He Comes as . . . Shah-Bahram
(Zoroastrian Prophecies)

Shah-Bahram is the promised world teacher to arise from Persia, as prophesied by Zoroaster.  Two prophecies in particular are going to be looked at in depth and both deal with the coming of the same Prophet.  Both prophecies from Zoroaster’s and Daniel’s time begin with the Dispensation of the Fourth Seal, which is the sign of the crescent and star.  It is the sign of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (Revelation 6:7-8).  What follows are the two prophecies:

“When a thousand two hundred and some years have passed from the inception of the religion of the Arabian and the overthrow of the kingdom of Iran and the degradation of the followers of My religion, a descendant of the Iranian kings will be raised up as a Prophet” (Zoroaster, Dinkird).*

Also, we need to look at a synonymous prophetic word from Daniel:

 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Daniel 12:11).
 

Setting the scene:

Because these prophecies begin at Muhammad’s time, a basic understanding of the changes that Islam brought to The Greatest Sign is necessary in understanding the Prophetic words of Zoroaster and Daniel.
 

1. A Prophet From Arabia:

As it was recorded in the Bible and in THOTH:

 “Isaac begot Esau and Jacob.  Esau married many wives and had many sons.  They created Edomites, and because he also married one of the daughters of Ishmael, they mixed with Ishmaelites (Arabs).  So through Arabs and Edomites, He created nations and blessed the people on earth.” (Genesis 27:39-40) (THOTH, The Children Of Abram (Abraham), T. 13  V 1]

 God, as explained in THOTH, kept His Promises:

 “Furthermore, the promises given about Ishmael are fulfilled.  After Christ’s teachings, when he directly told the Jews that they would no longer be the possessors of the scepter and another nation would be chosen, ‘…The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.’ (Matthew 21:43), then the next Prophet did not come from the Jews but from their brothers, the Arabs (the seed of Ishmael).” (Ibid, V 14)

 
“Arabs are a very large nation which possess a substantial portion of the world, and were also blessed by the religion of Islam, being submissive to the Lord.” (Ibid, V 15)
 

2. Islam brings the final spiritual truth to humanity:

 “The name ‘Islam’ comes from ‘tasleim’ which means to be surrendered or submissive to the Will of the Lord. That is the highest achievement in the spiritual world. To be submissive or surrendered to the Lord does not mean to be an escapist, but to do the best in everything, try to understand what is His Will and do accordingly, and then surrender the result of our actions to Him. That is, whatever the outcome should be accepted as His Will, not being attached to the result of our actions, and to be content with the outcome.” (Ibid, V16-17)

With all the spiritual truths realized:  the awakening of the spiritual forces, realizing the need to bring the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, knowing that sacrifice is necessary to bring the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, and that in our efforts to do God’s Will we submit the result of the work to God having no attachment to it; Muhammad banned many previous religious practices of the followers of the Mystical Paths, Judaism, and Christianity, that were no longer needed for spiritual progress.  The reason for Muhammad’s bans on all forms of sacrificial acts, from animal sacrifice in the temple, to the Christian Eucharist, is explained by Maitreya:

 “The reasons for the difference in the teachings of the Prophets are twofold, for the same reasons:  (1) because the mission of each Prophet is different, and (2) because the consciousness of the human is in a higher level at the time of the new teacher than when the previous Prophet came....” (THOTH, The Children Of Abram (Abraham), T 10, V9)
 

3. The War for Arabia, Persia, and Africa

The public ministry of Muhammad began sometime in the Christian calendar in the year 622 A.D..  After that period, the next ten years of Muhammad’s life would be plagued by struggles and wars.  Here is a brief list:

624 A.D. The Battle of Badr: the outnumbered Muslims defeat the Quraysh.

625 A.D. The Battle of Uhud: the Muslims are defeated.

627 A.D. ‘The War of the Ditch’ -- A Meccan expedition against the Muslims of Medina.

628 A.D. The Treaty of Hudaybiyya; a truce is made recognizing Muhammad’s rights to proselytize without hindrance.

629 A.D. Muhammad sends declaration letters to Iran, Yemen, and Ethiopia and the Emperor Heraclius, inviting all to accept Islam.

630 A.D. Muhammad invades Mecca after the Quraysh break the truce. The Ka’bah established as the center of religious life for Islam. The subsequent banning of all idol worship, polytheism, and acts of Levitical or other types of sacrifice.

