Lecture Lahore — Page 47
47 Surely no sensible person would accept this. But the Holy Quran tells us that God is the Eternal Creator Who, if He so wills, may destroy the heaven and earth billions of times and create them anew just as before. God has informed us that the present human race originated from Adam, our common ancestor who came after the previous 'races', and this human race has an age of seven thousand years, and that these seven thousand years are to God just as seven days are to man. It has been decreed by the Divine law that every 'race' has a life span of seven thousand years, and it is to highlight this fact that the seven days have been or- dained for man. Thus, the time ordained for the children of Adam is seven thousand years, five of which had al- ready passed by the time of our Holy Prophet sa , as shown by the numerical value of the words of S u rah Al-‘A s r. By now six thousand years of this era have gone and a thou- sand years remain. It has been prophesized, not only by the Holy Quran but by many earlier scriptures, that the last Messenger who will appear in the likeness of Adam, and will be named the Messiah, will appear at the end of the sixth millennium, just as Adam was born towards the end of the sixth day. All these signs should suffice for a man of understanding. According to the Holy Quran and other Divine scriptures, the seven millenniums have been further divided as fol- lows: First millennium: for the spread of guidance and virtue. Second millennium: for dominance of Satan. Third millennium: for the spread of guidance and virtue. Fourth millennium: for the dominance of Satan. Fifth millen-