Sibylline OraclesThe Sibylline Oracles (Oracula Sibyllina; sometimes called the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles) are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of Sibylline Oracles survive, in an edition of the 6th or 7th century AD. They are not to be confused with the original Sibylline Books of the ancient Etruscans and Romans which were burned by order of the Roman general Flavius Stilicho in the 4th century AD.
ParableA parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of metaphorical analogy. Some scholars of the canonical gospels and the New Testament apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus, although that is not a common restriction of the term.
Vaticinium ex eventuvāticinium ex ēventū (wäːt̪ɪˈkɪnɪ.ʊ̃ˑ ɛks eːˈwɛn̪t̪uː, "prophecy from the event") or post eventum ("after the event") is a technical theological or historiographical term referring to a prophecy written after the author already had information about the events being "foretold". The text is written so as to appear that the prophecy had taken place before the event, when in fact it was written after the events supposedly predicted. Vaticinium ex eventu is a form of hindsight bias. The concept is similar to postdiction.
AiryamanIn the Avesta, airyaman (or airiiaman) is both an Avestan language common noun and the proper name of a Zoroastrian divinity. The common noun is a theological and social term literally meaning "member of (the) community or tribe." In a secondary development, the common noun became the proper name of a divinity Airyaman, who is the yazata of health and healing.[*] In Zoroastrian tradition, Avestan Airyaman is Middle Persian Erman (Ērmān).
World religionsWorld religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the four—and in some cases more—largest and most internationally widespread religious movements. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are always included in the list, being known as the "Big Four". Some scholars also include other world religions, such as Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism, the Baháʼí Faith, Jainism, Confucianism, Shinto and Zoroastrianism, in the category.
Hindu eschatologyHindu eschatology is linked in the Hindu tradition to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu names of the Supreme Being in Hinduism and before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe. The current period is believed by Hindus to be the Kali Yuga, the last of four Yuga that make up the current age. It started when Krishna left the Earth in 3102 BC or 5124 years from 2023. Each period has seen a progressive decline in morality, to the point that in Kali Yuga quarrel and hypocrisy are norm.
Apocalypse of ThomasThe Apocalypse of Thomas is a work from the New Testament apocrypha, apparently composed originally in Greek. It concerns the end of the world, and appears to be influenced by the Apocalypse of John (better known later as the Book of Revelation), although it is written in a less mystical and cosmic manner. The Apocalypse of Thomas is the inspiration for the popular medieval millennial list Fifteen Signs before Doomsday.
Immanentize the eschatonIn political theory and theology, to immanentize the eschaton is a generally pejorative term referring to attempts to bring about utopian conditions in the world, and to effectively create heaven on earth. Theologically, the belief is akin to postmillennialism as reflected in the Social Gospel of the 1880–1930 era, as well as Protestant reform movements during the Second Great Awakening in the 1830s and 1840s such as abolitionism. Modern usage of the phrase started with Eric Voegelin in The New Science of Politics in 1952.
Covenant (religion)In religion, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. The concept, central to the Abrahamic religions, is derived from the biblical covenants, notably from the Abrahamic covenant. Christianity asserts that God made an additional covenant through Jesus Christ, called the "new covenant". A covenant in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.
Doomsday cultA doomsday cult is a cult that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianism, including both those that predict disaster and those that attempt to destroy the entire universe. Sociologist John Lofland coined the term doomsday cult in his 1966 study of a group of members of the Unification Church of the United States: Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith. In 1958, Leon Festinger published a study of a group with cataclysmic predictions: When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World.
