Written between the 2nd and 4th centuries, the Revelation or Apocalypse of Thomas made popular the medieval list of supposed prophetic signs called Fifteen Signs before Doomsday. These signs were widely used in millenarian circles.
1 Hear, O Thomas, for I am the Son of God the Father, and I am the father of all spirits. 2 Hear from Me the signs which will come to pass at the end of this world, when the end of the world will be fulfilled—before My chosen ones depart out of the world. 3 I will tell you that which will come to pass openly to men, but when these things will be, the princes of the messengers do not know, seeing it is now hidden from before them. 4 Then there will be in the world distributions between king and king, and in all the earth will be great famine, great pestilences, and many distresses, 5 and the sons of men will be led captive among all nations and will fall by the edge of the sword, [[and there will be great commotion in the world]]. 6 Then after that, when the hour of the end draws near, there will be for seven days great signs in the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be moved.
1 Then there will be on the first day the beginning: at the third hour of the day, a great and mighty voice in the firmament of the heavens and a bloody cloud coming up [[or down]] out of the north, and great thunderings and mighty lightnings will follow it, and it will cover the whole sky, and there will be a rain of blood on all the earth. 2 These are the signs of the first day. 3 And on the second day there will be a great voice in the firmament of the heavens, and the earth will be moved out of its place, and the gates of Heaven will be opened in the firmament of the heavens toward the east, and the smoke of a great fire will break forth through the gates of Heaven and will cover all the sky until evening. 4 In that day there will be fears and great terrors in the world. 5 These are the signs of the second day. 6 But on the third day, about the third hour, there will be a great voice in Heaven, and the abysses of the earth will roar from the four corners of the world; 7 the pinnacles of the firmament of the heavens will be opened, and all the air will be filled with pillars of smoke. 8 There will be a stench of brimstone, very evil, until the tenth hour, and men will say: “We think the time draws near in which we perish.” 9 These are the signs of the third day. 10 And on the fourth day, at the first hour, from the land of the east the abyss will melt and roar. 11 Then all the earth will be shaken by the might of an earthquake. In that day the ornaments of the heathen will fall, and all the buildings of the earth, before the might of the earthquake. 12 These are the signs of the fourth day. 13 But on the fifth day, at the sixth hour, suddenly there will be a great thunder in the sky, and the powers of light and the wheel of the sun will be caught away, and there will be great darkness in the world until evening, and the air will be gloomy without sun or moon, and the stars will cease from their service. 14 In that day, all nations will behold as in a mirror and will despise the life of this world. 15 These are the signs of the fifth day. 16 And on the sixth day, at the fourth hour, there will be a great voice in Heaven, and the firmament of the heavens will be split from the east to the west, and the messengers of the heavens will be looking forth on the earth by the openings of the heavens, and all these that are on the earth will behold the host of the messengers looking forth out of Heaven. 17 Then all men will flee to the mountains, and hide themselves from the face of the righteous messengers, and say: “If only the earth would open and swallow us up!” 18 And such things will come to pass as never were since this world was created.
1 Then they will behold Me coming from above in the light of My Father with the power and honor of the holy messengers. 2 Then at My coming, the fence of fire of Paradise will be done away with—because Paradise is girded around with fire. 3 And this will be that perpetual fire that will consume the earth and all the elements of the world. 4 Then the spirits and souls of all men will come forth from Paradise and will come on all the earth: and every one of them will go to his own body, where it is laid up, 5 and every one of them will say: “Here lies my body.” 6 And when the great voice of those spirits will be heard, then there will be a great earthquake over all the world, and by the might thereof, the mountains will be split from above and the rocks from beneath. 7 Then every spirit will return into his own vessel, and the bodies of the holy ones which have fallen asleep will arise. 8 Then their bodies will be changed into the image, and likeness, and honor of the holy messengers, and into the power of the image of My holy Father. 9 Then they will be clothed with the garment of eternal life, out of the cloud of light which has never been seen in this world; for that cloud comes down out of the highest realm of Heaven from the power of My Father. 10 And that cloud will encompass, with the beauty thereof, all the spirits that have believed in Me. 11 Then they will be clothed and will be borne by the hands of the holy messengers just as I have told you before. 12 Then they will also be lifted up into the air on a cloud of light, and will go with Me rejoicing to Heaven, and then they will continue in the light and honor of My Father. 13 Then there will be to them great gladness with My Father and before the holy messengers. 14 These are the signs of the sixth day.
1 And on the seventh day, at the eighth hour, there will be voices in the four corners of the sky. 2 And all the air will be shaken and filled with holy messengers, and they will make war among them all day long. 3 And in that day, My chosen ones will be sought out by the holy messengers from the destruction of the world. 4 Then all men will see that the hour of their destruction draws near. 5 These are the signs of the seventh day. 6 And when the seven days are over, on the eighth day, at the sixth hour, there will be a sweet and tender voice in Heaven from the east. 7 Then that messenger will be revealed which has power over the holy messengers: 8 and all the messengers will go forth with him, sitting on chariots of the clouds of My holy Father, rejoicing and running on the air beneath the heavens to deliver the chosen ones that have believed in Me. 9 And they will rejoice that the destruction of this world has come. 10 The words of the Savior to Thomas are ended, concerning the end of this world.