Through A Glass Darkly
Nostradamus
"There is hope that by the lapse of time, and after my extinction here on earth, my writings will be more valued than during my
lifetime."
-- From the Epistle to King Henry II
by Michel de Nostradamus
Of all the predictions made by Michel de Nostradamus, there is one concerning interest in his work that is proven
true by each succeeding generation. Of all the books published since 1555, only his Centuries - a series of 942
mysterious, predictive quatrains (four line poems) -- and the Bible have been continuously in print.
During his life he was considered to have been a gifted seer. The passing years have proven the accuracy of his
prophetic words over and again, cementing his reputation as the greatest predictor of all time. In addition to being a
doctor, Nostradamus was also a gifted mathematician and astrologer.
Mix of Science & Supernatural
His predictions are an unusual blend of the scientific and the supernatural, and are usually cloaked in poetic,
symbolic language to escape persecution from medieval Church authorities who had little use for prophets -- and
from those who might feel threatened by his prophecies. In the first two quatrains of the Centuries, Nostradamus
described how he "saw" and "heard" the future using a meditative technique which allowed him to see visions in a
bowl of water, and apparently to hear voices from beyond.
Sitting alone at night in secret study, It (the bowl) is placed in the brass tripod. A slight flame comes out of the emptiness and
Makes successful that which should not be believed in vain.
The wand in the hand is placed between the tripod's legs. With water he sprinkles the hem of his garment and his foot. A voice,
fear; he trembles in his robes. Divine splendor; the God sits nearby.
His fame among his contemporaries was firmly established when he accurately predicted the exact wounds that
would result in the death of the king of France.
Remarkably On-Target
That, and a host of other on target-revelations, such as predicting that an obscure monk would soon be elected pope,
made Nostradamus a superstar in his day. So many kings, church officials, nobles, and intellectuals beat a path to
Nostradamus's door that Jean de Chavigny, the great man's biographer, wrote: "Those who came to France sought
Nostradamus as the only thing to be seen there."
Astonishing Accuracy
Nostradamus is widely credited with having accuracy foretold the execution of King Charles I of England, the Great
Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon and the British Empire, and most chillingly, and
Nazi Germany. He even mentioned "a chief of London from the government of America," a nation which did not even
exist in his day. Predictions about modern warfare were a favorite theme of Nostradamus. In Century 3.13 he makes
a direct reference to submarines -- "when the fleet can swim underwater" -- and another modern marvel virtually
undreamt of his day: the airplane.
In Century 5.85 he says boldly that "There will be wars for control of the clouds," and in 3;11, "The armies will fight in
the sky for a long time." The way Nostradamus wrote his predictions made them difficult to decode, and sometimes
impossible to understand, until after the predicted thing or event had come to pass. Thus in Century 6.98,
Nostradamus' words that "their great city shall be tainted, a pestilent deed ... and two rivers shall be red with running
blood" is now interpreted to mean the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a city located between two rivers, where
radiation poisoning "tainted" the area for a long time afterward.
Eerie Kennedy Prophesy
Likewise, in Century 8.97, Nostradamus scored direct hits with prophesying the three Kennedy brothers and the
recessions of the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's.
At the finish of the war, to change the glory,
Near the shore shall three fair children be born,
Ruin to the people, by competent age,
To change that country's kingdom and see it grow no more.
Elsewhere Nostradamus predicted the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy -- and he knew of his own
passing well in advance. On June 17, 1566, he drew up his will, leaving 3,444 gold crowns in addition to his other
possessions. On the morning of July 2, the exact date which he had predicted for his own death, Nostradamus was
found dead.
The Millennium Prophecies
While Nostradamus made many predictions about his contemporaries, and events which would not transpire for
centuries, he appears to have made more prophecies about the Millennium than any other single subject. In the
preface to the Centuries, Nostradamus describes in vivid detail the events leading up to the Millennium. The third
Antichrist (the first two generally thought to have been Napoleon and Hitler) will come to power and begin wars that
will lay waste to the world, with natural catastrophes, plagues, famine and anarchy contributing to make life hell on
earth. The Antichrist will then install an "antipope" and proclaim a new Holy Roman empire, which will last only seven
months, after which both will be killed and their supporters slaughtered. After an indefinite period of time, the world
will enjoy a golden age in which Satan will be powerless for 1,000 years -- another Millennium.
World Revolution?
In the year 1999 and seven months,
From the sky will come the great terror king,
He will return to life the great Mongol king.