631 A.D. The Arabian Peninsula united under Islam.

632 A.D. The Death of Muhammad, three months after His Pilgrimage to Mecca.

These military battles were prophesied by St. John the Revealer and explained by Maitreya.  In THOTH we find:

“‘And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations’ (Rev. 2:26), The power over the nations was given to the Moslems when in a short period of time they conquered so many great nations, such as Persia and Rome.  This was possible only because they were following the true teachings of Prophet Muhammad at that time.  Also, it was His Will. (Rev. 6:8).” (THOTH, Holiest 3, T8, V28)

With this groundwork set, we may begin to gain a fuller understanding of these two prophecies.  Let us begin examining this prophecy by setting its historic context.  Zoroaster refers to:

“the overthrow of the kingdom of Iran and the degradation of the followers of My religion...”

The thousand year old “kingdom of Iran” indeed was “overthrown” by the followers of the “religion of the Arabian (Muhammad)” in the seventh century A.D.  The followers of Zoroastrianism were conquered and “degraded” by Muslims whose treatment of them was at times poor and at other times liberating.  

The Muslims respected Zoroastrian belief in the One-Wise God named Ahura Mazda.  Nevertheless, many cults of Zoroastrianism worshiped many gods, and such cults and polytheism were seen as a threat to Islam’s belief in Allah and that Muhammad was His Prophet.  Most of the time the harshest treatment Zoroastrians received was a special “kofr-tax” or a tax imposed on people who were not believers in Islam but were under the control of the Islamic government.  Nevertheless, the Muslims conquered the Iranian empire, just as God said it would be near the date 687 A.D.

The ultimate destruction of the Persian Empire, however, came in 1980 by the revolution of Islamic clergy in that country.  Although Islam tried to destroy that empire in its first invasion of that nation, the kingdom (empire) was revived later and continued until 1980.  It is this latest destruction that fulfills the prophecy give by Zoroaster.  It effectively destroyed an empire that was in existence for 2500 years!

When this final destruction of the Persian Empire came (in 1980), it is then that, "a descendant of the Iranian kings will be raised up as a Prophet."

Likewise the Prophet Daniel gives us a similar sign for the Jews to watch for: “ And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up . . .”

The daily sacrifice and the abomination of desolation are often misunderstood concepts, but Maitreya explains their meanings in THOTH:

“‘Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and host to be trodden under foot?’ (Daniel 8:13).  These people who will reach higher consciousness and know surely that there is a God with a definite Plan for this creation but do not know what The Plan is and how it will be fulfilled, despair that, ‘…How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?’ They wonder when the Kingdom of God will come and the unworthy people and unbelievers will be destroyed (their diseased minds).” (THOTH, Commentaries on Prophecies in Daniel , T 9, V 1)

According to Daniel, the saints were discussing when God’s Kingdom will come and when the unbelievers will be cleansed.  The response they received in the eighth chapter of Daniel is different than the one in the twelfth, but the end result is the same:  when the time elapses, then the Day of Judgment is at hand.  And what is the Day of Judgment? Maitreya explains:

“The Day of Judgment is the beginning of the next age in which the true spiritual understanding will dawn and the age of enlightenment will start (resurrection).” (THOTH, The Children of Abram (Abraham), T10, V20)

Prophet Muhammad, in the year 622 A.D., sanctified Islamic belief from all forms of sacrifice, but it was not until some time later that the regions God had given Islam to invade were also sanctified.  It wasn’t until about 687 A.D. that the lands of Iran, Ethiopia, and Yemen were under Islamic control as Muhammad had envisioned in 629 A.D.  Therefore, we can see that in the year 687 A.D., just as God had promised, the daily sacrifice was ended.

Also, it was only a few years later that Islam reached its Golden Age of learning.  Muslims flourished in art, sciences, mathematics, and even medicine.  God, however, prophesied this also, as the “abomination that maketh desolate,” or when science and learning become the only foundation for society, and God, the true teacher, is left unnoticed.  The date in chapter eight of Daniel deals with the abomination of desolation, and the date in chapter twelve of Daniel deals with the ending of the daily sacrifice.  (Suggested reading: THOTH, Commentaries on Prophecies in Daniel, “Period of Intellectual Domination”)

Zoroaster gives us a general time frame when the Persian Prophet will arise.  He said:

“When a thousand two hundred and some years have passed from the inception of the religion of the Arabian (Muhammad)...”

