(Clearwisdom.net) As the old forces cannot see their own degeneration, they think that they are still controlling the cosmos. They made arrangements for the final great events of the cosmos at all levels. Detailed arrangements were made at the very beginning, when each level of the cosmos was taking shape. Therefore, ever since ancient times, the old forces passed down prophecies from their own systems and levels amongst different people, different legends and different beliefs. Actually, the old forces arranged the various prophecies and predictions we see today. Since Teacher introduced Dafa, the old forces' arrangements have been negated and have begun to change.
The new cosmos and the old cosmos are fundamentally different. The new cosmos has been created directly by Teacher and Dafa. My understanding is that it will never change, that it will never be destroyed and that it will constantly harmonize itself. It is therefore more perfect than the old cosmos. High level beings in the old cosmos only know the standards for beings at and below their own levels, as Master Li tells us. The standards reflect what they enlightened to and bore their characteristics. That's why the characteristics [of the cosmos] were different each time the cosmos was re-built over the ages. Since great enlightened beings at different levels of the cosmos only know about themselves and those below them, they do not accept the concept of beings above themselves, so they all think they are the sole masters of the cosmos. It's very hard for them to believe that there are higher beings above them.
Therefore, we can see from the words in different religions that each regards their god as the sole, true god, while in fact, they are only the gods of their cosmic systems. For these gods, the end of their cosmic systems was clear. Since each clearly foresaw the end of their cosmic system, they began to arrange for salvation of their beings when their cosmic system was first formed. They foresaw the process of beings in their cosmos walking toward degeneration, and wanted to save them, but since they did not realize the existence of a higher Fa, they thought that they were the eternal beings that would stay until the end. They cannot see that within the time field of a higher cosmos, on a lengthier time scale, they themselves are also degenerating. Even less can they see that their own degeneration is precisely the cause for the deviation and degeneration of cosmic dimensions below their own. That is why, during Fa-rectification, some of them refuse to change themselves. When Fa-rectification reaches them, their degeneration would completely show itself. It manifests itself as stubbornness and selfishness, and they would obstinately hold on to the old things they have - all of which has been reflected upon our Dafa practitioners to a certain extent. In other words, during the process of our assimilation to Dafa, we show all kinds of attachments and shortcomings at different levels, such as clinging to old notions such as selfishness and we are unwilling to look inward to fundamentally change ourselves. There are others, too.
Gods at different levels of the old cosmos among the old forces are different from our practitioners in the human world. These gods would hold onto everything they see and insist on their own arrangements, yet these arrangements are the very interference that Master encounters at different levels during Fa-rectification. Since these gods cannot see the truth and are unwilling to look at and imagine the truth outside their own realms, they have dared to do what they have done.
Master said, "...let me tell you that for every event, every life, and everything done in this universe, the future can be seen from beginning to end. Only the future of this undertaking of mine can't be seen by anyone. There simply was no future before I set out to do it" (Falun Buddha Fa--áLecture at the First Conference in North America). Understanding this, how could the various so-called prophecies foretell what was truly going to happen? Those were only things the prophets had envisioned that were going to take place at that time, while Fa-rectification has actually already changed these things. That is the reason why these prophecies are only reflections of the old version of truths at different levels. For example, all these prophecies had predicted that a brutal and horrific persecution would take place. These were the arrangements of the old forces, not Master's. As for the persecution arranged by the old forces, Master was eliminating it right from the beginning! We absolutely cannot acknowledge their evil arrangements.
For example, the Bible mentions that a vicious beast had blasphemed God for forty-two months. Master also mentioned but never acknowledged this story, and we of course should not accept it, either. We should not think because it has not been quite three and a half years the evil situation cannot yet be resolved.
When we talk to everyday people about these prophecies we should pay attention to this issue, because Master has already foretold what is going to happen, such as in "The Foretelling," "The Blessings From Dafa," "Entering the Gate of No-Life," "Catastrophe," "The Cleansing," and "Dafa is Good," and other writings. When we tell non-practitioners about ancient prophecies, we should also tell them the true, great prophecies of today, because the past prophecies only related past predestined events, at different levels and from different systems, which have already been altered. Master said, "Master has spread Dafa for ten years. Even in the human world, predestinations have been greatly changed. The comet catastrophe predestined in history is no more, the third world war has been averted, and the peril in 1999 from the cycle of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction of Heaven and Earth will never recur. The Fa-rectification of the human world is on the verge of arriving." ("The Blessings From Dafa") These are true words of salvation, are they not?
We have learned and all know from past prophecies that Buddhism talks about the coming of Buddha Maitreya. Christianity speaks about the return of Jesus and Taoism holds similar prophecies as well. Many other prophecies were circulated, though none of these referred to Master's Fa-rectification event, merely their own small-scale arrangements. Thus, when we talk about these prophecies, we should remember to distinguish them from Dafa. In Touring North America to Teach the Fa, Master said, "I'm not the only one--a lot of Gods in the colossal firmament have come down to the human world, and they, too, had to come down, step by step, like this. Many Gods from different levels have come from the cosmos, and they came with the purpose of saving the colossal firmament. To humans, they are beings at extremely high levels. They vowed to save all this, and indeed a lot of them came down. Their original intention was good, but they were unable to carry it out. Not only couldn't they do it, but they also couldn't return anymore." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
I have indeed met such kinds of people. To human beings, their levels are unquestionably high. However, when they wanted to do something about saving the universe, they found that they could not do anything. All of their arrangements have lost their effectiveness. Of course, they did not know that they could not return any more. They only discovered that the things they had cultivated in the past have become useless. What had been predestined in the past has largely become ineffective, but they still stick with what they have. This way, it is very difficult for them to see the truth of the universe. Their predictions have already been altered.