Before and after warfare happily rules. ----- 10.72
This is perhaps the most famous of Nostradamus' predictions. It not only foretells of a tremendous world revolution,
instigated by the Antichrist and a ruler from the East; it also names the precise time to expect the occurrence:
August 1999. At this time there will be a grand cross of the planets in the fixed signs relating to the four beasts of
the Apocalypse -- Taurus the bull, Leo the lion, Scorpio the scorpion and Aquarius the man. Astrologers -- of whom
Nostradamus was one -- believe that the stress of this unique grouping could generate extreme unrest, violence and
natural catastrophe -- exactly what many quatrains predict.
When a fish pond that was a meadow shall be mowed.
Sagittarius being in the ascendant,
Plague, famine, and death by the military hand,
The century approaches renewal. ---- 1.16
This bleak forecast seems to be part of the program as the Antichrist unleashes the forces of evil at the end of the
20th Century.
Nuclear War Aftermath?
For 40 years the rainbow shall not appear,
For 40 days it shall be seen every day,
The parched earth shall wax drier and drier,
And a great flood when it shall appear. ---- 1.17
Thus continues 1.16 -- perhaps a picture of the world's climate in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
Cryogenics Predicted?
The year of the great number being past,
There shall be seen the sports of the ghostly sacrifice,
Not far from the age of the millennium,
That the buried shall come out of their graves. ---- 10.74
Experts have predicted the "great number" to be the year 2000. By 2007, the dead will rise up. Could it be a
reference to cryogenics -- the practice of freezing people for later thawing when science has developed cures for their
previously incurable conditions?
Collapse of Social Security?
Pleasure placed by western citizens,
Withdrawn therein to a secret place,
The temple to open by hungry bonds,
Recaptured, ravished, a terrible prey in their midst. ---- 10.81
Nostradamus seems to be predicting a collapse of the social security system. Many people fear today that Social
Security donations, withdrawn from our paychecks and deposited with the government, are already spent, paid out
as soon as they come into fund the needs of today's retirees and to help pay off the ballooning U.S. federal debt --
the hungry bonds.
Ozone Depletion and Ultraviolet Radiation
In the year that Saturn and Mars shall be fiery,
The air shall be very dry in many countries,
By secret fires, many places shall be burned with heat,
There shall be a scarcity of rain; hot winds, wars, wounds. ---- 4.67
Not a pretty picture. Could it be that we will be bombarded with ultraviolet radiation through ever-widening ozone
holes in the atmosphere?
Aftermath of "Greenhouse Effect"?
So much a famine with a plague,
Through a long rain shall come along the Arctic Pole,
Samarobryn a hundred leagues from the hemisphere,
Shall live without law, exempt from politics. ---- 6.5
Epidemics and anarchy often follow famine, only this time the consequences of both are made even worse by what
sounds very much like a description of what the greenhouse effect could create: "a long rain ... along the Arctic
Pole."
New Weapons for War in Space -- and Cannibalism on Earth?
The noise of the unwanted bird having been heard,
Upon the cannon of the highest story,
The bushel of wheat shall rise so high,
That man shall be a man-eater. ---- 2.75
Could the unwanted bird be aircraft, and the cannon of the highest story armed spacecraft? The famine mentioned in
several quatrains gets so bad that people resort to cannibalism.
Laser Warfare?
Arles shall not proceed by open war,
By night the soldiers shall be astonished,
Black, white and blue dissembled on the ground,
Under the feigned shadow will be proclaimed traitors. ---- 7.2
Analysts have identified this quatrain as referring to lasers used in night combat -- Arles, a city in France, being an
anagram for "laser" (a word or phrase made from another by rearranging its letters).
Massive Earthquake
The earthquake shall be so great in the month of May,
Saturn, Caper, Jupiter, Mercury in Taurus,
Venus also, Cancer, Mars in Zero,
Then hail shall fall bigger than an egg. ---- 10.67
Scholars have identified the day of the terrible quake as May 10, but have not determined the exact year. Will there
be hailstones bigger than an egg, or is this Nostradamus' way of describing some strange new weapon that will rain
death and destruction from the sky? Might the "hailstones" come from the spacecraft mentioned in Century 2.75?
More War and Nuclear Destruction?
The Arab prince, Mars, Sol, Venus, Leo,
The Kingdoms of the Church shall be overcome by the
sea,
Toward Persia very near a million,
Turkey, Egypt, Ver. Serp. shall invade.
Experts have pegged this invasion by a new Arabian empire to occur in the early days of August, 2000. Ver. Serp.
means true serpents.
Biological Warfare?
