According to Jewish
tradition, before the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) (or the Messiah, as
they refer to him), there will be a huge moral collapse stemming from atheism.
People's feelings of shame will decline. Pride and oppression will grow. No one
will have any compassion, the devout will be reviled, and corruption and denial
will spread. On the larger scale, there will be a succession of wars and
oppression. Land will become increasingly less fertile, and the cost of living,
famine and poverty will increase.
Some of the features of
this period preceding the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) are described in Judaic
scriptures:
1. The
appearance of portents in the End Times:
"And I... am about to come
and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory. I will
set a sign among them…" [declares the Lord.] (Isaiah, 66:18-19)
"I am the Lord... See, the
former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring
into being I announce them to you." (Isaiah, 42:8-9)
2. The spread
of atheism:
The generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... all the governments will be turned over to
Minuth (will embrace the religion of the Minim [atheism]), and no preaching
will avail... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
... [Even] the priests are
godless; even in My Temple I find their wickedness," declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah, 23:11)
The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the
heretics. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
3. The reviling
of the devout:
In the footsteps of the Messiah
[Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... fearers of sin will be despised, and truth will be
lacking. (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
In the generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... God-fearing men [will be] despised.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
In the generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... he that departs from evil makes himself a
prey... He who departs from evil will be dubbed a fool by his fellow-men.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
4. Admiration
of the wicked:
In the generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... an evil man will be honored. (Talmud,
Sanhedrin 97a)
You who hate good and love evil.
(Micah, 3:2)
5. Distancing
from religious education:
The Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]
will not come... unless the disciples [who learn Allah's words] will decrease.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
6.
Administrations turn their backs on religious moral values:
In the generation of Messiah's
[Hazrat Mahdi's (pbuh)] coming... the Kingdom will be converted to heresy with
none to rebuke them. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
In the footsteps of the Messiah
[Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... the government will turn to heresy, and there will be
none [to offer them] reproof. (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
… The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will not come until the wicked kingdom of Rome [irreligion] will have
spread [its sway] over the whole world for nine months… (Talmud, Yoma 10a)
7. Rulers are
not competent:
And I will make children their
chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them. (Isaiah, 3:4)
8. A rise in
female leaders:
... A babe is their master, and women
rule over them... (Isaiah, 3:12)
9. Leaders
look to their own interests:
In the generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... the leaders of that generation will have
the nature of dogs. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
... Judges are wolves of the desert,
they leave not a bone for the morrow. (Zephaniah, 3:3)
10. The wicked
become strong:
... They strengthen the hands
of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness... (Jeremiah, 23:14)
... Their course is evil, and their
force is not right. (Jeremiah, 23:10)
Her princes in the midst of her are
roaring lions... (Zephaniah, 3:3)
11. No one is
left to establish justice:
The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will not come until all judges and officers are gone... (Talmud,
Sanhedrin, 98a)
In the generation when the son of
David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... truth [will be] entirely lacking...
