Nostradamus

Nostradamus isn't known for his cheery prophecies. Most interpreters of the 16th century physician, astrologer and prophet say he accurately predicted two world wars, the rise of two antichrists (Napoleon and Hitler), and even the assassination of John F. Kennedy.While skeptics are quick to point out that Nostradamus's quatrains (the four-line verses in which he wrote his prophecies) are so cryptic that they can be interpreted in any number of ways, scholars who have meticulously studied his work conclude that Nostradamus has been uncanny in his predictions of some of the most dramatic events of the 20th and previous centuries. But what of the 21st century? What, if anything, does Nostradamus have to say about the events of this new century, this new millennium? Many fear that his prophecies point to the event that most of the world has been dreading since the end of World War II and the introduction of nuclear weapons: World War III... doomsday... Armageddon. Some say it's right around the corner, and with the events of Sept. 11 still fresh in our minds and the escalating tensions in the Middle East (aren't tensions always escalating in the Middle East?), a new war with global involvement isn't hard to imagine.

The Start of WW III: Author David S. Montaigne says the next world war will start this year in his unambiguously tilted book, Nostradamus: World War III 2002. Although Nostradamus never specifically names the year in which World War III will begin, Montaigne cites this quatrain: "From brick to marble, the walls will be converted, Seven and fifty peaceful years:Joy to mankind, the aqueduct renewed, Health, abundant fruits, joy and honey-making times".- Quatrain 10:89.  Although it can be debated that the last 57 years have been peaceful and a joy to mankind, Montaigne interprets this quatrain as meaning "progress for fifty-seven years between World War II and World War III." And since the Second World War ended in 1945, 57 years brings us to 2002...

A lost book - a codex really - of watercolors attributed in one library record to none other than Nostradamus. The 16th century book, which was discovered at the National Library in Rome by journalist Enza Massa, is filled with extraordinarily gorgeous, brutal renderings of future events up to and including the end of the world. The good news is that they found the book. The bad news is that you may want to kiss your backside goodbye because we may just have five years left.The producers have called upon a slew of Nostradamus experts who not only fill us in onNostradamus' existing quatrains, but what the renderings mean.

Me? I'm amazed that there are people out there who actually make a living off of doing things like studying Nostradamus' quatrains or monitoring UFO radio signals - let alone that History Channel actually finds them.Anyway, the producers have found Nostradamus experts a-plenty who explain what-the-hell all those "lost" renderings mean. No wonder they were lost. They are terrifying. For example, there's one rendering (and remember these were done in the 1500s) of a tower with flying things coming at it, flames leaping from the sides and people tumbling out. Along with that photo is the famous Nostradamus' quatrain that mentions, "Earth shaking fires from the World's Center roar around New City." As one historiansays, "To a 16th century guy, our history - how we live now - is totally unrelatable." So the pictures and the quatrains would have made no sense to anyone way back then. They do now. Massa and the other historians work on both dating and authenticating the book and find that while it is a 16th century manuscript, the renderings probably weren't created personally by Nostradamus because he wasn't an artist, although his son was. Nonetheless, they believe the predictions are most certainly his and are based on his prophesies. And those prophesies are so scary it may cause you to lose sleep. But hey - who better than History Channel to find it?

Copyright: New York Post

He was a man whose prophecies became legendary; believers claim over 400 years ago he predicted the rise of Hitler into Nazi Germany, the September 11th attacks, even deaths in Kennedy family . Much of his work he deliberately destroyed but what remains of his writings have captivated historians and skeptics alike. Through his quatrains, Michel Nostradamus became one of the most disputed writers in history; solidifying his place in folklore and remaining a mystery to present day. Nostradamus was born in France in 1503. Though he was an astrologer and doctor by trade, he is remembered for his prophetic quatrains, or four lined poems. He wrote at least 942, which he organized into centuries,each containing 100 with the exception of one.

Though short, many quatrains seem to be accurate when correlated to specific events. Quatrain 24 from Century 2 reads: "Beasts ferocious from hunger will swim across rivers:The greater part of the region will be against the Hister,The great one will cause it to be dragged in an iron cage,When the German child will observe nothing."If each line is dissected thoroughly and compared to historical fact, this poem seems to vividly detail the invasion of the Nazi party into Eastern Europe. It is common knowledge that the greater part of the world was against Hitler, while German citizens were kept uninformed of his crimes. However, certain aspects of the quatrain do not seem to stand up to scrutiny. If Nostradamus could predict the event so precisely, how could he misspell the name of the person whose future actions he was foretelling? Was it simply agrammatical error? Perhaps quatrain 35 in Century 1 is more convincing:"The young lion will overcome the older one, On the field of combat in a single battle; He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage, Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death."The quatrain is purportedly referencing the untimely death of Henry II. While the King was jousting in a three day tournament against the Comte de Montgomery, who was 6 years younger than Henry, the King suffered fatal wounds to his eye and temple. He died of his injuries 10 days later (nost...). Many followers of Nostradamus' prophecies count this quatrain as one of the most remarkable. However, skeptics still have their doubts.Most non-believers have a convincing argument; all of the quatrains make complete sense after the particular event happens, however, if read out of context, the writings are complete gibberish. The question is of course, was thisintentional? A......

Michel de Nostredame, who later latinized his surname to Nostradamus, was born in 1503 in St. Remy de Provence, France. Nostradamus was noted to be ahead of his time in many other ways. For example, he contended that the earth circles the sun. This was proclaimed one century before Galileo made his findings public.In 1555, Nostradamus published the first of ten books, all titled Centuries. Each volume contained 100 prophecies, all of which were written in verse form. Nostradamus was rather frank about explaining his techniques for predicting the future. He would place a bowl of water on a brass tripod and gaze into it, much like a fortune-teller studies a crystal ball.Sometimes his predictions came to him in spontaneous flashes.

For example, when he was a young man traveling in Italy, he fell upon his knees before a passing monk named Felice Peretti. He declared, “I kneel before His Holiness.” In 1585, the monk became Pope Sixtus V. When Catherine de Medici visited him, he contended that a boy that traveled in her entourage would one day become the King of France. That boy was Henry of Navarre; he eventually became King Henry IV. As more and more of Nostradamus’ prophecies were becoming recognized as being uncanny but accurate, he began to face allegations of witchcraft. To avoid being accused of such charges by the Inquisition, he confused the dating of his predictions and wrote in a confusing amalgamation of anagrams, symbols, Old French, Latin, and otherlanguages. This deliberate confusion has led to some widely varied interpretations of his prophecies. Even so, many of his predictions are uncannily close to the facts. They are enough to justify his reputation as the greatest prophet Europe has ever produced. The following represent his translated prophecies that have been translated into English:

Henry II of France: Before it became true, no one at the French court dared mention Nostradamus’ notorious prediction of how King Henry would die. "The young lion will overcome the elder In a field of combat in a single fight. He will pierce his eyes in their golden cage Two wounds in one, then dies a cruel death." This was fulfilledfour years later in ......