest me faithfully and comest not short, thou shalt unlock the mysteries thereof which I have kept hid from the world. Yea as my servants serve me, so shalt thou translate unto them.
But in their weakness I have not forgotten them. Go to the place which the Angel of the presence shall show thee and there shalt thou dig for the record of my people in whose possession thou dwellest. Take with thee faithful witnesses for in evil will the unfaithful speak of thee, but the faithful and true shall know that they are liars and shall not stumble for their words.
Speak thou unto the Elders of my church and say unto them hear my voice and hearken to my words for they are true and faithful. Testify, testify unto all the saints. Testify, testify in all the world. He that rejecteth you him will I reject in the day that I come in my kingdom. Testify, testify unto him who has received my word and turned away. Let him now return unto me and obey and serve his God lest he be smitten with a curse and his children curse him and his name be blotted out of the Book of Life.
Yea those to whom I have revealed myself, let them hearken unto me now lest they be cast off in the day of my indignation, lest the consuming fire of the day of trial burn them up. Yea, lest the second death make them his prey, and they be cast into the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.
Rejoice, ye holy for the day of your deliverance is near and the time of your exaltation is at hand. Faithful and true are my words dividing the marrow from the bones and truth from rottenness. He that rejecteth them will I reject when I come in my Kingdom. And while I was yet in the Spirit the Angel of the Lord took me away, to the hill in the East of Walworth against White River in Voree, and there he showed unto me the record buried under an oak tree as large as the body of a large man, it was enclosed in an earthen casement and buried in the ground as deep as to a man's waist, and I beheld it as a man can see a light-stone in clear water, for I saw it by Urim and Thummim, and I returned the Urim and Thummim to the Angel of the Lord and he departed out of sight.