I found this Hermetic prophecy to be a profound truth about todays society

The Hermetic prophecy is probably 3000 to 4000 years old but it seems to me to ring very true today. Essentially, the message is without any real devotion to piety man is doomed to experience, "all manner of reckless crime, into wars, and robberies, and frauds, and all things hostile to the nature of the soul."

Trismegistus:

Do you not know, Asclepius, that Egypt is an image of heaven, or, to speak more exactly, in Egypt all the operations of the powers which rule and work in heaven have been transferred to earth below?

Nay, it should rather be said that the whole Kosmos dwells in this our land as in its sanctuary. And yet, since it is fitting that wise men should have knowledge of all events before they come to pass, you must not be left in ignorance of this: there will come a time when it will be seen that in vain have the Egyptians honoured the deity with heartfelt piety and assiduous service; and all our holy worship will be found bootless and ineffectual. For the gods will return from earth to heaven; Egypt will be forsaken, and the land which was once the home of religion will be left desolate, bereft of the presence of its deities.

This land and region will be filled with foreigners; not only will men neglect the service of the gods, but ... ; and Egypt will be occupied by Scythians or Indians or by some such race from the barbarian countries thereabout. In that day will our most holy land, this land of shrines and temples, be filled with funerals and corpses. To thee, most holy Nile, I cry, to thee I foretell that which shall be; swollen with torrents of blood, thou wilt rise to the level of thy banks, and thy sacred waves will be not only stained, but utterly fouled with gore.

Do you weep at this, Asclepius? There is worse to come; Egypt herself will have yet more to suffer; she will fall into a far more piteous plight, and will be infected with yet more, grievous plagues; and this land, which once was holy, a land which loved the gods, and wherein alone, in reward for her devotion, the gods deigned to sojourn upon earth, a land which was the teacher of mankind in holiness and piety, this land will go beyond all in cruel deeds. The dead will far outnumber the living; and the survivors will be known for Egyptians by their tongue alone, but in their actions they will seem to be men of another race.

0 Egypt, Egypt, of thy religion nothing will remain but an empty tale, which thine own children in time to come will not believe; nothing will be left but graven words, and only the stones will tell of thy piety. And in that day men will be weary of life, and they will cease to think the universe worthy of reverent wonder and of worship. And so religion, the greatest of all blessings, for there is nothing, nor has been, nor ever shall be, that can be deemed a greater boon, will be threatened with destruction; men will think it a burden, and will come to scorn it. They will no longer love this world around us, this incomparable work of God, this glorious structure which he has built, this sum of good made up of things of many diverse forms, this instrument whereby the will of God operates in that which be has made, ungrudgingly favouring man's welfare, this combination and accumulation of all the manifold things that can call forth the veneration, praise, and love of the beholder.

Darkness will be preferred to light, and death will be thought more profitable than life; no one will raise his eyes to heaven ; the pious will be deemed insane, and the impious wise; the madman will be thought a brave man, and the wicked will be esteemed as good. As to the soul, and the belief that it is immortal by nature, or may hope to attain to immortality, as I have taught you, all this they will mock at, and will even persuade themselves that it is false., No word of reverence or piety, no utterance worthy of heaven and of the gods of heaven, will be heard or believed.

And so the gods will depart from mankind, a grievous thing!, and only evil angels will remain, who will mingle with men, and drive the poor wretches by main force into all manner of reckless crime, into wars, and robberies, and frauds, and all things hostile to the nature of the soul. Then will the earth no longer stand unshaken, and the sea will bear no ships; heaven will not support the stars in their orbits, nor will the stars pursue their constant course in heaven; all voices of the gods will of necessity be silenced and dumb; the fruits of the earth will rot; the soil will turn barren, and the very air will sicken in sullen stagnation. After this manner will old age come upon the world. Religion will be no more; all things will be disordered and awry; all good will disappear.