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
12. Increasing
poverty:
The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will not come... until the pockets will be empty... (Talmud, Sanhedrin
97a)
13. An
increase in unfair earnings:
... The Lord enters into
judgment against the elders and leaders of His people: "It is you who have
ruined My vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you
mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?" (Isaiah,
3:14-15)
In the generation in which the son
of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes… [There will be] plunderers and plunderers
of the plunderers... (Talmud, Kethuboth 112b)
14. Hunger and
famine:
... In the seven-year cycle at
the end of which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... the arrows
of hunger will be sent forth... a great famine, in the course of which men,
women, and children, pious men and saints will die. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will not come until a fish is sought for an invalid and cannot be
procured… (Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a)
15. The land
becomes less fertile:
... The vintage shall fail, the
ingathering shall not come. Smiting upon the breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine; for the land of My people whereon thorns and briers come
up; yea, for all the houses of joy and the joyous city. (Isaiah, 32:10-13)
... The seeds are shrivelled beneath
the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down…
How the cattle moan! Even the flocks of sheep are suffering… for the grain has
dried up... flames have burned up all the trees of the field. (Joel, 1:17-19)
The fields are ruined, the ground
mourns; the grain is destroyed... grieve for the wheat and the barley, because
the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up and the fig tree is
withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the
field—are dried up... (Joel, 1:10-12)
16. Drought:
The earth dries up and withers, the
world languishes and withers... (Isaiah, 24:4)
... The pastures of the wilderness are
dried up... (Jeremiah, 23:10)
The vine withers... (Isaiah, 24:7)
... The grain has dried up... the
streams of water have dried up... (Joel, 1:18-20)
The vine is dried up and the fig tree
is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and apple tree—all the trees of the
field—are dried up... (Joel, 1:12)
17. Animals
suffer:
How the cattle moan! The herds mill
about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of the sheep are
suffering... even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have
dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures. (Joel, 1:18-20)
A similar plague will strike the
horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
(Zechariah, 14:15)
18. A time of
trial and tribulation:
The cry on the day of
the Lord will be bitter the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be...
a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and
gloom, a day of clouds and blackness... (Zephaniah, 1:14-15)
"Therefore their
path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they
will fall. I will bring disaster on them..." declares the Lord. (Jeremiah,
23:12)
... In the
generation when the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... and as for
the rest [other than scholars], their eyes will fail through sorrow and grief.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
... The travails of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]: "day" is written here... (Talmud,
Shabbath 118a)
Let him [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] come... When one goes out into the field and meets a bailiff, it is as
though he had met a lion. When he enters the town, and is accosted by a
tax-collector, it is as though he had met a bear. On entering his house and
finding his sons and daughters in the throes of hunger, it is as though he were
bitten by a serpent!... Ask you now, and see whether a man travails with child?
Wherefore do I see every man [gever] with his hands on his loins, as a woman in
travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? (Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b)
19. A
succession of disasters:
In the generation when
the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... Multitudes of trouble and
evil decrees will be promulgated anew, each new evil coming with haste before
the other has ended... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
When you see a generation
overwhelmed by many troubles as by a river, await him [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)], as
it is written, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the
Lord shall lift up a standard against him [Isaiah, 59:19]; which is followed
by, and the Redeemer [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] shall come [Isaiah, 59:20]...
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a)
In the generation in
which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... [there will be] test
after test. (Talmud, Kethuboth 112b)
... A curse consumes
the earth... (Isaiah, 24:6)
Whoever flees at the
sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be
caught in a snare... (Isaiah, 24:18)
"When will the
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] come?" He replied, "When darkness
covers those people." "You curse me," he exclaimed. He retorted,
"it is but a verse: For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and
gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall shine upon you, and His glory
shall be seen upon you." [Isaiah, 60:2] (Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a)
20. A rise in
corruption:
... In the generation
when the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... multitudes of trouble
and evil decrees will be promulgated anew... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
O my people, your
guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path. (Isaiah, 3:12)
... They were still
eager to act corruptly in all they did. (Zephaniah, 3:7)
21. The rule
of despair:
[Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]
will not come... unless they will renounce their hope to be redeemed. (Talmud,
Sanhedrin 97a)
22. The spread
of prostitution and adultery:
In the generation in
which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come, the houses of assembly
will be converted into houses of prostitution. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
... And traded boys
for prostitutes... they sold girls. (Joel, 3:3)
The land is full of
adulterers... (Jeremiah, 23:10)
... I have seen
something horrible: They commit adultery ... (Jeremiah, 23:14)
23. A decline
in people's sense of shame:
... In the generation
when the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... a son will not be abashed in
his father's presence. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
In the generation of
Messiah's [Hazrat Mahdi's (pbuh)] coming impudence will increase, esteem be
perverted ... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
In footsteps of the
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] insolence will increase and honor dwindle...
(Talmud, Sota 49b)
In footsteps of the
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... a son will revile his father... a son will not
feel ashamed before his father. (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
... The child shall
behave insolently against the aged, and the base against the honorable.
