I challenge anyone here - and not of arrogance, but sincere inquiry - whether they can find another document from any other religious tradition which makes any predictions of the industrial revolution.

This is a big deal, because, well, the industrial revolution is SO unusual. Imagine the progress civilization made between 3500 BCE and 1800 CE.. Nothing much in terms of technology, although, Christianity did serve to unify the western world under the banner of one culture, which has some significant sociological purposes; but there is obvious a paradigmatic shift between those first 5,300 of Human civilization, from Ur, till the 1800's. Now look again from 1800 CE to 2012. It's simply astounding. How could anyone possibly have predicted this???

Well, the Jewish Zohar did. If you aren't acquainted with this body of literature, the Zohar was written by Moses De Leon, although some believe he merely redacted it from older texts, the bulk of which derive from the mystic insights of the Talmudic sage Shimon Bar Yochai. Now, this book deals with mostly metaphysical subjects, particularly as exegesis of the Torah. But in some places, it makes predictions.

In the Exegesis on the biblical verse:

"In the six-hundredth year in the life of Noah... all wellsprings of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened..." (Gen. 7:11)

The Zohar interprets along prophetical lines:

"in the sixth century of the sixth millennium, the gates of the supernal wisdom will be opened, as will the springs of the earthly wisdom, preparing the world to be elevated in the seventh millennium.
Zohar, part I, 117a.

Now, the Jews have a very old calendar. The current year in this calendar is 5773, from the 'time of creation' (which I interpret to be the beginnings of civilization, circa 3500 BCE, in Sumeria, Eridu, Ur etc). The 6th century of the 6th millennium would correspond to the Hebrew year 5600, which would correspond to the secular year 1840.

The Zohar actually uses the term 'lower' for earthly wisdom, in line with the usual metaphysical axiom of 'above' corresponding to spiritual things, and 'below' to physical things. So lower wisdom is physical wisdom, which is SCIENCE!

I cannot for the life of me explain this. You may reject the antiquity of the Zohar as being no more then 800 years old (to the time of Moses De Leon), but even then, how on earth could a Rabbi predict something that would happen - pretty much on the spot - 600 years before it happened???

Is there any other example of such foresight in any other religion?

Suffice to say, this is highly unusual. The Zohar explains that this 'growth' in physical knowledge is for the purpose of 'preparing' the world for the 7th millenium, the 'shabbat', or period of rest, for man and the earth. The shabbat, according to the Hebrew Calendar, is the year 6000 - 7000. We are some 227 years from that time. End quote.