The Zoroastrian time frame is the same as the one given by Daniel:

“…there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days…”

The date for both these prophecies, as explained earlier, begins in approximately 687 A.D.  The first prophecy deals with the coming of the Prophet and Iranian King (known as Shah-Bahram), whereas the second deals with the coming “Day of Judgment.”  Both however, are referring to the same event.  That is to say, both explain the appearance of a Prophet and the advent of a Day of Judgment as simultaneous events.  In brief we may say:  Where there is God’s Judgment, there also is God’s Revelation and God’s Revealer!  So these prophecies speak of the same event, which will occur 1290 years (Ezekiel 4:6, which states, “I have appointed thee each day for a year”) after 687 A.D.  This would mean both the beginning of Judgment Day and the advent of a Prophet.

The Advent of the Iranian Messiah:

“…a thousand two hundred and some years [1290 years exactly]…from the inception of the religion of the Arabian [Muhammad]…a descendant of the Iranian kings will be raised up as a Prophet.”

From the time of Islam’s invasion and the securing of Iran (around the year 687 A.D.) there would be 1290 years.  Adding those together in approximates gives us the year 1977 A.D.  This year was the year when Maitreya began to receive Revelations from God.  It is important to note that Maitreya was born in modern day Iran in 1944, fulfilling the prophecy given by Zoroaster for the time of the Messiah from Iran to be born a descendant of an Iranian king (one of his ancestors also was a famous king of Iran, Nader Shah!).

The advent of the Day of Judgment:

“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Daniel’s words were also for Iran, as Daniel wrote his prophetic thoughts while in Babylonian controlled Persia (Iran).  Also, according to Daniel, from the time the daily sacrifice was removed from Persia and the intellectuals begin to control all the affairs of Persian life (and no longer God and His religion), there would be 1290 days (years) until Judgment is come.  From the year 687 A.D. to the year 1977 A.D., 1290 years passed from the occupation of Iran, the ending of the daily sacrifice and the beginning of the abomination of desolation (intellectualism).  1977 is the year that Maitreya began to receive Revelations from God, and is the date which corresponds to the Day of Judgment, when, “the beginning of the next age in which the true spiritual understanding will dawn and the age of enlightenment will start.”

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* The authenticity of this quotation/prophecy has been called into question.  We have been made aware of accusations that it was fabricated by some Baha'is to use as foretelling the coming of Bab/Baha'u'llah, and have been unable to independently verify it.  We do not want to include any false prophecies in our website to support our claim.  However, we have had other prophecies challenged which were later confirmed to be authentic.  Also, it is not challenged that in general, Zoroastrians believe in a Savior (Saoshyant/Soshans) who will come at the end times to save the world.  Therefore, we have decided to leave it up and let every individual draw their own conclusions as to its authenticity and value.  If you do not believe it, then ignore it and focus on the rest of the (overwhelming) proof provided by Maitreya, the Mission, and this website!

Further information: Some time after adding the above footnote, we received the following email from a disciple who attempted to authenticate the prophecy and could not: "I ... cannot find any way to verify the prophecy. The Bahais also say the prophecy cannot be verified at this time and some accuse the Bahais of making-up the prophecy. No one can find out where the prophecy comes from, not even with the source that was given: 'Zoroaster, Dinkird.' But, despite not being able to find the source of the prophecy, ie, the Dinkird (more commonly pronounced: Denkard/Denkart) the Denkard is just an old Zoroastrian encyclopedia and not considered authentic scripture anyways. Authentic Zoroastrian scripture would be the Gathas. Here is a quote, to help put the prophecy in a little light, from someone in a blog forum that explains what my conclusions were: the person is responding to the aforementioned prophecy that was posted in that blog forum: 'Find me your passage in it. There is no such passage. Besides [that] the Denkard/Denkart is a late Zoroastrian text from the tenth century during the Islamic period. It is not scripture in the same way that the Gathas are and it is not part of the Avesta (i.e. Yasna, Visperad, Vendidad, Siroza, etc). Denkard/Denkart is a late Zoroastrian encyclopedia, and that is all.' The prophecy cannot be verified at this time is my conclusion. ... The prophecy is talking about the Saoshyant (savior). Although the Saoshyant ideas came later in, the Saoshyant is more authentic than the mentioned prophecy because it comes from the Zoroastrian text Zand-i Vohuman Yasht. As said, the prophecy in question says it is from an encyclopedia but, at that, it still cannot be found in that encyclopedia called Denkard. The prophecy seems to come out of nowhere."

If you have any further information or feedback on this prophecy, please let us know: prophecies@maitreya.org