(Isaiah, 3:5)
24. Increasing
immorality:
Rabbi Johanan also
said: The son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come only in a generation
that is... altogether wicked. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a)
Rabbi Johanan said:
When you see a generation ever dwindling, hope for him [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)].
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a)
In the generation of
Messiah's [Hazrat Mahdi's (pbuh)] coming... esteem [will] be perverted...
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... youths will put old men to shame, the old
will stand up in the presence of the young... A son will not be ashamed before
his father. (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... the meeting-place [of scholars] will be
used for immorality. (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
... They strengthen
the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness... all of them
become... as Sodom, and... as Gomorrah... (Jeremiah, 23:14)
25. An
increase in lies and fraud:
... [They] walk in
lies... (Jeremiah, 23:14)
In the generation in
which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come... [there will be]
plunderers and plunderers of the plunderers. (Talmud, Kethuboth 112b)
... People shall
oppress one another, every man his fellow, and every man his neighbor...
(Isaiah, 3:5)
26. Faces grow
ugly:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] the face of the generation will be like the
face of a dog... (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
In the generation when
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes, the people shall be dog-faced. (Talmud,
Sanhedrin 97a)
27. The
marginalization of feelings of love and compassion:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... the dewellers on the frontier will go
about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them...
(Talmud, Sotah 49b)
28. Increasing
rebelliousness:
... In the generation
when the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... daughters will rise up against
their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. (Talmud,
Sanhedrin 97a)
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... a son will revile his father, a daughter
will rise against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
(Talmud, Sotah 49b)
29. A
weakening of family ties:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... a man's enemies will be the members of his
household... (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
30. Rising
numbers of hypocrites:
... The son of David
[Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will not come until denunciators [of believers] are in
abundance. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
The treacherous deal
treacherously; yea, the treacherous deal very treacherously. (Isaiah, 24:16)
31. A decline
in the number of scholars:
... In the generation
when the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come, scholars will be few in
number... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
32. A decline
in the importance attached to people of knowledge:
In the generation when
the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] comes... the wisdom of scribes [men of
knowledge] [will be] in disfavor... (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
33.
Intellectual bigotry:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... the wisdom of the learned will
degenerate... (Talmud, Sotah 49b)
In the generation in
which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come, there will be
prosecution against scholars. (Talmud, Kethuboth 112b)
... Her priests have
profaned that which is holy, they have done violence to the law [of God].
(Zephaniah, 3:4)
34. Increasing
wars:
... In the seven-year
cycle at the end of which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come...
in the seventh, wars; and at the conclusion of the septennate the son of David
[Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
They... are destined
to be redeemed in the seventh year (of the coming of the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)]) therefore the mention of redemption was placed in the seventh
blessing. But a master has said, "In the sixth year will be thunderings,
in the seventh wars, at the end of the seventh the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will come?" — War is also the beginning of redemption. (Talmud,
Megilah 17b)
And I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
(Joel, 2:30)
I will gather all the
nations... to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses
ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile...
(Zechariah, 14:2)
35. Bloodshed
in the Middle East:
"When will the
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] come?"... "give us a sign"...
"The waters of the grotto of Paneas* turn into blood..." (Talmud,
Sanhedrin 98a)
* Paneas: The name of an ancient city on the
banks of the River Jordan, some 200 km from Jerusalem called Banias in modern
atlases.
36. Ruin in
the Middle East:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... Galilee* will be destroyed, Gavlan**
desolated. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a; Sotah 49b)
*Galilee:
The region to the west of the River Jordan, and north of the lake of Tiberias,
in Palestine, now located in modern Israel.
** Gavlan:
The region including part of the modern-day Golan Heights, northwest Jordan and
southwest Syria.
37. The
killing of the innocent:
...
They shed innocent blood. (Joel, 3:19)
38. Rising numbers
of refugees:
In the footsteps of
the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... the dwellers on the frontier will go about
[begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them. (Talmud, Sotah
49b)
39. An
increase in rebellion and revolt:
...