Of the great number which shall be sent,
To relieve the besieged in the fort,
Plague and famine shall devour them all,
Excerpt 70 that shall be beaten. ---- 2.37
This appears to be a warning that biological warfare and obliteration of plant and animal life is part of the picture.
Star Wars!
That which shall leave no direction,
Its destruction and death will come by stratagem,
Autun, Chalons, Langres, and from both sides,
The war and ice shall do great harm. ----1.22
Experts have interpreted this bewildering passage as a forecast of the use of supersonic weapons, traveling in
temperatures near absolute zero in the upper stratosphere -- in other words, satellites armed with nuclear weapons.
Atomic Holocaust?
The heavens shall burn at five and 40 degrees,
The fire shall come near the great new city,
In an instant a great flame dispersed shall burst out,
When they shall make a trial of the Normans. -- 10.97
This appears to paint a picture of atomic war that wipes out the greatest and newest of the world's cities at the 45th
parallel, such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Perhaps the supersonic weapons in 1.22 are the agents of
destruction.
Peace at Last -- and No Taxes?
Mars and Sceptre, being conjoined together,
Under Cancer shall be a calamitous war,
A little while after a new King shall be appointed,
Who for a long time, shall pacify the earth. ----6.24
A conjunction between Mars and Jupiter in Cancer in 2002 will bring on warfare and widespread ruin. But out of this
conflagration will emerge a king who will reign over a peaceful world -- one of the few bright spots in Nostradamus'
predictions.
Extended Peace
The walls shall be turned from brick into marble,
There shall be peace for seven and fifty years,
Joy to mankind; the aqueduct shall be rebuilt,
Health, abundance of fruits, joys and mellifluous time. ---- 10.89
This reinforces the hope-giving prediction of 6.24. After all destruction and suffering, the world will enjoy extended
peace.
A Four-Day Week!
The last but one, of the surname of the prophet,
Shall take Diana for his day of rest,
He shall wander far by reason of his raving head,
Delivering a great people from impositions. ---- 2.28
Taking Diana "for his day of rest" is taken to mean that Monday, the day of the goddess Diana in ancient mythology,
will become a holiday all over the world. All mankind will enjoy a four-day week -- and no taxes!
Atlantis Rises and a New Source of Power?
The camp Ascop shall go from Europe,
And shall come near the submerged island,
From Arton shall a phalange go by sea and land,
By the navel of the world a greater voice shall be subrogated. -- 2.22
This is apparently a reference to the lost continent of Atlantis, originally called the navel of the world, which nourished
all ancient human culture. The fact that people will be traveling there suggests that it may indeed rise again.
New Energy Source
A deep white clay a rock supports,
Which shall break out of the deep like milk,
In vain people shall be troubled, not daring to touch it,
Being ignorant that in the bottom there is milky clay. ---- 1.21
Just as people failed to recognize the value of petroleum, this quatrain seems to describe a new and as yet
undiscovered way of harnessing nature's resources through radiation which causes chemical changes.
The End of the World?
While Nostradamus indicated only five specific dates in all the Centuries, two of them applied to events that he saw
taking place near the year 2000. The first was in 10.72, when he picked 1999 as the year of the Antichrist's return.
The other was in 6.2, in which he foresaw a complete change in the lineup of nations by the year 2028. With only
one exception, all Nostradamus' predictions deal with the period extending from his own lifetime to just after the year
2000. That exception is found in Century 1.48, where he very clearly indicates how much time the world has left.
Twenty years of the reign of the moon having passed,
Seven thousand years another shall hold his monarchy,
When the sun shall resume his days past,
Then is fulfilled and ends my prophecy.
Over the centuries, scholars have debated precisely how Nostradamus reckoned time, especially since elsewhere he
referred to the end of the world as occurring in the year 3797. It is very likely that they will continue to wrangle until
the end eventually comes. Nostradamus' words of warning about those who would dismiss his predictions as fanciful
folly come at the end of Century 6:
"May those who read this verse think deeply upon it,
May the profane and shallow stay away:
May all astrologers, idiots and barbarians stay away,
He who does otherwise, let him be priest to the sacred rites."
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Edited by Robinhood: This is one I found on the web. The writings of Nostradamus are some of my favorite books. There are many interpretations concerning the writings of this prophet. However must translations point to a great uprising in the middle east where he predicts the Chinses and Arabs will arise and destroy Israel, and then march into Europe with unknown laser weapons, launch germ warfare over America and many other things.
My own personal belief is that the foreign policy of America and Europe should be such as not to goad them into just such a move.
I fear these powers wil one day grow tired of the bullying by Europe, American and the New World Order and decide they have nothing to lose!
