Free The Little Book of the End of the World by Ken Mooney

Messiah, or Mahdi. The Báb also wrote that he would be followed by another figure, ‘He whom God shall make manifest’, the final messiah figure that is common to many Eastern and Western religions and philosophies.
    The Báb was executed for heresy, but one of his followers, Bahá’u’lláh continued his teachings and later claimed to be the predicted ‘He whom God shall make manifest’. Bahá’u’lláh’s goal was to unite humanity under one religion and one cause that would acknowledge and respect all of the beliefs that had gone before. As such, the Bahá’i faith believes that Bahá’u’lláh’s existence brings an end to the process of progressive revelation, and that the next stage of enlightenment will not be achieved until humanity accepts his teachings.
    During his life, Bahá’u’lláh wrote a book called The Seven Valleys , which outlined the various levels of enlightenment that the human spirit must travel through. These are Search, Love, Knowledge, Unity, Contentment, Wonderment, True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness. Absolute Nothingness might sound like an act of ultimate destruction, similar to that found in the Endtimes, but this stage actually involves closeness to God, during which the spirit is reduced to nothing in the glory of God’s presence.
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    TAOISM
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    Taoism is more of a system and practice for belief than an organised religion. The word tao is translated as ‘way’ and the faith emphasises the practices for a way of life that respects the natural order in all things, without necessarily attributing that to the worship of a god.
    There are, however, still gods in the Taoist belief, and like many of the other beliefs we’ve discussed, there is a prophesied Endtime which will occur at a time when worship and virtue fall into decline.
    Taoism also has its own Messianic figure in Li Hong, a potential reincarnation or descendant of Laozi, the writer of the Tao Te Ching, Taoism’s holy book. Li Hong is foretold to arrive to settle a great disturbance in the order of Heaven and Earth; like many messianic characters, Li Hong would also rescue a chosen people who would be marked by their devotion, virtues and practices during their life.
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    BUDDHISM
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    Buddhism is based around the teachings of the Buddha, or ‘the enlightened one’, a teacher in Northern India around the sixth century BC . Buddha’s teachings aim to help humanity to set aside their suffering and achieve enlightenment and contentment. This is not a short journey, and the concept of rebirth is integral to Buddhist belief, and the spiritual journey continues well after the individual’s physical death.
    Buddhists do not believe in a God so much as in the cosmic force of Karma, a force that drives our ongoing rebirth, with good deeds and thoughts rewarded in later stages of the spiritual journey. Buddha foresaw the decline of both his teachings and the Buddhist faith after 5,000 years when society would collapse and require the coming of a new spiritual figure, Maitreya, who would make himself known when the teachings of the Buddha had been completely forgotten, meaning that humanity most needs spiritual salvation.

    The number seven also occurs in Buddhist eschatology: in the ‘Sermon of the Seven Suns’, Buddha outlines a possible End of the World scenario where the appearance of a second sun – and five subsequent suns – will dry the Earth and turn everything to sand and dust until it meets a final fiery end.
    Rather than a prediction about the End of the World, the Sermon of the Seven Suns can be read as a meditation on the cyclical nature of Buddhism, and a gentle reminder that even the ongoing cycle of karma and rebirth is not infinite. Like many other cultures and religions, the Buddhist world may still end in destructive fire, and if you have not lived an appropriate life prior to the end, you will not be saved.
    Buddhist teachings have been adopted around the world, and even spread to other