Transgression thereof is heavy upon it [the earth], and it shall fall, and not
rise again. (Isaiah, 24:20)
40. Looting:
The earth shall be
utterly emptied, and despoiled: for the Lord had spoken this word. (Isaiah,
24:3)
... The houses
rifled... (Zechariah, 14:2)
41. Signs in
the bodies of those who oppose the truth:
This is the plague
with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought... Their flesh
shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall
consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their
mouth. (Zechariah, 14:12)
... Their words and
deeds are against the Lord... The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it... (Isaiah, 3:8-9)
42.
Unhappiness:
... All the
merrymakers groan. The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the
revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. (Isaiah, 24:7-8)
Surely the joy of
mankind is withered away. (Joel, 1:12)
... All joy turns to gloom,
all gaiety is banished from the earth. (Isaiah, 24:11)
43. Despair
among men of religion:
The priests are in
mourning, those who minister before the Lord. (Joel, 1:9)
Put on sackcloth, you
priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. (Joel, 1:13)
44.
Earthquakes:
... The foundations of
the earth shake... The earth is thoroughly shaken... It sways like a hut in the
wind... (Isaiah, 24:18-20)
... The heavens and
the earth shall shake... (Joel, 3:16)
Therefore I [the
Almighty Lord] will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken
out of her place. (Isaiah, 13:13)
The earth trembled and
quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook... The valleys of the sea
were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare... (Psalms, 18:7, 15)
45. Ever more
natural disasters:
The Lord of Armies
will punish you with thunder, earthquakes, and loud noises, with windstorms,
rainstorms, and fire storms. (Isaiah, 29:6)
... I will show
wonders in the heavens and on the earth... (Joel, 2:30)
... The windows on
high are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. (Isaiah, 24:18)
46. Floods in
one region and drought in another:
In the seven-year
cycle at the end of which the son of David [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)] will come–in the
first year, this verse will be fulfilled: And I will cause it to rain upon one
city and cause it not to rain upon another city. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a)
47. Locust
attacks:
What the locust swarm
has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the
young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have
eaten... A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number... (Joel,
1:4, 6)
48. Rising
environmental pollution:
The earth is defiled
by its people... (Isaiah, 24:5)
49. Spiritual
decline:
He [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)] will only come when all the souls destined to [inhabit earthly] bodies
will be exhausted... (Talmud, Abodah Zarah 5a)
50. War in
Iraq:
50.
1. The fact that the occupying army in the Iraq war was multinational:
...
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! (Isaiah,
13:4)
Listen, a noise on the
mountains, like that of a great multitude!... (Isaiah, 13:4)
50.2
Distant countries wage war in Iraq:
An oracle concerning
Babylon* that Isaiah... saw... They come from faraway lands, from the ends of
the heavens... to destroy the whole country. (Isaiah, 13:1, 5)
*Babylon:
The name of an ancient city near Baghdad, the capital of modern-day Iraq.
50.3.
That war is declared with sirens and loud noises:
... Shout to them
[warriors]; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. (Isaiah, 13:2)
50.4.
The death of many children and the young during the war:
Their bows will strike
down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with
compassion on children. (Isaiah, 13:18)
50.5.
That women are wronged:
... Their wives [will
be] ravished. (Isaiah, 13:16)
50.6.
The looting of people's homes:
... Their houses will
be looted... (Isaiah, 13:16)
50.7.
Enormous bloodshed:
Whoever is captured
will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their
infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes... (Isaiah, 13:15-16)
50.8.
The public in a state of fear and suffering:
... All hands will go
limp, every man's heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish
will grip them... They will writhe... They will look aghast at each other ...
(Isaiah, 13:7-8)
50.9.
People flee to neighboring countries:
Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will
flee to his native land. (Isaiah, 13:14)
50.10.
Cities deserted after the war:
But desert creatures
will lie there [in Babylon], jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will
dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her
strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces... (Isaiah, 13:21-22)
I will make man
scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. (Isaiah, 13:12)
50.11.