But when all this has befallen, Asclepius, then the Master and Father, God, the first before all, the maker of that god who first came into being, will look on that which has come to pass, and will stay the disorder by the counterworking of his will, which is the good. He will call back to the right path those who have gone astray; he will cleanse the world from evil, now washing it away with waterfloods, now burning it out with fiercest fire, or again expelling it by war and pestilence. And thus he will bring back his world to its former aspect, so that the Kosmos will once more be deemed worthy of worship and wondering reverence, and God, the maker and restorer of the mighty fabric, will be adored by the men of that day with unceasing hymns of praise and blessing. Such is the new birth of the Kosmos; it is a making again of all things good, a holy and awe-striking restoration of all nature; and it is wrought in the process of time by the eternal will of God. For Gods will has no beginning; it is ever the same, and as it now is, even so it has ever been, without beginning. For it is the very being of God to purpose good.

www.michaelmandeville.com...

a reply to: dfnj2015

So totally profound. I see the parallel for both modern day Egypt and modern society.

Can you imagine reading this way back when and thinking "by god how horrible, how could one stand to exist in that place!".
And yet here we are....

I find myself contemplating our existence and thinking that there has to be a chance at some kind of salvation at the end, otherwise its all for what??
I do really envy the Christian and the Muslim with unyielding faith in the existence of God, what comfort that would be!

a reply to: dfnj2015

Most religious prophecies contain the same message. The fundamental idea is this. The spirit must die in order for it to be reborn.

It is when mankind is nearest to death and darkness that the father breathes life back into his creation. I believe the time of death is drawing to it's conclusion and many alive today will be around to witness the rebirth.

originally posted by: Osirisvset
I find myself contemplating our existence and thinking that there has to be a chance at some kind of salvation at the end, otherwise its all for what??
I do really envy the Christian and the Muslim with unyielding faith in God, what comfort that would be!

It is an easy path to follow, we get forgiven based on how we forgive those who hurt us. I do think it is better to have hope for something that has a condition we treat other people just as I want them to treat me, rather than to be thinking there is no hope for a better future.

originally posted by: Justoneman

originally posted by: Osirisvset
I find myself contemplating our existence and thinking that there has to be a chance at some kind of salvation at the end, otherwise its all for what??
I do really envy the Christian and the Muslim with unyielding faith in God, what comfort that would be!

It is an easy path to follow, we get forgiven based on how we forgive those who hurt us. I do think it is better to have hope for something that has a condition we treat other people just as I want them to treat me, rather than to be thinking there is no hope for a better future.

I am a big believer in the importance and power of forgiveness, absolutely no need for a higher power to understand what is right.

I do find it quite odd how the it seems religious(whom I respect as I respect anyone's beliefs, as long as those beliefs aren't forced on others)people don't understand how morality can exist without guidance from God.
I feel that people in general want to be good and do good things, it feels great to help other people and I think its sad that our innate humanity is diminished, when its attributed to something other than humans.

Is someone that does good only because they feel that God/the bible commands it truly good?, I'm not too sure about that.
BTW im not saying that I think Christians are bad, I think many of them are great people and would be anyway independent of any heavenly commandments.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Problem is most of Egyptian story's are from when they never existed,as time passes just another tale,when using a time line,nothing adds up,just like in math if things don't add up then there is a wrong or missing equation

a reply to: dfnj2015

Egypt is us.
The foreigners are our internal struggle to be raised spiritually.

As above, so below. As below, so above.

How did you get the 3000 to 4000 years old number? The link in the OP leads to a translation of part of the Hermetica:

The Hermetica are Egyptian-Greek wisdom texts from the 2nd century AD and later...

Source: wikipedia

Of course, it contains (Pagan or human) philosophy, not wisdom as wikipedia and its 'fans' claim (fans as in those impressed with these texts or those praising their worth).

Wisdom: Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2
Philosophy: Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2

The Greek word phi·lo·so·phiʹa means, literally, “love of wisdom.” In modern usage the term relates to human endeavors to understand and interpret through reason and speculation the whole of human experience, including the underlying causes and principles of reality.
...
In his inspired letters Paul emphasized a number of times that the wisdom and falsely called knowledge of the world is foolishness with God and is to be avoided by Christians.​—1Co 1:18-31; 2:6-8, 13; 3:18-20; 1Ti 6:20.

