Apocalyptic

This entry focuses on views on the end of time, and on the apocalyptic views (defined as the views on an upheaval of existence caused by evil forces, and a subsequent reestablishment of order thanks to the action of good entities), in Zoroastrianism between the pre‐Islamic period and the early Islamic period (ninth–tenth centuries ce ) of Iranian history. It first examines the main views on the end of time according to the Avesta, the sacred textual corpus of Zoroastrianism. It explains how the main doctrine of Avestan eschatology is that, at the end of history, evil is eliminated from the cosmos. The entry then focuses on the apocalyptic views contained in the Zoroastrian Pahlavi literature, which are also rooted in the view that evil is ultimately defeated. It outlines the apocalyptic events taking place in the final three of the twelve millennia into which history is divided according to Pahlavi literature, and describes the events that accompany the final elimination of evil according to this literature. The entry provides some information on the main Pahlavi source with apocalyptic contents, the “Explanation of the Hymn of Wahman,” a text dating probably to the ninth century ce . The entry also briefly discusses the traces of knowledge outside of the Zoroastrian community, in the period it discusses, of Zoroastrian views on the end of time. Finally, it addresses the question of the possible impact of Zoroastrian views on the end of time on Judaism and Christianity.