And the damage done to peace and order:
... No Arab [Bedouin]
will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there. (Isaiah,
13:20)
... To make the land
desolate... (Isaiah, 13:9)
... The earth will
shake from its place. (Isaiah, 13:13)
50.12.
The razing of Iraqi cities:
Babylon,
the jewel of kingdoms... will be overthrown by God. (Isaiah, 13:19)
51. The
appearance of Gog and Magog in the End Times (World Wars I and II):
The travails of the
Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]: "day" is written here... The wars of
Gog and Magog: "day" is written here; whilst there it is written, in
that day when Gog shall come. (Talmud, Shabbath 118a)
... [Time on the
earth] will be spent... some in the war of Gog and Magog, and the remaining
[period] will be the Messianic era [that of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)], whilst the
Holy One, blessed be He, will renew His world only after seven thousand years.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b)
51.1.
Their being a vast population:
... All the hordes
gathered... (Ezekiel, 38:7)
You will advance...
like a cloud that covers the land... (Ezekiel, 38:16)
... All of them
brandishing their swords... (Ezekiel, 38:4)
51.2.
Their constituting a multinational society:
... Many nations with
you, all of them riding on horses... (Ezekiel, 38:15)
You and all your
troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm...
(Ezekiel, 38:9)
51.3.
Their having large armed forces:
... Your whole
army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and
small shields, all of them brandishing their swords... with them, [their
troops] all with shields and helmets... (Ezekiel, 38:4-5)
... All of them riding
on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. (Ezekiel, 38:15)
51.4.
Their causing corruption:
... You will devise an
evil scheme. You will say... "I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting
people"... (Ezekiel, 38:10-11)
Every man's
sword will be against his brother. (Ezekiel, 38:21)
51.5.
Their being an aggressive, plundering society:
You will say,
"... I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled
ruins..." (Ezekiel, 38:11-12)
[People] will say to you, "Have you come
to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and
gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" (Ezekiel,
38:13)
You and all your
troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm...
(Ezekiel, 38:9)
51.6.
Their waging war in the mountains:
"I will summon a
sword against Gog on all My mountains," declares the Sovereign Lord...
(Ezekiel, 38:21)
51.7.
Their using chemical weapons in wars:
... I will pour
down... hailstones and burning sulfur*... on the many nations... (Ezekiel,
38:22)
* Mustard gas, a chemical weapon containing
sulfur chloride and used in World Wars I and II, was widely employed and had a
burning effect on the human body.
51.8.
The outbreak of epidemics in time of war:
I will execute
judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed... (Ezekiel, 38:22)
Men will be regularly
employed to cleanse the land [from epidemics]... (Ezekiel, 39:14)
51.9.
The deaths of many people in war:
... Gog and all his
hordes will be buried there... For seven months, [people] will be burying them
in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them... Some
will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those
that remain on the ground... (Ezekiel 39:11-14)
You will fall in the
open field... (Ezekiel, 39:5)
Every man's sword will
be against his brother... (Ezekiel, 38:21)
51.10.
Attacks on defenseless people:
... You will invade a
land that has recovered from war whose people... now... live in safety...
(Ezekiel, 38:8)
You will say, "I
will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and
unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and
bars. (Ezekiel, 38:11)
52. Statements
by the Prophets (peace be upon them all) referring to the time of Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh):
All the Prophets
prophesied only for the days of the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]... (Talmud, Berachoth
34b, Shabbath 63a)
All the Prophets
prophesied [all the good things] only in respect of the Messianic era [the era
of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a)
53. The
troubled period of the End Times having no effect on devout believers:
Abaye enquired of
Rabbah: "What is your reason [for not wishing to see him]? Shall we say,
because of the birth pangs [preceding the advent] of the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi
(pbuh)]?" But it has been taught... "What must a man do to be spared the
pangs of the Messiah [Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh)]?" "Let him engage in study
and benevolence; and your master do both." (Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b)
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