Philosophy: Reasoning From the Scriptures

Definition: The word philosophy is derived from Greek roots that mean “love of wisdom.” As used here, philosophy is not built on acceptance of belief in God, but it tries to give people a unified view of the universe and endeavors to make them critical thinkers. It employs chiefly speculative means rather than observation in a search for truth.

How can any of us acquire true knowledge and wisdom?

Prov. 1:7; Ps. 111:10: “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge . . . [and] of wisdom.” (If the universe were not the product of an intelligent Creator but only of some blind, irrational force, then no unified view of the universe would be possible, would it? Nothing that would qualify as wisdom could result from a study of something that was itself irrational, could it? Those who attempt to understand the universe or life itself, while endeavoring to leave God and his purpose out of account, meet with constant frustration. They misinterpret what they learn and misuse facts that they glean. Leaving out of account belief in God destroys the key to accurate knowledge and makes impossible any truly consistent framework of thought.)
...
What is the origin of human philosophies?

They come from people who have limitations: The Bible informs us: “It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jer. 10:23) History testifies that trying to ignore that limitation has not produced good results. On one occasion, “Jehovah proceeded to answer Job out of the windstorm and say: ‘Who is this that is obscuring counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins, please, like an able-bodied man, and let me question you, and you inform me. Where did you happen to be when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you do know understanding.’” (Job 38:1-4) (Humans by nature have limitations. Additionally, their experience in life is relatively brief and is usually confined to one culture or one environment. The knowledge they possess is thus restricted, and everything is interconnected to such an extent that they constantly find aspects that they had not adequately considered. Any philosophy that they originate will reflect these limitations.)

They are developed by humans who are imperfect: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) “There exists a way that is upright before a man, but the ways of death are the end of it afterward.” (Prov. 14:12) (Because of such imperfection, human philosophies often reflect a basic selfishness that leads perhaps to momentary pleasure but also to frustration and much unhappiness.)

They are influenced by demonic spirits: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) “The one called Devil and Satan . . . is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 12:9) “You at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:2) (Philosophies that encourage people to disobey God’s wholesome and upright requirements reflect such an influence. No wonder that, as history testifies, human philosophies and schemes have often brought grief to large segments of humankind.)

Why is it an evidence of clear thinking to study the teachings of Jesus Christ instead of human philosophy?
...

a reply to: dfnj2015

Actually it is widely believed that the Hermetica which is a Gnostic text was only made some time in the sixteenth century (most place it around the late 17th or early to mid 18th) at the earliest and in that respect it is also not even true Gnostic but NEO Gnostic in nature though it could potentially have drawn upon far earlier sources.

Hermes Thrice Great should also give it away, it is supposed to be of ancient Egyptian origin with Hermes supposedly another name for Thoth but it is obvious that the writer was not well acquainted enough with the ancient Egyptian deity so instead drew upon gnostic greek sources (not necessarily from greece many of the writers of the period wrote in classical Greek and Latin.

If you read a plain english translation of the Hermetica it read's as a story about/from the perspective of some guy's out of body experiences and also like he was on some pretty damn potent stuff while he was having them.

So I really would not put too much faith in the Hermetica which I have also read or the belief in the emerald tablet's or other alchemical illusion's.

And rather imagine the search for the philosophers stone as simply another version of the search for the holy grail.

When in fact it was there all along and you could only find it by faith, right in every church and every place were two or more were genuinely gathered in the REAL lord's name.

Cool read, I like the poetic nature. It's the cycle, seems fairly intuitive (for a prophecy, lol). A thing starts, at first it's young, beautiful and ideal, then it ages and decays, becomes corrupted, and eventually is destroyed, and the slate is wiped clean. Then it all starts again. And it's pretty much everything in the known universe that follows the pattern, from atoms interacting, molecules forming, stars forming, matter condensing, solar systems forming, complex life arising, and one could even extend the cycle to human constructs like relationships, civilisations, etc, etc, And eventually it all falls apart and returns to the atoms (subatomic as well?) and starts over. Over and over and over. Humbling, and awesome. And it makes for a good prophecy on any given subject, just pick a point in the cycle.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Many Bible prophecy was made during that time too. But I doubt the one you are examining is that old.

see LANTECH767's reply above